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Hothead (Irresistible 4)
Author: Stella Rhys

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Page 1

EVIE

Tequila or my phone – it was either one or the other, but I couldn’t have both.

I wanted to, obviously, but there were too many risk factors involved tonight, starting with the fact that I was
still a walking train wreck of a human being. I hadn’t actually shed any tears today, but my eyes were still
puffy and red from several weeks’ worth of ugly crying at home, and I was still all weepy and heartbroken and
steeped deep in this post-breakup fog where all I wanted was to just talk to him.

Five weeks.

It had only been five weeks since I’d gone from happy and engaged and all packed to move to the city with
my fiancé, to single and bawling in a Starbucks while searching Craigslist for rentals I could afford alone.

The good news was that I’d found a cheap studio on Long Island.

The bad news was that until tonight, I hadn’t left the place in about two weeks.

And while I was out for the first time in ages, I was pretty much at the bare minimum of presentable. For
starters, the dress code tonight had called for cocktail attire and I’d trudged in wearing leggings and the grey
raglan I’d gone to bed in. I did put on a bra, and I did bring makeup and a change of clothes in my purse, but
I also got points knocked off for the fact that my purse was a reusable grocery bag from Trader Joe’s.

I know.

My being-out-in-public skills had dulled significantly after spending thirteen days inside. Post-breakup, my
existence had basically been a pants-less, bleary-eyed purgatory that involved me doing nothing but sitting
on the couch, staring at the TV and trying to figure out just how broken up Mike and I were.

It wasn’t the easiest task considering what he had said to me right before he left.

“We could get back together, Evie. I mean that’s the plan. We’re soul mates. But I need some time apart
first.”

Right. So…

Were we over? Were we not? Would we get back together in a month or a year? Or was that line just a fancy
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way of saying, “You’re my safety in case I don’t end up finding someone better?”

That was definitely the question of the day basically every day since the one he left, and it didn’t help that last
week, we spoke on the phone for over three hours. We’d poured out our feelings and even shared a few
tearful laughs before the call ended with him saying, “God, I miss you so fucking much… but please don’t call
me again. I’ll call once I’ve had enough time.”

Fucking time.

It was the meanest word in the dictionary, as far as I was concerned, because it had me effectively trapped in
a mental limbo – in this weird personal hell where I constantly jumped from depressed to confused to, most
dangerous of all, hopeful.

Which was stupid.

I knew that.

But I just couldn’t help myself. I’d known and loved Mike Stuart for most of my life. He was as much a part of
me as any one of the limbs on my body. I mean we were Mike and Evie. Evie and Mike. For the past
seventeen years, our names had rolled off everyone’s tongues like one word, because we were a given. A
team. Two best friends and lovebirds joined right at the hip.

At least we were.

Until now.

“You sure you won’t change your mind about this, right?” the bartender asked, letting me slap my phone into
his palm as he slid my second Paloma across the bar.

“I won’t. Promise,” I answered with as much confidence as I could muster. “Once the birthday girl arrives,
she’ll take my phone from you,” I said, hoisting my ugly tote back onto my shoulder. “But till then, please
keep it far away from me and give me zero access – no matter how hard I beg.”

“No matter how hard you beg. Roger that,” the bartender grinned at me. “And which one is the birthday
girl?”

“You’ll know. She’s the adorable blonde who everyone’s gonna yell ‘surprise’ at – if and when she decides to
arrive,” I grumbled, before sucking down a third of my drink in one sip.

That was the second reason I had to forfeit my phone.

It was Aly’s big surprise party tonight. Her boyfriend Emmett had been planning it for ages, so I couldn’t risk
drunk texting her to have her convince me not to drunk dial Mike. She would undoubtedly ask me where and
why I got so drunk, at which point I’d probably spill the beans about how I’d actually dragged my ass out of
the house to be at her birthday. She was, after all, my best friend and the only person in the world whom I’d
break my no-going-out streak for – especially when it required stepping foot in a place like this.

We were at Boulevardier on Ninth Avenue. It was one of those super trendy hot spots where even the staff
was drop dead gorgeous, and aside from the fact that I was dressed for the gym and hadn’t washed my hair in
three days, I’d apparently also forgotten how to just exist in a crowded room. I’d been holed up in my
apartment for so long that it felt as if I had no capacity to handle noise beyond the sound of The Office
playing softly in the background of my day-to-day life.

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So my solution was drinking.

Boozing, really. I was on pace to finishing my second cocktail in about thirty minutes, which was the opposite
of pacing myself, but I reasoned that any tipsy mistakes I’d normally make had been taken off the table. For
example: No phone? No drunk dialing. No heels? No falling. No Mike?

No desire to so much as look at another man, apparently.

It was nuts. The room was crawling with objectively handsome, well-groomed men wrapped in expensive
custom suits. They were all friends of Emmett and they were all tall, built and beautiful – basically
everything I’d fantasized about since the day I hit puberty. But they did absolutely nothing for me tonight
because all I wanted was Mike, and after another hour passed without Aly’s arrival, I found myself getting
dangerously antsy.

Crap.

The tequila was feeding my restlessness, and my

restlessness was feeding my brain. Suddenly, I had a million questions I was convinced I needed to ask Mike
now, for example, what was to become of our joint bank account? There was no money in it, but still. Also,
we agreed to cat sit for Hillary in August. Which one of us was going to do it? Also, which of our friends
already knew about the breakup and which didn’t, and should we hold off on telling the rest in case we got
back together?

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Page 2

“Oh God, stop. Stop it now,” I hissed to myself, recognizing well that I was spiraling fast into Crazy Town –
population one drunk chick who was now staring thirstily at the bar, and not because she wanted a cocktail.

Ah-ah. You gave them your phone for a reason, so don’t, I scolded myself. Also, you are currently three
tequilas deep, so anything you think you need to say tonight can actually wait till tomorrow when you’re just
a mess, and not a drunk, particularly emotional mess.

Okay?

I knew my reasoning was sound but still, I could already feel myself breaking. I had so many questions, so
little closure and such a desperate need to call Mike that I actually squished my body into a corner in hopes
of keeping myself from heading for the bar.

Dear God, please, I groaned inwardly as I stared out the window overlooking Ninth Avenue.

Please, oh please. Either send me Aly or send me the world’s biggest distraction.

DREW

“Hold up. You’re not serious… are you?”

I squinted at Iain as we sat in the back of the SUV. He was holding out a pink leather pouch that belonged to

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his girlfriend, and I was waiting for him to tell me that he was kidding about wanting me to put on her
makeup tonight. I hoped to God he was, but there was no telling for sure. From nine to six, Iain Thorn was
strictly business, but six to nine were the grey hours when he slowly transitioned from being my no-nonsense
agent to my some-nonsense friend.

And right now we were at 8:45, so I really wasn’t sure if he was shitting me or not.

“It’s just for your hand, asshole.” Iain flicked his stare from the screen of his phone to my undeniably fucked-
up knuckles. “And I’m not asking you to wear glitter. All I want is for you to cover up the bruising. Your
bosses are going to be at this party tonight, and no one needs to be reminded of the fact that you decided to
break your pitching hand on Cody Bryce’s face last week.”

My jaw clenched at the mention of Tuesday’s game against L.A.

“One, I think the world would agree that he deserved it for bringing up Pattie, and two, I didn’t actually break
anything. Won’t even miss a start.”

“It doesn’t matter. The team thought you injured yourself, and the false alarm was enough to revive the topic
of what a high-risk investment you are. And since you don’t want to exacerbate those concerns, you’re going
to unzip that bag and give your pitching hand the Sephora treatment tonight.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. Unless Sephora’s a hot chick who wants to suck on my fingers, I’m gonna have to go
ahead and pass.”

“Funny,” Iain remarked, looking somehow more annoyed with me than usual. “In that case, you can also go
ahead and start house-hunting in Cleveland or Atlanta, because the Empires have been taking calls from
other teams about you.”

My eyes shot up at him.

“What?” I had to pause for a second, my pulse having jumped so suddenly that I needed time to recover. “Are
you fucking with me right now or…” I trailed off. “Iain. What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded,
frowning deeply as I studied his blank expression. Fuck me, I knew this look. It was very much a business
hours look, and it meant that he wasn’t joking about shit.

Adjusting the knot of his tie, Iain drew in a deep breath.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you this, but from what I understand, the altercation on Tuesday also revived the
topic of trading you.”

My heart slammed in my chest as I stared.

“I know I didn’t finish college, but I’m pretty sure the word revive implies that they’ve had this conversation
before,” I said tightly. “And that’s not possible considering you would have told me about it if you knew as far
back as last year. Am I not right?”

I reevaluated my entire relationship with Iain as I waited for him to answer.

“Last season.” He looked at me and gave another sigh. “They were thinking about trading you to Cleveland
for Bautista, Gordon and Fields. The talks fell through because Cleveland took Bautista off the table.”

My pulse jumped into my throat.

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Jesus Christ. Apparently, the only reason I didn’t wind up playing for Cleveland last year was because they
wanted their rookie more than they wanted me. And I was grateful for that, obviously, but still. What a
fucking blow to the nuts.

“So this has been an ongoing discussion for over a year,” I muttered, keeping an even face despite feeling like
my world had just flipped on its head.

Ten years in the league and I’d never heard the trade word once. Never worried about any team so much as
thinking it. It didn’t make sense in the same sentence as my name because I had been the country’s most
coveted prospect since I was thirteen, and I’d dominated the league from the day I came in. Rookie of the
Year. Cy Young Award winner. Two-time ALCS MVP and ERA leader for the past five seasons running. I was
the best pitcher in baseball. Ego aside, I had actual stats to back me up on that, so it didn’t make sense that
anyone would want to trade me.

Especially not the Empires.

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Page 3

“They signed me to the biggest contract in the history of their franchise,” I argued, adding a bitter laugh since
the car just so happened to be whipping past my Nike billboard on 34th Street. It had been there for so long
that I’d driven by probably a thousand times without looking up. But tonight, I gave myself a glance.

It was a black and white billboard. I was wearing my Empires uniform and emblazoned across the huge thing
were three bold words:

Earned.

Not Given.

They were the words that had followed me since I’d signed in New York three years ago, because good as I
was, at least half the world doubted I was worth seven years at two hundred twenty-six million dollars.

“Also known as the biggest pitcher contract in the history of baseball. You’re welcome for that seamless
negotiation,” Iain said with almost a smirk on his face. I blinked at him.

“Are you really laughing right now when I’m about to have a fucking heart attack?” I asked, annoyed that for
once, our roles had reversed. Suddenly, Iain was the one at ease while I was so deathly serious that I was
actually ready to skip Emmett’s party and turn the car around so we could talk this out at the office.

“I’m not laughing,” Iain clarified, which to be fair, was true. He smiled plenty but he never really laughed.
“That said, if I were, it would be because for the first time in the ten years I’ve known you, I have your
undivided attention – and presumably, your willingness to take my advice for once, instead of constantly
needing to prove that only you can be right,” he muttered, unzipping the makeup bag and tossing me a black
tube that I thought was lipstick till I uncapped it and saw it was green.

“What the hell is this?”

“Color corrector. Keira says to neutralize the redness with it. ‘Blend the NARS concealer on top if necessary,’”
he finished by reading from his texts.

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“Blend the NARS. Of course,” I muttered, my sleeves hugging my biceps as I leaned onto my knees to study
the weird lipstick thing. I stared at it for what felt like a full minute before breaking the silence. “And why the
hell is it that the team wants to trade me?” I asked.

“Take a guess,” Iain said dryly.

“I’m applying weird green shit to my knuckles for you. Just answer the question.”

“Fair enough. They signed you hoping that your tendency toward trouble would cool over the years. I think
we can both agree that it’s only gotten worse.”

“Yeah? S.I begs to differ.”

The New Drew Maddox. That was the name of the article Sports Illustrated

released for my cover issue last year. A “reformed man” was what they called me. I didn’t buy it, obviously. I
knew the truth. But at least it meant that I was faking my good behavior well enough for the world to believe.

Iain snorted.

“Yeah, the idea that you went from bad boy rebel to devout team captain is just a feel-good narrative that
fans like to follow. It’s also easy for them to believe because they and the rest of the league have had the
luxury of witnessing your antics from afar. The Empires, however, have been dealing with your bullshit up
close for awhile,” he said as I dragged my palm across my jaw till I could tug on my lip – basically my go-to
move to physically shut myself up.

Because there was nothing I could say to defend myself over this particular point.

That much I knew.

“This team has watched you tear apart the clubhouse after being tossed from a game. They were there both
times that your wannabe girlfriend stormed the field during batting practice and harassed your teammates
for your number. They’re also well versed on the fact that these guys have been stalked to the doors of their
hotel rooms by women who want to know where you are, and no, I’m not saying you’re entirely to blame for
these people’s behavior. But your indulgent decision-making is generally what leads to these situations, and
these situations – these ‘persistent distractions’ – are exactly what the Empires are thinking about when they
entertain the idea of trading you.”

My stomach lurched at the T word again.

“And here I thought I had something special with this team,” I said wryly.

“If you think the Empires covered up your tracks all these years to give you a break from the media, let me
give you a reality check. All that good PR they showered on you was solely to cover their own asses – so that
if it came down to it, they could still trade you without other teams being too worried about that ‘hothead
reputation.’”

Well, damn. I managed to raise my eyebrows despite feeling halfway dead inside.

“That… definitely makes sense,” I mumbled while rubbing both hands up and down my face. Everyone in the
world is out to protect themselves, and themselves only. Stop forgetting that, I told myself while sucking in a
deep breath. “Alright.” I regrouped. I definitely hadn’t expected this bombshell tonight, but I also wasn’t the
type to roll over and let it defeat me. “So, what now? How serious are they about trading me and what can I

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do to change their minds? Because this is my team. I’m not playing anywhere else.”

“And why is that?” Iain asked.

“You know why.”

It was because I’d sacrificed my life and everyone in it to baseball. It was the last thing I cared about in this
world, and within the sport, the Empires were the only team that I wanted to play for. I’d been with some
shitty organizations in the past and I knew that I had a good thing going on here. Aside from the fact that I
actually respected management and ownership and got along with my teammates, I had the best chance of
winning it all here. We’d lost the last two World Series to Chicago and St. Louis, which was fucking
infuriating, but since acquiring some stellar relief pitching in December, we were favorites to win it all this
year.

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Page 4

And considering that championship was the one thing I lived for, there was no way in hell I was going to miss
out.

“I’d say your chances of being traded is at about fifty percent right now,” Iain finally said, prompting me to
let go of a long, whooshing breath. “But I don’t think it’s impossible for you to flip their decision. You just
need to show them some drastic changes as soon as possible. Aside from keeping the temper in check, my
suggestion would be to go cold turkey on the late nights and partying. It’s May now and the trade deadline is
July thirty-first. That means you have three months at most to convince the front office that you’re a changed
man, and that you’ve settled down.”

“Great. And I’m guessing you want me to start tonight by drinking Shirley Temples and going home by
midnight,” I said as we pulled up to Boulevardier. Iain actually offered a laugh as he climbed out of the car.

“Before midnight would be ideal,” he said as I followed him out. “If you can manage to do that and act like a
civilized human being tonight, then we might very well be able to save your job in New York.”

DREW

Three cocktails and a Prosecco later, I found myself returning a bright smile to the bartender from across the
room and giving a happy thumbs up after he mouthed, “You good?” I even mouthed back “thank you” for the
firm no he gave me during my last visit, when I approached the bar and asked if I could please just check my
text messages.

I couldn’t be mad considering it was exactly what I’d asked for. I’d held this man to a promise, he was doing
his job, and this whole thing would’ve been considered a perfectly pleasant and successful exchange if I
weren’t in fact a giant, conniving bullshitter who was on her way to the terrace so she could talk on a
stranger’s borrowed phone without Mr. Bartender ruining her fun.

And by fun, of course, I meant the opposite of that because the second I disappeared onto the terrace and out
of the bartender’s sight, I let my breezy gal act fade into oblivion and turned into a cheerless mess again. My
bleary eyes scanned the deck for a quiet corner, my hands already sweaty and my heart beating out of my

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chest because I was really about to do it.

I was about to talk to Mike.

And not just talk to him – I was going to say everything I’d held in last time for the sake of sounding “okay”
and “not too emotional.” I was going to ask everything that was on my mind, and I was going to get all the
answers I didn’t get the day he left me and packed the moving truck I booked with only his stuff. I was going
to do it, damn it – I was going to get my closure.

That was at least what I told myself until I got his voicemail.

“Fuck,” I breathed just as I turned a corner to the empty, less scenic side of the terrace. I panicked as the
automated voice began reciting his number then completely froze as I listened to that shrill beep and the
deafening silence that followed.

Alright, go. Come on. Say something – anything!

“Um… hi.”

Damn.

This was already off to a bad start. Somehow, I hadn’t been as nervous for a live conversation with Mike. At
least with that, I’d have his voice – someone to bounce my thoughts off of. But with this, it was like I’d just
been thrust naked on a stage and asked to summarize my emotional turmoil in twenty seconds or less.

“Um.”

Another ‘um,’ Evie? I took another half-second to mentally berate myself before getting my shit somewhat
together.

“Okay. Hey,” I restarted, clearing my throat. “So. I was calling tonight because I couldn’t stop thinking
about… things. And all these questions I wanted to ask you. I know it sounds stupid, but I was thinking about
Hillary’s cat that we were supposed to babysit in August,” I said, floating toward the balcony. I kept my voice
passably casual but my knuckles were turning white as I gripped the cold steel of the railing. “And I know
August is forever away, but then I remembered that we both consulted on her restaurant, and we’re supposed
to go to her big opening next month,” I said steadily. Then with a pause, I added, “Together.”

And with that word, my voice cracked.

“Um…”

Oh, come on, Evie.

Thrusting a hand in my hair, I tried to collect myself. But as I gazed way down at the street below and spotted
some pizzeria that merely reminded me of the place we had our first date, I lost my train of thought
completely. My vision fogged, the tears came back, and boom.

I went off script.

“You know what, fuck it – my main thing right now is that I just miss you so much, Mike.”

Yep, that was definitely not what I was supposed to say. I was supposed to tackle all these legitimate
questions and concerns, but now I was talking a mile a minute about a bunch of sad, mushy bullshit – like
how I missed overhearing him call me wifey to his friends, and how I still leaned back in bed at night because
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I expected him to be there to hold me. I still put my monogrammed E mug next to his M mug so that it
spelled the word “me” inside the cupboard, and by the way, did he want that mug back?

“I could mail it to the new apartment,” I offered breathlessly, my eyes shifting as I bit down on my thumbnail
and searched myself for more conversation. “How is it, by the way? The apartment?”

What the hell, why are you asking him questions like he’s there?

“I mean I know it’s great. I’ve seen it,” I said hastily. I chose it. “I just wish I could see what you did with it,” I
added with a sheepish laugh, remembering that amazing wall of windows that overlooked the East River.
“The amount of sunlight that place gets is amazing. Your basil plant’s gonna get huge. I always thought it
would be cool to put the dining table right by those big windows so we could just pick fresh basil off the
stems during dinner,” I said before suddenly catching myself and practically choking on my own spit. “I
mean – not ‘we’ like we’re still together ‘we,’ I just meant – ” Oh Lord, Evie. I touched my fingers to my
mouth for a second to collect myself, but I was quickly realizing there was nothing left to collect. “Okay, I
don’t know what I meant,” I confessed hastily, my heart beating fast. “I mean you said you wanted to get back
together eventually, and in case it isn’t obvious, I want to get back together too, because… I honestly don’t
even recognize my life without you in it, Mike. I don’t. I swear to God, it feels like when you’re not here, I
don’t even know how to – ”

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Page 5

“Fuck, woman. You gotta stop.”

Blinking twice, I paused.

Excuse me?

I lowered my phone slowly, confused for all of a second before I processed that I was not in fact alone on this
side of the terrace, and that a nearby stranger had just been eavesdropping on every second my misery.

It was precisely then that my eyes lit on fire and transitioned from wistful tears to a death look worthy

of Medusa. Right away, there were about a dozen profane versions of “mind your own business” warming up
on my tongue, and I was beyond ready to launch every one of them at this random, remarkably rude and
nosy asshole behind me. But as soon as I turned around and let my stare land on him, something inside me
yelled hold fire!

And it was definitely not my brain.

Because wow.

Seriously. Wow. That was a whole lotta man standing in front of me.

Are you actually Thor? I was genuinely perplexed as my eyes traveled up the sheer length of this man’s torso.
Jesus. If any one person deserved to be the picture next to the Oxford definition of masculinity, it was
definitely this prick right here. He was so big he cast a shadow over me. If I had to guess he stood at least six-
foot-three with a negative percentage of body fat.

That said, I was heartbroken, not a fucking doormat, and there was no way in hell I was going to let him talk
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to me like that.

“I’m sorry, but who are you and what exactly is the problem here?” I demanded, my eyes still on fire as I
watched the stranger exhale and dare to look fed up with me. What in the actual fuck? His enormous
shoulders were slack and his head was tilted back just so. He had the gait of a man who was on his third hour
of arguing with his wife, which made no sense at all because he was the one who’d come over to bother me.
“Did you really show up just to interrupt my private conversation?” I asked incredulously.

“I’m pretty sure a conversation involves two parties.” He looked down his nose at me. “Not one drunk girl
rambling to the voicemail of a guy who’s moved on with his life.”

My jaw dropped at his nerve.

Okay, wow.

I paused to shift gears because clearly, the level of assholery I was dealing with was beyond what I’d
originally expected. I was sure his words would’ve crushed me if I weren’t so busy being completely appalled
by how brash and mean he was. I guess it was appropriate that he looked like a frickin’ Viking. His dark
blonde hair was longer at the top than the sides and the scruff on his jaw screamed man’s man like no other.
Judging from that tan, he spent a very good amount of time outdoors, and while he wasn’t flexing, every
muscle on his body strained against his white button-down like they desperately wanted out.

I gave myself a second of eyeing the veins on his forearms before I squinted up at him.

“And remind me why my conversation is any of your business?” I questioned. He took no time responding.

“Because I found this nice, quiet spot to sit and think in, and then you came along and started crying
everywhere and bumming me out.”

“I’m bumming you out? Who are you?” I demanded just as the light shifted an inch and I realized exactly
who the hell he was.

Oh.

Ohhh, I nodded to myself as I took in the asshole for a second time. This guy. I’d seen this guy before. Not
just in tabloids and on TV, but also once at Aly’s and my pop-up restaurant in East Hampton – the very place
I’d quit working at for Mike.

But that was a whole other story.

Right. Got it. No wonder you look like that, I thought. I mean most of Emmett’s friends were handsome and
put-together but this guy was something else. The degree to which his body was built only made sense for
world-class athletes, and that was exactly what he was.

An insanely famous, entitled and cocky star athlete.

“You know what – ” I held a hand up. “You don’t have to answer that because I actually know exactly who
you are, and now I think I understand why you’re so comfortable being this rude.”

“Is that right. And who is it that you think I am?” he asked, amusement already curling his lips like he
expected me to somehow get this wrong. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“You’re Drew Maddox,” I said bluntly. “You play for the New York Empires. You’re on the cover of

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everything. You’re very, very famous, which is why you have very little empathy for normal people with
normal problems.”

“Ah.” He raised his eyebrows and nodded in a way that was deliberately patronizing. “Very nice. You know
my name, what I do and you can identify my face on a magazine. Beyond that though, I can promise you
don’t actually know anything about me. In fact,” he paused for effect, “I know a lot more about you than you
know about me.”

I laughed right in his face.

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Page 6

“That’s hard to believe considering you don’t even know my name.”

“Come on now.” He broke into a grin that I would’ve found fucking irresistible if I didn’t know he was
seconds from roasting me. “I don’t need to know your name to know that you’re newly single, you hate it, and
you really, really miss Mike. Looking at your matching coffee mugs makes you sad. You want to be called
‘wifey’ again. You can’t sleep without him at night, you bought his bullshit line about getting back together,
and right now, you’re in desperate, desperate fucking need of a rebound,” he said, looking pleased with
himself as I stood there silent, fuming. A few seconds of silence passed as he arched an eyebrow and waited
for my response. “So do I get a gold star now or what?”

All I could do was stare at him, so speechless and angry that I didn’t even notice anyone coming up to us till I
heard an almost comically sultry voice beside me.

“I’m sorry, but do either of you have a light?”

I turned and blushed immediately since I found myself staring straight into a pair of breasts – absolutely
huge, barely covered breasts. They were stuffed into a painted-on dress worn by a statuesque blonde who was
already tall without those six-inch heels.

“I, uh… don’t have a light. Sorry,” I said, forcing my eyes off of her cleavage and looking up to find her
already eyeing Drew – assuming she was ever even looking at me.

“And you, Mr. Maddox?”

Only now did he turn from me to her, taking his time to reply.

“I don’t smoke,” he finally said, wearing a knowing look that said I know why you’re actually here.

“Mmm, well.” Her cleavage plunged as she gave a cutesy shrug. “You could have a lighter on you for other
reasons, no?”

“Sorry. Not a pyromaniac either.”

His voice was low and teasing, and it prompted the woman to giggle so sharply that I’m pretty sure the sound
alone was what alerted the rest of the guests to our presence. Because suddenly, they were trickling over to
our previously undiscovered side of the deck, and suddenly, I looked like an awkward, clingy, severely
underdressed third wheel. Clearly, these two were flirting and clearly, our new audience was wondering what
the hell kind of business the girl in the ratty leggings had standing between Drew Fucking Maddox and Miss
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Jaw-Dropping Cleavage.

“Excuse me,” I said hastily, thanking God for the beat-up Nikes on my feet because they allowed me to
practically fly away from that whole situation. Now, all I needed was to get off the deck to avoid all these
other eyes watching me and, in all likelihood, wondering why I thought I could win the attention of Drew
Maddox in the first place.

It’s not what you think. I’m not a thirsty fangirl, and I wasn’t trying to flirt, I wanted to explain to them,
though I was quickly distracted by the sound of footsteps coming behind me.

“Hey. Wifey.”

Seriously?

Without even hearing that low voice, I knew it was Drew because everyone’s eyes had swiftly moved from me
to something tall past my shoulder. I felt my cheeks heat up from all the unwanted attention as I spun
around.

“What?” I hissed under my breath, further annoyed by the way Drew’s smile broadened when he saw my
pissed off face again. “What do you want? Why follow me when that woman is much more interested in
talking to you than I am?”

“Because you and I were in the middle of a conversation and I don’t leave things unfinished.”

“Well, I know you’re probably used to getting your way, but some things are meant to end before you’re
ready,” I snapped before turning back around to head inside.

“Right. This coming from the girl who refuses to get o

ver her ex.”

I stopped in place, officially at my wit’s end as I spun back around and shot daggers at Drew. I wanted so
badly to fire back with some scathing remark, but in the past twenty minutes – between calling Mike and
meeting Drew – I’d been on such a roller coaster of emotions that I was too mentally tired to get smart. I was
just going to hit the bastard with the truth.

“Okay, you know what?”

My pulse spiked as I grabbed Drew’s thick forearm to pull him out of earshot of the others. Shit. Holy God.
Hot damn. I did my best to get past how absurdly hard he felt in my grip, and to ignore the look of sheer
pleasure on his face as I led him to the wall next to the door.

“Fuck, baby. Get this part for me too,” he groaned, wrapping his hand around mine and moving my grip on
his forearm.

“What are you doing?” I hissed as he laughed.

“Sore from practice. I need a massage.”

I tossed his arm away like a hot potato, my toes curling in my shoes as I fought to get rid of the heat that had
just flooded my body. Stop replaying the sound of his groan, I begged myself while trying to regroup.

“Okay, just… quiet for a second, and listen.” I caught my breath, forcing myself to look unflustered as I stared
up at Drew. “I was with my ex for nine years. I met him when I was thirteen years old, and we were best
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friends for seven years before we even started dating. We grew up together, survived bullshit together, got
strong together. We basically made each other, okay? Who I am now, everything he is today – that’s all a
credit to us being devoted to each other for the past sixteen years, because we weren’t just boyfriend-
girlfriend, we were a partnership for most of our lives, and yet you think it would be natural for me to just
nod along with this sudden breakup and carry on without asking any questions?” I cocked my head at Drew,
challenging him to say something. I was really banking on shutting him up with this, but I should have
known he’d be much more of a challenge.

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Page 7

“You have all these questions because he didn’t care to give you the explanations even I think you deserved,
which makes him an asshole who doesn’t deserve your groveling,” Drew countered so matter-of-factly that
my hands actually balled into fists. “You trusted someone. You shouldn’t have. You learned your lesson, now
move on.”

Ugh. What the fuck? There was a chance he had a point, but also, why did he think things were that simple? I
was flustered and angry and actually grateful that Drew Maddox was so fucking huge that he was blocking
me from the view of the other guests, because there was no doubt in my mind that I looked like a red-faced,
wild-eyed psycho right now.

“You know, I’m curious as to why in the world you’re so invested in this,” I said defensively.

“I don’t know,” Drew said with no hint of shame. “Probably because I just got my own reminder that you
can’t trust anyone for shit, and I was mulling that over when you suddenly showed up and forced me to listen
to you pine for some asshole.”

“You don’t even know my ex.”

“I don’t need to, it’s all the same. Whether they want to or not, everyone is going to wind up screwing you
over at some point. It’s just part of their survival instincts.”

My face contorted as I squinted at his insane cynicism.

“Do you think we live in the wild or something? How do you even enjoy your life when you think like this?”

“I can assure you that I enjoy my life plenty.”

I read that dirty look on his face and rolled my eyes.

“Of course. Because people are disposable to you, I’m sure, and all you have are one-night stands – right?”

“Yes. You should try it sometime.” He nodded at our not-so-subtle audience on the deck. “Take your pick
from any one of these guys. They’re all staring anyway.”

“At you,” I corrected tightly. “And no thanks. I have nothing against one-night stands, but I really don’t see
them doing much for me now.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because,” I ground out before I’d fully formulated an answer. “Because I need… history and emotional
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context in order to feel good. I need to actually know the other person to get the full extent of pleasure,” I
said as Drew broke into the most condescending laugh known to man.

“You really think that because you don’t know me personally, I wouldn’t be able to give you the best orgasm
of your life right here, right now?” He eyed my lips, visibly pleased with the way his question made them fall
slightly open. “Baby girl, I could make you come so hard you’d forget his name.”

Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, I chanted in my head to fight the heat prickling across my thighs.

“Well, I’m happy you believe in yourself so much,” I snarked, satisfied with even that brief look of irritation I
got from Drew before he rubbed his bottom lip and smirked.

“I should let you know that I don’t respond well to being challenged.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not going to let you fuck me on this terrace just to prove your point.”

“Fine. Then give me those lips.”

I froze.

What?

“You’re joking, right? You want to kiss me just to win an argument?”

“Yes.”

“Well, no thank you. I’m not really one to offer up body parts for arrogant strangers to pad their egos with.”

“To be clear, I’d be interested whether or not we were having this stupid argument.” His green eyes returned
hungrily to my mouth. “But since we are, I should throw in the fact that my tongue alone could get you hotter
than anything your ex could do, and the only reason you won’t let me touch you is because you know I’m
right.” He brought his green eyes back to mine. “Again.”

Reverse psychology. Don’t fall for it.

“Fine.”

Whoa, whoa, wrong direction!

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Page 8

“Go for it then.”

Evie, what the fuck!

My brain screamed at me though my body took great pleasure in the second of surprise on Drew Maddox’s
cocky frickin’ face. But before I knew it, the surprise was gone and I was backed up on the wall, his ridiculous
torso towering over me as he caught my jaw, tipped my chin up and leaned in to hold his mouth an inch away
from mine.

I closed my eyes.
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Oh God. So hot.

My skin. His body. Everything. I couldn’t even bear to look because I was quite genuinely convinced that if I
did, I’d pass out. This was Drew I’m-Super-Famous Maddox we were talking about here, and on top of that,
he was teasing me. He was torturing me with how close his mouth was to mine without touching. I could feel
the warmth of his breath between my lips. On my tongue. He was giving me only the slightest taste of him
and it was driving me mad.

“Kiss me, asshole,” I finally hissed.

I heard his low, sexy chuckle.

Then I felt him tilt my face to the side and bury his face in my neck. Oh my God. The very first second of his
rough tongue on my skin went straight to my pussy. My thighs pumped, my panties already slick as that
tongue of his sucked and pulsed against me for a very, very good three seconds. Then it licked a slow, torrid
line up to my jaw and finally returned to lingering an inch from my mouth. I opened my eyes, my chest
heaving as I breathlessly waited for him to kiss me.

But instead, he caught my bottom lip in his mouth, raking it just hard enough between his teeth before
sucking it like candy.

Then he pulled away from me, adjusting his dick in plain sight and looking thoroughly content as he soaked
in my visibly dazed, frenzied pleasure.

Holy fuck.

I panted, unblinking as I stared at him in silence for what felt like ages. But finally, sliding his hands in his
pockets and curving his lips, Drew spoke again.

“Seriously though,” he murmured softly, his eyes moving all over my face. Then abruptly, his voice switched
back to normal volume. “Do I get my gold star now or what?”

I blinked.

You bastard.

My body shook with irritation as my high crashed right back down to Earth. But I had brought this on myself
so turning on my heel, I bit out, “Goodnight, Drew,” before swinging open the door and marching swiftly
back inside.

“No shit, they got Hi-Chews in here now?”

Ty’s eyes lit up once he got into the clubhouse lounge. Most of the guys stuck with real cooked food from the
kitchen, but every day, Ty Damon nourished his elite athlete’s body with Fritos, Pop Tarts and candy from
what Diaz dubbed the shit shelf.

“You ever wonder how he has any teeth left?” Diaz took a swig from his water bottle as we watched Ty dig
into three different-flavored packs of Hi-Chews. I turned my backwards cap to the front.

