“Your brother would kill me on that one, so no. If we get married, it has to be real.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
He laughs. “I’m kidding. I already told you, I’m not getting married again.”
Right. And I’m the one who wants the happily ever after with my Prince Charming. More reasons he isn’t right for me...and yet every little piece of him I’m getting to know makes me want to learn more.
This is starting to go deeper than a simple attraction or the lust of wanting him on top of me naked again.
I’m starting to genuinely like this guy, and that’s a real problem considering he’s not interested. Even though he did just tell his ex-girlfriend that I’m his fiancée.
“So...I’m confused. Do you really want to play that we’re engaged or what?”
He shrugs. “Well, yeah. In front of her, at least.”
“So what happens when she blabs to Savannah?”
“That’s an extra bonus since that’s another woman who’s always trying to squeeze more money out of me.” He sighs. “I guess we’re doing this.”
He really hasn’t had a lot of luck finding a nice lady.
Enter Ellie.
CHAPTER 21
When I wake up the next morning, I check my email just like I always do.
And my mouth drops the fuck open. All the way to the floor.
I was expecting the story to hit...but I was not expecting this.
I rush down to the kitchen. It’s empty.
I dart around the first family room, where I find Pepper on the couch, who just looks at me like I’m an idiot (like she always does), and then I look out the window.
Sure enough, there’s Luke running on the treadmill on the patio.
No shirt.
I realize I haven’t even looked in a mirror yet after rolling out of bed and I prefer to look my best particularly when I’m about to see the object of my crush...but the news on my phone is more pressing than how I look right now.
It’s more pressing than what he’s doing.
I run outside and wave my phone at him. He’s concentrating and focused as he runs, and it takes him a beat to even notice I’m standing there. Once he does, he slows to a jog and slips out his earbuds as his brows dip down.
I wish I could just take a minute to stare at the perfection that is the man on the treadmill.
Okay, I do it even though I have something important to say. I stare shamelessly, my eyes flicking to his abs and to his legs and back to his handsome face. He’s sweaty and I don’t even care because he’s freaking gorgeous. I lament the fact that I’m the one who has to break this news to him since he has no clue as he runs without a care in the world on his treadmill.
“Ellie, what’s wrong?” he asks. His eyes are wide. Clearly I’ve frightened the man with my freshly just rolled out of bed look.
“She ran to the media,” I say, more out of breath from running through the house looking for him for the last sixty seconds than he is from running on a treadmill for probably the last hour.
His eyes flick to my chest covered by the flimsy white material of the tank top I slept in. I’m not wearing a bra. It’s bright out here. I’m dying of embarrassment as I realize he can probably see my nipples. Why didn’t I think to at least change my shirt? Maybe run a brush through my hair?
Oh, right.
Because of the headlines that cluttered my inbox this morning.
He narrows his eyes at me, but he slows his jog to a walk, and eventually he shuts the thing off and steps down. He grabs a towel and wipes the sweat from his face then slings it around his neck.
“You have to see the headlines.” I hesitate for a second since I don’t want to be the one breaking this news to him, and then I hand him my phone.
He glances at the headline.
Aces Receiver Luke Dalton Set to Wed Amidst Baby Scandal
And the byline? Savannah Buck.
He looks back up at me, but his expression is unreadable. He has to feel some way about that headline. “How did you find this?”
“I set up an alert so any time an article is published about you, it goes to my email. And before you get any crazy ideas that I’m some kind of stalker, it’s a standard part of being a public relations manager.”
He heaves out a breath, and I wish he was more forthcoming with what he’s thinking. He’s schooled himself to hide his emotions, and he does a good job of it. I just haven’t figured out why he does it. But I will.
“Well, alright then,” he says. “Looks like the news is out. We’re engaged.”
“And the rest of the headline?” I prod.
“Shit like this gets printed all the time.” He shrugs like he’s blowing it off.
“Luke, there’s only one person in the entire world who thinks we’re engaged.” I’m trying to impress upon him that this is more serious than he realizes. My gut tells me this isn’t some joke. This is his ex. She was here yesterday saying she needed to talk to him, and he blew her off, and she ran to the press with her news since he didn’t take the time to listen. “Just read the article.”
He scans it. Michelle didn’t just run to Savannah to let her know Luke is engaged. Michelle also ran to Savannah to let her know that she’s pregnant.
With Luke’s baby.
To be continued in Book 2, LONG GAME.
Now available exclusively on Amazon
Nothing makes me work harder than when my future husband tells me, “Prove your worth.”
Luke hired me as his publicist so his pro football team owner will see that he’s indispensable to the organization. When a defamatory headline hits newsstands, it’s up to me to show the world what a Prince Charming he truly is.
My solution? A marriage of convenience. It’ll get his boss off his back and quiet the slanderous voices.
Luke is adamant that this is nothing more than a business transaction, but I still feel the heat from the single night we spent together when we were strangers.
Now I just have to figure out how not to fall in love with my fiancé.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my husband for everything you do. The support, encouragement, and love is what makes this possible. Thank you to my kids for nap time and quiet time when mommy gets to write, and thank you to my parents who love hanging out with my babies so I can get some computer time in.
Thank you to Trenda London from It’s Your Story Content Editing, Diane Holtry and Alissa Riker for beta reading, Najla Qamber for the gorgeous cover design, and Katie Harder-Schauer from Proofreading by Katie.
Thank you to Wildfire Marketing, my ARC team, Team LS, and all the bloggers who read, post, and review.
Thank you to you, the reader, for taking time out of your life to spend it with Ellie. I hope you enjoyed what you read, and I can’t wait for you to read the next book.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR