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The corner of his mouth lifts, his eyes practically dancing as he watches me, assessing my reaction. “That you are.”
Hey, I’m no stranger to harmless flirting. Hell, usually I’m the one who initiates it. But I don’t know if I’m completely off my game tonight or if the shock of seeing him here is what’s really throwing me off.
I’m pretty much immune to meeting and conversing with celebrities now, given how often it happens in my line of work. But Maddox Taylor is football’s notorious playboy, at least that’s what the media portrays, the guy everyone is watching to see if and when he’ll be in the public eye next—and the last person I anticipated being here tonight all the way out in California when his team and home are halfway across the country.
Lifting his hand from his pocket, he reaches out to shake mine. “Maddox Taylor, by the way.”
“I know who you are,” I reply as I intercept his hand and reciprocate the movement. Warm skin and his very large hand envelope mine, and suddenly a rather massive spark of lust ignites between my legs. You know what they say about a man with big hands...
Looks like my lady garden is waking up.
“You may know my name, but you don’t knowme.”
His rebuttal catches me by surprise. “True.”
“This would be the time when you tell me your name,” he says, the two of us still shaking hands slowly as we stare at one another. I’m waiting for his eyes to drop down to my cleavage or my body incased in a lavender hip-hugging dress that makes me look like Sandra Bullock inMiss Congeniality.Which is exactly why I bought the thing—such an iconic movie and scene. And I look fucking amazing in it.
“What if I don’t want to?” Dropping his hand, I smile up at him teasingly.
“Well, how am I supposed to hold a conversation with the most beautiful woman in the room if I don’t know her name?”
Rolling my eyes, I gently release his hand from mine. “That was cheesy, but I’ll let it slide. I’m Penelope.”
His smile grows. “Nice to meet you, Penelope.”
Not quite sure how to take his earlier compliment, I flash him a tight-lipped smile and then reach for my clipboard again and pretend to get back to work. I can feel him staring at me while I fake reading through the list on my paper, and the heart palpitations rocking my body have me remembering the last time a man made me feel this way. I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin.
“Why did Barbie get kicked out of the toy box?” he asks, and my head twists to find him still staring down at me with a grin on his beautiful full lips.Damn, I bet that mouth possesses just as much skill as the man has on the football field.
“What?”
“It’s a joke. You look like you could use a good laugh, so I’m gonna tell you a joke.” He shrugs and then takes another sip of his drink. “But I have to warn you, I only know dirty ones, so that’s what you’re going to get.”
Fighting my smile, I pull my clipboard to my chest and then turn to face him head-on again, tilting my head to the side as I narrow my eyes at him. “Well, I happen to love dirty jokes, so I’ll bite. Why did Barbie get kicked out of the toy box, Maddox?”
He leans in, giving me a full view of every fleck of gold in his eyes, every speck of dark hair in the stubble on his jaw, and a fresh wave of his masculine scent, clean and spicy. “Because she kept sitting on Pinocchio’s face saying, ‘Lie to me, lie to me!’”
A roar of laughter leaves my lips as I toss my head back. “Oh God. That’s a good one. I might have to put that one in my arsenal from now on. My girlfriends will love that.”
Shaking from his own laughter, he stands taller, clearly proud of my reaction. “Glad you appreciated it. It’s one of my favorites.”
Studying him, I peer up into his eyes. “Who would have thought that Maddox Taylor had talent on and off the football field?”
He leans into me again. “Oh, believe me, Penelope. I have plenty of talents that nobody knows about.”
“I’m sure you do, and that’s exactly why this conversation is going to end right now.” Taking a step back so I can gain a little more control of my body given this visceral reaction that I’m having to him, I scour the room, remembering that I’m here to work, something I just spent ten minutes berating Kristen for forgetting. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Maddox, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”
“Oh, of course. But I’ll be here all night if you need another joke to help you relax.”
Oh, I’m sure there are many ways you could help me relax.
No, Penelope. He may be hot and check all of your boxes, but he’s off-limits. You know this. Remember the rules. No athletes.
Wait,doeshe check all of your boxes? What about his ass?
With a curt nod, he walks off, giving me a perfect view of his backside, andgood lord. I think God spent extra time sculpting those round globes. Well, that, and all the time he must spend in the weight room has definitely paid off.
Biting my lip, I continue staring for an unknown length of time, completely mesmerized by Maddox’s ass and practically salivating from just our short interaction. It’s been a long time since a man has intrigued me to this degree, and it’s been an even longer time since I’ve seen an ass on a man like that.
