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“I did. Did you absolutely hate it?”
“No.” She touches my cheek and runs her thumb down my jaw. “Not one bit.”
“Look at us making progress.”
“I think we definitely sold our relationship to everyone, and the line to bid on your coaching sessions is forty people long.”
“People with money like to feel like heroes,” I explain. “I have no fucking clue what their donations are going toward, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being in the sports world, it’s that everyone loves a comeback story. Anything to help Metro Hospital be number one in the country.”
“Hey.” Her touch moves to my hand, and she threads our fingers together. “Two million dollars? Are you kidding me? That is so generous. Is that—can you—”
“Afford it?” I laugh and rest my forehead against hers. “I can afford it fifty times over, sweetheart, then I could still buy you whatever you want.”
Lacey bites her bottom lip, and I want to kiss her there, right on her Cupid’s bow.
I don’t think I’m supposed to want to kiss my friends, even if it’s allowed.
But,fuck, do I want to.
It’s getting harder and harder to stay away from her. Harder and harder to keep my hands to myself and behave in front of our friends. Harder and harder to distinguish what’s real and what’s pretend between us.
“Will you come back to my place after?” Lacey asks, and I squeeze her palm.
“You know the answer to that question, sweetheart.”
THIRTY-ONE
SHAWN
Laceyall but pulls me into her apartment, which is cute, because I would’ve walked in willingly.
My hands are in her hair and her fingers are unbuttoning my shirt before we even make it through the door.
“Did you stay up all night reading about my career?” I ask, spinning her and pressing her against the wall in her foyer. I’m not sure I’m going to make it much further. “Kind of seems like you’re trying to flirt with me. Like you might like me, just a little.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she answers, and her mouth dips to my neck. “I wanted to seem like a good girlfriend.”
“Oh, you’re certainly good, Lacey girl. I never knew hearing about how many touchdowns I scored in a season would turn me on.” I pull the strap of her dress down and kiss her bare shoulder. “Fuck, I’ve wanted to touch you all night.”
“You want to talk about flirting? You donatedmillionsof dollars to the place where I work.” She pushes my jacket off and nudges it out of the way with her shoes. “What’s that about, Holmes?”
“Like seeing you happy,” I say, and my breath catches when her fingers skim down my shirt and settle on the front of my pants. She cups my length, and I’m having a difficult time remembering how to speak. “Doesn’t matter how much it costs.”
The heat of the moment dies.
Lacey stills, and she pulls back to look at me. Her eyes are bright, and her red lipstick is smudged in the left corner of her mouth.
“Thank you. It’s a silly thing to say, because it doesn’t seem nearly sufficient enough for what you did, but, really. Thank you, Shawn. It means so much to me. I know you might not notice that money leave your account, but the amount ofgoodit’s going to be able to do is truly life-changing. And you were a part of that.”
She sniffs and turns her cheek, trying to keep her tears from me.
“Hey.” I touch her chin. “Remember what I said in my bedroom? No hiding from me.”
“I know.I know. It’s just… I’m having very real emotions about your generosity, and it’s all confusing.”
“We might pretend to be in a relationship, Lacey, but I would’ve donated the money even if we weren’t faking anything. It’s important to you, which means it’s important to me, too.”
She kisses me again, and I lift her off the ground. I work the other strap of her dress down until I see her bra. It’s dark green and made of lace, and it makes her tits look incredible. Combined with the red silk bunching at her waist, she looks like a Christmas present I want to unwrap.