“I try to think about Ty as little as possible.”

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“Yeah, that’s fair.”

“I can hear you assholes,” Ty said with a full mouth, tossing us each a few Hi-Chews before we headed for our
lockers.

It was 5PM at the clubhouse, which was usually everyone’s downtime before the game. Most of the guys
listened to music, played cards or squeezed in some more calories since dinner wasn’t till probably about
11PM.

Contrary to what most others assumed, I was among those who preferred quiet before the game, even if I
wasn’t starting. It was for that reason that I was grateful to have a locker next to Diaz. He and I had a pretty
rocky history, but things were solid now. Also, he meditated before every game, which gave me the silence I
needed to balance out the singing and chanting Ty was generally prone to. Probably because of all the sugar.

“Hey. Turn that shit down, alright?” I called across the room at him while chucking back one of his Hi-
Chews. “What did I buy you those headphones for last Christmas if you don’t use them?”

“Fuck you. You bought those for everyone.”

“And that makes me the asshole how?” I snorted as a text buzzed into my phone.

IAIN: I have something important to discuss with you. Got a minute?

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Page 9

I skimmed it while dodging the dry-fit shorts Ty chucked at me.

“If those were dirty, I’m gonna fuckin’ whoop your ass,” I informed him seriously before sending Iain a reply.

ME: Busy. Shagging flies.

I didn’t feel like talking to him.

Since Emmett’s party two nights a

go, I’d been vaguely irritated with my agent, mostly because he hadn’t told me about my risk of being traded
last year, but there was also the fact that I had a hunch I knew who his source was on the trade intel. I’d
asked him repeatedly about where he’d gotten it, and since he wouldn’t say, I suspected it was Emmett. He
was Iain’s business partner, my good friend and the younger brother of the guy who owned this team. He was
a good dude but I was clearly third in line of where his loyalties lie.

That much had become abundantly clear to me that night of the surprise party.

IAIN: I wasn’t aware you took your phone with you on the field.

IAIN: Read: Don’t bullshit me. I can hear you and Damon dicking around in the clubhouse.

I stared at the text then up at the closed entrance of the clubhouse.

Goddammit.

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Muttering under my breath, I reluctantly got up and crossed the room to swing open the door. Standing in
the hall plastered with portraits of past and present Empires – myself included – was Iain. He was in a suit,
as usual, but he had the jacket draped over his arm, probably because it was ninety degrees outside.

I greeted him with an upward nod, raising my eyebrows when he didn’t immediately tell me what was going
on.

“What’s up,” I finally said, annoyed to have to be the one to break the silence.

“Did you read the papers today?” he asked.

“You told me to stop reading the papers.”

I hadn’t gone near them since my first year in New York. The Post had a particular affinity for shitting on me
and as a result, I developed a reputation for mouthing off to their reporters during post-game interviews.

Iain nodded.

“True. Then I’ll skip to my next question. Are you really willing to do anything to stay with this team?”

“Yes,” I replied straightaway, despite feeling instantly wary and suspicious.

“Good. Because I have a proposal for you and I have to be back at the office at six, so I’m going to make it
quick. We’ll start with this.”

He handed me his phone, which was already open to Page Six. My eyebrows pulled together as I read the
bold headline up top.

DREW MADDOX PUBLICLY GROVELS WITH GIRLFRIEND.

I stared.

“What the fuck is this?” I looked up as Drew took his phone back.

“Walk with me,” he said, nodding down the hall and away from the clubhouse. I was already anxious but
thankfully, once we got far enough, he went straight into it. “That article assumes that you’re dating the girl
from Emmett’s party the other night. Allegedly, you two had an obvious ‘lovers quarrel’ on the terrace, which
resulted in your chasing her around and groveling till she forgave you. There’s also mention of how other
women were trying to steal your attention, but you only had eyes for your girlfriend,” Iain summarized so
fast my swirling thoughts could barely catch up. Looking at his phone again, he read from the article.
“‘According to onlookers, Maddox referred to Miss Larsen as ‘wifey’ and even shared a deep and passionate
kiss with her under the stars.’”

I blinked, completely floored.

“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.”

“I’m not,” Iain deadpanned. “They think you did what you’ve never done before, which is show actual shame
and remorse with another human being. Another important detail: they claimed this girl from the party was
the ‘mystery brunette’ you were photographed ‘wining and dining’ at Mercer Street Kitchen five months ago.”

“That was your girlfriend, and you were literally sitting at the table.”

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“I was in the bathroom when the picture was taken, but the point is the Post just threw you a bone, Maddox.
They fabricated for you a relatively long-term relationship, which we both know you’re thoroughly incapable
of, and they portrayed a soft side of you that we’ve never seen. Granted it’s a hundred percent bullshit, but
still. If you play along with this and dedicate yourself to the story, you could change your image in the exact
way you need to in order to keep your spot on this team.”

I squinted at Iain, starting about ten different sentences that I never finished because I was still catching up
on what the hell he was talking about.

“What exactly are you suggesting here? You want me to date this girl?” I finally asked.

“Actually, I want you to put a ring on her finger and move her into that famous bachelor pad of yours,” Iain
answered. “The media will jump all over it, and I can’t think of a quicker, more efficient way to convince the
Empires that you’ve settled down.”

I took off my cap to get a better look at him. I had to stare in silence for a few seconds because I wasn’t sure if
I was losing my mind or if Iain was really asking me this shit.

“I’m confused by how casual you are about asking me to get engaged to a stranger and live with her,” I finally
said.

“It would be for show, Drew,” Iain snorted. I exhaled. “Keep up the act till the trade deadline passes. That’s a
little less than three months. It’s extremely doable.”

I rubbed my chin as I stared at the floor. I was actually considering it.

“Well, I’m barely home anyway. And I definitely wouldn’t mind hanging out with her again.”

“Here’s the hard part. I know when you say ‘hang out’ you mean you’re interested in sleeping with her, but if
you choose to do this, you agree not to sleep with her or anyone else.”

I looked up and laughed in Iain’s face.

“You want me to be celibate for three months? You’re fucking with me.”

“I couldn’t be more serious, actually. You sleep with this girl and you’ll undoubtedly hurt or upset her.
Someway, somehow, you’ll do it and the last thing we need is for her to run off and give the media a chance
to write about how Drew Maddox’s attempt at stability failed, and he’s a lost cause,” Iain said, looking so
goddamned stoic and serious that I wanted to flick him in the face. “On the topic of the media, the reason you
absolutely cannot pursue or sleep with other women is because that’s the exact story they will be looking out
for – Drew Maddox cheating on his sweet, innocent fiancée. You don’t want to give the paparazzi even a
chance to catch you with another woman.”

When I started shaking my head, he held his hands out.

“What? You said you’d do anything to stay a New York Empire.”

“And I meant it, but going three months without sex is crazy. I’m going to be wound up so tight I’ll be
throwing wild pitches every inning.”

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“Ever heard of jacking it?”

“It’s not my preferred method of release.”

“So it’s settled. We’re done trying to fix this trade situation, and I guess we’ve also found the one thing Drew
Maddox can’t do.”

“There’s nothing I can’t do,” I scoffed, despite the fact that I knew he was trying to appeal to my competitive
side. “I just don’t – ”

“Want to?” Iain gave me the most unimpressed look I’d ever seen on his face, which was saying a lot. “And
here I thought you wanted a championship more than anything in the world. I mean what’s the point of all
the shit that’s happened to you if you don’t give baseball everything you’ve got?”

I glared at him for daring to ask that question but at the same time, it sold me.

“Fine.” I regretted it as I said it. “I’ll do it.”

“Atta boy.” Iain socked my shoulder before checking the time on his phone. “Alright. I got a meeting, I gotta
go.”

“Hold on,” I said, feeling the deepest frown creasing my brow. I was usually eager to get away from business
mode Iain but I had about ten million questions right now, and the fact that he had to leave so abruptly was
making me doubt this decision even more. “So I’m not supposed to party, I’m not supposed to go out. I can’t
go after other girls. What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, Drew. Read a book. Start the Harry Potter series. Get creative. You never hesitate to wrack
that brain of yours for new ways to torture opposing t

eams, so why not put it to use for something legitimately productive for once?”

“My ability to get under the other team’s skin is legitimately productive. Even The New York Times backs me
up on that one.”

Iain ignored me as he started off down the hall.

“Pick up a hobby, Maddox.” We started walking back toward the clubhouse. “If not, get to know that new
girlfriend of yours – in ways that don’t involve the removal of clothing. I believe in you,” Iain said.

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Page 11

Then he took a call and headed off, disappearing into an elevator and leaving me alone in the hall, wondering
what the fuck I’d just gotten myself into.

EVIE

My no-motivation spell had definitely been broken, because on Monday morning, I woke up early for the first
time in ages, showered, got dressed and then went straight to the restaurant to have a boozy gossip and
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catch-up sesh with Aly.

I’d definitely missed them since becoming a zombie post breakup, and I’d definitely missed co-managing
with her at Stanton Family Market – recently honored “Best Lobster Roll in East Hampton.”

The place was basically Aly’s and my baby. Since buying the seafood wholesaler from her dad five years ago,
we’d revamped the brand to include this adorable summer pop-up that I loved to pieces. Unfortunately, I’d
quit my post as general manager there almost two months ago, in preparation for moving to the city with
Mike.

He had claimed the move would be beneficial to us as a couple, and for the sake of my happiness, Aly had
helped me justify it by saying that living in the city would give me a chance to be an ambassador for the
Stanton Family brand. Since I did menu consultation for so many restaurants there, I could take the owners I
worked with to our Stanton Family warehouse in Brooklyn, and better convince them to source their seafood
exclusively from our company.

It was the perfect plan.

Until the breakup, of course. Because now Mike was gone and I was still living on Long Island and that made
me feel stupid for even quitting the restaurant in the first place.

“The worst part is I can’t even come back to work here because I took all those consulting gigs in the city,” I
griped as I sat in the back office with Aly, both of us sipping on the restaurant’s signature cocktail, the Hail
Mary. It was a drink I had designed and was, as Aly called it, “a Bloody Mary on steroids” since it was
garnished with not just the usual fixings, but also pickled asparagus, vodka-poached shrimp and a giant
lobster claw.

“Are you just going to commute to the city every day for those meetings?” Aly frowned as she clicked about
on the computer doing payroll.

“Yeah. That’s another thing that’ll kind of suck.”

“Seriously. Fuck Mike for that shit. That frickin’… douchenozzle of an unredeemable asshole,” Aly grumbled
angrily as she worked.

I chewed my lip while saying nothing in reply.

I knew I was supposed to hate Mike. I mean he’d waited till the day we were supposed to move to Brooklyn
together to tell me that he was dumping me. He knew I couldn’t afford to rent our new apartment alone, so
dibs went to him, even though I’d spent months apartment hunting without his help.

That said, he did pay for my stay at a not-horrible hotel while I looked for my own place, because he knew I
was having money troubles of late. But still. He dumped me in a fairly classless way, and I knew Aly was
particularly mad because even before the breakup, Mike and I had been having problems. He’d begun
picking weird fights here and there and stopped letting me show any affection. Our sex life had been
nonexistent for more than a year before he left, so on paper, it didn’t really make sense that I was still pining
to be near him.

But I personally knew what Mike still meant to me.

The reasons weren’t things I discussed in detail with anyone – not even Aly – but I knew them in my heart,
and that was all that really mattered.

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“Yeah… I know, he sucks, but anyway – topic change,” I declared, since I did have an actual order of business
to tend to here. “As I told you before, I have a juicy story to tell you from the other night.”

“Yes, yes! Hit me.”

I wasted no time recounting everything I’d been dying to tell her for almost two days. I started with my
voicemail to Mike and ended with the heat of the kiss Drew left on my neck. I also backed it up to include the
detail of how he groaned when I squeezed his forearm, and how that deep, throaty, annoyingly sexy fucking
sound had reawakened something inside me.

I said all that and when I finished, I dealt with five straight minutes of Aly literally shrieking in my face,
squealing her ass off and kicking in her chair with a mixture of disbelief and delight.

“Oh my God, I can’t breathe – that’s amazing!” she gasped before getting swiftly angry. “Wait. You bitch!
Why didn’t you tell me the night it happened?”

“I wonder why, Aly. Could it be because you arrived completely shithoused and I was afraid you’d go and
cause a scene with Drew if I told you that he was mean to me?”

It was a genuine concern that night because shortly after leaving Drew and his annoying skilled tongue on
the terrace, Aly had finally arrived at the party. The reason she was so late, apparently, was because she’d
gotten wasted with the staff here before going home to Emmett. She hadn’t known about the surprise party,
obviously, so she’d let the waitresses and kitchen guys talk her into doing an absurd amount of shots.

Emmett, bless his heart, had done his best to sober her up before hauling her into the city, but the effort was
in vain. By the time they arrived at Boulevardier, Aly was still drunk and going to town so hard on a Philly
cheesesteak that she didn’t even look up at the first “surprise!” We had to say it twice for her to gasp, drop
her sandwich, then drop to her knees and mourn the loss of her sandwich.

“Okay, fair. I was a complete shitshow that night,” Aly relented with a sheepish giggle. “But clearly I got my
punishment, because I’m so mad I didn’t get to witness that ridiculous sexual tension between you two!”

“It wasn’t – ” My attempt to deny the heat of that night was dead on arrival. “Ugh, who am I kidding. It was
one of the hottest moments of my life,” I grumbled.

“And you sound so unhappy because…?”

“Because he was right and I was wrong, and I feel guilty for letting a complete stranger turn me on harder
than I’ve been in recent or even distant memory,” I confessed. But then I held my finger up. “That said, I
maintain that he caught me during a special circumstance. I haven’t been touched in a remotely sexual
manner in more than a year, so my body was just particularly sensitive that night. But me and Mike in our
prime? Like the days of our relationship when we weren’t fighting all the time? We could have sex hotter
than that kiss any day. Guaranteed.”

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Page 12

“Mmm-hm,” Aly said. I chucked a piece of shrimp at her. “Whoa, hey! Don’t waste the garnish! What did I
say?”

“You said ‘mmm-hm’ with an undertone of skepticism, which I think you made deliberately audible just for
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me.”

“Did I?” Aly smirked. “Well, I do have to ask – would you ever want to be with Drew Maddox?”

I squinted at her.

“I mean he’s not as intolerable as he seems.”

“Nice. You really sold me there.”

Aly laughed.

“I mean I’ll always have a soft spot for him because he’s the reason Emmett and I got together. But also, he’s
one of Emmett’s closest friends, Evie. And double dates should be enough incentive as it is,” Aly cracked as I
shook my head adamantly.

“No. Absolutely not. I know he’s your boyfriend’s bestie, but he’s also a famous athlete who’s allergic to
commitment of any kind, and I know you don’t like to hear it, but I’m still…” My face contorted with guilt as I
trailed off. “I’m still waiting to hear from Mike,” I finally mumbled. “Even if it’s just for closure purposes.”

Aly chewed her lip as she nodded, which meant she was giving herself time to rephrase something in her
head so that it didn’t just blurt out and hurt my feelings. I braced for it.

“Speaking of Mike, did he ever text or call after the voicemail you left him?” she finally asked.

“Oh, no… I think maybe he didn’t listen to it because it came from an unknown number,” I said as she shot a
dubious look.

Once upon a time, Aly tiptoed around Mike and my troubles because she didn’t want to further stress me out
about our already rocky relationship. But now that Mike was gone, those days were over.

“Yeah, no, I think he heard the voicemail but he’s ignoring you because it’s easiest for him. He’s enjoying the
single life right now, and he’s not feeling remotely guilty about it – which means you should be doing the
exact same thing.”

“Well, damn, girl, I’m trying,” I argued before realizing I totally wasn’t. I caught a second of the please look
on Aly’s face before holding my hands up in surrender. “Okay, fine, I was totally not trying the past month or
so. I was definitely wallowing and not doing anything with my days. But as of today, that stops.”

“Good.” Aly nodded. “Besides, if you really want to get back together with Mike, ” she paused to eye me with
a look that said please don’t, “nothing’s going to get him crawling back faster than knowing you’ve moved
on.”

“True,” I conceded – because she was a hundred percent right.

I knew Mike well enough to know that the only reason he was comfortable ignoring me right now was
because he knew well that I was still waiting around for him – pretty much on call to talk to him. It had
always been like that when we argued. If I gave him the cold shoulder for long enough after a fight, he’d
panic and agree that we needed to talk.

So, if I stopped being so available, and if I stopped calling and asking our mutual friends how he was doing
these days?

I had a fee
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ling he’d be much quicker to answer all my questions.

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out like it was a brand new day.

“Okay,” I exhaled with a big smile as Aly gave my foot a playful kick.

“There’s my Evie,” she grinned. “So, what’s the first order of business on your first official day of moving on?”

I thought about it. A sheepish look twitched on my lips.

“Well… I did always say that when I finally got a day off from here, I’d go read a book in the window of
Poppy’s Tea Room.”

Aly snorted.

“Hey. Do you, girl,” she shrugged with a giggle.

I couldn’t blame her for the mild judgment. Poppy’s Tea Room was an overpriced, heavily floral-decorated
tea parlor that served flavorless finger sandwiches on three-tiered platters. It was all hype, but it spoke to the
girliest part of my soul and I decided today was the day I was going to go.

So, grabbing my purse, I kissed Aly goodbye and headed straight home to change and pick a book to read.
Then I drove fast to Poppy’s to beat the lunch rush because that coveted window seat was mine. I was going
to relax my ass off today. I’d already made that decision.

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Page 13

It was about to be the best, most tranquil and stress-free day of my life.

I could already feel it.

EVIE

Okay, so my best day ever was already off to a rocky start – but solely because of the ladies who lunch at the
table next to me.

They wouldn’t stop shooting dirty looks because I’d arrived a minute before them and was seated at the
window table they of course wanted. After complaining in vain to the waitress and manager that they wanted
my seat, their queen bee with the overdone lip fillers actually dared to approach me and say that I was
affecting the enjoyment of four people, instead of just one by refusing to relinquish my spot.

I, of course, flashed my best eat me smile while politely saying, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to move.”

And since then, it had been a silent war of dirty looks and under-the-breath muttering. To my credit, I only
peered at them once when I heard one scoff that I was a “miserable person” and she “wasn’t surprised” by my
“lack of company.” But since that remark, I’d been doing a pretty good job of keeping my nose buried in my
book.

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But shortly after my food arrived, I heard their hushed murmurs again. I paused, momentarily sure that they
were now judging my choice of finger sandwiches, but then I heard the sound of shock and unfiltered lust in
their voices.

“Oh my Lord, girls. I think it’s our lucky day.”

“Good God. Who gets dibs?”

“I say me because I’m the only one whose husband is out of town.”

I bit back a giggle.

So they were ladies who lunched and also sometimes cheated on their husbands. I had to peek over at them,
entirely too amused with how quickly they went from posh to vulgar. One of them was talking about her new
sex swing now. Okay. Wow. I was so busy watching their purring, lip-smacking reactions to this random guy
that I didn’t care to look up till I tracked their gaping stares right back to my table.

They wore looks of pure indignity as their eyes flicked back and forth between me and their object of desire –
who was clearly standing right in front of me.

Oh… God. Slowly, I turned from them and looked up, up, up till I was staring at Drew Maddox.

Standing in the middle of the pinkest, frilliest tea parlor on the East Coast.

Looking like flat-out inked-up sex in a fitted white V-neck and jeans.

Holy fuck.

“What are you doing here?” I breathed.

“I hear they do some killer tea and crumpets,” he deadpanned.

“Seriously. What are you doing here?”

“Can I sit?”

I eyed the ladies to my right, who didn’t care to avert their big eyes when I caught their stares. I didn’t want
to give them the pleasure of overhearing whatever Drew was about to say, so with a reluctant pat next to me,
I had him take the seat right beside mine.

“Good to know you have horrible taste in restaurants.”

“How did you find me? I didn’t even tell you my name let alone where I might be on this particular Monday.”

“My agent told me your name, and your own best friend sold out your location. I went to find you at her
restaurant – ”

“Our restaurant.”

“Sure. And she said you were on your way here,” Drew said, prompting me to peek at my phone, which I’d
put on silent. Twelve texts and two missed calls. Okay, yeah. This all checked out. Apparently, Aly hated Mike
enough to aid Drew in completely breaching my privacy today.

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ME: WOMAN. haven’t read any of your texts yet but I’m going to kill you very soon

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Page 14

I sent the message quickly before looking back up at Drew.

“Look, if you came here just to gloat then you have much less of a life than I’d imagine for a star athlete,” I
said.

“Gloat?” he smiled. “About what? Remind me.”

Ugh.

Dammit. I ground my teeth as Drew played dumb. Set yourself up for that one, I told myself while trying to
carefully word my response.

“You’re under the impression that you won some bet about getting me hotter than Mike ever could. You
didn’t,” I insisted crisply. “But since your superstar ego is clearly as big as it is fragile, I’ll let you go ahead
and believe that.”

“My superstar ego is backed by the dedicated stat keepers of Major League Baseball, so you’re a hundred
percent right about it being big. Fucking huge, in fact,” he added, grinning as I rolled my eyes. “Fragile
though? No. Not so much.”

“Right. Then why did you travel all the way to Long Island just to gloat and give me a hard time?”

“I’m not here to do that. I was satisfied enough with how I got you looking that night.”

“Which was like what?”

“Like you’d just been fucked for hours when all I did was kiss you.”

I sucked on my teeth to refrain from retorting. I didn’t have anything prepared and he was clearly fucking
great at using my words against me. Something tells me this dickhead’s great at trash talking the other team,
I thought, clenching my jaw and waiting out my seething irritation before I spoke again.

“Okay. Last chance, Drew,” I said slowly between my teeth. “What are you doing here?”

“I’d prefer to talk somewhere private.”

“You barged into my space to bother me – again – so I’m sorry, but you don’t get that choice.”

“Fine.” I watched his bicep flex as he gripped my seat and swiftly pulled my chair over – so close to his that
my legs were now crossed between his muscled, man-spreading thighs. Holy shit. “In that case, we’re going
to have to get a little closer.” His smirk was inches from my lips as he cocked an eyebrow. “That alright with
you? Or does it make you nervous?”

“You don’t make me nervous,” I lied, my heart beating damned near out of my chest as Drew braced himself
with a thick forearm on the table, basically caging me in with his enormous body.

“Good.” He eyed my lips. “Then I’ll get right into it. I need to ask a favor of you.”
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“You’re kidding. Why would I do any sort of favor for you when you’ve been nothing but a dick to me? Don’t
eat that,” I hissed as he stole one of my sandwiches and popped it into his mouth. I anticipated the face he
would make a second before he made it. “I told you not to eat it.”

“What was that?”

“A cucumber sandwich.”

“You like eating this shit?”

“No, but I did like the idea of spending an afternoon sitting in this pretty window and reading a book because
I woke up feeling kind of good today, and it’s one of my last days before work has me commuting four hours
back and forth per day,” I hissed just loud enough for him to hear. “I don’t really have the money to eat at a
place like this, but I told myself I’d splurge this once because I deserved to relax

, which I can assure you, I am definitely not doing now that you’re here.”

For some idiotic reason, I actually thought I had a chance at making him feel a shred of remorse right there.

But nope.

“Well, then I have a solution for you,” he said, a glimmer in his eye.

“I doubt you do, but for the sake of finishing this conversation, just tell me what it is you’re here to talk
about, and if you can do it in three sentences or less, I’ll be really impressed.”

My hot breaths were short and my chest heaved as I watched Drew smile and study my face for a few
seconds. My lips, my cheeks, then back to my eyes.

“I need to show the Empires that I’ve settled down so they won’t trade my crazy ass. After the other night, the
New York Post claims you’re my girlfriend of five months. I want us to pretend we’re actually engaged for the
next three so I can keep my job on this team.” He cocked his head at the dazed look on my face. “Succinct
enough for you?”

  Treaty of Amiens

Page 15

“I… what are you talking about?”

“What, you want more than three sentences now?”

“Drew,” I hissed, so annoyed it felt like I might actually explode.

“Fine, I got you. Hold on.”

I breathed easy – easier, at least – as he leaned back and away from me to slide his phone out of his pocket.
Of course, I was back to wild-eyed and bewildered once I finished skimming the tabloid story he flashed me
on his screen.

“What is this?” I breathed.

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“That was my reaction too. I mean Drew Maddox doesn’t grovel.”

“And I don’t date men who refer to themselves in third person.”

“True. You date the Matts of the world.”

“Mike.”

“Whatever. The point is, this story is bullshit but we can use it to our advantage.”

“No, we can use it to your advantage,” I corrected as Drew leaned close again. But this time, I kept my cool.
“You’re the only one who stands to benefit from something as ridiculous as this. I mean, exactly what good
does it do me to pretend to date you?”

“You just said it yourself. You have no money and you’re about to commute four hours a day into the city.
You took a job there, probably because you thought you were going to move there, but now you’re living two
hours from there all alone because Matt dumped you and took your new lease all for himself. Tell me I’m
wrong.”

“His name is Mike.”

“Don’t care. Am I wrong about the rest?”

I breathed hard through my nose.

No. Not at all, I conceded in my head. But my tongue refused to give Drew the pleasure.

“Yeah, I’ll take your silence as a no,” he went on briskly. “Anyway, on top of all the benefits I already listed,
you’d be living at my penthouse in the city. We’ll start you at a hotel while we adjust to each other, but move-
in should happen within a week or so. Aside from the gifts and meals I’ll be publicly buying you, you’ll have a
salary and per diem that you can discuss with my agent. I’m at the clubhouse nine hours a day, if I’m even
home. Otherwise, I’m on the road, which means you’re free to do your own thing ninety percent of the time.
My driver can take you to and from your work meetings, or you can take the subway just to spite me – I don’t
care. As long as you act like you’re in love with me while we’re out together, I won’t give two shits about what
else you do with your time. Sound good to you or what?”

I simply stared. I was still going back and forth between being reactive and needing a second to even process
all this.

“Also, speaking of your little shitstain ex, this would be a damned good way of getting back at him.”

“How?” I squinted. “Being engaged to you would make him think less of me.”

“No, being engaged to me would make him feel like he let go of the best thing he’s ever had. Nothing gets a
man’s attention like his ex dating Drew Maddox.”

“Do you do this a lot? Referring to yourself in third person?”

“It was fitting for that sentence. Want to keep deflecting from the point because you’re realizing how tempted
you are to say yes?”

I glowered.

“Don’t you think Mike would see a ring on my finger and think, ‘Well, damn. There goes my chance’?”
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“No. I think he’d feel a sense of urgency and try to get you back. He’s had you for longer, he’s going to be
naturally possessive, and he’s also going to think that if Drew Maddox wants to wife it, then so should he.”

“Can you not refer to me as ‘it’ or you as ‘Drew Maddox’ ever again?”

“Yes. But I need your answer on this already, because I can’t sit here anymore. The Botox brigade is staring at
me like they want to fucking eat me.”

I chewed on my thumbnail as I stared out into space, listing all the pros and cons in my head just for shits
and giggles.

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Page 16

You could live in the city. You could get out of that crappy apartment. You could be closer to work and save
money on rent. You could get Mike’s attention. He is obsessed with baseball. He hates the Empires. This
would rile him up like no other, and there’s no way in hell he won’t call you asking for answers within the
first week.

I chewed on my lip as I thought of the cons. You have to play house with Drew Maddox.

It was only one con but it was a big one. Drew growled with impatience.

“Look, whatever it takes to make it worth it for you, you can negotiate that with my agent. Money talks, and
I’m sure you have a price.”

Eyes narrowed, I crossed my arms.

“As charming as your insane cynicism is, you should know that I wouldn’t actually accept the payment from
you. I own a company and I have a job. Yes, money’s tight but I don’t want or need yours. Especially if I’ll
already be saving on rent by living in your apartment.”

Drew raised his eyebrows, looking genuinely impressed.

“Unexpected,” he remarked.

“Sorry to shake up your sexist view of the world, but not all women you encounter are gold diggers.”

“Duly noted. Now let’s get back on track. Are you in or are you out?”

I pursed my lips and dropped my gaze into my lap, trying to figure out at what point it was during this
conversation that I’d begun to genuinely consider this.

Because I was, and I was only just realizing that now.

“Look, if the problem is that you don’t trust how hot and bothered you get around me, then I understand.”

I looked up to see Drew grinning that fucking grin, both of us knowing well that this was his stupid reverse
psychology at work again. But just like the last time, despite the sane half of my brain screaming no on
repeat, I tipped my nose up and put on my best game face. I pictured Mike’s face when he saw me with Drew
in the papers, and before I knew it, I said the words I told myself I wouldn’t.
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“Fine. Consider me in.”

From: Iain Thorn

To: Evie, me

Just to fill you in, Drew – after meeting individually with Evie this afternoon, we came to the agreement that
tomorrow would be a good start date since it’s your only off day till next month.

We need to quickly convey in your first public outing that Evie is unlike any of the women you have been
photographed with in the past, and since you’ve only been photographed with women at events, parties and
nightclubs, we’re going to lose the flash and go low-key/non-trendy for this outing

This will involve an 11AM lunch at a restaurant of Evie’s choosing. Somewhere relatively unknown and
outside of a trendy, hotspot neighborhood (SoHo, Meatpacking, LES) would be ideal. After your meal, you
will accompany Evie while she completes errands around the city. The more mundane, the better.

Evie, once you send me your itinerary, I will arrange for photographers to be in each location you hit. These
will be cell phone shots sold to the likes of TMZ so dress according to how you would like to be seen in the
papers.

Thanks,

Iain

From: Evie Larsen

To: Iain, me

Hi Iain,

I’ve chosen the following for our outing tomorrow:

Lunch: Louisa’s in Cobble Hill (Brooklyn)

Errands: Groceries at Sahadi’s followed by returns at Urban Outfitters. I will probably wind up dropping by
Trader Joe’s at some point since there’s one in this area anyway.

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Page 17

Hope this works!

Evie

From: Drew Maddox

To: Iain, Evie

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I don’t think I have the words to express how uninterested I am in all this.

From: Iain Thorn

To: Evie, me

That’s fine. You’re not supposed to be interested in errands. You’re doing them because you’re whipped by
your girlfriend whom you love dearly. The world has never seen Drew Maddox do something unselfish. This
is your chance to show them a change.

I have photographers arranged to be in both these general areas tomorrow. Keep me posted via text when
you arrive at each location.

Thanks,

Iain

From: Drew Maddox

To: Iain, Evie

Did you have returns just sitting around your house for this moment Evie why didn’t you do them earlier

From: Evie Larsen

To: Iain, me

Because I bought this stuff online and there isn’t an Urban near my part of Long Island. Also, Iain asked for
mundane errands or I wouldn’t be dragging you along on this. Trust me, I’d rather get this done without your
inevitable commentary.

From: Iain Thorn

To: Evie, me

Right. I’m glad you two are already fighting over errands like a real couple but if you want to continue this
argument please do so in a separate email thread.

Dick. I smirked at Iain’s last email as I waited near the F Train stop Evie said she’d be getting out at.

I had no idea where I was. I went into Brooklyn

often to get to the stadium, but I never ventured beyond that point. In my head, when I heard Brooklyn I saw
either hipsters with handlebar mustaches or fat, loud guys who pronounced it “New Yawk.” But clearly,
Brooklyn wasn’t just the stupid, stereotypical shit in my imagination because whatever this place was, it was
nice. I liked it. It was busy but quiet. All the little streets were lined with trees and townhouses, and the main
street I was standing on was full of small restaurants and colorful storefronts. I got a good amount of glances
and a couple excited reactions – mostly the wordless big smile-slash-point thing – but I went a full ten,
twelve minutes out there before someone even asked for my autograph.

“Hi, Drew?”

My eyebrows went up as I looked down to see the tiniest, jet-haired kid standing in front of me.

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“My mom said I could ask for your autograph if I was fast and I left you alone afterwards.”

“Hey, man, it’s all good,” I laughed as the kid presented me with my latest ESPN cover and a new Sharpie.
“Damn. You just had this on hand?” I grinned as I sank to a kneel.

“Huh?”

“You just had this magazine with you?”

“No, we bought it from the store when we saw you. We were getting bubble tea and then I saw you, and I told
mom, and then we went to the newspaper store down over there to buy the magazine. And I think my mom
had the Sharpie in her purse already. She has snacks in her purse too.”

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Page 18

“Got it.” I felt my eyes crinkling as I laughed. I loved when kids just rambled on about stupid shit you didn’t
really need to know. It was so honest. They didn’t know how to censor themselves yet or present themselves
as anything but what they were. And as annoying as kids generally were, only an asshole wouldn’t get a kick
out of that. “Alright, what’s your name, boss?”

“Parker.”

“Parker. Fuckin’ solid name,” I nodded. “Sorry. Don’t curse.”

“Okay.” Parker flashed a toothless grin as I handed over his signed magazine. “Thank you.” He looked down
at it and up at me before covering a mischievous giggle. “Did you…” He paused as if to work up the nerve to
ask his next question. “Did you really make Cody Bryce cry when you hit him?”

“Ah, shit, you saw that didn’t you.”

“Yeah.” I hid my left hand in my pocket when I saw the kid glance at my knuckles. “Daddy let me stay up late,
you’re his favorite. And he said he saw Cody crying when he got kicked off the field. But my friend Braden
said he wasn’t. He likes L.A. But not me.” Parker shook his head vehemently.

“Well, between you and me, I think I heard Cody kind of do one of these,” I said, making a particularly bitchy
sniffling noise that made the kid laugh like crazy. God, I was going to be the worst dad. “That said it’s wrong
to hit people. No matter what they say to try to provoke you. I mean that. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright. And do me a solid, don’t tell your mom that we made fun of Cody,” I said just as I saw a woman
come up behind Parker.

