Page 58 of My Secret Bandit

The familiar scent of Mateo welcomed me into the room. But even as I moved to hang up my clothes, a tightness formed in my chest.

Laying on the bed, I took deep breaths. Each one weighing me down a little more.

I didn’t realize I dozed off until I felt Mateo’s hand brushing against my cheek and combing the stray hairs of my bun away from my face. My eyes slowly opened, and I saw him lying next to me, his head resting in his hand propped up by his elbow.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” I said and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into the cool fabric of his crisp, black button down.

“No, stop. You don’t need to apologize for anything. But I do, and I’m sorry for how I talked to you. You didn’t deserve that. I wasn’t even upset with you. I got frustrated because I couldn’t do anything to help you.” He kissed my head and held me tight.

“I know. You did enough. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, you know that.” It was his turn now to snuggle into me. I brushed my fingers through his curls as he fell asleep. I laid a kiss to his temple and listened to the sound of his breathing turn soft and shallow.

It was easy to forget about the events of today wrapped in Mateo’s arms. As usual, his comforting warmth and security provided me with all the safety I needed and helped temporarily curb my building anxiety.

With Mateo gone doing pregame prep and loads of time to kill, I found the hotel’s gym. I chose one treadmill that looked out toward a fountain where the water shot up before fanning out and raining down.

Starting up the machine, I increased the speed and prepared to sweat away my nerves. Thirty minutes into my workout a man’s voice came from behind me.

“There you are.”

Hitting the stop button, I stepped off the machine and turned to Xander. A towel was ready and waiting for me by the time I saw his face.

Just as put together as he was yesterday, he looked like he stepped straight off a men’s fashion spread. Well maintained hair and a fitted gray suit. The first few buttons of his shirt casually left undone. He looked professional without being rigid or stuffy. There was a hidden edge to Xander that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, one that said he was more than just the pretty faced player liaison.

“Thank you,” I said, dabbing the plush cloth against my face and neck. “What’s up?”

“You good?” He cocked an eyebrow up at me and browsed my face for an answer.

He’s either extremely perceptive or my worry lines were worse than I thought.

“Um… yeah.”

“Okay. Mattie asked me to check on you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Agreed. But I’m paid to aid the players so…” His arms rose and he shrugged. “This is me… aiding the players.”

“Let’s go, then. Wouldn’t want to be the reason you’re slacking off.”

“Perfect. I’ll take you to him.”

“How is he?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer. But if anyone knew, it’d be Xander.

“Nervous he’s still upset about yesterday?” he asked correctly, as if written across my forehead in fluorescent ink, only confirming this man was too observant for his own good. “Mattie’s not really the type to dwell on things.” His smile turned soft as he led me away from the gym.

In nothing more than my sweaty workout gear, I couldn’t control the discomfort that crept in while walking by the lobby full of business-clad people.

Looking down, I tugged at my shirt when I heard the velvety comfort of Mateo’s voice.

“Would you stop? You’re beautiful.”

“Told you,” Xander leaned to whisper.

My eyes darted up to him, then Mateo. He smiled, all tension I expected to see nonexistent. And his arms wrapped around me not even a second later.

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