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“Nothing too major. Besides our motel room incident.” God, why did she go there? Was she an idiot? And he made her wary, standing so close. The memory of their night together came rushing back, filling her with the need to taste those sensual lips again. They were incredibly soft, incredibly warm, and the rasp of his tongue against hers…
“I’m going to be your husband, after all.” His assured tone sent her insides tumbling and she breathed deeply. Tried her best for complete composure.
“True.” She tapped her index finger against her pursed lips, noticing that his rather avid gaze remained locked on the movement of her finger. Interesting. She dropped her hand. “Well, I do have that one boyfriend I’d rather not admit to dating.”
“Really.”
She nodded. “He was my only regret.”
“Why? Did he break your heart?” The thunderous expression on his face secretly thrilled her.
Sheridan wanted to giggle but held it in. “He tried to. Just as I was starting to fall for him, he left me for my friend Heather.”
Jared’s entire body went rigid. “Who is this asshole?”
“His name was Rooster.” She could barely keep a straight face.
His expression was nothing short of incredulous. “Are you serious?”
She nodded, warming up to the story. After all, it was true. “I met him the summer after I graduated high school. We dated for a few months and then, when Heather left for Berkeley, he followed her. I think they eventually got married.”
“And his name was Rooster.”
“Yes. Well, I guess it was a nickname. I never heard him called anything else.”
“Why the hell did they call him Rooster?”
“No one knows.” She shrugged, frowning.
“I want to call bullshit but…”
“I’m telling the truth. Trust me, Rooster is real. And I’m pretty sure he lives in Berkeley with Heather.”
“Figures,” Jared muttered, shaking his head. “You don’t look like the sort of girl who would go out with a guy named Rooster.”
“We all have our mistakes, right?” She smiled. Well, that was fun. She hadn’t thought of Rooster in years—he was that forgettable, with the exception of his name. “So what was the other thing you wanted to know?”
“If we’re compatible. I mean, I know I’m no Rooster but…” He stood directly in front of her, his shoulders so broad he blocked out most of the light shining from the small lamp that sat on her desk. “It’s kind of important, since we’ll be husband and wife.”
“Trust me, it’s a good thing you’re nothing like Rooster.” She nodded once, swallowed past the lump in her throat. Husband and wife. That had quite the ring to it. “I took drama in high school. I used to be a fairly good actress.”
He smiled at that admission, the sight of it sending a zing to all her feminine parts. It wouldn’t be a hardship pretending to be this man’s wife. Nope, not at all. “If it appears we’re not attracted to each other, they’ll know.”
“Who’ll know?” She frowned.
“The media. The fans. The game analysts who’ll turn their attention to our body language just because they need something to talk about.” The smile faded, replaced with an expression that bordered on serious. “We have to ensure there’s chemistry between us when we’re out in public.”
“Oh. Right.” Chemistry? She already knew they had it in spades. She felt it right now. Arcing and spinning between them, her body drawn to his as if he were a magnet and she was steel. “I’m not too worried about that,” she admitted, her voice incredulous. Like he didn’t know they had it going on.
The smile that curled his lips made her heart flutter. “So you’re attracted to me.”
Sheridan refused to answer, but he really hadn’t asked it like a question anyway. Pretty much every woman in the United States who had a pulse was attracted to him. And then there was that night they shared… “I think we know there’s plenty of chemistry between us. We proved it already, right?”
“I’m definitely attracted to you.” Parting his lips, he tilted his head, his assessing gaze drinking her in. Making her squirm. “You have pretty eyes.”
“Um, thanks,” she said, wondering at his assessment.
“Good bone structure, full lips.” He analyzed her and she grew uncomfortable with every second that passed. His gaze was so intense as he drank her in it almost felt like he was physically touching her. “I like your hair, though I prefer when you wear it down.” Reaching o