My eyes landed first on her ankles strapped into heels then traveled slowly up those killer calves. Fuck. And
here it comes, I thought, blood rushing to my cock as I made out that valley between her luscious thighs, all
thanks to the sunlight beaming through the fabric of her peach-colored sundress.

Jesus Christ, this kid’s mom was a smokeshow.

I knew I shouldn’t be looking at a woman like this in front of her kid, but there was no stopping my sex drive

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when it kicked into gear, and goddamn did she hit all my weak spots. Those round hips, that little waist –
they looked too damned good wrapped so nice and tight in that dress. I rose slowly to my feet, forcing myself
to hold back a groan when my eyes made their way up to her full fucking tits. She was wearing a bra, but I
could see that her nipples were hard under there and suddenly, all I wanted was to get this girl alone so I
could rip that dress clean off her perfect body.

Maddox, you are one hell of a piece of shit, I thought just as I brought my gaze up to the bombshell’s face –
which greeted me with a wry smile.

“Hi,” Evie said.

My eyes popped damned near out of my head when I realized it was her.

Wait. What? I blinked down, confused till I saw that the little kid had already run off and was waving his
autograph in front of his smiling mom down the block. Evie turned her attention from him back to me.

“Well, that was annoyingly cute,” she smirked. “Kind of pegged you for someone who despised children.”

Her hair looked different today. A lot of things did. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it had me at a loss for
words for a good two seconds.

“All dressed up for the paparazzi today?” I asked.

“Certainly not for you.”

The little grin on her pouty lips made me clench my jaw. Smart little mouth. There was nothing I wouldn’t
give to see it wrapped around my cock right now.

“Well, I’m surprised. You clean up nicely,” I said, enjoying the eye roll I got from her. “I take it you brushed
your hair today?”

“My hair was brushed the last time you saw me, too, so let’s retire any future jokes about what I looked like
the first night we met. That was clearly a fluke.”

I gave her another once-over.

“Clearly,” I muttered, getting caught on those tits again. She didn’t have much cleavage showing, but it was
apparently enough to keep my blood rushing.

Alright. At ease, I told my dick as Evie turned around and peered over her shoulder.

“Well, shall we? You’re in for a very long, very boring day of errands. I really hope you’re ready,” she teased
as I let her walk ahead so I could soak in the view of her ass in that dress.

Actually, I kind of was ready for this.

EVIE

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Walking down the street with Drew Maddox was fascinating.

Male or female, stares just flew to him. His height and physique commanded attention from well down the
block, and he wasn’t even the type who looked a little better from afar. He actually got mercilessly hotter as
you got closer – I’d dealt with the experience myself coming out of the subway – and I could actually see
some girls struggling to tear their eyes off of him.

Nah, I feel you, I thought as one girl flashed me a sheepish smile for instinctively checking him out.

“What?” Drew turned to me when he heard my giggle.

“Nothing. This girl was trying really hard to stop staring at you out of respect for me, and I thought it was
polite and kind of sweet. Almost makes me want to tell her that this is all a sham and to check you out as
hard as she wants.”

Drew shot a look at me and stared for several seconds.

“You’re insane.”

“Insane? Geez. Kind of a strong choice of words, don’t you think?”

“You just made friends with a complete stranger in your head.”

“Uh, no, I related to her and we had a friendly, non-verbal exchange,” I corrected.

“For two seconds. With a complete stranger,” Drew reiterated. I squinted up at him.

“Look, I know that someone who doesn’t even trust his own friends wouldn’t get this, but it’s not completely
wild for girls who don’t know each other to bond quickly over something. Do you know how many best
friends I’ve made in the bathrooms of bars?” I asked, knowing well that I was losing him at this point. “No
one holds your hair while you’re puking in the bathroom of a bar like a girl you’ve never met before in your
life. It’s just part of the unspoken sisterhood among us women. Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean it
hasn’t been true for centuries.”

Drew narrowed his eyes at me, looking confused to the point of irritation.

“You know, I thought this day might end up being tolerable but then again, maybe not.”

I laughed, a bit too entertained by what big, bad Drew Maddox looked like completely weirded out by me. I
couldn’t out-muscle or out-snark him, but clearly I could out-sunshine him, so there was that.

Though admittedly

, within minutes, I was out of sunshine myself.

“Crap,” I cursed when we stopped in front of the “Closed for Renovation” sign hanging on the door of
Louisa’s.

Our lunch spot was closed, and Drew Maddox was hangry.

“Damn it. Dammit, dammit, dammit,” I cursed again ten minutes later while waiting outside the deli where
Drew was grabbing some “hold me over” food. Leaning against the window, I shot an apologetic text to Iain
about the change of plans. He had seemed very nice and cordial when I met him in the city yesterday, and
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upon noticing my fidgety nerves, managed to make me laugh by assuring me that I’d have plenty of space to
hide in Drew’s triplex should Drew get too annoying. But he was also professional to the point of being
intimidating, and I was afraid he was going to hate me for failing to pick a restaurant that was, at the very
least, open.

“Oh my gosh… Evie?”

I had just sent the text when I heard the familiar, clear-as-a-bell voice in front of me. Blinking up in the sun, I
gasped.

“Oh my God – Hillary. Hi!”

We laughed as we threw our arms around each other and went straight into talking about her new restaurant
– the one with the menu I designed – and how the big opening was in just over a week.

“I can’t believe it’s finally happening!” Hillary laughed, pressing her manicured hands on her makeup-free
face. Save for special occasions, Hillary never wore an ounce of it. Since college, she’d rocked that all-natural,
girl-next-door, Chapstick-is-my-makeup beauty that I only wished I could pull off. “Evie, I am so excited for
the masses to taste that amazing menu of yours. I literally haven’t slept since last week! You’re still coming to
the friends and family opening, right?”

“Yes! Of course. How could I not?”

Her blue eyes were still bright though her smile somewhat faltered.

“Oh, because… I heard about you and Mike. And I’m so sorry. I know you were having a really rough time
adjusting.” She thrust a hand into her perfect hair. “God, what is even wrong with me? I’m just rambling on
and on about my life when you just had your heart completely obliterated.”

“Oh.” Her blunt phrasing surprised me. “Oh… no, don’t worry about it. I’m actually doing much better these
days.”

“Good! I mean, yeah, look at you! You’re out of the house, you’re looking great,” she said enthusiastically,
gesturing at my dress. “Where are you even off to?”

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“I was on my way to lunch at Louisa’s, but apparently it’s closed for renovation,” I laughed at myself as
Hillary’s bright eyes lit up further.

“Omigod, perfect! Come to my restaurant then! You’ll have tons of privacy ‘cause we’re technically not open
yet, obviously, but we’re doing a menu tasting to train staff today, so you should totally come! I’m sure
everyone would love to meet the mind behind the menu. And I really want to do something for you. Please.”
She took both my hands in hers. “You’re being so incredibly brave about the breakup. You deserve to have
something nice,” she said, giving my hands a squeeze just before her eyes flew up and behind me.

And… here we go. I knew that it was Drew who had just walked out even before I heard his annoyingly
impatient question.

“Alright, woman. Where we going?”

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I refrained from rolling my eyes, instead flashing Hillary my best smile.

“Hillary, um, this is my… this is Drew,” I said, chickening out of dropping the B word. Hillary, poised as she
normally was, took a good three seconds to find her words.

“Drew. Drew Maddox,” she said for him as he extended his hand. There were visible stars in her eyes as she
took it a broke into a grin. “Wow. I’m a huge fan,” she said before stammering. “I mean – technically, I’m not
an Empires fan since I’m from Baltimore, but I’m certainly an admirer of your game. And your career, in
general. You’re kind of a big deal,” she said, blushing as she laughed at herself.

Drew gave an easy chuckle then nodded at me.

“Thank you. Well, maybe you can tell my girlfriend that. She’s generally pretty unimpressed with me.”

I raised my eyebrows. Until now, Drew Maddox. I had to grin up at him, giving a little wiggle of the brows to
commend him for so smoothly dropping the G word.

“Yes, well, Evie’s never been much of a sports fan, but I’m sure she’s much more impressed with you than she
lets on,” Hillary laughed politely. “But anyway, hold the phone. I need to ask – how and when did you two
even meet?” she asked, her voice a breathy mix of curiosity and excitement.

“Well, my friend Emmett has been dating Evie’s friend Aly for a year and change now, and Evie and I met…”
Drew squinted at me as he pretended to think. “When was the first time we met, babe? This stuff is your
department,” he grinned as he watched my face promptly fall with annoyance. Not only did his last sentence
piss me off, he was suddenly forcing me to be the one to bullshit on my feet. Goddamn you, Drew, I willed
him to hear my thoughts despite the sweet smile I flashed him.

“Umm…” I turned back to Hillary. “Actually, I’d seen Drew first at my restaurant in East Hampton. That was
last year and I remember hiding behind a door and thinking wow, that’s… a whole lotta man,” I laughed,
since that was actually true. Of course at the time, Drew didn’t see me because yes, I was hiding behind a
door, and of course, he had only shown up at the restaurant to meddle with Aly and Emmett’s budding
relationship. In the meanest way possible, too, but that was Drew. “Then I met him at one of Aly’s parties a
few months ago. He was just being… a really cocky asshole and I was actually super annoyed with him. But I
guess he wound up feeling really bad, because he ended up reaching out to me pretty much right after the
whole Mike thing. I think Emmett mentioned to him that I was single and Drew,” I beamed up at him, “was
just kind of pathetically desperate to see me again. I think to make up for what a dick he was the first time.
So he begged and begged Aly for my number – for days, he did – and, well… here we are!” I finished brightly
as Drew squinted.

“That’s… not exactly how it happened.”

“It is,” I shut him down as Hillary gave me a playful smack.

“Oh, Evie, don’t be smart – that’s romantic!” she giggled as Drew circled an arm around my waist and pulled
me tight into his side.

“Yeah, babe. Don’t be smart.” I looked up to find those wicked green eyes glinting at me. He dropped his gaze
to my lips and his voice to a murmur. “You know what I like to do to that mouth when you get smart.”

I swallowed hard, simply staring back at his look of mischief till Hillary broke the silence.

“Whew! Is it getting hot out here?” she teased, fanning herself. “Guys, I’m so sorry – I just realized I’ve been
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making my Lyft wait forever for me. I’m headed to the restaurant now. Tell me you’re coming?” she asked
me. Since I was hesitant, she appealed to Drew with a grin. “I’m sure you need tons of calories to nourish that
body,” she lilted. “And I’ll have my kitchen make you anything.”

“Sold,” Drew said as Hillary squealed with excitement and squeezed my hand.

“Don’t worry. Mike’s been dropping by for PR stuff but he definitely won’t be there today,” she said before
letting herself eye Drew as he went ahead of us to the car. “Not that you’re even thinking about Mike
anymore,” she giggled, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tight as she dragged me to the car.

Well. That much she had right.

Since the past couple of days, I’d definitely been thinking about my ex significantly less.

Merryweather was a beautifully bright, sunny restaurant located in the heart of Park Slope. Its main dining
room was a creamy white color with white tables, wooden chairs and comfy booths topped with navy blue
leather cushions. Prior to us walking in, the staff had been hanging around by the bar, huddled around an
iPad to read a new press release about the restaurant.

It was actually one that Mike had put out, and it was about one of the dishes I designed, so oddly enough, it
felt as though everyone were studying a keepsake of Mike and my famous teamwork. Great. I gulped,
prepared to feel that dark spiral of emotion I fell into anytime I thought of the good I once had with Mike.
Standing there, I waited and waited for it to hit.

But this time, it didn’t come.

“Team!” Hillary’s bell-like voice rang out. “This is my friend Evie Larsen who designed the majority of our
menu, including our Truffled Lobster Pot Pie that all the blogs are talking about!” she gushed, gesturing
toward me. But it was a lost cause. The whole staff was staring open-mouthed at Drew, and after an initial
five seconds of dumbstruck silence, they ambushed him for pictures. “Guys! Hey, please – the man’s here to
eat!” Hillary protested but I brushed it off.

“Oh, don’t worry. He loves it,” I said just as I caught Drew’s death look.

He hated this, I could tell, but I needed a breather from him. After filling my head with images of what he
might do to my “smart mouth,” Drew had sat next to me in the back of the Lyft, casually massaging the back
of my neck while fielding Hillary’s questions about everything from baseball to us to how he managed to see
me on his tight baseball schedule.

“It’s tough. The only way to see her every day is if she moves in, but she keeps resisting,” he laughed with
Hillary while I sat entirely too stunned to speak. “But I’ll get her to cave eventually,” he said, casually running
his fingers up my neck and into my hair. My eyes went wide as he grabbed a handful and gave a firm tug. “I
think she just likes to give me a hard time,” he smirked as I felt a thousand hot tingles shoot fast up my
thighs.

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The bastard.

I didn’t know what he was doing to me or why he was so good at acting like a boyfriend when he’d never been
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one in real life, but I needed time to catch my breath, so even after he got seated and Hillary had the kitchen
send out food, I kept off to the sid

e and caught up with her.

“But wait – how did this even happen so fast?” she asked in a hushed voice since we were within earshot of
Drew’s booth. “I feel like I liked a picture of you and Mike on your Instagram like, a month or two ago, and
suddenly this? How?” she whispered excitedly while playing with a lock of her dark brown hair.

“I mean… the media thinks we’ve been together for longer but it’s pretty much been since after the whole
Mike thing,” I improvised. “I didn’t know what to do with myself, and I guess Drew did. He picked up the
pieces of me, he put them back together and then… boom.”

“Love,” Hillary nodded.

“Yeah. I guess when you believe in it, it has a way of finding you,” I said, making Hillary’s face crumple with
emotion just before one of the chefs in the kitchen called for her attention.

When I returned to the table, Drew was already laughing.

“Impressive crock of shit right there.”

“I was acting,” I said tartly, sliding into the other side of the booth since I wasn’t sure I could handle sitting
so close to him again just yet. “That said, I don’t think it was a total crock.”

“So if I believe in love, it’ll find me?” Drew smirked.

“Yes. I think so,” I huffed, taking as sip of my mimosa. “I think if you were more open to the idea of love and
trust – platonic or not – you’d have more of it in your life.”

Drew stared at me as he chewed for what felt like a full minute.

“I’ll pass,” he finally said.

“You don’t love your parents?” I challenged.

“Not the way most people love their parents.”

“What does that mean?”

“I have good memories of them. I text them back. I keep pictures of them in my house,” Drew said,
showcasing that long torso as he leaned back in his seat. “But I don’t trust them. I would never rely on them
for comfort. Or happiness.”

I could feel my eyebrows rising higher and higher.

“That’s… insane.”

“Clearly, we have different definitions of that word.”

“And were you always like this?”

“No. But I wasn’t always a professional baseball player.”

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“Again, what does that mean?”

His lips hardened to a line as he eyed me with irritation.

“It means I appreciate my mom and I like my dad okay, but he treats me like an ATM and promises business
loans on my behalf to people he barely knows, just because he wants to feel like the king of La Palma,
Florida,” Drew answered, drumming his long fingers on the table. “Before I even got drafted, he took out a
million dollar line of credit in my name and maxed that shit out in three months. I said something he didn’t
like in an interview and he told my entire hometown I was on drugs. Tell me I should trust him.”

The drumming stopped and he looked up at me with those intense green eyes. My mouth opened and shut.

“Okay. Yup. Definitely not someone I’d trust,” I relented. “Sorry,” I frowned, wondering why I of all people
had the nerve to criticize his relationship with his family. “Really. I didn’t mean to sound judgmental. I
actually know all too well how that family stuff feels.”

Drew’s eyebrows pulled tight for a second and I thought he was going to ask me about myself.

But he didn’t.

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And for some reason, I let that hurt my feelings.

Jesus, Evie. Get it together, I scolded myself after several minutes of quiet. My first official date of this
contract and I’d already let myself get hot and bothered over Drew’s fake flirting, and irrationally upset by his
lack of interest in my personal life. Remember the whole part about this being entirely for show? Stop letting
him fluster you, I berated myself, taking one long, deep breath before mentally resetting.

Alright.

You got this. On with the show.

And for the rest of lunch, I was fine. Mostly fine. But somewhere toward the end of our meal – about three
courses and two rounds of drinks later – I could tell from the way Hillary was peering at me and talking in a
hushed but frantic voice on the phone that something was up.

“Hey. Hil.” I caught her hand when she passed by our table. “Talk to me. Everything okay?”

She launched straight into her default cheery mode.

“Of course! Yes, everything’s fine!” she said brightly, but when I gave her the look, her shoulders fell. “Okay,
okay, Mike just called and said he was dropping off some stuff for the restaurant – but I totally saved it and
now it’s just his colleague coming! So don’t worry, you’re in the clear!” Hillary said breathlessly with a big
smile. “Mostly in the clear.” She winced. “Pretty sure in the clear.”

I blinked, my heart stopping at just the thought of an unexpected run-in with Mike. While with Drew no less.

Really, Evie? You agreed to this. You wanted this, I reminded myself, though in my own defense, I had
always imagined that Mike would find out about Drew and me from afar – probably in a tabloid, and

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definitely not in person. There was something a million times more nerve-wracking about debuting our
coupledom to Mike in person. It gave me no wiggle room to act convincingly in love with Drew. I mean it was
one thing to act passably couple-like in front of Hillary, but Mike? The one person in this world who knew me
best?

It was a lot of pressure.

“Suck it up,” Drew said the moment Hillary was gone. I flashed him a look.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re pouting because you’re afraid you can’t convince Mike that you fell for someone else. But you’re
already in this, so suck it up and give it everything you’ve got.”

“Are you recycling game day pep talks with me right now?”

“Yes. They work because ninety percent of all challenges are mental. If you believe in yourself, you can
accomplish anything you want.”

“That’s something people say when they have multimillion dollar Nike contracts and zero percent body fat.
That’s basically as useless to me as ‘believe in love’ is to you.”

“Well, the difference here is that you have no choice but to go with it, because you actually have to see Mike
at some point.”

“Of course. Whereas you never plan to fall in love because dying alone sounds so fun?”

Drew stared blankly at me. What little humor was left on his face disappeared, and suddenly I felt like I had
crossed some line. I bit the inside of my lip, watching his broad shoulders stretch the seams of his shirt as he
leaned slowly forward on the table.

“Listen.” One gravelly word and he sent a chill up my spine. “If you want to talk about love, I can tell you
honestly that the one and only thing I love in this world is baseball. I don’t love people. I love this game. I
love playing for this team. And right now, my career with them is on the line so if you don’t think you can act
like you belong a hundred percent to me, then you need to let me know right fucking now.”

Jesus. I returned his stare, resentful of being spoken to like a child.

“Easy, okay? I can do it.”

“Show me then.”

“Show you what?”

“That you can play this role,” he said. “Convincingly.”

“What do you want me to do? Jump your bones right now? We’re in the middle of a restaurant,” I scoffed.

“Get creative.”

I bristled at his completely humorless tone, but I also knew that between the two us today, I was the one
whose performance was slacking. And since I’d already vacated my tiny Long Island apartment and had zero
intention of ever going back, I heaved a sigh, tossed back the last of my mimosa and slid out of the booth.

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On with the show, I reminded myself, keeping my eyes locked on Drew as I rounded to his side and knelt
facing him on the seat.

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His stare was so unflinchingly serious that I wanted to roll my eyes.

Oh, I’ll make you smile, asshole, I smirked as I put a hand on his muscled shoulder and leaned into his lips.

“B

aby,” I purred, managing to suppress my need to snort right in his face. A little thrill darted over my skin as I
let my hand fall from his shoulder down to his chest. Fuck, that’s hard, I noted as I leaned in close and bit my
lip. “Please don’t be mad.” I rubbed his chest and took satisfaction in how I could feel him exhaling at my
touch. “I promise I’m all yours, and if you don’t believe me, I’ll make it up to you when we get home tonight.
Okay?” I finished softly, in the sweetest, breathiest voice I could muster.

Amusement gleamed in Drew’s eyes. I could tell he was fighting it, but finally, the corners of his mouth
curved up.

“And you’ll wear the little maid costume with the garters, right?” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes.

“Totally. As long as you wear the male version of it and help me do my laundry.”

“If you think this isn’t getting me hard, you’re wrong.”

“Jesus,” I snorted, pushing away from him.

Drew laughed as he caught my hand to pull me back but just as he did, I heard Hillary’s gasp. I gasped
myself, startled as I turned to find her standing at the other end of the room, staring at what I thought was us
till I realized her gaze was going past my shoulder and out the window.

I looked over just in time to see someone turn away from our window.

He had clearly been looking in a second ago, but now he was storming toward the front door, and all I
needed was a half-second glance at those brown curls and that red and blue polo to know exactly who he was.

It was Mike.

EVIE

I had to give Hillary credit for rushing outside and doing her best to convince him not to come in. She went
as far as to tug on his arm and try to lead him across the street, but despite those efforts, it wasn’t long before
Mike was dragging her back to the front door of the restaurant, his neck and jaw so tight it looked like he
might burst a capillary.

“Holy shit,” I said, stunned and only vaguely aware of Drew’s hands guiding me to sit next to him.
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“Breathe.” He was unfazed as he draped an arm over my shoulder. “We just did rehearsal and now it’s
showtime. I thought you were ready.”

“I am ready,” I insisted, close to believing it myself. I just hadn’t expected this kind of wrath from Mike, and I
was startled. It looked like I should be preparing myself for a war.

Of course, the Mike outside and the Mike that came in wound up being two totally different people.

I heard him hissing, “I’m fine. I’m fine,” to Hillary just as he came in. Then he jerked out of her grip and
approached our table, wild-eyed and wearing a big, crazy smile I’d never seen on him before in my life.

What… on Earth.

He had tons of fake smiles in his arsenal after years of working PR, but this… this smile looked almost
deranged in the way it twitched at the ends. Considering his completely unnatural expression, I was actually
a surprise that his voice came out sounding so passably cordial.

“Hi. Wow. Unless I’m mistaken, I do believe you’re Drew Maddox,” Mike said, holding out his hand and
managing a chuckle, albeit a strained one in which he simply said the words “ha ha” without turning them
into convincing laughter.

Oh God. This was already good.

“Hey man, nice to meet you.” Lifting his muscled arm off my shoulder, Drew reached over my lap and shook
Mike’s hand. Lord. I felt an odd shriveling sensation when I noted how Mike’s hand looked like that of a
hairy child’s in Drew’s grip. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Michael. Michael Stuart,” Mike said as I leaned in close to Drew. My heartbeat picked up as I caught
Mike’s eye while murmuring into Drew’s ear.

“As in my ex, babe,” I said, taking a sick pleasure in the way Mike flinched at the word “babe.” “Hey,” I
offered Mike a polite smile while taking further pleasure in the way his wild, almost panicked eyes traveled in
nervous ticks all over me. My face. My hair. My dress. His nostrils flared and most tellingly, The Vein made
its appearance. It was notorious among our group of friends for coming out on Mike’s broad forehead
whenever he was worked up or pissed off, and today, it looked bigger than I’d ever seen it.

Still, he kept smiling that crazy smile.

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“So. What’s…” He trailed off, pointing at me then Drew with the clear intention of asking what’s going on
here? But instead, he cleared his throat and lamely asked, “You guys having lunch?”

I knew what was happening. If there was anything I knew about my ex, it was that he was prideful like none
other. We didn’t exactly come from a place known for manners or class, so growing up he overcompensated
for it. In public and around others, he always carried himself with an almost WASP-y air – like we’d grown
up boating and going to the country club on weekends, even though we definitely did not.

I saw his need for that image working double time now – especially as Drew smoothed his hand over my bare
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knee.

Oh God.

“Yeah, it’s my one day off this month, and any time I can get off, I always spend with her,” Drew said
casually. I knew he was tracking Mike’s gaze because the second Mike flicked his eyes down to his hand on
my knee, he gave it such a dirty little squeeze that a burst of tingles shot up my thigh.

Holy fuck.

I almost moaned on the spot.

“Right. Of course.” Mike said tightly, visibly struggling to keep his eyes up as Drew began rubbing slow
circles over my knee. My heart slammed in my chest. God help me. I did my best not to squirm. Meanwhile,
Mike pulled at his collar. “One day off a month. I can’t imagine living like that.”

Drew chuckled. It was still smiles all around, but a palpable tension thickened the air.

“Yeah, but it’s worth it to play for Major League Baseball. And ten years in the league – I’m used to it by
now.”

Yeah. Just another reminder that he’s a pro athlete, Mike, and not a whiny little bitch baby.

“Well, I know Evie falls asleep at like, nine-thirty,” Mike laughed, this time unable to hide his disparaging
tone. “So I take it you two don’t get to see much of each other.”

“Oh, I stay up as late as I need to for him,” I offered, my words coming out with much more of a sultry rasp
than I intended. Drew cocked an eyebrow at me. Oops. Blame the impromptu leg massage he was giving me.
It felt so damned good it made me feel almost drunk.

“That right?” Mike managed another chuckle, but I could tell from the way he fixed his unblinking stare on
me that he was trying to ask me a million silent questions, all of them variations of Evie, what the fuck is
going on? “Pretty sure I remember that when you sleep too late, you can’t fall asleep at all.”

“That used to be the case. But Drew’s really, really good at tiring me out.”

Fire lit Mike’s eyes as Drew gave a low laugh of surprise.

“Easy, babe,” he murmured in as he straight up rubbed my thigh up and down. God, oh God, oh my God. I
felt like I was about to combust just as Hillary glided over with a big, nervous smile.

“Guys! Gotta have dessert before you go!” she sang, catching my eye and mouthing Oh my God, I’m so sorry
as she placed a Mont Blanc on the table. I mouthed back don’t worry as she trilled, “I’ll go get the check!”

Then she scurried off like a mouse, and it was insanely awkward as Mike just stood there and watched me
take a bite.

“That’s it?” he laughed at me. “Evie. Stop acting like you’re not dying to inhale that. Mont Blancs are your
favorite. I’ve seen you crush two in a sitting.”

Good God. I could kill him.

“Yes, but I’m full,” I said slowly, trying not to shoot him daggers so as to appear unfazed. But I was pretty
sure I failed because the smuggest grin spread his lips, and he apparently found enough confidence to nudge
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Drew and laugh.

“Christ. You got her on an athlete’s diet or what, Maddox?”

“Nah,” Drew laughed, turning over to let his gaze drop down the front of my dress. “Definitely not. She
knows that body’s fuckin’ perfect as is,” he said in a low mutter before looking up at me.

Lord.

I did my best to return his eye contact without melting into the chair. With his hand still on my knee, it felt
like an extremely real possibility. But luckily, Hillary soon returned, doing a silly dance and waving around a
check that was just receipt paper on which she’d scrawled on da house – thank you!

“Hil!”

Drew and I spent a minute protesting against Hillary’s staunch insistence, but the whole conversation wound
up falling silent when Mike made a tacky joke about Drew being a millionaire who could afford to be charged
double. After that thoroughly awkward moment, Drew tucked a wad of bills under his beer and we popped to
our feet, hugging Hillary thank you and goodbye before waltzing outside to wait for the car.

“Wow. Okay. Breathe,” I whispered to myself the second we got outside, still feeling the surging adrenaline
rush for a job well done.

I did it.

  Advantages of Muscle Building: A Complete Overview

Page 25

I’d acted convincingly taken in front of Mike. I’d shown him that I’d moved on, with Drew Maddox, and I’d
slipped away fast enough to leave him sputtering with questions that he’d be forced to mull over for a week
before seeing me again at Hillary’s family and friends dinner. Ideally, that week of confusion would give him
some empathy for what he’d put me through after the out-of-nowhere breakup with no answers, and we’d
wind up having a mature, productive chat about what the heck happened between us.

Despite Mike’s surprise appearance, everything was still going according to plan, and it was perfect.

Until I realized I left something in the restaurant.

“Crap. I left my bag with all the returns in there,” I blurted just as I was about to get into the car. My
shoulders slumped as I turned around to look at the restaurant again. “Dammit. This totally ruins my grand
exit.”

Drew snorted.

“I’ll go if you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared, I’m just – ”

Ugh. I finished my sentence by simply marching back in, weaving quickly through the staff to reach my bag
and then power-walking in my heels toward the door.

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Of course, Mik

e caught me on my way out.

“Evie! Hey. Wait.”

“Yes?” I turned around to find him stopping breathlessly in front of me, his eyes searching my face.

“Hey, what’s… what’s going on?” he asked. “What’s this you and Drew situation? This is for real?”

I managed a confused smile.

“Yes? It’s for real.”

“Evie.” Drew folded his arms and gave me a look. “It’s me. Come on.”

“Yes, I know you are, Mike. But what do you mean ‘come on’?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t. What is it?” I ground out, getting irritated. Mike threw his arms out incredulously and laughed big
like I’d just made a great joke.

“Stop trying to fuck with me is what! Alright? Please. I know you’re not with fuckin’ Drew Maddox.”

I squinted. “Then what do you think you just saw?”

“I don’t know! You were just hanging out with Emmett and Aly and he just happened to come by. Right?
‘Cause let’s be real here, that man’s a celebrity. He’s famous. He’s not the same as us.”

“Us?” I repeated. I used to live for that word coming out of his mouth, but today I was sure I hated it. “And
what exactly are we?” I asked carefully.

“I don’t know,” Mike sputtered defensively. Then I sneered. “But I can tell you what we’re definitely not:
models. And Drew Maddox could be dating models if he wanted to.”

I stared at Mike, in awe of just how low he could go. It wasn’t enough to dump your longtime girlfriend out of
the blue, apparently. You also had to remind her, once she started dating again, that she wasn’t a model.

“I mean am I lying?” he snorted.

“I’m leaving now,” I said simply, letting just one more second pass before I reached for the door and marched
the hell out.

Right away, I spotted Drew leaning leisurely against an SUV parked out front. The eyes of the street were
staring at him as he stared at his phone. But the moment he heard the first angry clack of my heel on the
pavement, he looked right up and frowned.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Yes. Just do me a favor.” I was already breathless.

  Battle of Port Arthur (Russo-Japanese War)

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Page 26

“What?” He stood up straight as I marched over to him.

“He’s watching right now, so do something,” I said hotly, heels clacking. “For him to see. Whatever you want,
just do it now,” I muttered fast.

Drew tilted his head warningly as if to ask if I was sure. But another second passed, and his gentleman
window was gone. It was like a switch had flipped and suddenly, his gaze was heavy, pinned to all the
bouncing parts of body as I stormed over to him in a fury.

The second I was close enough to grab his shirt he caught the nape of my neck and slammed his mouth over
mine.

I squeezed the handful of cotton, pulling it away from his chest as his tongue collided against mine. Its
roughness made my pussy instantly throb. When I felt his arm circle my waist, I let my knees go weak
because his kiss was so instantly deep, hungry. Demanding. The way his tongue lashed and pulsed against
me made it feel as if he’d been waiting forever to taste me, and I truly couldn’t remember the last time my
body felt this hot. And wanted.

“Touch me somewhere,” I exhaled between kisses. “Put your hand on my – ”

He cut me off with his palm flat on my ass, squeezing me so hard with those long fingers that I felt him
spreading my pussy. Oh my God. Warmth pooled in my panties as he held his tight handful of me, refusing to
let go as his shamelessly rough, greedy tongue stroked against mine.

Crap. This was going far beyond PDA. We’d surpassed three seconds at this point, but it felt too fucking good
to stop.

“Trying to torture me?” Drew growled into my mouth, and only then did I realize that I was grinding my
body against his – was it? Oh God, it was – his enormous fucking erection.

Holy shit.

I yanked away, forcibly removing myself from Drew’s body. Once my brain caught up to my body and
realized that he’d just had his swollen dick pressed up against my belly, I looked down and breathed out,
“Fuck.” There was no way to contain my shock because good God, it looked like a steel pipe was lying
diagonally across his left thigh. My own thighs clenched at the sheer sight of his size, and I couldn’t tear my
eyes away till he grasped the front of my dress and jerked me back into his body.

“Drew!” I hissed as I felt every throbbing inch of him again. My mouth fell open when I tried pushing off and
he tightened his grip, holding me right in place. “Are you really forcing me to rub up against your dick right
now?” I whisper-yelled furiously.

He looked down his nose at me, lust mixed with irritation in that heavy-lidded gaze.

“No,” he replied slowly, squeezing his handful of my dress. “I’m using you as a shield because I’m rock hard
in the middle of the street and half the sidewalk has their phones out. Which means if my dick winds up in
the tabloids tomorrow, you owe me a fucking lap dance in that maid costume.” He cocked his head with a
smirk. “Deal?”

I blinked at him for several seconds. Despite my racing heart, I managed to give something of a laugh.

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“Totally. Deal,” I snorted, solely because this maid costume didn’t actually exist. Of course that didn’t stop
me from fantasizing about it for the duration of the car ride, during which I sat in total silence while staring
out the window because as much as I wanted to deny it, I was realizing something truly and severely
annoying:

I kind of liked Drew Maddox.

He was an arrogant jock and everything I knew to avoid in a man, but I enjoyed his company. In fact, I was
beyond attracted to him.

Which meant the next three months of resisting him were about to be chaos.

10

DREW

I woke up the next morning pissed at myself and the world – mostly because I woke up harder than I’d ever
been in my life, and even in my dreams, I wasn’t allowed to fuck Evie.

You idiot, Maddox. I really wasn’t sure what was I thinking when I agreed to this shit. I hadn’t thought it
through. I’d gone in blind and banked on the fact that I wanted a championship more than anything in the
world. Anything pitted up against my need to win would lose. No sex for three months? It wouldn’t be easy
but I could do it for sure.

At least that was what I had thought.

But that was before yesterday’s “date” with Evie. It was before I heard her breathy little fuck-me voice as she
rubbed my chest and called me baby. It was before I got to rub her naked thigh in front of her idiot ex and
feel every little twitch of her arousal right under my palm. And it was definitely before I saw those perfect tits
bounce damned near out of her dress as she marched out of the restaurant, all hot and breathless as she told
me to do whatever I wanted to her.

