Page 36 of Run the Play
“Good. Then it’s settled.” And just in time, I see Roger Hampton, the owner of the Rampage, walking to a table near ours. “Roger, good to see you,” I call out to him, and he changes course, coming to our table instead. “I was hoping to see you today. Got a minute?” I ask him.
“For my wide receiver, anytime.” Roger laughs as he pulls out a seat and takes a huge bite of his pulled-pork sandwich. “What’s going on?” he asks after he’s finished his bite.
“I wanted to tell you that this beautiful lady and I are dating.” I bend my head toward where Rowan sits next to me.
“Well, all right then. She’s likely to have to work on you, but since you’re not her boss, I don’t see an issue with it. You let me know if anything changes. Thanks for bringing it up. I’ll make sure I put in a notice with HR that you’ve come to me, and all is on the up and up,” Roger tells us. “Seems this is starting to be a trend.” He laughs, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“Maybe.” I wink at Rowan, and the corner of her mouth tilts into a relieved smile. We make small talk with Roger until we’re all finished eating, and he leaves to track down his wife.
“You want more?” I ask Rowan.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” She looks down at her lap, then lifts her head to look me in the eye. “Landry, this isn’t going to work. He’s going to know that we’re lying.”
“No one knows that but us.”
“We have to tell your friends. We can’t lie to them.”
“Fine, we’ll tell them when we’re not here, but they’re not going to say anything.”
“It’s going to take a lot to convince Chaz I’ve moved on. I—that’s not me, hopping from man to man.”
“You didn’t. You hopped to me.” I tap my hand over my chest. “Trust me, Roe. I’ve got this. You just have to pretend to be madly in love with me, or at least tolerate me, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You’re so confident.”
I take her hand in mine. “I’m not going to let him near you again, Rowan. I promise you that. This is going to work.”
“What happens when you meet someone you really want to date?” she asks, lowering her voice.
“I’m not looking. Besides, I got my girl right here.” I raise her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. I’m rewarded with more of her cute blush and a smile that reaches her eyes.
Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I start a group text. We can’t very well spill the beans where anyone can hear us, and today, well, we’re going to have to put on a show.
Me:Heads-up, if anyone asks, Rowan and I are dating.
Reid:Does Rowan know about this?
Baker:Did you drug her?
Foster:Are you dream texting?
Corie:What?!
Sloane:Go, Reynolds!
Knox:Rowan?
Her phone keeps beeping. I watch as she pulls it out of her back pocket and starts to read. There’s a small smile tugging at her lips. Damn, this woman is a knockout and she has no idea.
Rowan:It’s a long story. I know the details. He didn’t drug me, and he’s not dream texting. He’s helping me with Chaz, and it just sort of happened.
Me:We’ll explain when there aren’t hundreds of ears around to listen. In the meantime, she’s mine.
Me:And yes, sister, before you ask, Roger knows. We just told him, and he was okay with it.
Corie:Good. I was sweating bullets over here.
Foster:That’s because it’s hotter than Satan’s ball sac out here.
