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Making a note to do something about it, she summoned a smile. ‘This is my manager, Contessa Stanley. Contessa, meet Draco Angelis.’
Draco held out his hand. ‘A pleasure to meet you.’
‘Good to meet you,’ Contessa replied, then her sharp looked morphed into glazed astonishment when Draco smiled. Witnessing the transformation from a few feet back, Rebel couldn’t stop herself from staring at the dazzling effect of his smile. It took several moments for Contessa to regain her composure. ‘I believe congratulations are in order.’
‘Thank you,’ he drawled. ‘I’m a very lucky man.’ The heated, adoring look he sent Rebel could’ve knocked her off her feet, had she not known it was an act.
Contessa stared at him for another long second, before she cleared her throat and turned to Rebel. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow. Have a good evening.’
Without another glance at Draco, she headed to the white hybrid parked in front of Draco’s sports car.
Draco watched her depart with a faintly amused expression. ‘Any reason why she doesn’t like me?’
Rebel shut the front door and fell into step beside him, cautioning herself against walking too close. ‘She’s a sport manager. She suspects you were involved with my sponsors walking. She also believes the women you get involved with end up on the used and discarded heap, both professionally and emotionally.’
Any semblance of amusement vanished from Draco’s face. He caught her wrist and glared down at her. ‘You didn’t tell her about our agreement, did you?’
‘Of course not.’ She pulled her hand away. ‘Although I trust her implicitly,’ she added.
‘Be that as it may, I’d prefer it if this thing remained between only you and me,’ he commanded.
‘I’m not stupid, Draco. I don’t want this to get out any more than you do.’
He observed her for a moment, grey eyes narrow and intense. ‘Good.’
Striding to his car, he held the door open for her, his movements tense as he rounded the bonnet and slid behind the wheel.
After several minutes of silence, she glanced at him, unable to smother the question that had been bubbling at the back of her mind. ‘Why did you talk Rex Glow into dropping me?’
She’d told herself she didn’t care. That she was better off without the demanding apparel and footwear sponsor. But she held her breath as she waited for Draco to answer.
His jaw flexed for a moment. ‘I didn’t. They’d already made the decision to drop several athletes by the time I joined their board. Yours was just a name on the list.’
Rebel knew it was true because Contessa had informed her of others who’d been dropped. ‘And you did nothing to stop it?’
Draco shrugged. ‘I didn’t know you. And you weren’t exactly trying very hard to convince them of your dedication to your sport. You switched disciplines from cross-country to ski jumping after almost five years. Since then you haven’t risen above fifth in the rankings.’
‘I know you think I’m whimsical about my career, but I’m not. It wasn’t an easy decision, especially with the intense training involved.’
He switched lanes suddenly, and her eyes were drawn to his powerful thighs. Recalling them cradled between hers, she turned her heating face to the window.
‘Did you grow up skiing?’ he asked after a few minutes.
She answered only because talking took her mind off the lurid images unreeling through her head. And perhaps because she wanted him to know that she was more than the superficial pleasure seeker he thought her to be?
‘Yes. My mother was a ski jumper. She never made it past the juniors but she excelled in amateur tournaments. She taught me how to jump when I was ten. I loved it but I was stronger in cross-country skiing so it was a natural choice to do that professionally.’
‘That makes sense. Less so is why you changed disciplines.’
‘I stopped loving cross-country.’
‘I’m guessing the reason behind is more emotional than professional?’
She wanted to hate him for the cynical edge to his observation, but how could she when it was the truth? Pain slammed through her as she glanced at his profile and replied, ‘Does my mother passing away count?’
He exhaled, a look of regret lining his features. ‘It counts. Unfortunately death and tragedy arrive before clarity lights our paths,’ he murmured, then seemed to slip into deep thought. Expertly handling the powerful vehicle, he didn’t speak until they were a few streets from the restaurant. ‘But you didn’t change disciplines until a few years after you lost your mother. And yet you won more cross-country competitions in that time.’ The statement held a ton of questions. Questions that, should she answer, would expose the state of her hidden anguish to a man whose ruthlessness she was very much privy to.