Fuck, if she said those words to me now she’d be on my floor with her ripped panties in my fist and my cock
balls-deep in her pussy.

Do something. Whatever you want, just do it now.

I relived the exact words she murmured to me because it was easily the hottest thing I’d ever heard in my life.
And definitely a hell of a surprise.

I’d thought this whole thing was going to be a process. I was pretty damned sure that she was too hung up
over that Matt asshole to get that into the act. But she proved me more than wrong, and now I was paying for
it because this was morning wood like I’d never felt it before. It felt like a fucking weight on my abs once I
freed it from my boxers, and it was so stiff I hardly had to touch it to feel sensation tingling from tip to root.

Fuck me.

  Battle of Manila Bay (1898)

Page 27

If just the hard-ons Evie gave me felt this good then I needed to know what it was like to be inside her. I
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needed to feel her all wet and warm and stretched tight around my cock. I had already felt the heat of her
pussy near my fingertips yesterday when I was squeezing her ass – and considering the pure torture that had
been, I didn’t know why I was reliving the moment on repeat this morning. Though if it wasn’t that, it was
the cute little look on her face when s

he stared at my hard-on like she’d never seen a dick before in her life.

Long story short, I wanted to fuck her over every surface of my house, and I seriously couldn’t imagine
having to goddamned live with her soon. Just the thought of waking up this hard and knowing she was in
some nightie down the hall made me want to quit this whole deal on the spot.

Of course, just thinking the word “quit” made the fucking Nike brain kick in and instantly hammer a million
motivational quotes into my head. Never quit. No pain, no gain. You are your own limit.

So I jacked off.

I replayed the image of the sun beaming through her skirt and showing me the shape of her thighs. I
remembered the softness of her skin as I was squeezing her knee. I pictured those perky tits bouncing in my
face as she rode the hell out of my cock. I wound up coming faster than I probably ever had, but even after
that, I was wound tight.

Still thinking of her.

You’re a fucking madman.

I was convinced I’d be fine if she was just some knockout I met at a bar on the road. I could force myself to
forget her. But I was stuck with Evie for the next three months, and it made me irrationally annoyed with
her. I was legitimately bitter and pissed at her as I lay in bed fantasizing about what she looked like in her
hotel room right now.

I imagined that tight body sleeping naked on a big bed. I imagined that tanned skin glowing against the white
sheets she was probably tangled in.

The second I started fantasizing about that pussy again, I grabbed my phone.

ME: Remind me why I can’t sleep with her

I sent the text to Iain before thinking it through. I didn’t have the ability to think anyway. The blood was
taking its time to return to my head.

IAIN: Aside from the fact that contracts are binding you promised me as both a client and a friend.

ME: We’re friends?

IAIN: Ha.

IAIN: In case you forgot I was literally your only friend four years ago when you decided to wage a war
against the whole league.

We were delving into subject matter I generally avoided or flat-out ignored when brought up, but I went for it
today. At least it was making my dick go down.

ME: To be fair the war was with just my team. I only wanted to see Los Angeles burn.

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IAIN: Yeah well it doesn’t look great for the league when you’re trying to file a lawsuit against your own team.
AFTER missing a five weeks of your season with them because of the whole Lillard incident.

Fuck. I tossed my phone aside at the mention of Tim Lillard. There was my limit.

I couldn’t think about Tim or any of the Lillards right now. It was a sore subject on a regular basis but my
fight against L.A was still fresh in my mind, and it had started because of Cody Bryce taunting me about
skipping Pattie’s funeral.

Breathe, I told myself. Staring at the ceiling, I inhaled, exhaled and tried my best to remember all the shit
Diaz said when he tried teaching me meditation.

It didn’t work but on the bright side, I’d officially gone soft.

So there was that.

There was also the fact that I was three days from my next start. That meant that I had a bullpen session
today with my pitching coach Lou Dickerson, and anytime I was on the mound, I wasn’t thinking about
anything but my delivery.

So I focused on that.

I got to the stadium and managed to clear my mind during stretches, which was followed by some good
throwing in the bullpen, then shagging flies during BP. By the time the game started, I felt like myself again. I
had some actual peace of mind, and it was a huge fucking relief.

Of course, that relief didn’t last long because somewhere between the fifth and sixth innings, the sidewalk
dick pics from yesterday’s date hit the Internet.

I knew something was up when a couple of drunk girls sitting over the dugout got booted for yelling at me to
fuck them with that big dick. Just minutes after that, Ty pointed at the curvy blonde along the first base line
that all the guys had been staring at all game. Apparently she had written a new message on the back of her
sign. Originally, it had been “MARRY ME MADDOX.” Now it was “WOW DREW!!! SHOW ME THAT BIG
BAT!”

  Different Types of Workplace Harassment

Page 28

Since phones were banned in the dugout, the guys took turns disappearing into the clubhouse to look at the
pictures and headlines about my giant fucking cock, because there was nothing homoerotic about that.

They thought they were being slick, but even if Ty didn’t tell me, I’d have noticed. And since I did, I chose not
to tune everyone out like I usually did during the game. As much as I knew I’d regret it, I listened to every
fucking word the guys muttered under the breaths about Evie. I thought I’d find their stupid comments at
least vaguely amusing. That was generally what I felt when they ranked and rated all my conquests like a
bunch of middle school girls.

But as they talked about Evie, all I felt was my blood boiling in my veins.

“I say the tits are real. And she’s gotta have a magic pussy to have Maddox carrying shopping bags.”

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“Magic mouth too. You saw those lips?”

“Yeah. Imagine what they look like after sucking dick for a good ten, fifteen – ”

“Watch it,” I barked, on my feet before I knew it. Diaz was in front of me in no time, wordlessly walking me
back to my seat as I glared over his shoulder at Watt and Brewer. Watt held his hands up in surrender.

“Fuck. D, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I’m sorry.”

“Same. I didn’t know you could hear.”

“I can hear everything and if I hear my girl’s name out of your dirty fucking mouth again I’m going to put you
both on the DL.”

Every head in the dugout was turned at this point, and annoyingly, I saw Diaz signal to our manager that
everything was fine. Like he was my keeper or something.

It was a briefly heated moment, but dugout or clubhouse, they happened. Tempers flared but eventually,
things got squashed and it was no different this time around. Watt and Brewer came by to apologize
separately, normalcy was restored and I told myself I had just been putting on a damned good show just now.

And that was it.

Because once my blood simmered, the idea of getting that fired up over some girl I barely knew was
disturbing, and I didn’t want to believe that it happened. I needed to know that I could keep the focus I had
every day at the stadium, especially during a game. Even when I wasn’t starting, I was usually watching every
at-bat and every delivery on every damned pitch. But today, I’d barely paid attention to shit and I was ready
to give up, because the second I got my mind off Evie again, Diaz came around.

“You serious? You’re seeing someone?” he asked. He could barely hide the fact that he was fucking glowing. I
looked at him then back at the field. Technically not an answer but he still gave me a pat on the back. “Proud
of you, brother. Can’t let that L.A shit hang over you forever.”

Then he left before I could respond, which I was grateful for because while I wasn’t mad at Diaz, I really
didn’t need him mentioning L.A. I was already completely on edge and wound up tight over this Evie
situation. I just needed a fucking break from my own brain.

It was for that reason that I was actually relieved when, an inning later, Ty came loping over with a big, dumb
grin on his face. At least I knew he never had anything important to talk about.

“Yo.” He plopped his ass down next to me. “I take it since you’re finally wifed up, I can call dibs on your
tittalicious blonde down the third base line,” he said, nodding at the girl with the “show me your big bat”
sign.

“Go nuts,” I said.

“Nice. So you coming out tonight? Or is your crazy ass banned from nightlife now that you got a nice girl at
home?”

I leaned my elbows on my knees as I stared out at the game. Ty was joking but I technically was banned from
nightlife. Iain made me swear it off, save for “a few special occasions,” and while he probably didn’t count
day two of the contract as a special occasion, I did because I suddenly felt the urgent need to blow off steam. I
answered Ty the second he gave up on getting a response from me and started leaving.

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“Yeah, I’m coming out,” I said.

He spun right around.

“Yeah?” He pumped his fist. “Hell yes, dude. It’s gonna be fuckin’ tight. I can feel it in my bones, brother!”

He said that literally every time we went out, or any time we were about to eat at a new restaurant for that
matter, but I prayed he was particularly right tonight. I sincerely hoped that wherever we went tonight and
whatever we got into, it would be a deserving last hurrah for me.

Because if I was about to risk getting pictures taken of me doing all the shit the Empires didn’t want me to
do, then it had better be worth it.

As it turned out, it wasn’t worth it.

I had stood barely a minute outside the club with Ty before finding myself mobbed by the girl with the “big
bat” sign and all her screechy friends. From what I could tell, they were wasted and there were already
cameras flashing as they basically rubbed up on me, posing on my body like I was a fucking stripper pole.

Goddammit. It was too early for this shit, and it was giving me nothing but anxiety so it wasn’t long before I
was peeling women off my body and ducking back into my car. Once I had the door shut, I texted Evie to
come meet me. It took about five minutes but she eventually replied that she’d need “a minute” to get ready
and find a dress.

I thought nothing of it because I thought a minute meant a minute. But apparently, it meant damned near an
hour-and-a-half.

  The Battle of Marathon [490 BC]

Page 29

ME: Jesus Evie

ME: I don’t understand. Are you making the damned dress?

EVIE: Almost there I said!

ME: You said that twice already

EVIE: And I meant it twice!!

Any texts after that went ignored and I wound up sitting in the back of the car for another twenty minutes,
killing time by checking scores around the league. But just as my patience ran up again and I whipped out my
phone, she texted me first.

EVIE: I’m here

“Finally,” I groaned, climbing out of the car. I stretched my shoulders and massaged the back of my neck as I
stepped onto the sidewalk, and just as a large group passed in front of me, I spotted Evie.

She was turned around, talking to the bouncer and as my eyes took her in, I felt my jaw drop.

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Fuck. Me.

My hand slid slowly off the back of my neck as I soaked in the sight of her wearing a black dress, a lace
choker and a ponytail so high and bouncy I wanted to wrap it around my hand while I spanked her all night.
She deserved it for the way she stood all cute – hip cocked and skirt stretched all tight skirt over that
gorgeous ass. Christ. That ass. There was no way in hell she was wearing panties under there. I’d bet anyone
my entire fucking apartment that she wasn’t.

Suddenly, I forgot about the hour-and-a-half wait it took to get to this point because the view in front of me
now was something I could stare at all night. I was pretty sure it didn’t get better than this.

But then she turned around.

11

EVIE

Breathe, Evie. Lock those knees, girl.

I needed the reminder as I stared at Drew Maddox staring at me. He looked scary good in a crisp white
button down with his hair still kind of wet. Did wet hair make me picture him in the shower? Sure did. Did I
need that image in my head when I was already breathless from just the way he looked at me?

Nope.

But I’d asked for this.

Admittedly, I got dolled the fuck up for this impromptu hang, but who wouldn’t? In all likelihood, I was
going to be photographed by strangers and paparazzi all night. I’d already seen the way it happened
yesterday morning, and I could only assume the cameras came out faster at clubs and bars where it was
darker, and people were drunker, more brazen.

Also, today’s tabloid pieces on yesterday’s date had quickly piqued an interest in me, which meant tonight,
some gossip hounds might actually recognize my face. And that meant I was going to be watched and
scrutinized way more than I’d been just yesterday.

So why not dress up like crazy?

I don’t know. Maybe to avoid moments where he looks at you like this and you wonder why not just fuck him
for fun since the world already thinks you are?

Also a valid point.

Because while I’d been dealing with male attention for about fifteen years, nothing – and I mean nothing – in
the world could prepare me for the way Drew was looking at me now.

He stood so still but that wolfish stare drank me in. His enormous body was completely unmoving as those
green eyes traveled shamelessly up my legs then to my hips before getting caught on my breasts. I couldn’t
help but feel a thrill for the fact that I’d fully captivated something so big and powerful. It made me feel
objectively sexy, which was far different than feeling normal sexy – and for all the confidence I had, it was
definitely something I’d never felt before in my life.

“Hi,” I said once I couldn’t take the heat of his stare any longer. Drew looked up at me.

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“Hi.”

“So… are you going to take me inside or what?” I asked. I cocked my head when he just blinked, seeming to
have forgotten that that was why I was here. When he finally shook his head and offered no further detail, I
frowned. “What? Why not?”

“Because there’s no way in hell I’m letting the guys go near you right now.”

  How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Page 30

I bit my lip because I was sure there was a compliment in there. Somewhere.

“Well excuse me, but I didn’t get this dressed up for nothing,” I said.

“I know you didn’t,” Drew muttered, returning his eyes to my cleavage as I crossed my arms. I uncrossed
them.

“And I definitely didn’t get dressed up solely for your viewing pleasure, Mr. Maddox.”

He groaned with irritation, finally sounding awake.

“Yes, thank you. I know that.”

“So?”

He kept his stare fixed on me for two hard seconds. Then he nodded behind him.

“Just get in the car.”

Whatever sexpot impression I’d made on Drew outside the club before was swiftly annihilated once we
arrived at our next location. But I didn’t mind and I apologized for nothing.

We wound up going to The Roof on 5th, which was, unsurprisingly, a rooftop bar on Fifth Ave. I’d heard of it
before and I was already excited to go, but when we actually rode the elevator all the way to the top, and the
doors opened, I almost burst into tears.

“Omigod,” I gasped because it was so unreal. Presented before me was the closest, most breathtaking view of
the very top of the Empire State Building. It was like being an arm’s reach from the moon. It was right next to
this roof, and it glowed so magnificently close that I swore I could walk across the balcony, hold out my hand
and actually touch it.

“What’s going on? You alright?” Drew turned around.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m having a moment.”

He stared for a second.

“Jesus,” he said when he realized he wasn’t going to get me to move.

But come on – this was surreal. I’d grown up looking at pictures of the New York skyline, obviously, and I
still had a beloved, framed Polaroid I took of this building when I first came to see it in person.
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I was fourteen years old. I’d just had the worst fight of my life with Kaylie, and Mom told me to sleep
somewhere else for the night. When I arrived a sniveling mess at Mike’s house, he announced that he was
going to turn my worst day ever into the best, and took me on my first trip to Manhattan.

Our first stop had been the Empire State.

“Alright, enough.” Drew got my attention when he took my hand in his. “If you’re my girlfriend you need to
act like I’ve taken you on a date before, because right now it looks like I kept you locked up for the past six
months and just let you out for the first time tonight.”

I laughed instead of retorting because I knew it was a hundred percent true.

“Geez. Sorry, okay? I just never thought I’d see the Empire State Building this up close and personal.”

“Tourists and middle school field trips do it every day, so dream bigger.”

“Eff you, dickhead.”

“Also, cursing me off loses its edge when you say ‘eff’ instead of fuck.”

“Fine. In that case fuck. You,” I enunciated. Drew eyed me.

“Yeah. I wish.”

The remark made my lashes flutter, but it was said in such passing that I really didn’t have time to react
before a hand shot out on our away to the table, viciously smacking Drew’s side to get his attention. I startled
for all of a second before I looked at who the arm belonged to and recognized that thick, dark hair and big,
mischievous smile.

“Emmett!” I shrieked, bursting out of Drew’s grasp to throw my arms around Emmett’s neck. “Oh my God,
dude, tell me Aly’s here with you,” I whispered desperately, though I could see he was sitting with a bunch of
men in suits. Definitely clients. Who were all staring at me.

“She’s not, I’m sorry,” Emmett whispered back with a laugh. “How you holding up with the asshole though?”

  What Constitutes Workplace Harassment?

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“Um.” I blinked, unsure if Emmett knew about the false nature of Drew and my romance. “He’s… tolerable?”

“Alright.” Drew cut in with two hands on my hips. Pulling me back against his chest, he whispered in my ear.
“For fuck’s sake, don’t bend over like that. Your tits are falling out and those assholes are staring down your
dress.”

“Oh, and you’ve decided that you’re the controlling type who dictates what I wear and how I act?” I hissed.

“Trust me, I’m pretty fucking pleased with what you’re wearing, but there’s a difference between showing you
off and letting guys eye-bang you right in front of me,” Drew muttered hotly. My eyes narrowed at him.

“Fair,” I bit out.

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“Thank you,” he grumbled.

“Alright, you two,” Emmett chuckled, still turned around in his chair. He cocked an eyebrow at Drew. “So you
been dodgin

g my calls or what, Maddox? If we’re fighting, you never gave me official word.”

“I don’t have time to fight with you, Emmett, I’m just a busier man than even you are.”

“Clearly. Ty just texted that you were at Godsend with him ten minutes ago then disappeared. Should I tell
him that you’re here?”

“Only if you want me to throw you off this roof.”

“I don’t think you should risk straining the pitching arm. I noticed your velocity was down your last start.”

“Good to know you were watching so closely. Should we let Aly know about your creepy obsession with me?”

“Fuck off,” Emmett grinned. “I’ll meet up with you two after I wrap up with these guys.”

“Please don’t,” Drew said before sliding a hand onto my back and whisking me off. I stared up at him.

“Jesus, what’s up with dude friends? Why do you guys love talking to each other like you hate each other?”

“Maybe we do.”

“What? Are you mad at my best friend’s boyfriend?” I asked defensively. “Because on behalf of my best
friend, I take offense to that.”

“I’m not mad at him. Aly’s one of your best friends. Emmett’s one of mine,” Drew said without a hint of
emotion, giving the canned answer like I was some reporter he didn’t want to do an interview with.

I kept my eyes narrowed on him as we followed a hostess across the roof and up a small flight of steps to a
VIP area. Ivy-covered partitions provided us a decent amount of privacy, but that didn’t stop people from
passing by our section with their phones stealthily positioned to snap quick photos. I noticed two people do
that before we even sat down next to each other.

“So you and Emmett are cool?” I asked once the hostess left – though obviously not without a last lip-biting
peek at Drew. Couldn’t blame her. He looked sexy as sin tonight and as screwed up as it was, he was
particularly hot when he was angry.

“Emmett and I are cool,” Drew said, measuring his words. “He knew I was at risk of being traded as far back
as last year and told just Iain instead of me, but aside from that, we’re cool.”

“Oh. So what, now you don’t trust him either?”

“I never trusted him or anyone in the first place, so nothing has changed. We’re good.”

Jesus. I blinked with surprise as I watched Drew’s hard eyes study the menu.

“Well… his brother owns the team you play for so I’m sure he wanted to tell you, but there was just a conflict
of interest,” I offered.

“Of course. Family first,” Drew said in a sardonic tone that reminded me of the fact that ‘family first’ didn’t

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ring true with him. After all, he’d mentioned that his family treated him like an ATM.

Damn. I chewed my lip through the silence that followed, hoping that Drew had at least someone in this
world that he trusted fully. I mean I didn’t trust my own family, and I obviously didn’t trust Mike anymore,
but at least I had Aly. She would stick by me through anything. I knew that, and I quietly cherished her as I
studied Drew.

“Oh, wait, this is the food menu,” I finally said to break the silence.

“Perfect. Let’s exchange.”

  Tips for Working Moms

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“Didn’t you just eat dinner?” I laughed as he eagerly swapped menus with me.

“Yeah, but that was over an hour ago.”

“Oh my God. You and your food.”

“Yeah, me and my need to nourish my body to stay alive. So crazy,” he muttered though he peered up with
amusement when I giggled. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m more so laughing at myself.”

“Why?”

“Just remembering something from when I was a kid.”

“What is it?”

I looked up from my menu to find Drew’s undivided attention on me.

“You really want to hear a story from my childhood?” I asked dubiously.

“I thought that was implied when I said ‘what is it.’”

“Okay, relax, smart ass, and it’s not a good story, it’s just that when I was younger…” I trailed off, chewing my
lip when I realized I didn’t actually want to say this aloud. It was probably only funny in my head. “Actually, I
forget what I was saying. I’m all drunk.”

“You didn’t drink yet.”

“Maybe I drank at home.”

Drew caught my jaw and pulled my face to his. My heart stopped in my chest as he tilted my mouth up,
holding my lips an inch from his.

“No.” His thumb stroked my jaw as he breathed me in. “You didn’t.” He lifted his gaze from my lips to my
eyes and held it there for one painfully hot second. But in a flash, he released me and returned to being blunt.
“Now tell me the story.”

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Just like that, his attention returned to the menu – as if he hadn’t just done something ridiculously freakin’
intimate that required time for me to catch my breath.

Or maybe that wasn’t super intimate and you’re just overthinking things? I thought before promptly catching
myself. Okay, stop. It’s way too early in the night to get this deep in your head.

“Um… yeah, anyway. Where was I again?” I mumbled to myself, pretending to casually scan my menu
though I was honestly too flustered to read shit. “Oh right. Long story short, when my sister Kaylie and I
were kids, we thought that once you were an adult and you stopped growing, that meant you didn’t have to
eat anymore. We literally thought that eating just ceased to be a necessity once you turned like, twenty-five.”

Drew looked up again, eyeing me with feigned seriousness.

“So you guys were held back a few grades, huh.”

“Shut up!” He grinned big when I burst out laughing. “Asshole. If you must know, we were like four and eight
when we thought this and it was only because my mom would make us grilled cheeses every day and just wait
around to eat our crusts. And when we asked why she didn’t make one for herself, she said she only wanted a
snack and adults don’t need to eat like little kids do,” I said, my smile slowly faltering as I finished the story.
Okay, yeah. Definitely less funny said aloud, I nodded awkwardly as I peered up at Drew. I could see the
humor in his eye flickering away as he looked at me and put two and two together.

Yep.

I grew up dirt poor and my mom was definitely hungry. She just couldn’t afford to eat and feed her kids too.

Well, hello, buzzkill, I scolded myself as I blurted, “Anyway,” and tried to think of a topic change. Come on,
come on, hurry up, I desperately begged myself while coming up painfully empty.

Drew surprised me with a reassuring hand on my knee.

“So tell me about the Empire State Building. What’s up with your weird little obsession?” he said, returning
his casual gaze back to the menu.

I blinked for a second of confusion, but then a little smile wiggled onto my lips. I knew Drew couldn’t care
less about this story – he was just giving me an out from the last subject we’d touched on, since it clearly had
me so flushed and embarrassed. It was a tiny gesture, but still a lot more than I’d ever expected from him.

“It’s also a boring story,” I warned.

“Tell me.”

  10 Necessary Things You To Do During Unemployment

Page 33

“Well, this was just the number one stop on our first ever visit to New York. We got off an Amtrak at Penn
Station, walked to the Empire State and took about a dozen Polaroids from different angles – which was a
huge deal because Polaroid film was not cheap.”

“And by ‘we’ you mean you and Matt.”

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“Mike.”

“Sure. Where are you from originally?”

“Belfield, Massachusetts. Don’t Google it.”

“Why not?” Drew snorted.

“Because it sucks. We called it Hellfield.”

“That’s just how every kid feels about their hometown.”

“No, trust me. My hometown is depressing enough to be featured in like, two different documentaries on
Netflix.”

Drew looked up with genuine interest. “Really. About what?”

“Uhh.” My voice was higher pitched than usual as I paused and realized I’d wound up on another topic I liked
to avoid. “Opioids,” I finally said.

Drew’s eyebrows went up and stayed there.

“Oh.”

Another silence. God. I let it stay quiet for all of two-and-a-half seconds before clapping my hands together.

“Anyway! My turn to ask a question,” I declared, grinning at the instant wariness on Drew’s face. “I want to
know why the heck the Empires are even looking to trade the best pitcher in baseball.”

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

“Well, it’s the only answer you’re getting.”

“Fine. I’ll just Google you.”

Drew looked up with surprise. “You haven’t done that yet?”

“No. I said yes to this whole thing so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to, and after, I was kind of too scared
to do it and see exactly what the heck I’d gotten myself into,” I admitted, making Drew’s eyes crinkle as he
laughed. Ugh. So cute.

“Good choice. There are things that are true, but there’s also a ton of bullshit out there,” he said just as the
waitress came to take our orders.

I ordered a cocktail before I realized Drew was ordering an entire bottle of champagne, but oh well. Not the
worst problem to have. If anything, the bigger dilemma was how to deal with the fact that as he started
ordering and chatting with the waitress, his hand began unconsciously rubbing my knee.

And considering I had no panties on under this dress, I was pretty much dying.

Thank God my skirt, albeit tight as hell, stretched down to just above my knee. Also, once the drinks arrived,
I was able to calm my nerves. Conversation flowed for a good twenty minutes after but then we reached a

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point where Drew’s eyes drifted off as I was talking about something, and suddenly he said, “Hey. No
Googling me. Alright?”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because it’s not fair. I can’

t Google you back. It’s not a level playing field.”

“I wouldn’t care if you Googled me.”

“Because none of your personal information is out there. It’s all work-related.”

  A Brief History of Cold War

Page 34

“Fine. Then you can ask me three personal questions right now and I promise that I’ll Google you as seldom
as possible,” I said. Drew smirked.

“Five questions and you Google me once while I’m present.”

I thought about it for a second.

“Okay. Deal.” I knocked back the rest of my cocktail. “And there’s your insurance that I’ll be completely
truthful.”

“Great, then I’ll start with a hardball. How the hell did Mike end up with a girl who looks like you?”

I blinked, surprised by the question and actually, kind of insulted.

“I realize you’re somewhat complimenting me here, and I promise I feel no need to defend Mike right now,
but considering I was dating him for nine years, digs at him are also digs at my taste and life choices,” I
pointed out.

“Yes. I’m aware of that.”

Dick.

“Of course you are,” I snorted as I gave myself a tall pour of champagne. “Okay, well now that we’ve
established how comfortable you are with insulting me, here’s my answer: I’m from a place that’s listed as
one of the most white trash towns in Massachusetts. Every woman in my family had a baby by the time she
was eighteen, and when my eighteenth birthday came and went, my mom and grandma literally threw me a
‘no baby shower’ with decorations from the Dollar General. If you’re thirty years old from Belfield and you
have a job at the 7-11 a few towns over, you’re considered a pretty huge success. And I’m pretty sure I
would’ve been that hugely successful 7-11 clerk if it weren’t for the fact that Mike told me we were allowed to
dream bigger.”

I took a break from my ramble to take a gulp of the champagne I would’ve never dreamed of even holding in
my hands when I was younger.

“So he got you out of there is what you’re saying,” Drew said as he watched me knock back most of my

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champagne in one big slug. “Easy,” he said, taking my glass and holding it away from me. “We don’t have to
talk about this if it upsets you.”

“It doesn’t. I’m over it,” I said, and with all this bubbly in my system, I actually believed it. “I’m fine talking
about it. Maybe in that sense, I’m bigger and badder than you are.”

“I think you’re just drunker than I am.”

“Yeah, well. You probably don’t even get drunk. You’re like… ten feet tall and three hundred pounds of
muscle,” I mumbled as Drew smirked.

“Six-three, two-twenty, but yeah. Ninety-eight percent muscle as of the last physical.”

“Jesus, really?”

“Yes.”

Ugh, of course, I thought, letting my eyes dip down his front as he leaned back in his seat. God, those huge
shoulders. Those abs. What did they look like under there? I was dying to know.

“Stop.”

“What?”

I didn’t even realize I was biting my nail till Drew removed my hand from my mouth and placed it in my lap.

“You look like you want to get fucked when you do that and I’m entirely too willing, so you need to stop while
I still have enough blood in my brain to think straight.”

Oh… kay.

Wow.

His words shot straight between my legs and I wound up staring speechlessly as his eyes devoured everything
from my squirming thighs to the stunned look on my face. I felt enough like his prey without even hearing his
next question.

“When was the last time Mike even fucked you?”

Shit.

My cheeks burned at both the question and the answer, which was four months ago. And before that one
time, it had been six. He caved to my crying over his lack of affection, humped me for about ten minutes and
then rolled over without either of us coming. The worst part was that he faked his orgasm and when I asked if
he really came, he said, “No. Can’t we just go to sleep though?”

Oh God.

  Battle of Khafji (Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia)

Page 35

I covered my face. “Skip,” I said.

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“What?”

“That question.”

“That’s not allowed.”

“Four months ago. Next.”

I avoided his stare of pure disbelief. But just because I wasn’t looking at it didn’t mean I couldn’t feel its heat
on my skin.

“When was the last time you came more than once in a night?”

“Are you really asking me that right now?”

“Yes.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“We’ve established this.”

I glared for several seconds.

“If you must know, I literally can’t even think of my answer.”

“Too long ago to recall?”

“Yes! Maybe! Who cares? Why do you need to know?” I demanded.

“Because the idea of you not being properly fucked is driving me crazy right now.”

His answer had me speechless again but this time, the intensity of his stare also had me breathless like I’d
just run a five-minute mile.

He’s a player, an asshole and you’ll regret it, I answered myself before I could ask why I shouldn’t just fuck
him. But even knowing that, it was hard to ignore the tension heating up the air between us, making it feel
almost too thick to breathe in.

“It’s been awhile,” I finally said, trying to sound unaffected as he dragged his heavy stare up my legs. “And
you have two questions left.”

“I know.”

“I think you should save them for another night.”

“No thanks. Hottest unfulfilled fantasy?”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Getting a five-figure tax return.”

He returned my eye-roll.

“Sexual,” he clarified.
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“Pass, because I know what happens when I answer this,” I said, pinning my stare on him. “Whatever I say I
want, you’re just going to imply that you could do that for me right here, right now because you love making
me nervous, so let’s just bypass that whole self-indulgent process and say yes, I’ve been sexually frustrated
before and yes, you could probably make me come very, very hard. Much harder than Mike ever did,” I said
hotly, wondering when the hell Drew’s lips had made it so close to mine. His arm was draped over the back of
my seat as he hovered over my body, heat smoldering in his green eyes as he stared at me.

I didn’t even know what I was feeling.

Kiss me. Or don’t. Fuck you, I thought, my brain a mess of confusion as I heard a stampede of footsteps come
clamoring our way. I frowned, watching the heat in Drew’s stare become fire as he slid his eyes over my
shoulder. Suddenly, he was shaking his head at something.

“The fuck, Ty,” he growled just as a voice boomed behind me.

  Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: Death of Tipu Sultan

Page 36

“Found ya! Hope we didn’t interrupt anything.”

You did, but thank God for that, I thought.

And when I turned around, it was his whole damned team.

12

DREW

Thanks to Emmett’s tip that I was here with Evie, Ty had not only come but had brought half the team. It was
chaos, the staff was quickly overwhelmed and it wasn’t long before Emmett suggested we take the party to
some lounge at one of his new hotels.

I had zero plans of going but Evie was apparently eager to get the hell away from me. Much to my irritation,
she did two shots with Ty before following the group without hesitation, and because I wasn’t leaving her
alone with any one of those animals, I wound up with them on the nineteenth floor of some new, overly
swanky and pretentious hotel in the Meatpacking District. The massive lounge or bar – or whatever it was we
were at – had six rooms, all of which I lost Evie in at least once.

Then again, I was pretty sure she was actively ducking me.

“You’re playing the role of dedicated partner much better than I thought you would,” Emmett said when he
found me scanning the crowd for her in one of the bigger rooms.

“When I picture Watt or Brewer so mu

ch as touching her shoulder, it makes me want to slam someone’s head in a wall,” I explained before my
brain did a playback of his words. Playing the role of dedicated partner. I shot Emmett a weird look. “By the
way, I don’t recall telling you that this whole deal was fake. And Iain said he had no plans to, either.”

“Aly told me, fucknut. She doesn’t keep secrets from me.”

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“Adorable. I’m sure I’ll be hearing wedding bells soon.”

“In a year, probably. I’m proposing to her next month.”

I snapped my head over to him. He already had his phone out to show me a picture of the giant fucking ring.

“Christ. That’s nice.” I had to give it to him. “You’re serious then.”

“Yeah. Which means you’re in for a lifetime of stink-eye from my wife.”

“What? Why? Aly loves me.”

“She won’t after this shit between you and her best friend blows up in all our faces.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I had no clue but I was preemptively pissed.

“Both of you are already deeper in this than you’re supposed to be. That much was made clear by the cute
little whisper fight you had after my clients checked her out.”

“Yeah, nice clients by the way. Literally saw one guy tilt his head to get a better look down her dress.”

“I’m sorry. Trust me, I’m not a huge fan of those guys either, but you don’t make money by doing business
with just the people you like.”

“Sounds like something your brother would say.”

“It is. Speaking of Julian – “

“Let’s not.”

“ – I know you’re pissed because you think I heard about the trade thing from him and decided to just gossip
about that shit with Iain instead of telling you. But the reality is that I spent the past year sweating my ass off
for you and doing everything in my power to either buy time or change Julian’s mind.”

“I’m honored. And thanks for the visual of your swamp ass.”

“You’re welcome. Also, I didn’t tell you because I thought I could fix things before you found out and fucking
killed someone over it.”

“Got it. Thanks for the vote of confidence, by the way.”

  Kingdom of Mysore

Page 37

“What? I never know what’s going to make you black out and damned near put someone in a coma, so I
played it safe,” Emmett said, looser-lipped than usual thanks to whatever the hell he was drinking. I knew he
was making a rare reference to the Tim Lillard incident, and the fact that I never told him why it went down.
The only people who knew about that shit were Iain and Tim himself. And I guess Pattie before she died.

“Man, you really know how to brighten my mood,” I muttered just as my eyes spotted something well across
the room – the bounce of that honey-colored ponytail. Jesus. Apparently, just the swing of her hair from

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twenty yards away could make my dick twitch in my jeans.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better I want you over Julian for my best man.”

My head whipped over to Emmett.

“Fuck off,” I blurted. “Now he’s really gonna trade me.”

He laughed.

“Nah, he’s all lost in Dad-land right now. He’s so wrapped around Luna’s finger he’ll barely notice that I
passed him up,” Emmett said. “So what do you say? Are you in or what?”

