Page 69 of Power Play
Mia eyes me over her glass. “Alright. Spill it.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sophie.”
“Fine.” I pause the movie right as Colin Firth is fumbling through Portuguese. “Murphy called me after training today.”
Mia perks up instantly. “And?”
I toss a popcorn kernel in my mouth and chew slowly, just to be annoying. “He said he didn’t correct Layla when she called me hisfakegirlfriend.”
Mia frowns. “Because he wanted the sponsorships to keep rolling in?”
I shake my head. “Because he panicked. But then he called to confirm that it isn’t fake anymore. That I’m not just part of some brand story.”
Mia’s face softens. “That’s actually kind of lovely.”
“Right?” I pause, then sigh. “Except now I don’t know what todowith that.”
Mia levels me with a look. “Do you like him?”
“I’m here, aren’t I? Bringing cheese and Hugh Grant? What do you think?”
She gives me the slowest blink known to man.
“Okay, fine,” I groan. “Yes. I like him. Ireallylike him. In a ‘think about him when I should be working’ kind of way. In a ‘oh no, he might actually ruin me for other men’ kind of way.”
Mia grins. “Called it.”
“Don’t get smug, Clarke.”
She raises her glass. “Too late.”
We clink glasses. I sink deeper into the sofa.
“I mean, who evenisthis version of me?” I mutter. “I wore adresslast night. Withheels. I let him hold my hand as if we were in a Nicholas Sparks novel.”
Mia tilts her head. “I saw the pictures. You looked gorgeous.”
I smile. “He said the same thing. Twice. And then he kissed me like he meant it.”
“Did he?”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “He really did.”
Mia studies me, then nudges the popcorn toward me. “So, what’s the problem?”
“The problem,” I say, scooping up a handful, “is that I’m all in. And I don’t know if he even knows how tobe. We’ve both said the L word but… well, I don’t know.”
“That man’s an idiot when it comes to feelings, but he’s not faking it.”
“You think?”
“Iknow,” she says firmly. “I’ve seen how he looks at you. Like he’s trying to memorise every freckle.”
I roll my eyes. “Gross.”
“Romantic,” Mia counters.
