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She gaped at me for a second, then burst into laughter. “She’s living a real-life romance novel,” Talia giggled.
I raised an eyebrow. “Romance novels, huh?” I hoped that meant she would be as tolerant as Brielle because I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be any better than Lennox when it came to my girl.
Talia blushed but didn’t look away when she shrugged and grinned. “We all need a little fantasy in our life.”
Oh, baby. I intend to fulfill every one of our fantasies.
I shook my head to clear away the thickening haze of lust inside me. I needed to think about something else before my hard-on became even more apparent. “Back to the favor. I need an edge over the other guy fighting for this spot. If I had a serious girlfriend…”
Talia’s blue eyes filled with confusion. “Are you asking me to set you up with someone?” Her tone made it clear that she was not happy about that suggestion.
I smiled and shook my head, then grabbed her hips and pulled her against my body. “I’m asking you to be my pretend girlfriend. I think we have the chemistry to pull it off.”
Her cheeks heated again, making her look like a doll. “Pretend girlfriend? For how long?”
Pretend? Not long. Real? Forever,I thought, but I kept that to myself for now.
“Um, until I’m officially chosen, I suppose?”
Her gaze dropped to my chest, and she mumbled, “How long do you think that will be?”
“They’ll choose soon. We have a game coming up on Sunday.” I cupped her chin and lifted her face. “What do you say? I played the part of boyfriend, will you be my fake girlfriend?”
Talia licked her lips nervously, and I bit my tongue to keep from diving in to taste her shiny lips again. “Okay. Since I owe you.”
“Great.” I didn’t let her have any time to reconsider. Instead, I tucked her under my arm and we weaved our way through the tables.
“Um, I came with a coworker—friend. I should probably—”
“Where?” I asked, halting until she pointed a few tables away from my teammates. When I spotted the heavily pregnant woman sitting there, I smirked. The universe was clearly on my side.
I changed direction, and we walked over to her friend. “Dakota,” I greeted the wife of one of our offensive linemen, Ames.
“Hey, Brady!” she chirped happily, but then her brows drew down as she observed my arm around Talia.
“I see you’ve met my girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?” she repeated incredulously.
Talia shuffled her feet, and I glanced down to see an uneasy expression on her face. She didn’t like lying to her friend. I didn’t want to force her to do it, but I would do just about anything to convince Talia that she was mine. And if that meant going through with this ruse, then I wasn’t going to budge.
I peered back at my table of friends and nearly laughed when I spotted her husband. How had I missed it earlier? “I assume you brought Talia here because Ames is over there brooding and watching you like a hawk.”
Dakota sighed. “It was the only way he’d agree to let me go out with a friend.”
I did laugh this time but quickly smothered it when Dakota glared at me. I didn’t want to upset her. Ames would kick my ass, but also, I was afraid to cause her to go into labor.
“I’d like to introduce my girl to everyone, why don’t you ladies join us?” I suggested.
Dakota huffed, and her lips turned down into a pout. “Did Ames put you up to this?” She observed me suspiciously, but since he honestly hadn’t, she believed me when I denied it.
“Okay, but I need you to help me up. And then you have to get me a kiddie cocktail since you distracted Talia while she was on a mission to get me one.”
I held out my hand, but before she could take it, her husband pushed me out of the way. Once she was out of the chair, he scooped her into his arms, ignoring her protests as he carried her over to his seat and dropped down, settling her on his lap.
“So…I guess your team owner isn’t the only caveman Nighthawk?” Talia asked with a cheeky smile.
I followed Ames’s lead and sat in my chair, then tugged her onto my lap. She blinked up at me in surprise, her body sitting rigidly upright.