I didn’t have to think twice.

“Of course I am, fucknut,” I grinned, before pushing off the bar to rush toward Evie. She’d been on the phone
since I spotted her a minute ago, but I could tell from the expression on her face that the conversation was
taking a bad turn.

And that and me suspecting that she was talking to Mike.

“Who is it? Give me the phone,” I muttered to her as she hastily wiped the corner of her eye, mouthing hold
on before walking away from me.

I followed, catching up with her just as she hissed, “And you don’t think you made me feel hurt and
embarrassed?”

That was all I needed to hear.

“Drew!” Evie gasped as I grabbed the phone from her and held it to my ear.

“What’s up, Mike, do me a favor – unless it’s to apologize for all the shit you pulled on her, don’t call my
girlfriend again. And while we’re at it, keep my name out of your mouth. Sound good?” I let him stammer a
string of non-words before cutting him off. “Cool. ‘Night.”

“Drew!” Evie hissed the moment I hung up. She jumped in an attempt to grab her phone but I held it over
her head. “What the hell, Drew!”

“What did he say to you?”

“Nothing! Give my phone back!”

“Look, we’ve both had more than a few drinks tonight, and the last person you need to be talking to is this
asshole who’s going to get you so riled up you might say the wrong thing in front of him.”

“You think I’m going to spill to him about our whole deal? I’m not wasted, Drew, and I don’t need you to
fight my battles!”

“I’m not trying to fight your battles. I just want to know what he said to get you this upset. You were crying –
I can see that,” I said heatedly, my observation instantly stopping Evie mid-reach for her phone. She crossed
her arms and puckered her lips with defiance.

“I wasn’t crying,” she lied with such insistence that I actually saw her tears dry up on the spot. Damn.
Impressive.
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“Fine then, you weren’t. But tell me what he said.” I waited two seconds and when she didn’t answer, I waded
through all the noise in my head, which was mostly thoughts about how goddamned sexy she looked all mad
at me. It took awhile, but I finally remembered what I heard her saying on the phone before I grabbed it. “He
said I would hurt and embarrass you?” I asked, feeling my blood heat up again.

She chewed the corner of her mouth, making that plump bottom lip look even plumper.

“Yes.”

“Alright. What else?”

“That being with you would degrade me.”

“Degrade you?” Jesus. “What else?”

Evie heaved a sigh.

“That you don’t care about me. And you don’t know how to make me laugh.”

  Third Anglo-Mysore War

Page 38

“Yeah? Well, fuck this guy,” I said, turning around.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling him.”

“No you’re not,” she snorted. But as I started dialing and walked away, her tone changed. “Wait. Drew? No
you’re not!”

She dashed after me into the next room, which had a dimly lit dance floor and an empty table in the corner.

“Drew!” Evie hissed, reaching for her phone in every direction that I held it. Frustration pinched her
eyebrows tight but once I did some behind-the-back knockoff NBA move, she burst out laughing. “Drew,
stop! You look so stupid right now, I’m just trying to save you here.”

“Oh, really.”

“Really,” she snorted as she reached around my body to grab her phone from behind. She fell onto me as I sat
down on the chair, and her mouth fell open when I suddenly held two empty hands up. “Drew Maddox! If
you’re sitting on my phone, I swear to God…”

“You swear to God what, tough girl?”

“If you break it, you’re gonna pay for it,” she said threateningly.

“Well, that could be a problem. I don’t think I can afford that.”

Evie narrowed her eyes at me for a few seconds. I expected an eye roll from her but what I got instead was a
sexy smirk and a breathy little laugh that went straight to my cock.

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My jaw tightened. Somehow, it took till that moment for me to realize she was straddling me. I knew it had
only just hit her too because we fell suddenly quiet as we eyed each other, and she bit her grin, shaking her
head when I caved to my temptation and peered down between our bodies.

Goddamn. Her thighs were parted wide over my lap and stretching the limits of that tight skirt. I was in a
trance as I watched the fabric roll up slowly, slowly, treating me to more and more of that smooth, soft skin. I
gripped the edges of my seat in an effort to keep from ripping her clothes clean off her body, and I was
painfully turned on as it was without even remembering my observation from earlier tonight.

That she wasn’t wearing any panties.

Fuck.

I actually held in a groan as I processed the fact that Evie was sitting in my lap wearing a thin, rolled-up skirt
and no fucking panties underneath.

“Get off,” I said suddenly.

She blinked.

“Oh.” Her voice was startled, borderline hurt as she moved to get off me. “Okay,” she said defensively.

But the second I felt her weight lift off me, I growled and slammed her back down by the hips. She gasped but
let me capture her mouth with mine.

And from there, we lost all control.

As my tongue swept ferociously through her mouth, Evie rubbed her hot pussy against me, grinding so hard
in my lap that I had to hold her skirt in place. It had shot up like a rubber band on her perfect thighs, and I’d
yanked it down fast before anyone could see a thing.

And since anyone included me, that right there was torture like I’d never felt it before.

I wanted Evie naked and yet I was covering her up. The irony would’ve amused me if my blood weren’t
pumping with such merciless force to my cock that I thought I might explode. That bouncing ass. That
chokered neck. That swinging goddamned ponytail. There were a million places my hands would rather be
than stationed at the edge of her skirt, but I kept them there because that was the responsible thing to do,
and apparently I was a responsible fucking person now.

“You’re so hard,” she breathed, rubbing harder against my dick.

“I wonder why,” I growled as she whimpered something inaudible.

I didn’t ask her to repeat it because as much as I wanted to hear it, I really didn’t, and I was already on my
last ounce of self-control. But as she stroked my clothed cock with her barely clothed pussy, she whispered it
again.

“I want to feel it, Drew.”

“Don’t fucking say that.”

  Battle of Jhelum (Indian Mutiny)

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“I really want to.”

“You’re drunk,” I hissed.

“I’m not, you prick, I’m just wet,” she hissed back, squeezing handfuls of my shirt as she kissed me hard. I
was lightheaded when she pulled away. “You tortured me all night by making me talk about sex, so put your
money where your mouth is, Drew, and fuck me. Make me come.”

Christ.

Make me come.

I heard those words and apparently blacked the hell out, because the next thing I knew, I was a madman
stalking Evie out the front doors of the hotel. My car was already waiting and ready to take us back to my
place. I already knew which couch I wanted to bend her ov

er before I buried every inch of me inside her.

But all I needed was to see her slightly trip on the sidewalk before she got in the car, and suddenly, I stopped
in my tracks.

Fuck.

Stop.

My pulse hammered in my ears as I froze in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at Evie waiting for me in
the backseat, writhing for me in that painted-on dress and looking desperately at me with those big doe eyes.
I clenched my jaw tight. My chest heaved as I breathed out hard as I realized what I was hoping I wouldn’t till
tomorrow:

That this was a bad idea.

And it couldn’t happen.

Whether or not she was drunk, I couldn’t do this to her. We had three months of contract left and I couldn’t
promise myself that I wouldn’t be a piece of shit after we fucked. That I wouldn’t be cold as stone to her the
second I came. There were a lot of lies out there about me, but my being an asshole wasn’t one of them. In
fact, it was a well-practiced skill. I was as good at maintaining a distance as I was at throwing an unhittable
pitch. Like baseball, callousness was something I’d perfected over the years. It gave me a sense of comfort.
Stability.

That was just how I was, and there was a reason Iain said not to fuck her.

Approaching the car, I stuck my head in the backseat.

“Gary. She’s going to the Adelaide Hotel.”

“You got it,” Gary said as Evie blinked at me. She knew exactly what was happening – her cheeks were
already flushed pink with embarrassment – but I could see her trying to give me the benefit of the doubt with
her confusion.

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“What’s going on, Drew?” she asked, failing to hide the tinge of hurt in her voice.

“Gary’s going to take you back to your hotel,” I said, watching her process my change of mind. She paused.
Then her lips formed into a wobbly little pout for all of a second before she switched gears and narrowed her
eyes at me.

“What’s your problem, Drew?” she seethed.

“Just go home. Get some sleep,” I said. I was being a condescending prick, but I needed to do what I had to
do to get her out of my sight fast.

“You promised to help me with something,” she enunciated, as if I’d forgotten that I’d agreed to and still
desperately wanted to make her come all over my cock. Every muscle in my body was fucking aching to like
never before, but that was all the more reason to push the big red button and let the trusty walls go up.

“You can do it yourself,” I said, catching the fire in her eyes before I stepped back to close the door.

The right move at that point was to just close it, and on any other day I could’ve done it without hesitation.
But Evie’s sudden calm piqued my interest.

And it just about spiked when she leaned back and said, “You’re right, asshole. I can.”

Then she started touching herself over her dress.

My adrenaline stalled and my gaze grew heavy as I watched her part her legs, sliding her hand between her
thighs.

“Don’t do that.”

“You told me to. Now close the door.”

  Battle of Mohacs | Ottoman Empire

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“Gary, give us a minute,” I snarled, fully aware that I was taking the L here. I didn’t enjoy being called on my
bluff – especially when I wasn’t bluffing to start with – but fuck it. Evie had me.

Once my driver was out, I let her pull me in by my shirt. I growled into her neck and before I knew it, my
hand had replaced hers, my fingers rubbing over her dress, between the lips of her pussy. I could feel her
warmth and her wetness through the fabric and I wanted nothing but to reach under that skirt and feel her
skin-to-skin, with no barrier between us.

But I was going to hold up one part of the promise I’d made to myself tonight.

I would make her come. But I wasn’t going to fuck her.

My ego convinced me my logic was sound. If we weren’t having sex, then I was in the clear. If I was touching
her over her clothes, it was the same as what we were doing upstairs. If anything, I was just proving to her
how loud I could make her moan without getting my dick involved.

And so far, I was doing a fucking stellar job.

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“Does that feel good?” I murmured as I sat beside her, one hand gripping the base of her ponytail as the
other stroked furiously between her thighs. The way her body responded to every bit of my touch drove me
wild. I was ruining her dress and the fact that she loved every second of it was making me crazy.

“Don’t stop,” she exhaled, clamping her hand over mine and grinding against me. “Faster,” she pleaded.

I happily obliged, giving longer, faster strokes that made her tits bounce nonstop under her dress. God, I
wanted to rip it right off. I wanted to see her spill out and I wanted to suck on her nipples while she came all
over my hand. But none of that was going to happen without me fucking her senseless, so I refrained,
convincing myself that I was in control here.

I kept telling myself that, even as I looked down and saw the damp fabric of Evie’s dress clinging to her
pussy, molding over those luscious lips and turning me into an animal.

“Fuck, Evie,” I growled, my eyes drinking her in from head to toe when she came, squeezing my shirt tight
and letting out a moan so ragged and sexy I almost whipped my cock out and fucked her on the spot.

I could’ve basked forever in the scent of her pleasure that lingered thick in the air.

But once her satisfied body went fully limp in my arms, I released her and pushed open the door. Her heavy,
dazed stare followed me but she said nothing as she sat there with tousled hair and flushed cheeks, still
catching her breath as I got out and finally closed the damned door.

I made eye contact with Gary and watched him climb back in the driver’s seat, and the second I heard the
engine start, I turned on my heel and headed back into the building. I walked into the first restroom I could
find, kicked open a stall and furiously jerked off inside, reliving the shape of Evie’s pussy in that dress as I
came faster than I ever had in my life.

13

EVIE

I had zero – and I mean zero – contact with Drew in the six days that followed the absolute chaos of that
night.

In all fairness, this was all pre-planned and exactly according to the itinerary Iain had sent.

Drew had two road series against Boston and Tampa, so he was out of town and wouldn’t be back in New
York till his start against Baltimore Monday night. When we first did the schedule, Iain had in fact asked me
to attend one or two road games in Boston, or even Tampa if I could swing it, because traveling was just a
part of being a “baseball wife.”

But the days conflicted with my consultation meetings and new client tours at the warehouse, so the mini
road trip plan was nixed.

Which meant we weren’t supposed to see each other. There were no dates on the schedule, and that was
technically fine. We’d gone hard staging photo ops for the first few days of our contract so this, according to
Iain, would just be our “breather” before move-in day.

So really, I shouldn’t be over-thinking a thing.

But still.

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The fact that Drew didn’t so much as text did kind of bother me.

As a matter of fact, he didn’t even shoot a snarky one-liner in reply to Iain’s latest email in our shared email
thread. It was radio silence from him since he closed the car door behind me that night, and as much as I
wanted to believe I was easy, breezy and completely unaffected, I definitely was not.

Because I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that went down.

How could anyone expect me to? Drew and I had gone completely off script. Hot as it was, our kiss outside
Merryweather had clearly been for show, but the filth we got into the other night was behind closed doors.
No one had seen it but us. Every word Drew spoke, every bit of heat in his touch had been entirely for me.

And no one but me.

“Geez, woman. What got into you that night and can I buy some off of you?” Aly asked as I sat with her in the
back office of our restaurant. After finishing my meetings on Thursday, I’d gone ahead and hopped on

the Hampton Jitney. It was late at night, but this was an emergency.

  25 Most Popular Books Published in March, 2022

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I’d had an extremely hot night with my extremely fake boyfriend, I was still thinking about it, and I needed to
talk it all out before I did something stupid like text him even a “hey what’s up.”

So I went to see Aly.

“Alright, so remind me who started it?” Aly asked, trying to get to the top of all my breathless rambling.
“Who kissed who first?”

I blinked. My toes curled in my flats as I remembered Drew telling me to get off his lap before yanking me
right back.

“I have no idea who started the kissing, but he definitely started the precursor to the kissing.”

“This is confusing.”

“You’re telling me.”

“But you asked to go home with him, right?” Aly clarified.

“Yes,” I answered, chewing my lip. “And before you ask, I wasn’t drunk.”

“I didn’t assume that,” she laughed. “I know what Drew looks like. He’s like, top one percent good-looking, so
I’m pretty sure any woman sitting on his lap would have trouble keeping her clothes on.”

“Did I mention that I was commando? And he was hard? And huge?”

“Several times, yes.”

I buried my face in my hands.

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“Sorry, it was just so hot. But then he was such a dick afterwards, my God. Who gets someone all hot and
bothered and then just snatches sex away last minute?”

“Drew Maddox,” Aly answered. “To be fair, he did still finish the job for you,” she smirked. “And it’s probably
a good thing that you guys didn’t have sex. ‘Cause imagine if this week of silence happened after, you know,
actual penetrative action.”

“You say that as if what he did to me in that car wasn’t already the hottest thing that’s ever happened in my
life.”

“Trust me, I’m not underestimating how hot it was. I legit read the text you sent me that night and woke
Emmett up so I could jump his bones. Which reminds me, he asked me to thank you,” she giggled before
holding her hands out and giving a shrug. “All I’m saying is it would’ve been even more complicated if you
actually went home with him, had mind-blowing sex and then spent the night before being hit with this no-
contact situation. Am I right?”

“You are,” I groaned toward the ceiling. “I’m just… all over the place right now. I’m not supposed to care
about Drew not talking to me. In fact, I’m supposed to care about that ex of mine who I legit called Matt in
my head this morning.”

“Really?” Aly’s eyes lit up. “Evie. I’m so proud of you. Does this mean you’ll skip going to that whole
restaurant opening? Who needs to see him after all the vile shit he said to you?”

I took a second to remember what vile shit Aly was referring to.

Oh. Right.

He could be dating models if he wanted to. Ew. The memory of Mike’s words made me actually stick my
tongue out of my mouth.

“I’m still going,” I sighed. “But only for our friend Hillary. She’s texted me a variation of sorry every day since
Drew and I ate at her restaurant, and I don’t want her to think I’m mad at her because Mike randomly
showed up that day. I should actually tell her that seeing him act like such an immature dickhead has
significantly lowered my need to talk to him.”

“I think it’s that combined with all that Drew Maddox dick.”

“That I’m not actually getting, Alyson Stanton, because this isn’t actually real,” I grumbled, dragging my
palms down my face. “And yet here I am acting all paranoid and crazy and wondering why he’s not giving me
live updates of every thought that’s passing through his brain. Am I legitimately nuts?” I asked Aly seriously.

“Evie, no,” she burst out laughing. “It’s just been awhile since you’ve had butterflies over someone. And no
one’s going to blame you for having butterflies over Drew. People have butterflies just looking at him on TV.
You’re dealing with him in person.”

“Exactly. So how am I supposed to survive this? I’m moving into his house tomorrow.”

“Umm.” Aly tapped her pen on her lip. “Well, when I was trying to stave off sexual tension while living with
Emmett, you told me to call him ‘dude’ as much as possible. Something about how it desexualizes the
person.”

“That only works if I’m trying to convince him that I’m not deathly attracted to him, and right now, I’m
trying to convince myself,” I protested.
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“Then stop doing things that involve touching his penis!” Aly sputtered, laughing. “You can hold hands in
public, you can even kiss in public. But slow down the other funny business. Especially behind closed doors.
It’s clearly driving you crazy, and as much as I like the idea of you and Drew being together for real, I know
from Emmett what he’s like in the woman department, and I… I don’t know.”

  25 Most Popular Books Published in February, 2022

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“What? What were you going to say?” I frowned.

“I don’t know, Evie.” Aly wrinkled her nose, taking a second to carefully choose her words. “I don’t blame you
for how things escalated the other night, but I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to sleep with him this
early on. Like you’ve seen yourself, Drew can get… difficult sometimes. Emmett says he can just ‘flip a switch’
and ice people out like they never even mattered. I mean, he was trying to do it to Emmett over the whole
trade rumor thing, but you know my man,” she smirked. “He’s persistent.”

“That he is,” I nodded, remembering the particular craziness of their courtship. “So what now? Strictly acting
and friendship with him from here on out?”

“Just get to know him for now,” Aly said. “You’re both attracted to each other, obviously, but slow it down.
Exercise self-control. You’re going to be stuck living with him for awhile, and he can be unpredictable, so do
your best to keep things simple. You don’t want to risk making things awkward at home. Right?”

“Right,” I echoed, finally processing the severity of the situation.

It was all fun and games when I could go home to a hotel and be physically separated from Drew. But as of
Monday, that would no longer be the case.

“So it’s settled,” Aly gave a clap of her hands. “You’re going to be fine living with him as long as you stick to
your new rule. Which is?” she quizzed me.

“No more touching his body of any kind?”

“No, it’s not that extreme,” she snorted. “Just stop making contact with his penis, for God’s sake. You haven’t
known him for that long, so if it’s already a necessity that you touch his dick every time you’re near him, you
might actually be in love with him already.”

“Um, excuse you, and never,” I said indignantly.

“Atta girl.” She wheeled her chair over and ruffled my hair. “You got this. I believe in you,” she added, but she
said it with such a funny, tight-lipped smile on her face that I knew she didn’t mean it completely.

And honest to God, I couldn’t blame her.

14

DREW

I eked out a win in Boston, but barely.

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It came two days after my night in the backseat of the car with Evie, and it took every ounce of my focus to
refrain from thinking about her. I had a precise physical regimen in the four days leading up to a start, and
that wasn’t hard to follow.

But the mental game this week was a different story.

It was harder, more work to keep my mind on task, and I blamed it on the ritual. There were a ton of official
rules in baseball, but a million more if you factored in all our pre-game rituals and superstitions. Some made
more sense than others, but there was no questioning anyone’s routine. We all had our rules, which meant
we respected everyone else’s.

For instance, Ty took the same route to work every day, even if it meant traffic up the ass. Watt had to have
exactly twelve broccoli florets in his daily pregame meal. Brewer listened to the same Kendrick song at the
same volume at the same time before every game, and Diaz tapped his heart twice with his right hand before
every at-bat.

Everyone had their one rule and I was no different. In fact, I shared the same one as most pitchers on the
team, and that was no sex on game day.

No jerking off either.

And while the no sex part was clearly no issue of late, the lack of the latter had me hurting today. I’d relied
heavily on that relief the past few days. I needed it to get her off my mind. I hadn’t talked to her since that
night in the back of my car, but that sure as shit didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking of her.

I was. Constantly.

And it wasn’t just the fact that I got to watch her come, it was the fact that she tested me. She tried my
patience, got the better of me and she looked good doing it. I didn’t know if I loved it or hated it. All I knew
was that it brought me right back to the cycle of doubting the contract, fighting the Nike brain, and
reminding myself why I was doing this in the first place.

The game, this team, and a championship – my first one in a ten-year career.

I managed to get her out of my head the second my cleats hit the mound, and though I only pitched six
innings, I got the win. So what little focus I had still managed to work.

But the case would definitely change once we touched down in Florida.

Contrary to what a few of my teammates liked to think, not every female baseball fan was a groupie. But the
ones who hung in the lobby of our hotel after our games, when it was close to midnight?

Definitely groupies.

They had their tits pushed most of the way out of their kid sized Empires shirts, which were always cut down
the middle, damned near to the navel, and on a regular basis, they didn’t tempt me. Aside from the fact that
they were the type to prick holes in condoms, they had about a minute to make an impression on any one of
us as we made our ways to the elevators, and the frantic desperation wasn’t exactly a turn-on.

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It was usually the rookies who succ

umbed to their temptation. Even Ty didn’t go for these girls.

But just looking at that amount of skin had me feeling tight as I rode up to my room, and it only got worse
when I got in and checked my texts.

IAIN: Good sign. Paps are following her while she’s not even with you.

A link from some gossip site followed. I texted him back in a heat before even clicking.

ME: This just means she’s getting stalked by those fucking animals while she’s walking around by herself.
How is that a good sign?

IAIN: If they’re taking individual interest in Evie that means you’ve piqued a very good amount of interest as
a couple. Take comfort in the fact that these are NY paps. If this was LA it would be a different story.

ME: Fine

I left the conversation at that and clicked on the link.

And shortly after, I was on my bed, dick out of my sweats and jerking off to the pictures of Evie walking
around Manhattan in a black V-neck T-shirt and ripped denim shorts.

There was a particularly scummy shot of her through the window of a store, innocently bending over in those
shorts to pick up a shopping bag. It made my blood fucking boil and at the same goddamned time, I was
jacking my cock even harder because just the slightest glimpse of her denim-covered pussy was enough to
send me reeling back to that car. It brought me right back to my fingers rubbing over her clit. My cock
twitching at all those sexy, breathy moans escaping her lips.

And I fucking hated myself for it.

Not because I was getting off to the sight of Evie, but because I was using paparazzi photos to do it.

Considering what cocksuckers they were to me, I hated supporting them in any way. For four straight years
now, I’d avoided all sports and entertainment media. Instagram was the plague. Twitter was straight up
ebola. I didn’t read headlines let alone articles about myself, and I never Googled my own name. I used to
read the New York Times sports section every morning, but now I didn’t do even that.

I was staunchly against media consumption of any kind because all the lies and misconceptions I saw out
there generally made me feel fucking homicidal. Though of course, I contributed to a ton of these mistruths. I
didn’t clear up certain controversial aspects of my past because I didn’t even fucking want to touch it. I didn’t
want to open up my personal life to even more scrutiny and questions, so I kept my mouth shut, let them
write their bullshit and pretty much avoided the Internet.

I was on a four-year streak of that.

But I broke it in Tampa by Googling Evie’s name for the rest of the trip, just to see if new pictures came up.
When none did, I Googled both her name and mine. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to see just how close the
paparazzi dared to get to her, or if I just wanted more material to jerk to. I told myself it wasn’t the latter but
it didn’t matter either way – this was a risky game for me, and it really wasn’t surprising when I eventually
stumbled over the exact kind of headline I lived to avoid.

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EVEN AFTER FALLOUT, LILLARDS STILL CHEER FOR THEIR HOMETOWN KID.

Fucking hell.

I didn’t have to click to know what that article was about.

Tim and his family still cheered for me. I knew that much. He decked his son out in Maddox gear just to
watch the game at home. He’d dared to send me pictures once before I deleted my old email address and
made a new one.

Long story short, I’d fucked myself for my start against Baltimore at home.

A day later, I was still thinking of the headline, and I was pissed at myself – at my lack of self-control during
that Googling spree. I was focused more on how much I’d already fucked up than how I could fix it, and I had
a feeling that was why I was paying so much attention to stupid shit like the sound of Watt’s teeth hitting his
fork with every damned bite of his food, or the smell of Brewer’s stupid fucking chicken.

It reminded me of the Lillard house.

Specifically, it reminded me of the day Mom found out about Dad and the neighbor, Carly. Or Carrie. I
remembered her perfume, but not her name. Mom found out, left the house, but didn’t tell me – she was just
a no-show to pick me up from practice.

That particular day, I remembered staying awhile at the ballpark and talking to the older kid who worked the
snack bar. He was nice, and I wanted to wait till after dinner to call the Lillards. The last time Mom didn’t
pick me up, I called them and they drove back to get me in the middle of dinner. Up and left everything. I
remembered going back to their house and watching Tim and his little sister bring an extra chair over while
Pattie fixed me a plate of that amazing buttermilk fried chicken she was famous for – that Tim had been
going on and on about even before the game.

It was his favorite and I felt like shit when I excitedly bit in and it was cold. It was a big day in the Lillard
house when Pattie made the chicken. It wasn’t the same reheated, and I was the reason it went cold.

The worst part was how Tim and Pattie just smiled and talked about my great game while eating their cold
chicken. They didn’t try to make me feel bad, and that made me feel worse.

So I waited till after dinner to call and when the Lillards brought me back to their house, Pattie reheated
some leftovers while I played Nintendo with Tim in the den. Like she would so many more times in the
future, she dragged the extra twin mattress up from the basement and made it up all nice with fresh sheets
and a memory foam pillow from her own bed. “Don’t worry, I have two nice pillows and only one head!” she
reassured me.

Neither she nor Tim ever acted like I was a pain or a burden, and it was such a stark difference from Dad,
who never let me forget how much Little League fees were. I memorized all the lower range prices for bats,
gloves and cleats by the time I was nine.

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So the Lillards were a breath of fresh air. They were my only sense of comfort.

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I wound up staying with them a lot over the years. Definitely that week that my mom moved out, and any
other time she threatened to move out for good. I bounced back and forth between the Lillards and my house
so much it was confusing, and by the time I was in high school, I just lived there some weeks, whether Mom
was home or not.

Baseball was becoming a bigger responsibility in my life – I was getting enough serious attention now that
Dad came to all my games and bragged about the cars he’d buy with my first paycheck – and I needed a
break from the craziness. Dad could get intense about my career, even when I was just trying to relax at
home, and I needed a quiet place I liked being at with people I enjoyed being around when I wasn’t playing
or practicing.

And that was the Lillard house with its fresh buttermilk fried chicken every Thursday.

“Hey. You good?” Diaz frowned when I got up abruptly to leave the room. I gave him a thumbs on my way to
the lounge, where I could hopefully get away from the smell of Brewer’s food. I did, but at this point, I
couldn’t get out of my head.

Something had tipped the scale, and I’d gone from focused to overwhelmed in just a matter of seconds. I was
thinking about things I didn’t normally think about. I had a constant barrier up to keep these particular
memories out, but now they were seeping through, and the idea that there were actual cracks in my mental
game drove me fucking nuts.

I wasn’t myself right now, and I blamed it all on Evie.

Irrational, probably, but oh well. I needed to blame someone and she made it easy, especially with the text
she’d just sent after successfully leaving me alone for almost a full week.

EVIE: Hey welcome home.

EVIE: So I just wanted to say that you were right to send me home alone the other night. It’s probably best if
we keep the show simple from here on out. Hand holding and pecks while we’re out in public. Nothing
behind closed doors. We’re both bound to this contract for awhile so we might as well be responsible and
keep our boundaries clear.

I clenched my jaw as I read it then tossed my phone aside.

Jesus.

This was becoming much more of an effort than I’d imagined, and if I had my choice, I would’ve already gott

en rid of Evie by now. She was too much of a distraction. But I couldn’t just ghost her. She was throwing me
off my game, yet she was apparently necessary for my career.

She was both my problem and my solution, and I was pretty sure I hated her for it.

I was also sure that I was either going to pitch a great game today or a fucking disaster – I wasn’t sure which.
All I knew was that no matter what happened, I’d be going home livid because I could already feel that I
needed to be alone tonight.

But tonight was the night she was moving in.

15

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EVIE

So, move-in was a total disaster.

And he wasn’t even home yet.

But within the first two hours of arriving, I’d broken the fridge, tripped up the alarm and failed to tell the
alarm company the right password when they called, so the police wound up coming. They took one look at
me in my panicked state, wearing twelve-dollar bottled kale juice from the fridge that I’d spilled down my
shirt when the alarm sounded, and laughed their asses off for a solid minute.

And for some reason, as they laughed, I thought it an appropriate time to ask whether they knew what the
heck I’d just done to the refrigerator, and why was it beeping like that? Was it broken?

“I’ve never seen a fridge like that, that looks like a time machine,” the lady said.

“You might want to fix it before Mr. Maddox gets home,” her partner chuckled. “I don’t think he needs
anything else to deal with after tonight’s game.”

Shit.

“Why? What happened?” I asked before they basically laughed some more, reminded me to get the password
for the alarm company, and left.

A quick search of “Empires score” on my laptop showed me that they lost tonight, 17-4. Holy God. I didn’t
know much about baseball, but I knew that was bad. MADDOX STUMBLES IN DISASTROUS FIFTH
INNING was the only headline I saw before clicking the hell out.

Of course, clicking out brought me to my open Facebook tab, and a reminder that I should probably unfriend
Mike.

He rarely posted anything unrelated to work, but twenty minutes ago he’d posted a status that read:
Baltimore SPANKED NY tonight! There goes your big win streak Empires #sorrynotsorry
#someoneisoverpaid #damyoureallyblewit

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Page 45

“Seriously?” I hissed at my screen because one, he wasn’t even a Baltimore fan and two, his stupid passive
aggressive hashtags were clearly directed at Drew and three, he spelled the word “damn” wrong.

What an ass.

I was still frazzled and wearing kale juice when I typed a dirty, bitchy, completely inappropriate reply to his
post that I really, really wished I had the nerve to actually post.

Just do it. He deserves it. Hit enter, the devil on my shoulder urged me wickedly the second Iain finally
texted me back.

“Thank God,” I exhaled, but then I read his text.

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IAIN: Unfortunately I don’t know the answers to any of these questions but I’m sure the fridge is fine and the
alarm company will understand. Just breathe and remember the password in case there’s a next time. I let
Drew know to come home early to address any further issues you might have.

“No! No, no, no, no!” I yelled at my phone, typing back a dozen different replies and settling on none to
actually send because it was probably inappropriate to ask Iain what he was thinking texting Drew when I
texted him specifically to avoid talking to Drew. I already felt dumb for caving and texting him about our new
rule today, and even dumber since he didn’t respond, so the last thing I needed was for him to be informed
that I “needed” him home.

Ugh.

I wasn’t even unpacked yet.

Dragging my feet upstairs, I went into the guest room where I’d left my bags and pulled out something clean
to change into. I was in the middle of yanking my top on when I heard the elevator humming up to the
entrance of the penthouse downstairs.

Drew was home.

I ran out of my room eagerly before realizing that I wasn’t sure if I was even eager to see him. We hadn’t
spoken since that bizarre and incredibly hot night that almost felt like a dream at this point, and he was no
doubt in a crappy mood over tonight’s epic loss.

On top of that, Iain had texted him something about me and all the stupid issues I’d been having in his home,
which I now realized were pretty trivial, and the last thing Drew needed to deal with. So I felt kind of bad
about that.

And I felt even worse when midway down the steps, the elevator doors opened and Drew’s eyes were pinned
immediately on me.

“Hi,” I breathed out, freezing in place as I took in the sight of him looking hard, steely and hotter than I was
comfortable with in a white crew neck and grey sweats.

God, that body.

He said nothing to me, instead striding silently into the kitchen and tossing his wallet onto the counter. He
eyed the still-beeping fridge and conveyed the utter lack of emergency it presented by taking a swig from his
water bottle and returning a few texts before walking over to it. Then with a look at me, he hit some button
that I swore I’d hit ten times to try and shut it up, and the damned thing stopped beeping.

At that point, I pretty much wanted to turn on my heel and go back upstairs, but I forced myself to at least
attempt to break our three-day silence before going to bed. He was clearly a seasoned pro at intimidating
others, but if I was going to be living under the same roof as Drew Maddox, I refused to be scared of him.

I watched him pay attention to everything but me as I joined him in the kitchen. I thought about what Aly
had said the other day, what I’d texted him today, and nodded silently to myself.

Yeah. Definitely. No fucking this moody prick. Now, soon or ever, I resolved as I drew in a deep, inaudible
breath and worked up the nerve to break the silence.

“So. Have you eaten yet?”

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It was all I had in my arsenal since “how was the game” was out of the question. Plus, it had always been my
daily greeting to Mike after I got home from work. It helped me figure out whether I needed to take care of
him or whether or not I could go shower and do my own thing.

I rested my palms on the countertop to convey casual calm, but my toes were tapping away in my slippers as
I waited for Drew to respond to my question. He took his sweet time, opening the door of the freezer and
taking out what looked like an ice pack before finally speaking.

“Password for the alarm is Christopher,” he said coldly. “Memorize it.”

Okay. I see how it is.

This was probably how he started the ice-out Aly was talking about, but I wasn’t having it.

“Who’s Christopher?” I dared to ask, earning myself a look from Drew as he made his way over to the living
room.

“No one you’ll ever meet, so don’t worry about it.”

God.

I rolled my head back and shared a can you believe this guy look with the ceiling, because I had no one else to
gripe to. Still, I wasn’t letting him break me. I was going to remain unflappably civil and find a way for us to
leave off on a decent note before going upstairs. This was where I was sleeping for the next three months, and
I wasn’t about to let it become a toxic environment. I was too old for that shit.

