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“Like the night of our date?”
“I was defending you, love.”
“You were looking for an excuse to fight someone,” I said.
“Apples to oranges, huh?”
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.”
“Well, let me fill you in on everything,” Atlas said. “I got up early and had to deal with my agent and my lawyer. Smooth things over. Then I had to talk to Ellen. Oscar was too busy to care but I apologized to Ellen about what happened. As far as you and I go, our cover is blown. I never thought I’d be in a place where people cared to take my picture and all that, but there are pictures of us together outside the police station. You can tell you’re pregnant and you can tell you’re there for me. So we have to play our part for a little while.”
“What?” I asked. I swallowed hard. “Wait a second…”
“It’s not like tabloid stuff, love,” he said. “It’s just… you won the date with me. Then we’re seen again. It’s juicy, but not. And you’re pregnant.”
“Do you think I’m stupid, Atlas?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“You want me to be by your side to make things look okay,” I said. “You need me. If not, everyone will be talking about you getting drunk and beating up some guy at a bar. But if I’m next to you… the pregnant woman…”
Atlas scooped two pancakes onto a plate and handed it to me.
“Bribing me with food?” I asked.
“This works for both of us right now, Hazel,” he said. “Just show up with me today. Show up to practice. Let this crap blow over. Then we move on.”
“We move on?” I asked. “What does that mean exactly?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not going to lie to you.”
“I guess I appreciate that,” I said. “And I appreciate the comfortable bed. And I appreciate the coffee and the delicious breakfast.”
“But…?” Atlas asked.
I took a deep breath. “But…I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m going to pretend to be greedy. I’ll show up with you only for myself. So I’m not painted the wrong way in this whole thing. Can you do one thing for me, Atlas?”
“What, love?”
“No more bar fights.”
Atlas got closer to me. He reached for a bottle of maple syrup, flicked open the lid and poured some on my pancakes.
There was no reason for it to feel sexual, but it did.
“I won’t lie to you, Hazel,” he said. “And I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”
Now maybe that should have been ultra-sexy, but the reality?
Atlas was nothing but serious trouble.
When we gotto the practice arena, Atlas quickly helped me get out of his gigantic vehicle.
Then he grabbed my hand.
Then he slid his fingers in between mine.
Our fingers interlocked.
