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Bella frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. But it worked out for me. Not wanting to be home made me put in extra time with football in high school. That gave me the edge I needed to get noticed by colleges. Well, that and Coach gave me an advantage. He used to meet me after regular practice ended, and we’d run drills and throw the ball around until it got dark.”
“I’m so glad I’ve had the chance to know him. He really seems like a good man.”
“He’s the best.” For the first time, I looked for a resemblance to Coach in Bella—or John Barrett even. Not finding one, I asked, “Do you look like your mom?”
She nodded. “When I was little, people used to tell me I was the spitting image of her, but I couldn’t see it. Recently, though, I was looking for some papers and came across old photos of her. I thought they were of me at first.”
The light above caught the gold flecks in Bella’s eyes. At risk of sounding like a clichéd Hallmark movie, I could really get lost in those things. “Did she have two-color eyes, too?”
She shook her head. “No, did my dad?”
I thought about what John Barrett looked like. “I’m not sure. I didn’t spend a lot of time gazing into them.”
“Should I consider myself lucky that you noticed mine, then?”
“Nah. I get to look at yours, so I’m the lucky one.”
***
It was almost midnight by the time the Town Car pulled up at Bella’s apartment, yet I still wasn’t ready for the night to end. I told the driver to double park wherever he could, since there was no parking anywhere on her street.
“You want to…take a walk around the block or something?” I asked.
Bella looked down at her heels. “These aren’t really walking shoes. Besides, this isn’t the greatest neighborhood for strolling. It’s mostly cracked sidewalks and creatures checking out the garbage at the curb.”
“Oh, okay.” I rubbed my hands on my thighs.
Bella looked over and grinned. “You’re cute when you’re trying to be good.”
“Oh yeah? Cute enough to kiss goodnight?”
She laughed. “Well, that didn’t last very long, did it?”
“Trying not to push with you is physically painful.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be in pain. So why don’t you at least walk me up?”
We were barely out of the car when a paparazzo popped out of nowhere. His flash went off, and Bella jumped back and wobbled. I steadied her before palming the camera, which was practically in our faces.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I roared. “Sitting in front of her apartment at midnight?”
“Mr. Knox, is it true that you and Ms. Keating are dating?” The piece of shit cared more about getting a quote than the expensive camera I had in my hands.
I stepped in front of Bella and yanked the camera around his neck, hard enough that he had to bend, but not hard enough that it broke. “Get the fuck out of here before I choke you with this strap.”
“But are you two dating?”
Bella put a hand on my bicep. “Christian, don’t hurt him. It’s okay.”
I shook my head. “It’s not okay. You don’t sit in the bushes and pop out at women in the dark. That’s what robbers and rapists do.”
“I know. I didn’t mean it was okay that he does this all the time. I just meant we should ignore him.”
I looked over at the guy, who was still bent in half since I had the camera strap around his neck in my fist. “You do this to her all the time?”
“I’m trying to make a living, man.”
“You can ask the same questions and take pictures of her during the daylight, when she comes to work at the arena, not at her place at midnight.” I pulled a little harder on the camera strap. “You got it?”
He nodded, so I let go.
“Will you at least tell me if you’re dating?”
I stabbed a finger into his chest. “If you’re out here when I get back, we’re going to have a problem. Got it?”
I scooped my hand around Bella’s waist and pulled her close as we walked toward the fruit stand. “You really need a place with security.”
“I know. The other night someone got into the building and came up and knocked on the interior door to my apartment.”
I stopped in place. “Are you kidding me?”
“It was fine. I saw the guy had a camera through my peephole and yelled for him to leave, or I was going to call the cops, and he left.”
I shook my head. “I’m walking you upstairs to your apartment door.”
Bella waved to an older man sitting behind the counter watching TV as we headed for a door next to the refrigerator cases. It wasn’t even locked. And the stairway was pitch dark.