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Page 46

“Look, Drew, I know you had a rough night,” I started as I trailed him to the living room. “But I just wanted
to say that before all the fridge and alarm drama happened, when I first walked in here, I realized just how
grateful I was to be out of that apartment and living in this city,” I said, stopping him in front of the couch.
“And since I still have energy and you’re probably wiped right now, I’d be happy to do something for you to
make your night easier. I can cook something, I can run to the store. I saw a twenty-four hour place around
the corner. If you need something, you can let me know.”

Drew hit me with another look.

“I’m not your ex, Evie. I don’t need to be coddled.”

“I wasn’t implying that, Drew,” I said, trying to be patient. “I was just trying to do something nice for you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re living together now. We can’t just ignore each other. We have to try to strike a balance
together.”

“Strike a balance?” He was about to sit down but apparently something I said piqued his interest. “You mean
between being strangers and people who fuck in the back of cars?”

I swallowed the instant knot in my throat. This was his first mention of what happened the other night since

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it happened, and it took a second for me to gather myself.

“Yes,” I finally said. “Although…” I had to work up the nerve to go on. “I think we both know we didn’t… fuck.
And that we definitely shouldn’t. We should keep it simple between us from now on. Civil to friendly at
home. Romantic in public. No sexual touching of any kind. Right?”

It seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to say considering it was exactly what was stated in our contract,
but when I looked up at Drew, there was a hint of a sneer on his lips.

“Right,” he said, though with a mocking undertone.

“I mean if we’ve known each other for two weeks, Drew. I think it’s possible for us to dial things back to a
happy medium,” I said in a positive tone, despite my absolutely pounding heart. “If not, we’re just giving up
on the contract, and I know neither of us wants to do that now. Right?”

“Right.” His eyes burned into mine, his lips barely moving as he said it.

Relax. Breathe. Be positive.

“Okay. So,” I exhaled, trying to reset. “Is there anything I can do for you now before I go upstairs?”

“Yeah,” Drew muttered.

Then without warning, he reached up behind his head, gripped his back collar and peeled his shirt clean off
his torso.

Whaaat.

The. Fuck.

Is happening.

I didn’t even try to avoid staring. I straight up let him watch as I checked out his unbelievably wide, hard pecs
and those perfectly chiseled ab

s. And those tattoos. God. They were hot enough peeking out from under the sleeves of his shirt but with him
completely undressed, they were that much sexier. They punctuated the raw masculinity that was his ripped,
hard body, and it was physically impossible not to imagine what that body was capable of beyond athletics.

Ah-ah, Evie. No more touching his penis, no more touching his penis, no more touching his penis, I
reminded myself of Aly’s rule as I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth, taking a second to find my
words again.

“Is… there a reason you’re stripping?” I finally asked, watching the lines of his six-pack deepen as he leaned
forward to grab the ice pack off the table.

“You asked what you could do for me,” Drew started tersely, forcing my eyes on his biceps as he reached
across his chest and pressed the ice pack to the back of his shoulder. “And what you can do is rewind this
night back a few hours so I’m still at the stadium instead of skipping my post-game massage to tend to your
ridiculous non-emergencies.”

I clenched my jaw, annoyed with my own lack of a response for that. I wanted to blame Iain, but that was
immature so I simply held my tongue as I watched Drew sink into his seat on the couch, stretching his neck
and wincing with pain as he took care of his soreness.
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Still holding an ice pack to his shoulder, he used his free hand to work the muscles on his legs, digging the
heel of his palm down his hamstrings, along his calves. I eyed his hand. Bruised knuckles. Taped fingers. He
was basically hurting all over.

Geez.

“Look, I can do that for you,” I blurted without thinking.

The out-of-the-blue weirdness of my offer was confirmed by the odd look Drew gave me.

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Page 47

He kept his eyes on me for several seconds, still massaging himself before asking, “What?”

“Massage you,” I said, my cheeks burning because it sounded so damned sensual even when I didn’t mean it
that way. “Not in a weird way or anything,” I added, making the situation a hundred times more awkward.
Come on, Evie. You already said it. Just own it. “It’s just I’m known among my group of friends as the go-to
girl for this. I got good at massage therapy growing up because my sister… had these aches,” I said hastily,
trying to skip over the mention of Kaylie. “So anyway, I know how to handle muscle pain. It’s just an offer,
Drew.”

He stared up at me, his lips curling into a sneer.

“Could’ve sworn you just made a new rule about how we touch each other behind closed doors.”

“Massages don’t have to be sexual. I just told you I gave massages to my sister, for God’s sake, and you get
rubbed down every day by presumably a dude you’re not sexually attracted to, so.” I shrugged, smiling a bit
because the huff of air he let out sounded something like laughter. “I don’t know, Drew, I’m just trying to be
nice. I’m trying to help.”

“Fine. Then do it.”

I blinked in surprise.

“Fine,” I said, just to disguise my own uneasiness.

Really though, Evie. What were you thinking?

It seemed like an obvious thing to me at the time. He was hurting. I was good at this. I wanted to make up for
the mess that was tonight.

But I could feel my heart beating out of control as I prepared to kneel in front of Drew’s wide-parted legs.
There was no smile on his face but I read the look of amusement in his eyes as I stood over him, trying to
figure out if there was a less sexual position I could do this in.

Of course, the answer was no.

So after about twelve seconds of hesitation, I got on my knees. Before I could even let myself process how
much it looked like I was about to blow him, I held his ankle with one hand. With my other hand, I cupped

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the back of his calf, applying pressure as I pushed my thumb up the line of where his bone and muscle came
together.

He groaned in such pain I snapped my hands back.

“That hurt?” I asked apologetically. He blew out a long breath.

“Yes, but it felt good.”

I bit my lip, taking a second to shake off the throaty breathlessness of his voice.

“I should keep going?”

“Yes.”

So I did, keeping track of his every twitch and groan to get a better understanding of what felt good or not. I
put all my focus on those powerfully muscled legs, looking at nothing else but my own hands because I knew
Drew was watching me.

His attention was rapt on me, and it felt like he was trying to figure me out. I wasn’t just good at massages – I
was fucking stellar. A “miracle worker” according to Aly, Mike, Hillary and a dozen other friends who’d
experienced my back rubs.

No one would expect this kind of strength from my slender hands. I knew that, and I knew Drew was getting
reluctantly curious about me. I could feel him wanting to know where this skill came from without having to
ask, but after another few minutes of silence, he caved.

“Why are you so good at this?” It was slightly more accusation than compliment.

“I told you. My sister.”

“Why did she have aches?”

“I don’t know. She just had… bad legs.”

“Was she elderly, this sister of yours?”

I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.

“She was sick,” I said curtly. “Also, I know you love giving me a hard time, but people have real feelings and
real sore spots, and maybe you should just read the room sometimes and recognize when you shouldn’t ask
any more questions. You’re not the only one who doesn’t want to talk about certain topics.”

I didn’t look up to see his reaction, and it was silent for another few minutes.

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Page 48

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay,” I replied, though only because the mention of my sister took my attention off my nerves. I wasn’t
normally happy to talk about her. Just her name raised my blood pressure. But apparently, massaging a
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shirtless Drew Maddox raised my blood pressure even more, so somehow, the topic of Kaylie tonight was
almost like a vacation.

“What was she sick with?”

I looked up at him, wanting to give him shit for his persistent curiosity. But I didn’t.

“She was a heroin addict,” I said, focusing on the pressure I was applying to his muscles. “Whenever she tried
quitting, the withdrawal symptoms included muscle aches. Leg cramps in particular for her.”

“You were the younger one?”

“Yes. By four years.”

“How old were you when you started helping her with the cramps?”

“Exactly twelve.”

“Exactly twelve?” Drew repeated. “How do you remember that?”

“Because her first overdose was on my twelfth birthday.”

I remembered because Mom had hyped me up for a big surprise the whole day before, but on the morning of
my birthday, I woke up to an empty house that remained empty all day.

I wouldn’t find out till Mom got home at night that she’d taken Kaylie to the ER first thing in the morning,
for her first overdose in a year of using. Mom had stayed a few hours at the hospital before getting in her car
and driving furiously to the middle of nowhere, screaming and crying the whole way, and eventually
stranding herself with no gas or phone. She was so tired by the time she got back that she couldn’t handle all
my questions and tears. She just closed her bedroom door on me and went to sleep.

“She quit after that?” Drew asked.

I looked up at him, still so suspicious of him when he asked questions about me. I really couldn’t imagine
that he actually cared about anyone’s story. My theory now was that he was using the grim topic of Kaylie the
same way I was – to distract from the overly sexual nature of what we were doing.

“That was her first try. There would be many others. In fact, she’s in the midst of another try right now.”

“How often do you speak to her?”

“Never. I moved out when I was seventeen and I’ve been no-contact with her since,” I replied, trying to sound
cold and casual, as if I didn’t carry guilt with me every day.

/> I knew I succeeded because without even looking at Drew, I could see his eyebrows lifting up high. I was
sure he was judging me. I felt like I deserved to be judged.

But when he spoke, he reminded me of his own relationship with his family.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said, his words kind but his tone harsh. “People act like blood means
more than your own sanity. But it doesn’t.”

I didn’t look at him as I moved my hands up to his thigh, right above his kneecap.

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“I know. And I tried to help for a long time,” I defended myself, because I always felt like I had to. “She stole
from me, hit me, spit on me, and I’d take it because she was sick. She didn’t ‘mean it.’ But even after she
broke my arm, my mom defended her.”

“How the fuck did she defend that? And how the fuck did she break your arm?”

The genuine anger in Drew’s voice made me look up in surprise, but it was nothing compared to the fiery
blaze of his stare. Okay, so it wasn’t so much sympathy for me as rage for the world.

“Well.” I looked back down, using both hands to work the seemingly impenetrable muscle of his lower thigh.
“My mom kept saying she couldn’t help it, and to remember when Kaylie and I were best friends. But after
six years of this and being thrown down a fucking flight of stairs one day when I wouldn’t give Kaylie any
more money, I said I was done. I wasn’t going to keep waiting for the day she went back to who she was. As
much as I loved her, as much as I still miss her, she’s not there anymore. It’s not her. And I can’t let her bad
decisions dictate my life anymore.”

“Of course,” Drew said, his voice almost gentle. By his standards at least. I looked up at him. “You have to
take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else,” he muttered, wincing and groaning in between
as I worked up to the middle of his thigh.

I couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“You’ll hate knowing this, but those were the exact words Mike said to me when he convinced me to cut them
out of my life.”

“You’re right, I do hate knowing that,” Drew shot back fast. But then he relaxed again, rolling his head back
and sucking in a long, deep breath between his teeth as I pushed the heel of my palm along his hamstring.
“God, Evie, that feels so fucking good.”

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Page 49

The gravel in his voice shot straight between my thighs. Suddenly, I recognized the sheer proximity of my
hands to his cock, and it made me bite my lip. Clearing my throat, I tried distracting myself with an
unpleasant subject.

“Well, just because Mike gave me good advice before doesn’t mean he’s got a lifetime pass. He’s still an
asshole who – oh shit!”

My sharp gasp jolted Drew, and I caught a half second of his confusion before scrambling to my laptop and
trying to remember if I’d actually hit enter.

Before Drew came home, I had been seething over Mike’s Facebook post. I’d written that dirty, snappy
comment just to blow off steam and make myself laugh, but I hadn’t actually hit enter.

Right? I would never, I told myself just as I hit the space bar, woke up my laptop and stared at a good thirty-
six notifications staring at me at the top of the page.

“Oh God,” I breathed as I realized that I would never did not actually apply, because apparently, I very much
would. My eyes were wild as I reread his post – Baltimore SPANKED NY tonight! There goes your big win
streak Empires #sorrynotsorry #someoneisoverpaid #damyoureallyblewit – followed by my reply:
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Guess that means someone else is getting spanked tonight. Not that I mind ;) #loveit #heshotwhenhesmad

Oh.

My God, Evie.

I had no other words for myself as I knelt in front of my screen, hands clasped over my mouth while taking in
all the likes, loves, shocked emojis and sassy GIF replies under my insane comment – some of them from
Mike’s own coworkers.

Omigodomigodomigod.

“What?”

The second I heard Drew’s voice, I slammed my laptop shut.

“Nothing!” I said, though when I turned around, Drew was sitting forward, as if he’d just been reading over
my shoulder. I squinted at him. I knew he’d looked, but I couldn’t tell if he’d read everything on my screen,
so I kept my narrowed eyes pinned to his vague smirk as I returned to massaging his legs. And after ten
seconds of quiet, I concluded that he hadn’t seen a thing.

But just to be safe, I kept his mouth shut by throwing myself into massaging the hell out of him, using all the
strength in my body to push, rub and knead his thighs till I was breathless and he was growling from the
pain.

“Trying to hurt me, little girl?” he snarled.

“I thought you said it hurt but felt good.”

“Kind of like being spanked?”

Oh God. My heart slammed in my chest. Okay, so he did see the comment, I breathed, trying to play it off
and gather myself. But when it was clear that I wouldn’t, I looked up at him, cheeks burning.

“That was clearly for show. Just to shut him up,” I said as amusement danced in his eyes.

“So you have no interest in getting spanked.”

“That clearly breaks our no-touching rule. I think we both know that.”

“I could use a paddle to avoid actual contact.”

“So… do you want me to finish this massage or do you want me to go to my room and ignore you till the end
of time?”

“Finish me off,” he smirked, breaking into a full grin when I whispered ass under my breath and returned to
the massage.

But at this point, it was impossible for me to rub my hands all over his body without wanting to combust into
flames. Drew’s gaze was fixed tight on me as I avoided looking up, still breathless, my chest still heaving from
using all my strength on him. Both physically and mentally, I was faltering, getting weak, and all I could do
was remind myself that he’d get cold and frigid if we caved and had sex.

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Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it, I chanted on repeat. Don’t even look at him.

But just as I thought the words, Drew reached into his sweats and grabbed his cock.

16

DREW

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Page 50

There were a lot of things on my mind when I came home tonight.

There was the fact that I lost my first start of the season. And I didn’t just lose. I gave up eight runs in one
inning. I couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. I wound up getting pulled early, and my teammates avoided
looking at me for fear of catching the yips.

I had to grit my teeth and bear the media crowding around me directly after the game, the ones who
particularly hated me almost grinning as they asked me what happened to cause such an “epic disaster.”

I had to sit there, staying outwardly calm as I gave them the usual canned replies.

Bad games happen.

It was a bad performance.

No excuses. Next time.

Those were the answers I stuck to, because I couldn’t say anything resembling the truth. Not that I wanted to
confess that a woman – a damned near stranger – had weaseled her way into my head and for once, I
couldn’t manage to get her out. I couldn’t say that I spent the game hating the fact that I had to go home to
her, because she was finally moving in with me tonight.

It was bad enough without a reporter asking me about the Lillards.

“Do you think you’re finally feeling the effects of losing the mother figure in your life? My condolences by the
way.”

Yeah.

Your condolences my ass.

There was a lot to be pissed about when I got home today, and that wasn’t even counting Iain’s texts to rush
home to Evie’s bullshit. It wasn’t counting the soreness in my muscles. The aching in my bones. The bruise
on my shoulder from getting hit by a line drive.

I was in bad shape, both physically and mentally, and I was convinced tonight would be the night that I quit
on this contract by kicking her ass out.

But now I sensed I’d be breaking this contract in a different way. Because while I prided myself on having no
limits, I’d apparently found my first one.

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Resisting this damned woman.

“Drew, what...”

The shocked words barely made it out of those lips. Those pouty fucking lips.

They were pink and swollen, frozen in a little “o” as Evie watched me reach under my sweats, gripping the
hard base of my dick. Her mouth fell open as I flipped my erection onto my abs, tucking the pulsing tip under
the waistband of my boxers.

I knew she’d been seconds from blowing up at me, but once she realized I was just adjusting my hard-on, she
somewhat relaxed.

Key word: somewhat.

“Figured you didn’t want a tent pitched in your face.”

“No, yeah.” Her lashes fluttered as she spoke fast. “You’re right. I wouldn’t.”

“You should probably stop that now,” I muttered since her hands were still pressed flat on my thighs, not far
from where my cock was swelling fully hard.

It was begging for attention by now. Thanks to the game, I’d neglected it all day. And now that I was sitting
here, hard as a rock with Evie kneeling at my feet, I couldn’t wait a second longer.

My jaw tightened when she finally dropped her hands from my thighs.

“You should probably go upstairs now, too,” I said, unapologetic as I stroked my cock over my sweats. I wet
my lips as her gaze dropped like a brick.

Goddamn. Her eyes glimmered as they traced every inch of my erection, and I swear I watched those pink
lips get even pinker and plumper, like they were just waiting to wrap themselves around the swollen tip.

Come on, baby girl. Suck on it.

Give it a little lick.

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I wanted to let every filthy thought in my head roll off my tongue, but I controlled myself because she looked
pitifully tormented right now – hot, bothered and going through a mental crisis.

“You’re torturing me, Drew,” she whispered finally.

“Trust me, I know how that feels.”

“You’re not the one who hasn’t had sex in five months.”

“I haven’t jerked off in twenty-four hours, and considering the sounds you made when you came the other
night, that’s starting to feel a lot like five months,” I muttered.

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“Please don’t talk about that night.”

“Why?” I growled. “Because it make

s your pussy wet?”

“Yes, Drew,” she hissed. “And considering how weird things got after that, we definitely cannot have sex. We
can’t.”

“Are you telling me, or you telling yourself?”

“I’m telling us both,” she glared, sitting back on her feet with resolve. “No sexual touching.”

“Right.” I stared back at her for a second. “In that case, I’m going to jerk off. And since that requires taking
my dick out, I’m going to need you to be a good girl and go up to your room.”

She shot me a look for the deliberately condescending tone. But she didn’t leave, and I wasn’t going to stop
on her behalf.

With my eyes pinned on Evie, I pushed my sweats down, letting my erection spring free right before her.

“Fuck,” she breathed out, her lips parting and her wide eyes getting wider as I cradled my heavy shaft in my
palm, rubbing my thumb slowly against the ridge of my head. I was already rock-hard, but I felt myself
harder as Evie stayed put, hypnotized by the sight of pre-cum beading at the tip.

“Are you going to watch me, baby?” I rasped as I began stroking my dick right in front of her. She answered
by eyeing me for a second before letting her gaze fall once again. “What, this doesn’t break the rule?” I
muttered, my thighs flexed because the sensation was already unreal.

“I’m not touching you,” Evie murmured in a daze, unconsciously licking her lips as she watched me pump my
cock faster now, my head rolling back every once in awhile.

But I could never take my gaze off of her for long. I had to enjoy my incredible view. Fully soak it in as much
as I could, because for fuck’s sake, I was relaxed on my couch, cock out and jerking off right in front of Evie’s
gorgeous face. She looked so cute, so transfixed as I started jacking it hard like I did when I was home alone.
She squirmed in her kneeling position, playing nervously with the hem of her shirt. Yeah. Keep doing that, I
urged, watching her twist her top harder and harder as I pumped my dick faster and faster. She was
stretching her neckline down so far on her full tits that I was one twist away from watching them spring free.

“Not wearing a bra?” I panted.

“I am.”

“Then why can I see your nipples so clearly?”

“Because they’re hard.”

“Show me.”

She startled out of her state, looking up with surprise at my demand. But it lasted barely a second before she
turned the tables on me, grasping her neckline and giving one hard yank so her tits popped out.

“Fuck, baby.” My fist was a blur on my cock as I devoured my view. “Jesus fucking Christ, Evie,” I growled as
I watched her push those perfect things together, rolling those tight, rosy nipples between her fingers. “I
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need to touch them.”

“You can’t.”

“Let me suck on them.”

“No.”

“Then bounce them for me.”

“That I’ll do,” she smirked. I growled as sensation tingled from every corner of my body, the pressure
building so hard in my cock that I was sure I could blow my load that second. But with a long groan, I slowed
down, knowing well that the second I was done the show would be over. I shook my head, blowing out a
harsh breath of air as I watched Evie gaze at my cock while playing with herself.

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“You weren’t kidding about doing something nice for me, were you?”

“Trust me, this is as much for me as it is for you.”

“Then take your panties off and touch your pussy.”

“My pussy is staying strictly clothed.”

I would’ve laughed if I weren’t so busy staving off my orgasm.

“And why do you draw the line there?”

“Because I don’t trust you to see my naked pussy without burying your dick inside it.”

“Baby, you’re saying all the right things to get your ass spanked right now.”

“Too bad you can’t. No touching.” The wicked look glimmering in her eyes made me feel warm all over.
“Don’t tell me I have more will power than the famous Drew Maddox.”

“If I didn’t have will power, you’d already be wearing my cum all over your tits.”

Evie bit her lip.

“You’re close?” she asked softly.

“I’ve been,” I snarled, feeling the buildup of pressure reach a breaking point. My cock was engorged, begging
for release. I felt numb all over, all my senses flooding to one focal point. And since I was seconds from liftoff,
I ran my eyes all over Evie, soaking all of her in – her big eyes, her pink lips, those perfect, bare tits. I
pictured myself fucking her senseless on the ground, then like a gunshot, the pressure exploded.

My head hit the back of the couch as a jagged groan dispelled from my lungs. I felt the jets of heat fall over
my stomach as I closed my eyes, every last thought from the day rushing out of my brain and dissolving into
sheer ecstasy.

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I barely knew what was happening by the time I heard Evie’s footsteps padding back to me from wherever
she’d gone. I could barely move. All I could do was sit there, blissfully drained as I watched Evie – tits still
out – clean me off with a warm, wet towel.

Holy fucking shit.

Maybe she’d killed me, because this had to be heaven. Her eyes were hazel. I noted that for the first time as
she kept her soft gaze on me, biting back a little smile as she wiped the cum off of me.

“Doesn’t count if there’s a towel between us,” she grinned, referring to our no-touching rule. “Loopholes.”

“Watching me touch myself was a loophole. This is breaking the rule.”

“Well, as long as we’re not having sex, I can live with it,” she smirked, letting me watch her tits bounce
between her arms as she finished cleaning me off.

And once she was done, she said goodnight, going up to her room and leaving me completely fucking
stunned on the couch.

17

EVIE

I’d fallen asleep at some point – specifically after touching myself under the sheets, coming with an
uncontrolled moan and then passing out. But somewhere around 3AM, I woke up with a hangover. Not from
drinking, since I hadn’t, but from being drunk off Drew Maddox.

A shiver rippled up my spine as I relived the image of his clenching abs as he came.

Holy shit. That happened, I thought, sitting groggily up in the dark of my room for a few seconds before
getting up and going out in the hall. I peered over the railing to check if Drew was still downstairs where I left
him, but when I saw the couch empty, I turned to look down the hall.

His bedroom door was closed, but the light was on in his room, and I had to physically stop myself from
going down the hall. I literally held onto my doorknob, anchoring myself down in case I floated off like a
balloon to Drew’s room.

I wanted to see him. I wanted to know what he was doing or thinking right this moment.

But I was also scared to find out so, rather than cave to that need, I went back in my room, closed the door
and climbed into bed. I closed my eyes, praying to fall asleep before I got sober enough to analyze what the
fuck I’d just done tonight, and why the hell it was physically impossible for me to resist Drew Maddox.

But when I heard him rustling in his room, my eyes shot open.

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I stared into the darkness as I lay on my side, holding my breath as I heard his bedroom door creak open, his
bare footsteps coming down the hall. I was barely breathing by the time I heard him pass the stairs because
all that was left past that point was my room.

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There was no knock before he opened the door, and the second he did our eyes quietly found each other.

Our gaze stayed locked as his stride continued into my room without a moment’s hesitation. I caught the fact
that he was still shirtless in those grey sweats before he closed the door, and it was pitch black again.

I couldn’t see even the faintest bit of his silhouette as I heard him step toward the bed. Then I felt the sheets
rip off my body.

“Drew!” I gasped as he climbed on top of me and flipped me swiftly onto my stomach. My heart

pounded against the mattress as I felt him wedge a hand between my thighs and part my legs. “What are you
doing?” I exhaled, already short of breath. My pussy throbbed out of control as I felt him pull down my
panties. “Drew!”

I could practically hear the smile curl his lips as he savored a few more seconds of my writhing
breathlessness before answering.

“I don’t do double standards. If you get to break the rule then so do I,” he said, holding my legs open by my
ankles.

My mouth hung wide open as I hugged my pillow tight. It was dark, I was on my stomach, and I couldn’t see
a thing. All I knew was that my naked pussy was bared to Drew, and I had no idea what he was going to do
with it.

But whatever it was, I was already aching for it.

I stared into the black of the room, my senses on high alert as I waited to feel something. A rolling shudder
moved up my body as Drew pushed his hands up my calves and my thighs. There was no doubt in my mind
that he was hard, but I wasn’t sure if his cock was out. I wasn’t sure if I was seconds from feeling it plunge
inside me. I waited to hear maybe the crinkle of a condom wrapper but all I heard was my own heartbeat and
the sharpness of my choppy breaths.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I felt Drew’s weight shift on the mattress.

Then suddenly, I felt the warm flick of his tongue on my pussy.

“Oh God.” I dug my fingers into my pillow and squirmed, but he pinned me down by the backs of my thighs,
holding me perfectly still so his tongue could part my folds and lick up my wet pussy.

Oh… fuck. Yes. Fuck yes.

My thighs tensed but barely a squeak escaped my mouth, the shock and pleasure of it all paralyzing me
completely stiff. I was at the mercy of Drew’s mouth as he continued his gentle assault on my nerves, rolling
his tongue against me, pulsing it skillfully, till I could hear my own wetness smacking against his mouth. He
let out a low, leisurely groan as if I were his favorite meal, and as I relaxed enough to feel my grogginess
again, I wondered if I was dreaming.

Is this even happening?

Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe I’d gone back to bed, fallen asleep and dreamt of Drew silently entering my bedroom
to strip me of my panties and bury his mouth between my legs.

Because this felt too good to be real. It felt too right to be real. I was shocked, nervous for all of a second but
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now I was starting to calm. Eyes closed, I hugged my pillow to my breasts as Drew rubbed his hand all over
my ass, laving against me, easing my juices onto his tongue with his every wet stroke.

“That’s it, baby,” he muttered as I arched my back, presenting him more of my pussy to lick. I felt delirious as
he lapped at me for what felt like five minutes straight, sending full-body shudders rippling from head to toe
before finally forcing me to wake up a little bit.

“Drew,” I breathed in surprise. His sweats were still on but I could feel his cock falling between my calves,
dragging heavily up my legs as he kissed up the curve of my bottom, then up my back.

It wasn’t long before he buried his mouth against the curve of my neck, kissing me furiously as his fingers
pumped in and out of my pussy.

“Fucking knew you’d be this tight,” he growled low in my ear as I gasped for breath, digging my nails into my
pillow.

“Oh my God, Drew. That feels too good.”

“Do you want to come on my hand or my mouth?”

Jesus. Was that a serious question? Was “both” a reasonable answer?

“I don’t care, just make me come,” I whispered just before he withdrew his fingers and flipped me onto my
back. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I knew he went down on me fast because in a second flat, I felt
his warm tongue on my clit. I cried out hard, one hand clawing the sheets and the other tugging his hair as he
gripped the tops of my thighs. Pulling me tight to his mouth, he held me still, licking the wet length of my
pussy before sucking my clit till I came. The moan I let out stretched longer as Drew let out a rumbling mmm
that buzzed so pleasurably against me it felt like I was coming again.

Oh God. Oh my God.

Holy shit.

I felt Drew’s weight lower on top of me as I caught my breath on my back. I closed my eyes as I felt his mouth
return to his favorite place on my neck, and I reveled in lying with him for a little, his teeth skimming my jaw
as his fingertips stroked the sopping wetness between my legs.

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Page 54

No yeah, that was a dream, I decided.

Especially when I felt Drew get up and leave, closing the door behind him and leaving me to listen to his
footsteps return down the hall.

18

EVIE

It was 11AM by the time I made it down the stairs the next morning. I’d woken up barely ten minutes ago,
which was nuts. That meant I slept like a rock.

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I was nervous when I heard Drew in the kitchen because I had no idea how he’d be this morning. I mean last
night was crazy. It was crazy twice. It all felt like a dream quite honestly, and the only reason I knew it wasn’t
was because I woke up to find the top right corner of my fitted sheet ripped off the bed.

And I remembered being the person who did that.

“Morning, babe.”

My eyes fluttered first, and then my heart followed suit when I heard Drew’s voice ring out from the kitchen.
Whoa. Babe? Really? I was instantly as relieved as I was confused by the unwavering affection in his greeting.
Okay, so I guess we know exactly where his head is at? I thought to myself, my heart pitter-pattering.

But then I got downstairs and realized the truth.

We had company.

“Oh. Hello,” I smiled politely at the older man standing beside the kitchen counter, wearing a blue Empires
cap and a polo with the Empires logo on the breast. He gave a big, jolly wave before extending his hand as I
walked over to him.

“Lou Dickerson. I’m your fella’s pitching coach. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, so nice to meet you! I’m Evie,” I smiled bigger now that I knew who he was – or maybe it was because
Drew placed his hand on the small of my back, wearing a convincingly proud smile on his face as he looked
from Lou over to me.

“Lou’s just here to meet me so we can head to the stadium early and watch some tape from yesterday,” Drew
said. The look of surprise I gave him was real.

“Wow. That’s super early.” Three hours earlier than usual. I had hoped to have even a minute of time alone
with Drew before he left today. If anything, I just needed to see where his head was at. But apparently that
wasn’t happening thanks to Lou.

I couldn’t be mad at this Lou guy though. He was just so nice and happy and he had the voice of a radio guy
from the 1950’s.

“Evie, I wish I didn’t have to cut into your morning together, but when you see something that needs fixing,
you gotta fix it!” he said.

“Ohhh right, the game.” The catastrophic 17-4 loss, to be specific. I didn’t even realize that Lou was talking
about that until now. “Wow. I completely forgot that was last night.”

“Well, then it must’ve been you with the good influence,” Lou marveled. “I tell you, Evie, I came here
prepared to talk Drew off a ledge this morning, but when I arrived the man was whistlin’ a tune in the
kitchen!”

“What can I say, Lou? She’s good at helping me forget,” Drew said with such uncharacteristic wholesomeness
that I had to suppress a laugh.

But then I chewed my lip over the fact that he was being so obviously fake with that line. Does that mean I
did not in fact help him forget anything? Is he just happy he got to break the no touching rule and shove
something in my face? Oh God, this is it, isn’t it? This is the start of the ice-out.

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And… here it was.

The paranoia.

As I carried on with the typical small talk with Lou – Drew’s hand on my back the entire time – I wondered
what the hell was next. When would I get alone time with Drew next? Tonight after the game? That meant I’d
have to endure a whole day of being in my head about last night, overanalyzing everything and trying not to
text Drew before he finally got in. God, that sounded like torture.

Especially since I was half-convinced that this was it for us.

We’d proved last night that, new rules or not, we couldn’t control ourselves around each other, so this was it
for our contract. Tonight, Drew would come home and tell me that in the end, the fauxmance wasn’t worth
his blue balls. Or he would try to get me to sleep with him, I staunchly would not, and then he’d just kick my
ass out, invite some girls over and deal with Iain in the morning.

That sounded like such a Drew Maddox thing to do that my stomach preemptively twisted.

“Shoot, look at that time!” Lou suddenly looked at his watch. “We gotta split. Grab those waters, will ya,
Drew?”

“Got it.” Drew slid his hand off my back and went over to the fridge, taking out two water bottles and setting
them on the counter. “Car’s downstairs, so we’re all set.”

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Page 55

“Perfect. Just gotta use that restroom again. You know me.”

“No problem,” Drew said.

And as Lou crossed the living room to get to the bathroom, I simply stood there, watching Drew close the
fridge and just waiting for his attention.

The second I heard the bathroom door shut he lifted his eyes to me. My pulse picked up as he let them linger
for a second before coming over. The look on his gorgeous face was so blank and unreadable I swore I was
seconds from breaking into a sweat.

Here it comes, I told myself, even though I had no idea what was coming. My head tilted up slowly as he
came closer, closer till he was standing with his toes nearly touching mine.

Then just as my heart jumped into my throat, Drew raked his fingers into my hair and crushed his lips to
mine.

Despite the shock, I melted right into his body, sliding my hand up from his hard chest to his shoulders,
hanging on for dear life as his tongue swept voraciously against mine. For a full ten seconds, he kissed my
every question away, letting me practically climb up his chest as our tongues collided.

By the time we pulled away, I found myself perched

on the edge of the counter, my arms wrapped around his neck. My lashes fluttered.

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“How… did I get here?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question all morning,” Drew smirked.

I looked at him, unsure of how to interpret that. But with one word, Drew quickly quelled my concerns.

“Morning,” he murmured, repeating his greeting from before. But this time, it was just for me.

“Morning,” I returned his crooked little smile. I was outwardly at ease, relaxed, but electricity shot all
through my body as Drew casually rubbed his hands up and down my thighs. He eyed the clock over the oven
then grinned at me.

“I take it you slept well?”

“Amazingly. You?”

“Yeah. You heard Lou,” Drew laughed. “Slept so good I was ‘whistlin’ a tune’ this morning.”

“Right,” I grinned, feeling actual butterflies when I realized that whole whistling in the kitchen thing was
real, and that it might’ve had to do with me. Feeling fully awake now, and not completely riddled with nerves,
I let myself flash back to last night.

Biting my lip, eyeing the living room couch over Drew’s shoulder and remembering everything in sordid,
vivid detail.

For God’s sake, I had knelt at Drew’s feet as he took his dick out and jerked off in front of me. I had flashed
him my breasts and watched him release thick jets of cum all over his abs before grabbing a towel and feeling
the steel of his cock in my palms as I cleaned him off.

That was hot enough without him coming into my room at night and going down on me in the dark.

“What’s that face?” Drew asked.

