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That has me smiling. “I’m not sure you could handle it, Hayden.”
He covers his heart with his hand. “Are you gonna be brutal?”
“Honesty is the only option when it comes to football, don’t you think?”
He casts a glance at Maddox, whose eyes haven’t moved from me since Vince left. “I like her.”
Maddox grunts. “Yeah.”
Okay, then...
“See you soon, Hayden.”
“See ya, Penelope. And Maddox, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Maddox finally shifts his focus to him. “Stay outta trouble, Palomar.”
Hayden shakes his head as he walks away and leaves me alone with Maddox again.
“You rocked the presentation. Every guy had their eyes on you,” he finally says as I begin packing up my laptop.
“Thanks. I just hope they were actually listening and not staring at my tits.”
“Highly unlikely,” he fires back, a playfulness returning to his voice again. “What are you up to after this?”
“Headed back to the office. My inbox is full of emails, and I have some phone calls to return plus a meeting with Charles.”
“Wanna have dinner? I promise, I’ll take you somewhere nicer than Wendy’s. Unless you want me to eat that...”
I spin to face him, my heart beating rapidly from his suggestion and my vagina clenching from the idea as well. But I’m more frustrated with his offer after our discussion earlier and the fact that he’s not comprehending the seriousness of all of this. “No, Maddox.” My eyes dart around the room that I realize is now empty except for us. And thank God, because if someone had overheard his question, we’d have another mess on our hands.
“Why not?” he smiles like he’s allowing himself to relax again now that Hayden isn’t here flirting with me and there aren’t any witnesses to our interaction. “It will just be two friends having dinner and perhaps getting naked afterward. Nothing wrong with that.”
I place my hands on my waist and watch his smile grow wider as my frustration with him builds. “Why on earth are you happy about this? I feel like I’m living in a fucking nightmare, like I’m being punished for having good sex with a man I wouldn’t have entertained otherwise.”
“Glad you can admit it was good. I was aiming for great, but I’ll just need another night, then, so you can improve your assessment.”
“How can you not see how bad this is, Maddox?”
He finally stops grinning and lowers his voice. “Because it’s not for me. Like the great Steve Harvey says, ‘Gratitude erases negativity.’ Maybe you should try to see the positive in this situation instead of the negative, Penelope.”
I tilt my head and arch a brow at him. “Quoting Steve Harvey right now? Really?”
“Damn straight, woman. Instead of continuing to remind me that anything between us can’t happen, why not ask yourself what positive thing might happen if wedospend time together?”
Um, I’m going to lose my clothes again.That’swhat might happen. And as much as I know it would be amazing, it’s bad. SO bad.“Like what?”
He takes a step closer, and my skin comes alive again. “Like us getting to know each other more. Wouldn’t it make your job easier if you knew the star QB of the team you’re representing inside and out?”
I know what you feel like inside ofme, and that’s enough, as far as I’m concerned. “Maddox...”
“Like how I hate anything cinnamon flavored, but my favorite pie is apple pie, which is full of cinnamon. Or how if my closet isn’t organized by color, it freaks me out. Or how I despise watching baseball on television but love going to a live game. That I hate cheese unless it’s melted, and I always call my mom after every game I play no matter how late it is.” He leans in closer to me again and lowers his voice. “Or how after we slept together two months ago, I swore it was the alcohol that made me think it was the best night of my life. But now I know... it was you.”
I swallow hard before taking a step back.
“Are you honestly going to stand here and pretend that you don’t think about that night—aboutme—at all?”
I try not to hesitate, but I fail. “No. I don’t.”
