Page 33 of Falling for Mr. Wright

Chapter Nine

“So, did I really miss Lizzie Daniels face-plant on the dance floor?” Logan asked, bringing his hands behind his head and leaning back.

Ryan smirked at his friend, who’d stopped by his office for a recap of the gala and to pick up his award. “Well, it was more like a slip that landed her on all fours. Chip Donahue pulled her up before she showed any butt cheek.” Ryan leaned back in his office chair, enjoying the impromptu catch-up.

He’d planned on having an early lunch with Sarah in the cafeteria, but she’d sent him an email that she had to do a few errands uptown.

It was probably for the best. Not that he didn’t want to have lunch with her, but he was feeling like a total jackass for what had happened between them. He should have been a better man and not acted on his impulse and kissed her.

However, when she’d looked up at him and batted her long eyelashes while asking him if he was going to teach her how to celebrate a touchdown, he’d been a goner. He’d needed to know how soft her lips were firsthand.

Which made him a total jerk. Here, she’d done him a favor by going to the gala, and he’d returned it by kissing her out of the blue, and in doing so, probably confusing the fuck out of her. It didn’t matter that she’d kissed him back in spades. The fact was she’d enlisted his help to win over Logan.

Logan pulled his phone out of his pants pocket, tapping the screen. “So, Lizzie’s fall wasn’t the only breaking news to come out of the gala.”

“What did you hear?” Ryan asked, more than a little curious.

“That you brought a woman. Why didn’t you tell me that you and Sarah were dating?”

Ryan coughed and reached for the water bottle on his desk. “Um…because we’re not.”

“But you took her to the gala. There was a picture on Twitter with the gala hashtag.” Logan swiped his finger across his phone screen. “It’s right here. Hold on.”

Fuck.What if it was a snapshot of him and Sarah kissing on the football field? Enough people had seen them. How was he going to explain why he’d made out with Logan’s executive assistant?

He nearly groaned in relief when he got a good look at the picture. It was an innocent snapshot of their dancing. Sarah was all smiles with her hands in the air, while he’d had one palm on her waist.

“So…” Logan continued. “Care to confess?”

“We’re just friends. You know that. I didn’t want to go alone, so I asked her to come. She didn’t have any plans for the weekend. That’s all.”

That wasn’t all, far from it. Since the gala, all he’d wanted was to kiss Sarah again. When he’d said good night to her in the hotel hallway, it had taken him all the constraint he could muster to not pin her against her hotel room door and kiss the hell out of her.

But she’d admitted on the football field that their kiss was just for show. He wasn’t going to make the first move again and get rejected.

“Hmmm…” Logan looked down at his phone. “Definitely looks like you two are having a good time.” He tapped the screen and held it up to Ryan. “But an even better time in this one.”

Oh for fuck’s sake.Someone had tweeted out a photo of him and Sarah kissing on the football field. “Um…”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘busted.’”

“It’s not what it looks like, man.”

Logan’s smirk revealed how much he was enjoying watching him squirm. “I don’t know. If a picture says a thousand words, the first five in this one are ‘Ryan’s about to get laid.’”

“Didn’t happen.” Ryan reached for the baseball on his desk and tossed it in the air. “Will never happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because she and I are friends. We had some drinks and things escalated. We laughed about it the next day.”

“Well, I know you and commitment are mortal enemies, but Sarah’s incredible. I could actually see you two together.” Logan slid his phone back in his pocket. “Apparently all of Westbrook Academy already did.”

“Ha. Ha.” Ryan smiled wryly. “The only reason she was there to begin with was to see you get your alumni award.” He nodded to the cherrywood engraved plaque he’d given Logan when he’d showed up with lunch, now lying on the corner of his desk.

“Really?” Logan’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why would she do that?”

Ryan couldn’t take it anymore. “Because, like you say, she’s incredible—and she’s also extremely thoughtful and supportive.”And totally into you, you moron.

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