“I’m just… thinking about last night.”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing a little of that too.” Drew cupped the back of my calves now as he looked at me. The
look on his face was back to unreadable so I had no idea what he was about to say. But then he gave my
calves a little squeeze. “Say the word and I’ll eat that pussy again on this counter.”

A shiver ran up my legs.

“Sounds like a great breakfast, but I don’t think you have the time,” I laughed as I heard a flush from the
bathroom. “What, um… what time will you be home tonight?” I asked hesitantly, scared of sounding too
much like an actual girlfriend.

Because technically, I still had no idea what was going on here. All I knew was that there was no radio
silence. We were talking, we were touching and despite pushing limits last night, we were good. At least for
now.

And I was too relieved with that to question anything.

“I think I’ll be home before midnight. Depends on whether or not Lou has more tape he wants me to watch,”
Drew said as Lou came out of the bathroom. He gave a salute when Drew peered over his shoulder before
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looking back at me. “So, what’s your day look like, babe?”

Babe. I guess that was our equivalent to saying lights, camera, action!

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“Umm, I have a meetings in the Gramercy area and uptown. And I should probably get on Facebook to do
some damage control after the comment from last night,” I said with a sheepish grin.

“Uh-oh. Facebook fights. My wife gets into those,” Lou said by the door. Drew laughed.

“Yeah, she was defending my honor last night. It got a little heated,” he said, squeezing my knee. When he
turned to me, the slightest frown pinched his brows. “That reminds me.”

“What?” I whispered.

“I still need to spank your ass over that couch,” Drew smirked, dropping my jaw just as Lou called out.

“Alright! Let’s boogie!”

“Coming,” Drew said before turning back to me and catching my chin to give me a peck on the lips. “See you
tonight, baby?”

“Yeah. See you,” I managed when he pulled away, leaving me breathless, dizzy, and already analyzing the
possible difference between the use of the words “babe” and “baby.”

Great, Evie. I shook my head at myself, still perched on that counter for a good five minutes after Drew left.

Just great.

19

EVIE

Even after a busy day of meetings all over the city, followed by cooking myself dinner, followed by dealing
with the aftermath on Facebook, which included a long, private message from Mike that included the line “I
won’t stoop to public immaturity and hope you’ll join me in acting like an adult the next time we see each
other” – ugh, retch – I was still very much focused on one thing, and one thing only.

And that, of course, was Drew.

I found myself actually tuning into the Empires game while eating dinner, even though Drew wasn’t starting,
and I didn’t know what was happening anyway. I was just waiting for the occasional shots of Drew leaning
against the dugout railing with Ty, his green eyes looking so deliciously intense as he scrutinized the game
from under the bill of his cap.

Just a two-second flash of him on the big screen made my heart thump.

That, Evie, I kept telling myself. That beautiful hunk of man was in your bed last night. Putting his mouth in
places where a mouth hadn’t been in years. That man – that insanely hot man in that ridiculously sexy
uniform – blew your fucking mind last night.
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It was hard to process.

At one point, when the commentators mentioned Drew’s name, I had to do my best not to squeal.

What the fuck? Easy, woman. He’s not really yours, I scolded myself, though I almost did it again when the
screen flashed a graphic of the league’s ERA leaders, and I saw Drew’s name at number two.

Crap.

I could feel it. I was getting a little crazy. And ahead of myself. I was slowly starting to sip the Drew Maddox
Kool-Aid despite the fact that, just a few weeks ago, I was convinced he was typical athlete playboy who
would never in his life care about anything but himself.

So before I knew it, I was grabbing my laptop and Googling him to help myself pump the brakes on the
butterflies.

I went straight to searching “Drew Maddox womanizer,” and while I did get tons of pictures of Drew
stumbling out of clubs with insanely leggy, short-skirted women, I didn’t see anything that scandalous. There
was a story about one of his flings storming the field during Spring Training because he gave her a fake
number, but that was more funny than anything.

“Okay,” I said aloud, opting next for the keywords “Drew Maddox infamy.” Alright, I nodded at the tons of
results for that search, clicking through as many as I could.

There was a story about him trying to sue his own team when he played in Los Angeles. There were stories
about him butting heads with teammates. Cursing off reporters. Smashing a paparazzo’s camera. There were
multiple articles about bench-clearing brawls that broke out during games because of him.

There was also, for some reason, a video in the results labeled “THE INFAMOUS INTERVIEW.”

I clicked on it immediately, prepared to see another video of a shirtless Drew in the clubhouse, looking
insanely hot while sounding deeply uninterested in all the post-game interview questions he was being hit
with.

But instead, it was an actual sit-down interview from seven years ago.

“Oh my God,” I murmured, biting the slow grin that drifted onto my lips, because the Drew I was watching
was happy, bright-eyed and only twenty-three years old. His dark blond hair was cropped short and his face
was completely clean-shaven. He was still beautiful as ever, but his look was far less rugged, and both his
voice and his smile were boyish in a way that I had never thought possible.

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Page 57

In the video, he was absolutely glowing about the mother of his best friend, a woman named Pattie Lillard.

Yeah, because this will really help you not fall completely in love with him, I thought as young Drew raved on
about how Pattie had raised him for chunks of his life, and how her son Tim was like a brother to him. He
had served as best man at Tim’s wedding, was at the hospital for the birth of Tim’s son, and called the
Lillards “the most important people” in his life.

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“Yeah, this is really not helping,” I muttered aloud to myself.

/> Because somehow, knowing that Drew was human at some point in his life simply fanned the fire of my
infatuation. It made my heart soften for him, and it made me wonder where Pattie and Tim Lillard were
today.

“Oh. Fuck,” I mumbled as the interview took a turn, and Drew began talking about his efforts to raise money
for treatment after the return of Pattie’s cancer.

Right away, I paused the interview and Googled the name Pattie Lillard, and my heart instantly dropped at
the first headline I saw.

PATTIE LILLARD LOSES BATTLE WITH CANCER AT AGE 58.

The headline was from two years ago.

“Geez,” I breathed, holding a hand to my cheek as I clicked back to the interview of young Drew, tormenting
myself by hitting play again and listening to him talk hopefully about all the fundraisers he was putting up
for Pattie’s treatment.

“She’s going to make it. She means too much to too many people. I know she’ll beat it.”

God.

No wonder Drew was cold and hard now. He’d gone on national television, poured his heart out and still
watched Pattie die a few years later. It made my heart ache for him. It made me wish I could just be near him
right now and wrap my arms around him.

Basically, it was the exact opposite of what I had hoped to accomplish with this Googling session.

As the video ended with old photos of Drew, Tim and Pattie, I stupidly scrolled into the comments.

“What the fuck is wrong with people?” I whispered to myself as I skimmed the section. Considering the
vulnerability and the outpouring of emotion I just saw, it was not at all what I expected.

DREW MADDOX IS A HYPOCRITE.

This dude is a fucking sociopath!!!

Can’t believe he’d do that to his best friend whose mother RAISED him. SMH.

“What the…”

Without thinking, I clicked on the link that was posted with the last comment and suddenly I was on a
YouTube video labeled “TIM LILLARD KNOCKED OUT – ORIGINAL.”

I watched about two seconds before slamming my laptop shut.

No.

No, no, no, no.

I already knew I didn’t need to watch that. First of all, Drew wasn’t in the video and all I could see was a

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shaky, blurry image as the cameraperson ran to a body lying bloodied at the foot of a suburban driveway.

It could be fake.

It could be real.

You don’t know the whole story. Just don’t.

The last thing I needed was more questions, especially at a time when Drew didn’t necessarily owe me the
answers. So walking my laptop upstairs, I placed it on my desk in my room, leaving it there before going back
down to wait for Drew on the couch.

I still felt a weirdness hanging over me as I lay there, dozing in and out of sleep. It prickled over my skin and
kept jolting me awake.

But at some point, I remembered seeing Drew’s face on the screen again – still leaning on that dugout
railing, still standing next to Ty. They were laughing big about something or another, and just the sight of
that smile was enough to curve the ends of my lips before I drifted off to sleep.

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20

DREW

By the time I got up in the morning, Evie’s bedroom door was already open and she was already gone for
whatever work meeting she had. Apparently I was disappointed because I found myself standing in her
doorway for a second, staring at her empty bed.

After last night’s game, I’d watched more tape with Lou and wound up getting home past 1AM, which meant
Evie was already passed out hard on the couch. I’d said her name a few times as I emptied my pockets on the
kitchen counter and laughed to myself when she didn’t stir at all.

The TV was on and wrapping up post-game coverage of the night’s win, which meant she’d been watching the
game by herself.

Unexpected.

Also unexpected was the little black thing she slept in. It was short and silky, and I was forced to watch it
flutter up her thighs as I carried her up the stairs to her room. It was like walking a tight rope as I made my
way up the steps while sliding my eyes all over her body.

By the time I got to the stadium, I was still thinking about the way she exhaled as I put her in bed. She didn’t
wake up at all but when her body hit the mattress, she rolled onto her side and immediately curled up to her
pillow.

Then she let out that breath and smiled. Like she was in a fucking Ambien commercial. She was peaceful in a
way I didn’t think was real, and I was still switching between laughing at the memory and agonizing over it
when I got a text from an unknown number.

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Hi Drew. Sorry about texting and please don’t tell Tim but I’m just so proud today and I couldn’t have done
this without you. Wish you could’ve been here.

P.S Christopher says hi. He still loves his Uncle Drew.

My eyes darted over the words just before the picture came in.

When I processed the faces in it, the whirlwind of emotion was instantaneous, and I knew I’d failed to
suppress the first second because Diaz peered over at me from his locker. But he said nothing and I thanked
God for that because I needed a second.

I needed a fucking second to digest that Abby Lillard had graduated from Temple University today.

Holy fuck. I wanted to smile but I couldn’t, because as innocent as she probably was in the whole mess with
her brother, it wasn’t like I could look at her without thinking of him. I couldn’t even be happy about the fact
that I’d put her through college. I’d sent her check for tuition exactly a week before my shit with Tim went
down, and I still remembered her refusing to cash it for awhile and being scared that if she did, it meant she
was on my side and not he brother’s.

“Jesus,” I muttered when another picture came in – this time of her holding Christopher.

I smiled. Kind of. It was a tense, conflicted one, but it was a smile nonetheless because this was my favorite
kid in the world.

Christopher Drew Lillard. Tim’s son. I took him on his first trip to Disney, I was there the day he was born,
he was named after me, and aside from Pattie he had to be the one Lillard I missed most.

As quickly as it came, my smile disappeared.

Fucking hell.

Four years later and I was still haunted by this family. I was still hounded by the press to give quotes on
Pattie’s death. On the incident with Tim. I still had opposing teams’ fans use their names to heckle me when I
was in the dugout or on the mound. I tuned most of it out but it was impossible to completely ignore, and I
fucking hated the days when I had to wonder if I’d ever actually move on from them.

Sitting in front of my locker, my elbows on my knees, I stared at my jersey. I stared at the number twenty-
one I’d been wearing since my rookie year, tapping my left foot and trying to shift the dark thoughts in my
brain to something else before the game started.

But a few minutes passed and it didn’t work.

I stared into space for a little longer. Then picking up my phone, I sent a text.

ME: What are you up to

I watched the ellipses blink for a bit. It took awhile before her reply came in. I shook my head as I kept
watching it go in and out. What the fuck was she doing?

EVIE: Hey. Sorry typing slow I’m walking and texting. What’s up? Did I forget we had something today?

ME: I would have opened with that if you did.

EVIE: Oh. Excuse me then.

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EVIE: In that case to answer your question I’m just shopping for something to wear to the thing tonight.

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ME: What thing?

EVIE: Hillary’s restaurant opening. Merryweather where we went for lunch

My eyebrows pulled tight. I wasn’t sure what I was even frowning about so I tried to jog my memory on what
I knew of that restaurant. It came up surprisingly quickly. Right

Both Evie and her ex had done work for that place.

ME: Mike going to be there?

EVIE: Yes. Yay for you getting his name right. I owe you a gold star.

ME: You owe me several gold stars. What time is the thing

EVIE: Starts at 8 and goes on till forever bc there’ll probably be an after party. But I’m only making an
appearance for Hillary then I’m dipping

EVIE: Why do you ask?

ME: Go there late. I’ll meet up with you at 10:30

No idea why I said that. Aside from the fact that I had a day game tomorrow, tonight’s game was bound to
end at or past 10PM, which meant I’d have to book it to get to the restaurant from the stadium in time. But
considering Evie slept at grandma hours, I knew I’d have to throw out the earliest time possible.

EVIE: If you’re offering to come with because you think I need protection from Mike you are sorely mistaken

ME: I’m not worried about that. I’ve seen his scrawny ass and your naked one. I’m pretty sure you could
squat him.

EVIE: Except it was pitch black when you decided to steal my panties off me so technically you haven’t
actually seen my naked ass

ME: I haven’t but I’ve felt every inch of it. If I described it to a sketch artist he would draw it to a tee

EVIE: Omg

EVIE: What on earth did my ass do to warrant a police sketch?

EVIE: Something something being wanted for a spanking?

“What’s going on with you? You’re laughing now?” Diaz asked as he looked at me.

“Leave me alone,” I said, a leftover grin on my lips as I replied to Evie.

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ME: You get the gold star for that one. Now stop texting while you’re walking. See you at 10:30 tonight.

21

DREW

It was closer to 11PM by the time I got to the restaurant, which definitely felt different than the last time I’d
seen it.

The last time I was here it was quiet, sunny and mostly empty, but tonight there were candles on every table,
indie folk on the sound system, and a good fifty to sixty buzzed to drunk people standing around dirty, plate-
littered tables, engaged in animated conversation.

Definitely not the type of nightlife I was used to. If I was out and drinking at 11PM, The Lumineers weren’t

exactly my soundtrack of choice, but to each their own. I wasn’t here to party anyway. I was here for Evie.

The usual eyes flew to me as I angled through the crowd, but the setting was intimate enough that no one
yelled my name or mobbed me for pictures. They just kept watching as I made my way to the group of
women Evie was talking to.

My eyebrows lifted when I got closer.

She was wearing red lipstick tonight. And she looked fucking stunning. The first thing I saw was her big smile
as she burst out laughing over something that was apparently funny enough for her to be the last of the group
to notice me.

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“Um, Evie...” The redhead to her left kept her unblinking eyes on me while smiling nervously and tapping
Evie. “Sweetie, I think someone’s here to see you.”

“Drew! Thank God you’re here!” She surprised me by bursting over and throwing her arms around my neck.
When my hand touched nothing but skin, I realized her dress was completely backless. Whoa, whoa.

“Hold on a second. Let me see this,” I muttered. Evie’s friends giggled and nudged each other as I held her
hand up for a moment to step back and get a full look.

I wasn’t doing it for show. I genuinely needed a second to process that body in that coffee-colored dress. She
was completely covered in the front but when I turned her around, her naked back was on full display. If it
weren’t for the bow tied around her neck, I would’ve thought she was walking around topless with just a skirt
on.

I shook my head before facing her front once again.

“God, you look fucking beautiful,” I said, getting to enjoy about a second of her smile before her friends burst
into a loud chorus of “awww.”

Jesus.

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“Thank you. I didn’t think you’d get here till late,” Evie said breathily before introducing me to all her friends.
I forgot all their names on the spot. “And you know, um… you know Hillary,” Evie said, suddenly fumbling
and eyeing her redheaded friend as she gestured toward Hillary. Hillary didn’t seem to notice because she
smiled brightly.

“Hey again! So happy you could come, Drew.”

“Thank you for having me,” I smiled back just as another familiar face came damned near shoving through
the crowd behind her.

Mike.

“Drew! My man. Happy you made it,” he said with a broad smile, offering a hand over Hillary’s shoulder.

“Thanks. Good to see you,” I lied as Evie leaned her gorgeous back into my chest. Despite her outward calm,
her body was trembling a bit. I frowned. I could tell from the way she grabbed my hand and squeezed it twice
that she was trying to tell me something. I had no idea what it was thus far, but I was on alert.

“Drew. Buddy. What happened the other night?” Mike frowned, leaning on Hillary with an arm tossed over
her shoulder. I didn’t have to fake the smile that quirked my mouth as I ran my hands down to Evie’s waist.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, because a lot of things happened the other night.”

It was supposed to be just a joke for Evie but she blushed so hard the girls read the situation fast and gave a
scandalous “oooooh.” Mike bristled.

“I’m talking about that crazy loss. That had to be the worst outing of your career, right?”

“It was. Thankfully, it was my first loss this season.”

“Well. It’s a long season.”

“It is. I’ve been playing awhile in this league so I know firsthand,” I laughed while sliding my hands down to
Evie’s hips. “Luckily, I have this secret weapon right here.”

There was another “awww” from the girls as Mike sneered.

“Well, I know firsthand that Evie doesn’t know a football from a baseball, so I don’t know how she comes in
any way handy.”

“She’s more of a lifesaver in the sore muscle department,” I said, rubbing Evie’s hips to calm her down. I
could feel her breathing deep, shaking a little less now.

“Oh, her massages, right?” the redhead gasped. “They’re so frickin’ good. And that’s so perfect for you as an
athlete! Oh, oh, you should get her a job at the stadium!”

“Jesus, no.” I grimaced so hard the girls burst out laughing. “Trust me, my teammates would love that but
she’s strictly mine.”

“Well, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Mike chuckled as the circle fell promptly quiet. The girls’ eyes were wide,
and Hillary visibly cringed. Despite the palpable awkwardness, he went right on. “I mean, Maddox, I think
anyone who’s been on the Internet knows you’re not exactly a one-woman kind of guy.”

Evie stiffened in my arms. The girls were covering their faces at this point but I gave the prick an easy laugh.
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“Believe it or not, tabloids are sometimes bullshit. Some people get just brave with what they say when
they’re hiding behind a computer screen.”

“I don’t know about that,” Mike scoffed.

“Come on. I’m sure you’ve said things on the Internet that you’d never have the balls to say in person. You
could be standing right in front of the person and still be too scared to say shit.”

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Based on the redhead’s giant snort, I assumed she’d seen his post about me on Facebook. I wore a placid
smile as I cocked an eyebrow at Mike. I was challenging the little shit to prove me wrong and call me
overpaid to my face, but all he did was grunt, clear his throat and look away.

Then it was silent for a bit, Evie and the redhead exchanging looks I couldn’t read.

“Anyway, I could never be a professional masseuse,” Evie finally said to break the awkward silence. “I only
bust out my A game for my man.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Mike said.

This motherfucker.

Hillary up and left as Evie hugged my arms tight around her waist. She gave my forearms a quick but firm
squeeze, and this time I read what she was saying. I got this one.

“Trust me, it takes a whole other level of strength to rub this one down,” she laughed good-naturedly,
beaming up at me before returning her eyes to Mike. “I mean Drew’s all muscle. So it’s literally night and day
between you two.”

Jesus.

Savaged.

Mike went red as Evie’s friends failed at suppressing their fits of laughter.

“I’m gonna find Hillary,” he muttered, that forehead vein beating with a life of its own as he turned around
and left.

I was pretty sure Evie could be nothing but pleased with herself after that, but once we excused ourselves
from her girlfriends, she took my hand and tugged me into the kitchen. By now, it was only the dishwasher in
there and he gave barely a look in our direction before going back to own thing while nodding to the music
on his headphones.

“Evie. What?” I frowned when I saw her hands trembling as she rubbed them over her face. “Jesus, baby.
What happened?”

She took a few seconds to answer, and I didn’t realize I’d turned to hunt down Mike till she grasped a handful
of my shirt and pulled me away from the door.

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“Hillary might be living with him,” she blurted. I stared at her.

“What?”

“My friend Kate with the red hair. She’s the manager here and before you came, she told me something. And
I’ve just been trying to hold everything in and act normal, but – ”

“What? What did she tell you?”

“She said she saw the address on some of Hillary’s mail. It’s my address. I mean not mine. But the apartment
I spent forever finding for me and Mike.”

Jesus.

Now I was the one dragging my hand down my face. I didn’t need to know more to know what was probably
the full story. Mike left Evie for Hillary. Considering how closely they worked, he’d probably been with
sleeping with her before the breakup. It would explain why he refused to fuck Evie.

“I can’t believe this,” Evie whispered, furiously wiping at her tears. When I collected her hands in mine and
tipped her chin up to face me, she curled her lip and turned away. “Don’t make fun of me for crying. I know
what you want to say, Drew. That I should never trust anyone. Ev

eryone’ll screw you over at some point. You’ve said it. I get it.”

It was definitely the told you so moment I lived for, but as much as I loved to prove myself right, I couldn’t
bring myself to gloat right now. I didn’t know Mike or Hillary, but this story didn’t surprise me because it was
just what I knew of people in general. That said, Evie was blindsided. Again.

I looked at her big wet eyes. That wobbly lip. I thought of how she just curled up in her bed last night and just
smiled so peacefully in her sleep. Despite all that, I was still itching to use this time to evangelize her. To
bring her into the no-trust club. After all, misery fucking loved company.

But there was a small part of me that didn’t want to make her world as dark as mine. It was a sliver, but it
refused to fuck her up the way I was fucked.

And for the first time in my life, I listened to the little voice instead of the big one.

“Evie, you made your appearance and you ended on a high note. Let’s just go home. I’ll pour you a glass of
wine, we’ll watch a movie on the couch and we’ll forget this whole night even happened.”

“That sounds nice.” Her voice was shaky, pitiful. She continued avoiding my gaze as she wiped her tears. “But
I feel like – I feel like I need to know for sure. I need to talk to Hillary. I mean I’ve known her since college.
She used to make me care packages because I didn’t have money for groceries. She’s been such a friend to me
for so long – there has to be an explanation. Right?”

“There isn’t, Evie. Please. Don’t do this to yourself.”

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“I feel like I can’t trust anyone,” she spoke over me.

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“Welcome to the club.”

Whoops. I slipped. The words just came out. And as they did, I watched her cry again, this time into her
hands. Her shoulders shook and she tried to stifle her sobs but I heard them, and as I did, I flipped the
switch I did whenever women decided to cry in front of me. It generally worked like a mute button so I could
comfortably skip this part of the conversation.

But apparently the batteries were finally out.

“Look, we’ll stay for a little longer,” I said, cupping her elbows and bringing her closer. “But this has nothing
to do with Mike. This is just to give Helen the benefit of the doubt.”

“Hillary,” Evie corrected with a frustrated groan but then she broke into a conflicted laugh. “Drew, God.
What is wrong with your memory? Did a baseball hit you in the head once?”

“No, I just save my memory for what actually matters,” I said, prompting her to blink at me a few times and
give me a funny look. But then she wiped the last of her tears and took in a deep breath.

“You don’t mind staying a little longer?” she asked, her voice small.

I minded. I really didn’t think she was going to find the answer she wanted and I wasn’t a fan of wasting my
own time.

“Okay. Just a little longer,” she said, interlocking her fingers in mine. “And then we’ll go home?”

“And then we’ll go home,” I echoed, returning the squeeze she gave my hand before we pushed through the
door and headed back out.

22

EVIE

One thing led to another and by a quarter past midnight, the proud “foodies” of the dwindled group – down
to about ten now – were talking about taking the after party to an amazing new gastropub inside some
boutique hotel in DUMBO. Mike said we’d never get in even with his PR connections, at which point some
drunk guy suggested we just drop Drew Maddox’s name.

And since it pissed off Mike, we did exactly that.

Besides, I was still trying to get my closure on Hillary. I’d seen Mike whisper to her a few times but other
than that, she went nowhere near him. That said she avoided me too, and for every time I went up to her and
she scurried away I felt my heart sag.

Because I didn’t want Drew to be right.

Since the day we’d met, he’d been proving me wrong and I wanted to change that. I wanted to prove to him
that there was hope left. That trust wasn’t a guaranteed set-up for failure. I couldn’t get behind his morbid
outlook on the world, and I was desperate to debunk it.

But as everyone but me got progressively drunker, I began to see things.

I saw Hillary instinctively smile when Mike whispered something in her ear while tickling her waist. But
when she caught my eye across the bar, she quickly shoved him away. She looked miserable as she continued
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to duck both Mike and me all night, and at some point, I saw her rubbing her temples before taking shots of
whiskey by herself.

And since she was proudly not a party girl who famously hated the taste of hard alcohol, I had a feeling she
was trying desperately to relieve herself of something. Nerves, definitely.

And guilt, perhaps.

“The hotel gave me a free room,” Drew said as he came up to me and tossed a key card onto the bar. My eyes
fluttered from Hillary to him.

“What? Why?”

“Because I’m Drew Maddox.”

“What did we say about referring to yourself in third person?”

“Sometimes it makes sense, alright?”

I gave him a look.

“Alright, I’ll stop,” he relented with amusement before dropping his voice to a murmur. “How you feeling, by
the way?” he asked. Placing two hands on either side of me on the bar, he caged me in with those strong
arms.

“I was feeling vaguely weird. But I’m better now,” I replied honestly as I gazed at his biceps, the deep line of
muscle on his forearm, and the sleeve of tattoos that covered his right arm, right down to his wrist. I noted
the birds, flames and lion heads hidden in the sea of ink. “Do they all mean something or did you just get
them because they look cool?”

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“The latter. I’m actually a giant poser. I don’t even play baseball. It’s all a front.”

“Screw you,” I snorted.

“Speaking of screwing, I want to check out this suite they gave me and see if the guy at the front desk was
bullshitting me or not.”

“What’d he say?”

“That there are mirrors in the bedroom,” Drew laughed as I rolled my eyes. But I bit my lip as he brushed a
wisp of hair from my face and cupped my cheek. “He also said there’s a pretty spectacular view of the East
River and Manhattan if you’re interested in that. I know you have a pretty weird boner for the city skyline.”

“You’re the worst.”

“You love me,” he said with a cocky grin, sending heat to my cheeks. He traced my dimple with his thumb as
he looked down at me for several seconds, and when he spoke again, his voice came back softer. “At the very
least, I do think you like me now.”

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“You’re slightly above tolerable to me now.”

“I’ll take it,” he laughed. “Now are you going to come with me or are you going to stay down here?”

Without hesitating, I chose Drew.

Unfortunately, anytime Drew went somewhere, everyone followed.

By now it was past 1AM and the group had dwindled to six, but everyone followed – including Hillary and
Mike. Definitely a bit of a surprise to me, though to be fair, Hillary resisted as much as she could, taking
another shot before letting Mike drag her away from the bar.

Yeah, enough of this, I decided when they joined us to wait for the elevators. I saw one descending a floor
behind the other and when the first arrived, I let everyone pile in before pulling Hillary back last second.

“Hey!” Mike snapped just as the door closed in his face. Hillary’s eye went wide.

“Evie…”

“Hillary.” I pulled her into the next elevator and hit the door shut button before facing her. “How long?”

“How long what?” she practically whimpered.

“You and Mike. How long?” I reiterated my question, feeling suddenly ready to leave this bullshit behind me.

Had anyone told me two or three weeks ago that I’d lose Hillary to the breakup as well, I’d probably fall to
my knees and mourn the loss of these people who’d been so important to me. But tonight, despite the initial
hiccup, I was ready to take a page from the Drew Maddox playbook and just cut these two out of my life.

Trust existed but not with them, and I was ready to end this chapter and move on.

“About a year ago,” Hillary finally whispered, looking up at me with wet eyes. “A little longer. I kept telling
him to make it right though, I promise. I kept telling him to just break up with you.”

“But he didn’t, and you stayed.”

“He said he needed time to transition.”

Oh my God.

He needed time to wean himself off me before going to Hillary. That was probably the most pathetic and
despicable thing I’d ever heard.

“I told him to at least stop sleeping with you to make it somewhat okay,” Hillary protested.

Nope. Maybe that was the most despicable thing I’d ever heard.

Once the elevator reached the floor of the suite, I stalked out without a word and followed the sound of the
group laughing and chatting down the hall. The door of the suite was open, and the group was marveling at
everything from the view to the bedroom, which indeed had mirrored walls in front of and behind the king-
sized bed.

But the laughter stopped the second I walked in, and the second Mike sneered and said, “I take it she told
you,” everyone slowly looked at each other then trickled out of the room.

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Ignoring Mike, I went straight to Drew and put my hands on his chest.

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“Let’s go,” I murmured, repeating myself when he wouldn’t stop glaring at Mike.

His broad shoulders were rigid, and I could feel every muscle in his torso tensed and ready to launch into go
mode. I would’ve been flattered by his fury on my behalf, but I was too ready to get the hell out of this place.
By now, it was just Drew, me, Mike and a sniffling Hillary standing by the door.

“Look, I deserve a chance to explain myself,” Mike broke the silence.

“If you really believe that, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought,” I snapped.

“Just le

t me talk to you alone for a – ”

“Watch it,” Drew growled the second Mike reached for my arm. I didn’t know when it happened, but he was
suddenly standing in front of me. “Read the room, asshole. No one here has any interest in hearing you beg,
so save your own breath and go the fuck home.”

“I’ve known this girl for way longer than you have,” Mike snarled, making me want to roll my eyes out of my
head. “And I want to talk to her privately.”

“You’re not going to get to,” I retorted.

“Yeah well, I’m not going fucking anywhere till I get a chance to.”

“Suit yourself.”

The words came from Drew before he pulled me into the bedroom and slammed the door in Mike’s face.

“What are you doing?” I hissed. “Let’s just go home. I know he’s not going to leave!”

“Good,” Drew muttered. “He made you watch him and Hillary all night, so I’m going to make him listen.”

“To what?”

“Me fucking you.”

My eyes fluttered wide. Tingles of mischief darted across my skin as Drew closed what little gap there was
between us.

“But you’re not fucking me,” I whispered.

“Trust me, I’m aware of that.” My breath caught in my throat as he pushed me up against the door. “But I
want him to think I am right now. I want to think I have you pinned here with my hand up your skirt and my
cock teasing your pussy,” he muttered, thrusting his body against mine and rattling the door behind me. “I
want him to know how loud I can make you moan.”

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“I can’t fake moans very well,” I breathed as Drew kissed and nipped along my jaw. “So you might have to
help me out a little.”

He gave a low, rumbling laugh against my neck.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” he murmured, his warm, rough tongue nuzzling me for several more seconds
before he sank to a kneel in front of me.

I swallowed as I watched Drew assess my legs, smoothing a hand up the side of my thigh as he tilted his head
to look under my skirt.

“Hold it up for me.”

“What?”

“Your skirt. Lift it,” Drew said firmly. “Just like that. Now hold it there,” he muttered, wetting his lips when I
flashed him my mesh and lace panties. They were black but they were sheer and in my heels, my pussy was
right at his eye level, making me feel completely naked despite the fact that I wasn’t.

Yet.

But I did feel vulnerable as all hell just standing there, especially with Drew tormenting me. He was taking
his sweet time, sending a million little tingles over my skin as he rubbed his hands up and down the backs of
my thighs, gazing lustily between my bare legs.

“Drew,” I exhaled pleadingly. My short, jagged breaths had the door vibrating behind my back, shivering
with me in its frame as I simply waited to be touched.

The second he kissed me over my panties, I let out a soft moan.

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Page 65

I knew he liked the sound of it because he glanced up with a smirk in his eyes before he kissed me again, this
time closer to my clit.

“More,” I begged, hugging my skirt to my chest as I waited for Drew to take my panties off.

But he didn’t do that.

Instead he made me gasp as he stretched them off of me, using two hands to rip the crotch right in half
before giving my bare pussy a long, wet lick. His wicked tongue pushed between my folds to find my clit and
suck on it like candy. He didn’t bother to do anything quietly. Everything was loud, smacking, shameless.
Unlike last time in my bed, he was going straight for the kill. He was trying to make me come fast and hard,
and I swore to God his ruthless pace had me already dizzy.

I felt like I was losing control but the second my knees buckled, Drew’s strong hands gripped my thighs,
pushing one back up on the door and throwing the other over his shoulder so he could bury his mouth deeper
between my legs.

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“Drew…fuck!” I had my hand crushed over my mouth at this point, practically screaming into my palm as
that unbelievable tongue of his curled and scooped at my pussy, drawing every rush of wetness from the back
to the front so he could lap me up like honey.

Oh God. Where am I?

I can’t even breathe.

I was out of my mind. I felt like I was on the verge of coming for a full minute before the burst of ecstasy
finally rocked through me, forcing me to grip the doorknob to keep from toppling over. My hand pulsed there
for several seconds, stars in my vision as I sucked in deep breaths, Drew still gripping my thigh and licking
me dry.

Only once I’d caught my breath did I finally open my eyes. They fluttered as I found myself staring at my
flushed reflection in the mirror behind the bed. I got one hot glimpse of Drew’s muscled back under his shirt
before he stood up again and blocked my exquisite view.

But I couldn’t complain about this view either – his green eyes sparkling at me as he licked the last of me off
his lips.

Without even looking down, I palmed his cock, biting hard on my lip when I confirmed that it was rock
fucking solid. I wet my lips as I stroked it, still dazed from my orgasm but already needing another.

“I want you to fuck me,” I breathed, a frown twitching my brow as he removed my hand from his erection.

“Not here.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have a condom,” he grumbled in frustration, pausing as if waiting to hear that I might. But I
didn’t and that made him growl under his breath. “I don’t fuck without condoms. We have to go home.”

I blinked, surprised by his resolve. I was used to guys being desperate to fuck without condoms, but clearly
that wasn’t the case with Drew. And it made me curious.

“That’s a lot of self-control.”

“You keep underestimating me in that department,” he muttered, shooting a glare when I blocked his reach
for the doorknob. “What are you doing?”

“I want to test it,” I said, feeling a devilish flutter in my stomach. “Your self-control.”

“Why?”

“Because no one thinks you have any, and I want to tell them you do.”

Total bullshit answer – this was just turning me on, and Drew knew it.

“We’re going home, Evie.”

“I just want to suck on it for a little.”

Drew glared at me, his jaw clenching so hard I could practically hear his teeth gnashing together. In that
moment, he looked at me like he fucking hated me, but I didn’t care because I had him.
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As much as it would torture him, he couldn’t say no. I knew that so I didn’t back down till finally, without
breaking his stare or saying a word, Drew reached down for his belt. He kept his steely gaze pinned to me as
he gave three harsh jerks to undo his buckle. I watched his lips slightly part, his left shoulder rolling as he
reached into his boxers to pull out his hard cock. I exhaled with anticipation when I felt its heat near my
belly, and excitement literally watered my mouth.

But I kept my eyes locked on Drew till he gave me a dirty little nod.

“Go on then,” he murmured. “Suck it.”

Five words and he sent another rush of heat to my exposed pussy. Wetness dripped down my thighs as I
lowered myself to my knees and wrapped my hand around the base of his cock. I felt Drew rake his long
fingers into my hair and lean back to get a full view as I wrapped my lips around his wide, smooth tip,
sucking till I could taste his precum seep onto my tongue.

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Page 66

“That’s too good, baby, you need to stop,” Drew growled. But in the same breath, he braced himself with two
hands on the door and began rocking his hips, gently fucking his cock into my mouth. “Oh fuck, Evie. Fuck.”
I heard him drop one hand from the door a second before I felt it grab my ponytail at the root.

I let him control the pace for a few seconds because I was already addicted to feeling of his size stretching my
lips, and to the gravelly, unbelievably sexy sound of his groan.

I loved hearing him get lost in his pleasure, muttering under his breath and switching back and forth
between filth and affection. On

e second, I was his “dirty little girl.” The other, I was “so goddamned perfect.” Whatever it was, I didn’t care –
I loved it all.

Of course, I loved it most when I sucked him hard for a good twenty seconds, my cheeks hollowing as I
squeezed handfuls of his jeans, giving pulls so tight and wet on his cock that he roared like a wild beast when
I abruptly stopped.

Returning to my feet, I caught the blazing fire in Drew’s eyes as I wiped the corner of my mouth with my
finger.

“Okay. We can go home now,” I panted, knowing well that I’d just set myself up for the hardest fuck of my
life.

But that was kind of the point.

“Turn around,” Drew said.

I thought he was ordering me to immediately open the door, but the second I turned, he bent me over his
arm. Ripping my skirt up, he brought a brutal spank down on my ass, prompting my jaw to fall open as I
slapped my hand to the door.

“Just so you know what you’re in for,” Drew said as he dropped my skirt back into place and moved my hand

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around the doorknob. “Now stand up straight, baby. We’re going home.”

23

DREW

Clearly, she didn’t realize that I specialized in punishment.

Then again, no one really gave me credit for that.

They liked to think of me as reckless. Impulsive. Thoroughly lacking in self-control. They saw the fights, the
temper. The times I mouthed off to the umps and got my ass fined five figures in one shot. They took one
look at the partying, the late nights at clubs, and they decided that was all they needed to sum up Drew
Maddox.

It was like I’d become the best pitcher in baseball by pure coincidence. Like it didn’t take seventeen years of
practicing patience, grit and discipline, to the point that I started to like when I was sore and aching, in
physical pain.

Because that meant I’d worked for it.

“I swear I hate you, Drew,” Evie panted as she stayed right where I’d left her – bent over the back of the
couch in just her strappy little heels.

“You don’t.”

I took a swig of water as I closed the refrigerator door, soaking in the sight of her gleaming wet pussy and
thoroughly spanked ass from the kitchen. There was nothing about this view that wasn’t perfect, from her
ripped black panties on the floor to her long hair cascading down between her shoulder blades, settling in
that sexy curve of her back.

For the past twenty minutes, I’d switched between spanking and finger-fucking her, and now she was waiting
there somewhere between helpless and patient as I took a water break. But she gasped the second she heard
the tiny scrape of me grabbing the condom off the kitchen counter and crossing back to the living room.

“Yes, yes, Drew, please...”

Even when she was done begging with her words, she begged me with the sexiest, breathiest cross between a
moan and a whimper. It made my dick twitch in my hand as I positioned myself behind her again, smirking
as she made coy eye contact over her shoulder. She bit her lip as she watched me tear the wrapper with my
teeth, tossing it onto the ground and stretching the rubber over my shaft.

“Hurry,” she begged.

But I didn’t. I took a second to admire how perfectly spread she was for me as I propped her knee up on the
couch.

Then with two handfuls of her ass, I drove my cock deep inside her.

“Drew!”

She cried out in shock as I rolled my head back and groaned, immediately lost in how fucking tight her pussy
squeezed around me. I growled as I slammed through every clench of her walls around me, filling my hands
with her tits and holding nothing back.
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“Does that feel good, baby?” I rasped though I already knew the answer since she only stopped moaning to
turn and kiss me. “‘Cause I’m in fucking heaven right now,” I muttered almost to myself. “I swear to God, I
am.”

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Page 67

Aside from having my cock buried inside her, I had Evie’s tight ass pressed up against me, her shaking tits in
my hands and my tongue in her mouth.

It was unreal. Gratification like I’d felt before. There were no words to describe the sensation of finally
having every part of her body in my possession. I hadn’t known her for even a month, but somehow it felt like
I’d waited years to feel exactly this.

I was beyond content already.

I was convinced it couldn’t get better, but once her pussy was perfectly stretched around me, she started
moving her hips, meeting me halfway on each thrust till I was just goddamned standing there in awe as I
watched her ride backwards on my cock.

“Jesus, Evie,” I hissed with both hands thrust in my hair. “You gotta be fucking kidding me with that pussy.”

I lost track of time watching her. I didn’t know how long I stood there hypnotized by her working those hips,
bouncing that ass and covering my cock from root to tip with her sopping wetness. All I knew was that I
couldn’t look away. I didn’t know she had this in her and at the same time, I wasn’t really surprised. She was
innocent and fiery all in one breath. She gasped at my size a second before begging me to fuck her harder, so
there was no guessing with her. Not that I was trying to figure anything out.

I was too busy enjoying this more than anything in the goddamned world, and I hadn’t even heard her come
yet.

“Turn around,” I growled when I felt myself getting close.

I’d barely slid my dick out of her before slamming back in, wrapping her legs around my hips and squeezing
her ass as I carried her to the couch. I didn’t slip an inch from her slick grip as I lay her down, hugging her leg
to my side and grinding deep inside her till she went completely quiet.

But I saw her trembling lip and I felt her nails in my back. I read the look in her big eyes as she nodded
breathlessly, and even if it weren’t for the nonstop spasms of her pussy around me, I’d have known she was
seconds away from giving me the sexiest sounds I’d ever heard.

“Go on. Come for me, baby,” I breathed out, my own body tingling, numb from the pressure of holding out. I
knew the second she came, she’d take me with her.

And she did exactly that.

All I needed was the first second of her blissful moan to shoot off like a fucking cannon inside her. My mind
went instantly vacant, but as her walls shuddered around me, I drew on every last ounce of energy in my
body – thrusting inside her, still fucking her senseless as we soared and fell together.

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24

DREW

I wiped the sweat off my brow, laughing between sets as Iain just stood there scrutinizing me, looking like he
was trying to read my mind.

We were at the Empires workout facility, so he stuck out like a sore thumb in his crisp white button-down
and slacks. Of course, in typical Iain fashion, the authority of his presence made it seem like he was the one
who was right, and we were just the animals who were underdressed for this place.

“You’re fucking creepy, you know that, right?” I panted before picking up the dumbbell and going back to my
laterals.

I acted like I didn’t know what the hell he was here for, or why he was looking at me like that, despite the fact
that I knew there was no lying to this asshole. He knew his clients too well – me in particular.

“I just think it was very kind of you to volunteer going to some boring restaurant opening with her when you
had a day game in the morning,” Iain said.

Read: I think you’re sleeping with her or trying to.

Yeah. I knew what he was implying, but if he couldn’t prove it, I wasn’t going to say shit. For all he knew, I
took Evie home, we went to our separate bedrooms and I passed right out to get some good rest in before
having to wake up earlier than usual.

There was no way for him to figure out that I’d taken her home and come harder than I ever had in my life
inside her, or that we’d passed out together on the couch.

Though by the time I’d woken up this morning, she was already gone.

“Well, you said it yourself, man.” I blew out air from between my teeth as I lifted. “It turned into good press.”

Apparently, not asking for pictures didn’t mean that the people at Merryweather didn’t take them, because
by this morning, the gossip pages were flooded with candid snippets of Evie and me. They were taken from
the Instagram and Snapchat accounts of Hillary’s friends. According to the articles, I was “keeping it low-
key” by meeting Evie’s friends at a “friends and family only event in Brooklyn.”

“According to one source, Maddox was overheard discussing the ‘e’ word with a few of Larsen’s friends –
engagement!”

That was Iain’s doing. His company represented both actors and athletes, and he was so tight with the media
that I would’ve called him a traitor if it weren’t for the fact that he was only ever using or manipulating them.

“It was definitely good press,” Iain said, his eyes leisurely scanning the room to make sure there was no one
in earshot. There wasn’t. But even if there were, the room was just a chorus of slamming weights and animal-
like grunting, so honestly, I could barely hear Iain myself. That’s why I thought I’d heard him wrong on what
he said next. “Anyway, you proposed to her last night.”

I had to finish my set before I snorted.

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Page 68

“Come again?”

“In our timeline, you popped the question last night. How did you do it?”

“Really? How’d I do it?” I laughed.

“Up to you, Romeo. Anyway, I had the clubbie put something in your locker drawer. Give it to Evie tonight
and make her wear it before you take her out to dinner. And pick a place you like because you’ll be there
awhile. You have to drag out this date so she can properly debut her new ring,” Iain said before pausing as if
waiting for me to say something.

“What? Did you ask me a question?”

“No. I was waiting for you to gripe about the fact that you have to have a long candlelit dinner. You’ve never
been one for hours of conversation at once, but looks like you’re more than game for tonight.”

“What can I say? I love this team,” I smirked. “And if it cools down trade talks, I’ll do it.?

??

“Right.” Iain held his eye contact for several seconds before eyeing the time. “Well, from what I hear, the
front office is pleasantly surprised by all this. You’ve got Julian Hoult and a bunch of old guys tracking your
love life via tabloid, so good job so far. I just hope you can keep things this smooth and steady with Evie till
past the trade deadline. Be smart with her. Or it’ll all have been for nothing.”

“Yeah, I got that, sunshine, but thank you for the reminder.”

“Anytime.”

“Alright, well I’m here to work out, not talk, so you should probably get going to whatever meeting you’re
dressed like James Bond for.”

He cracked a laugh.

“Fine. Enjoy dinner tonight,” he said, turning to go. But then just to fuck with me, he stopped at the doorway
and called back across the room. “And hey – congratulations on the big engagement, Maddox.”

Then as soon as all my teammates big eyes flew to me, he left.

EVIE

I was still catching up from my day when I heard Drew get home. I knew we had a public dinner scheduled
tonight and while I was supposed to getting ready now, I was running late. I was flustered and still all over
the place from how my morning had started.

It would’ve been perfect if phones didn’t exist. To start, I’d woken up on Drew’s bare chest, and good God,
that was a hell of a way to start a day.

I was glad he didn’t stir because after lifting my cheek off his pecs, I had needed more than few seconds to
just look at him.

His inked bicep bulged since he had his right arm bent and resting behind his head. His lips were slightly
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parted and he had his other arm wrapped around me, his hand resting heavily on my back.

I wanted to just stay there in his arms all morning, basking in the leftover glow of what happened last night.

But I couldn’t fully enjoy myself knowing that I’d woken multiple times in the night to the sound of my phone
buzzing against the kitchen counter. No one ever texted me that persistently that late, so I couldn’t help but
get up around 6AM and investigate.

I had braced myself for angry, bitter texts from Mike but it wasn’t that at all.

It was something much worse than immediately started my day on a frenzied whirlwind, eventually making
me late for all my meetings and causing me to be still flustered now at 7PM.

“Evie?”

I had just finished makeup and moisturizing and was blow-drying my hair when Drew called up the stairs.

“I’m in the bathroom!” I called back, drying my hair for another few seconds before he appeared in the
doorway. The second he did, I turned off the blow dryer and felt my first real smile of the day spread my lips.
“Hey,” I breathed out, my heartbeat doing a little skip as he immediately came toward me.

I closed my eyes as he leaned in to kiss me, the stroke of his tongue melting all my stress away. At least for
the moment. I was so lost in how deep he kissed me that I was only vaguely aware of him holding my hand
and slipping something onto my finger.

When I pulled away, my eyes went wide.

It was a diamond. A hell of a diamond, in fact. It almost blinded me as I blinked at it.

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Page 69

“We’re engaged, by the way,” Drew smirked. “As of yesterday.”

“Really? How’d it happen?” I laughed.

“I don’t know. I assume I got down on one knee.”

“Nice. Classic. How’d I react?”

“The usual, I think. You laughed, you cried. You said yes and then we fucked all night.”

“That's true, we did,” I smiled as I touched up my lipstick. “That was a pretty good night, Mr. Fiancé.”

“Agreed,” he murmured as he came close again. “You have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about this
pussy all day,” he said, his hand under my towel. “Are you sore?”

“A little,” I lied softly.

I was a lot sore. Drew was bigger, thicker than I’d ever taken and he’d fucked me harder than I’d ever been
fucked last night. But I’d been euphoric like I’d never felt before and I didn’t regret a second of it.

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There was something about last night that nixed my need to worry about Drew, me, or the contract this
morning. I didn’t know what it was, but it was something I could swear we both felt last night on the couch,
after unraveling together then watching each other come down from our highs.

It was intimacy. An unexpected kind. And I felt it again now as Drew kissed along my bare shoulder while
stroking gently between my legs.

“Sorry for making you sore.”

I laughed.

“You should never apologize for having a huge cock.”

“True. Noted.”

“So, what time is our reservation tonight?” I grinded softly against his palm.

“We should leave in twenty. You have a little bit of time.”

“So do you,” I teased, eyeing the obvious hard-on under his sweats. “Are you ever not hard?”

“Around you? It’s a fucking miracle if I’m not.”

“Well you did just give me the nicest piece of jewelry I’ve ever had the honor of wearing out, so a proper
thank you is probably in store,” I smirked, reveling in his immediate groan as I cupped him package and
squeezed.

“As much as I’d love to fuck you over this sink right now, your pussy is sore and you just did redid your
lipstick,” Drew muttered, gently removing my hand from his cock. Apparently, I’d quickly come to hate that
because on instinct, I unlatched my towel and let it drop to the floor, watching his hungry eyes immediately
lock on my tits.

God, yes.

Apparently, I also lived for the moments when I could catch him off guard.

“You said we leave in twenty?” I eyed the time on my phone before returning my attention to him. My mouth
curved at the mixture of lust and confusion in his green eyes as I reached into his sweats. “Don’t worry.
That’s plenty of time for me to figure something out.”

25

I was still on another planet as I watched Evie order for us at the restaurant.

She was wearing her hair up with a sapphire blue dress that went off her shoulders, showcasing her smooth
skin and that elegant neck. All that combined with her sparkling earrings and the glittering ring on her finger
and she looked like royalty.

Royalty that had been wearing thick streaks of my cum on her tits about fifteen minutes ago.

There was something oddly satisfying about watching the men in the restaurant stare at Evie, already in awe
of her without even knowing what she’d just done to me back at the house.

After dropping her towel in the bathroom, she’d dipped her fingers into a jar of some kind of moisturizing oil.
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Then she’d let me watch as she slowly rubbed it all over her tits. I thought she was just giving me a visual to
jerk off to but then she led me into her room and pulled me on the bed with her as she lay herself down.

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Then she pushed her shiny tits together for me to fuck.

“Are you there?” Evie teased once the waiter left. I blinked as she flashed me a smile.

“I’m here. If I drift off from time to time, it’s because I’m thinking about your tits.”

“Maybe don’t say that so loudly since this is supposed to be our first romantic dinner as an engaged couple,”
she smirked, touching the back of her neck. “And please don’t spend the entire night looking at me like you
want to eat me.”

“I do. I’ve already imagined ten different ways I’d spread your pussy on this table.”

“Drew!” Evie hissed, nodding at the couple seated a table away from us. “There are other people in this
restaurant who don’t want to hear about my pussy.”

“Judging from the way that guy stared at you as you walked in, I don’t think he would mind.”

“Drew.”

“Fine, we’ll change the subject,” I complied just as our wine arrived. “So did I pick a good enough restaurant
tonight? Or is this menu not suitable to your sophisticated palate?”

“Um, why are we acting like I’m the

fancy person at this table? Your watch is worth more than my entire salary last year and I grew up next to a
trailer park.”

I paused to process the trailer park comment. I wasn’t sure why it surprised me considering I already knew
she’d grown up in poverty.

“I figured since you make a living designing menus that you’d be critical of dishes you see at other
restaurants.”

“Oh my God, no,” she giggled. “There are many different corners of the food world, and I’m not in one of the
classy ones. My specialty is in designing over-indulgent, borderline ridiculous menu items that taste good but
are solely to pique the interest of the media,” Evie clarified with a laugh. “And I got this good at it because I
was dating a guy who worked in restaurant PR, so he knew exactly what trendy buzzwords the food blogs
responded to. ‘Vodka-poached,’ ‘truffle-infused’ – all that yummy bullshit.”

“And this former boyfriend of yours – what’s his name again?”

“I don’t recall,” Evie replied breezily, taking a dainty sip of her wine. I laughed.

“Good. Though in that case I wish I just picked a burger joint because stuffy places like this aren’t really my
scene.”

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“If it makes you feel better, I’m still super excited to be here. This is a beautiful restaurant,” she said, gazing
around at the enormous flower arrangements on every surface, and the view of Madison Avenue out the
double height windows. “I feel like I saw this place on TV before when I was younger,” Evie mused. “On like,
Food Network. Or the Cooking Channel. Or Travel. Or maybe it was something I watched on Netflix.”

Now she was just mumbling to herself trying to figure out where she might’ve seen this restaurant, which I
personally knew had opened only last year because I knew the owner. So this was a pointless train of thought
for her, and I probably should’ve said something but I for some reason enjoyed watching Evie think this
hard.

She was unconsciously playing with her bottom lip while squinting into the distance, and it gave me time to
just look at her without her either blushing or saying something smart.

“So, you’ve made fun of me for my need to eat so often,” I pointed out when she finally gave up. “Yet you’re
clearly obsessed with food.”

“But see, there’s a huge difference. You eat to live, and I live to eat,” she said. “You refer to your food as
‘calories.’ You practically have a business relationship with your meals. It’s just sustenance so you have
energy to throw like, you know, a sixty mile-per-hour fastball or whatever.”

“I throw at a hundred. Sixty would be unimpressive.”

“Whatever, I don’t know things. I’m learning, okay?” Evie laughed.

“Fine. Let’s go back to your love affair with indulgent food. How did it start?”

“Umm. I think it happened in late middle school or high school when that trend of like, slutty food
happened.”

“What the fuck is slutty food?”

“You know. It was like, overstuffed sandwiches or the biggest ice cream sundae in the country topped with
gold leaf or like, Bloody Marys garnished with an entire fucking grilled cheese. Stupid stuff.”

“That you clearly fell in love with.”

“Yes,” she said so unapologetically I had to grin. “We didn’t have much growing up, so that kind of
indulgence was amazing and fascinating to me. I couldn’t get enough of watching it on TV.”

  Battle of Manila Bay (1898)

Page 71

“I feel like that would’ve made me bitter,” I said truthfully.

“No. Everything was already bitter. If I was bitter too, then I would just get stuck in that town forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I would’ve just given up before I tried if I believed everyone around me. All they ever said was that
the world was unfair. That some people were born rich while other people were just born screwed like us,”
Evie said. “The people from where I’m from – they’re mostly good people, but they don’t dare to dream or

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fantasize because they ‘know’ it’s pointless. To them, everything’s already decided. If your parents were
junkies, you’ll be a junkie. If your mom was a teen mom, you’ll be one too.”

“How did you manage to get out?” I asked. But just then, her phone audibly buzzed in her purse. It was the
third time since we sat but I’d ignored it till now.

“Um…” Evie tried to act like she was thinking of her answer to my question but I knew she was completely
distracted.

My eyebrows pulled tight as I watched her try to subtly remove her phone from her purse and read her
screen under the table. In just those two seconds her lips pursed and she tried to take a deep breath without
me noticing, but I saw the movement in her shoulders.

“Who’s texting you?” I asked.

“Nobody.”

“Mike?”

“No.”

Only now did I remember that Mike still existed – that we hadn’t vanquished him last night by forcing him to
listen to us. He was probably stewing in a dark corner somewhere, trashing me on every sports forum on the
Internet while sending Evie hateful text messages.

“Evie,” I repeated myself sternly. “Whatever you read just now clearly upset you, so tell me.”

“Drew! It’s no one,” Evie reiterated, trying to sound playful but firm. But when she looked up and saw the
stern look on my face, she heaved a sigh. “Okay, fine, it’s… my mom.”

A deep frown furrowed my brow.

“I thought you said you didn’t talk to her anymore,” I said, vividly remembering her speech about cutting her
mom and sister out of her life.

“I don’t talk to my sister ever. I… do talk to my mom sometimes…”

“That seems like a slippery slope,” I remarked.

“And you sound judgmental.”

“Maybe I am. If I recall correctly, your mother enabled your sister’s addiction for years and eventually
condoned her throwing you down the stairs and breaking your arm.”

“Yes, and I know you like to preach the idea of cutting out every last person in your life and caring about no
one at all, but sometimes it’s easier said that done,” Evie retorted hotly, her cheeks instantly flushed pink.

But as someone came by to refill our waters, I watched her take in several deep breaths, and once he was
gone, she spoke again.

“Besides,” she said slowly, clearly trying her best to sound calm. “It was just an emergency situation or I
wouldn’t have replied now. Not that I should have to justify talking to my mom. She is my mom. She busted
her ass to raise me for most of my adolescence, and I still miss her sometimes,” she said, her voice getting
quickly small. She dropped her eyes down her wine glass, quiet for several seconds before attempting a
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casual shrug. “I mean I don’t think it matters how old you are, sometimes you just want your mom.”

I said nothing in reply, mostly because I was annoyed to find myself instantly thinking about Pattie. I
conceded that Evie might’ve had a point here, but I didn’t say it aloud.

“What was the emergency?”

“She’s having some… bad dental issues,” she said vaguely. “And she doesn’t have insurance… or money for
that matter… so she’s in a lot of pain every day.”

“If you’re helping with bills, pay directly to the dental office.”

Her eyes lifted to me.

“You think she’d lie about this?” she asked slowly, her tone icy.

“I’ve seen it happen.”

  Different Types of Workplace Harassment

Page 72

My first few years in the league, I had a spreadsheet of eight friends and family members who received
monthly checks from me to cover bills. From what I could tell, they really needed the help. Layoffs, kids,
whatever. Life happened and if I could afford to help, I was more than happy to.

Of course, the more others heard about my spreadsheet, the more emergencies there were. By the time I was
twenty-two, that spreadsheet had more than doubled and I rarely received a call from home that didn’t
eventually become a sob story.

I wasn’t sure if there was a more disheartening feeling than laughing and catching up with an old friend for
two hours before realizing it was all a lead-up to a request for money. If I made the rare call home to say hi,
the call was treated as a lottery ticket. During my darkest time, during the year that Pattie’s cancer came
back, I made the mistake of calling an old friend to talk. He ended up asking me for a loan to pay off his
credit card debt. When I said no, he asked to at least borrow my BMW while I did my four weeks in “rehab.”

So now that spreadsheet was empty.

The last time I mailed just a birthday gift home to a cousin, I got ten requests the same day from other family
members who had a sudden “emergency.” My cousin’s fridge was broken and the kids were stuck eating
canned food. My uncle was in danger of being fired because he couldn’t get to work. His car needed repairs
he just couldn’t afford. “Might even be cheaper to get a whole new car,” he said before sending me links to
the ones he had his eye on.

Daycare money, diaper money, field trip money – there was always a story, and if I offered to pay directly to
the school, shop or whatever, I’d get a guilt trip about trust that ultimately ended in, “Never mind, forget it,
you’ve changed.” Either that or an invoice for a dollar amount way smaller than the original request.

Save for one or two, every relationship I had in La Palma, Florida – friends, family, old teachers and coaches
– soured thanks to money.

So when Evie insisted that her mother wasn’t lying – that none of the money was going to Kaylie’s addiction
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– I was unapologetically blunt.

“You’re being naïve.”

“And you’re being judgmental. Again,” she countered. Her cheeks were pink and there was a fiery look in her
eyes, but she was measuring her words, trying to sound unemotional. “Look, I may not know my sister
anymore, but I know my mom. She has her flaws, but she doesn’t enable Kaylie by giving her money. She
enables her by giving too many chances.”

“Please don’t tell me she’s just guilty of loving her daughter too much. You’re defending the woman who let
you get physically abused.”

“She fought Kaylie herself after I got thrown down th

e stairs!” Evie argued heatedly. “She was furious. She cried for days. She just also tried to make peace
between us after because she didn’t want to give up on all of us being together. I chose to leave solely because
I needed to be safe from my sister, not because I hated my – ”

“Um, excuse me?”

We both sat upright when we heard a breathy voice. When I looked over, I saw a woman in her twenties right
next to me, bouncing on her heels and wearing a bright, giddy smile.

“Hi. Mr. Maddox, I am so sorry to bother you while you’re eating, and I swear I never do this, but can I get a
picture, please?”

“Here.”

Evie quickly offered to take it before I could bark no like I wanted to, and as the girl squealed with
excitement, she flashed me a look that I had no trouble reading.

We forgot we’re in public. Let’s cool it.

I noted that, but as soon she took the photo and handed the phone back, the girl bombarded me with a
barrage of questions about whether I remembered meeting her at whatever signing.

“I don’t,” I cut her off. “And I’m having dinner with my fiancée so please, I’d appreciate some privacy.”

It was at that point that the mortified hostess rushed over and asked the woman to return to her table. I
noticed a hint of amusement in Evie’s eye as she twirled her earring and watched me sit back down. She
looked at me for a second.

“That was convincing,” she finally mused. “And kind of hot,” she added in a reluctant mutter.

“What was?”

“‘My fiancée.’”

“Right,” I said, though I barely knew what she was talking about. I didn’t even remember what I said to the
woman. All I remembered was being irate that she interrupted us at dinner. “What were we talking about?”

“Our impending nuptials. You said no to a destination wedding.”

“Funny. I think we were talking about you sending money to your mother.”
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“Wow, look at that memory,” Evie marveled dryly. “Aly said you called her Ellie for the first year that you
knew her, yet here you are, remembering exactly how to irritate me.”

“I don’t like to leave conversations unfinished.”

  The Battle of Marathon [490 BC]

Page 73

“I remember you saying that the first night we met,” Evie crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. “Do you
remember what I said?”

“Some things are meant to end before you’re ready.”

Her eyebrows ascended.

“I didn’t expect you to get it verbatim, but yes,” she said, surprised. “That’s what I said, and it applies tonight
as well because we can’t talk about this now. We’re supposed to be conveying diamond ring bliss and I’m
pretty sure it looks instead like we’re miserable and fighting on our first day of being engaged. So unless you
enjoyed getting chewed out by Iain, we’re going to change the topic to something pleasant. Right now.”

I studied her for a few seconds of silence. I refusing to let go of his argument, putting his foot down on his
need to always be right, and it drove me insane.

“Fine. You know what? I’ll be a good girlfriend and compromise by telling you pleasant things about my
mom,” she decided, barreling on before I could do or say anything to object. “You already know she’d skip
out on eating just to feed us, but before Kaylie started using, she also used to throw a girls night for us every
month where we’d all curl our hair, put on her lipstick and drink super diluted Minute Maid concentrate
from plastic wine cups while watching Lifetime. Whenever I was sick, I’d nap in her arms on the couch and
I’d feel her kiss my forehead in my sleep. She was really good at just hugging me and telling me everything
would be alright. She was my first memory of warmth and comfort, and if you say you don’t know what that
feels like, then you’re a liar.”

I wouldn’t say I didn’t know what that felt like. So once again, I said nothing at all.

“You can’t possibly tell me that you have never cried to someone before,” Evie challenged.

“As a toddler, I’m sure,” I offered, though it only earned me an incredulous look. “But my dad made it pretty
clear by pre-school that crying wasn’t something boys did.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Probably, but I was too young to know better.”

Evie frowned, huffing hard and looking hell-bent on staying mad at me. But her expression slowly melted
from anger to sympathy, and if it weren’t for the topic of our conversation, I probably would’ve smiled.

“You really haven’t cried since you were a toddler?” she asked dubiously. “That can’t be healthy. I cry over
sad news headlines without even reading the article. I’m not saying that’s normal,” she laughed softly at
herself. “But sometimes you just gotta let it out.”

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“I cried once in eighth grade,” I said, remembering only in that second.

“Just that once?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I lost a big game,” I replied, thumbing my bottom lip as the memories flooded back with a vengeance. I was
thirteen and I was on my the verge of my first complete game shutout, but instead, I gave up a base-clearing
triple in the ninth and got my team knocked out of the playoffs.

After the game, Pattie spotted the start of my tears and since she knew how my dad would react, she quietly
gave me the keys to her Nissan. I wound up crying it out in her air-conditioned car while she walked around
outside, sweating her ass off in 102-degree weather and just waiting for me to feel better.

“And at thirteen years old, you’re telling me that no one cared to comfort you?”

“My best friend’s mom let me cry in her car,” I said to shut her up.

“Well, that was nice of her.”

“Yes. It was.”

“That counts as something,” Evie said quietly before going altogether silent for awhile.

She bit her lip as she frowned down at her nails, looking as if she was contemplating something. When she
finally looked back up at me, there was a glimmer of apology in her eyes.

“And the woman who let you cry in her car…” She trailed off for a second. “Was it Pattie Lillard?”

EVIE

My heartbeat picked up at the sound of her name off my lips.

But I couldn’t hide what I knew anymore. I felt like I was lying and somehow, I could lie to the world but
apparently, I couldn’t lie to Drew’s face.

Even if it meant him looking at me now with an expression of anger laced with disgust.

  How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Page 74

“Not sure why I was convinced till this point that you hadn’t Googled me. What exactly did you look at?”

“Well… the interview,” I started nervously. “The one where you talked about Pattie. And then…”

“The video in the comments. About Tim.”

“Yes, but I closed it out before I finished because I didn’t necessarily believe it was – ”

“True? It was,” he said harshly, pausing as if to take some kind of sick pleasure in the look of shock on my

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face. “Tim’s the varsity baseball coach at our old high school. He was leaving his house in the morning for
work when I caught him.”

“And… you hit him?”

“That would be an understatement.”

My stomach turned.

“What did you do?”

“I blacked out, so I don’t remember.”

“You were drunk?”

“No. I was angry,” Drew enunciated. “I don’t remember anything but his neighbors pulling me away. And
thinking I probably killed him.”

I stared at Drew, completely and utterly speechless.

I wasn’t sure if I was more horrified by how badly he’d beaten his childhood best friend, or the fact that he
spoke now with such a frighteningly cold lack of remorse. It felt almost as if he were challenging me,
punishing me now with more details than I wanted because I had forced him to prove that he cried.

I’d forced him to admit that he was human, and now he was doing everything in his power to prove that I was
wrong.

“Drew… I don’t understa

nd. Why the hell did you do it?” I finally whispered, though I could barely even hear myself above the volume
of my own slamming heart. “That was Pattie’s son. That was your best friend.”

“He betrayed my trust.”

God, not Tim too.

“What did he do?”

“I don’t talk about that.”

“You can’t just say that after telling me everything you just did!” I hissed incredulously.

“I can and I will because I never intended on discussing any of that with you. You just needed to know. You
needed to believe that love conquers all, or some other happy sunshine bullshit,” Drew said coldly. “But at
the end of the day, I have my views and you have yours, so let’s just agree to disagree. In case you don’t
remember, we don’t actually have to compromise about shit. Just because that’s a real diamond doesn’t
mean this is a real engagement.”

You asshole.

I wanted to snatch off my stupid fake engagement ring and throw it right then and there. Seriously. Were it
not for the fact that people were watching, I probably would have.

But as increasingly angry I was, I told myself to stay cool. I breathed deep despite suddenly realizing that the

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blurred lines of our contract didn’t mean I was anywhere closer to Drew. Just because I’d opened up to him
didn’t mean he’d open up to me because clearly, a double standard existed between us.

And I shouldn’t have been remotely surprised.

Drew Maddox was used to getting his way. What he wanted he got, and what he had right now was both
business and pleasure. He got all of me, I got maybe half of him, and that was just the way it worked in his
world.

At least until this very moment.

Because as our entrees came – as Drew turned to smile and talk to the manager who dropped by to ask how
things were – I decided to quietly take another page from his book and flip a switch. I wasn’t one for double
standards so as of this moment, I was going to have to change the way I approached this game.

  What Constitutes Workplace Harassment?

Page 75

“And how is everything with you, miss?” the manager asked graciously, turning to me. I let Drew catch a
second of my vacant stare before putting on a good face and looking up with a smile.

“Everything’s perfect.”

26

For more than a week after the engagement, there was a palpable tension at home.

But as far as faking it went, Evie and I had never been better.

In fact, I was pretty convinced we deserved Oscar nods for our performances to combat the media. SHE’S
GOT THE RING – NOW THEY’RE ON THE ROCKS! That headline and pictures of our heated conversation
had been splashed all over the tabloids the morning after our dinner, along with speculation that I was
already regretting my decision to leave my “wild bachelor ways.”

It was all bullshit on top of bullshit, but I knew how it looked. My reputation combined with those images
created a pretty damned believable narrative. And since I had a job to keep – since I refused to waste all the
work I’d already put in – I went with every sappy goddamned date Iain suggested.

And to my surprise, considering the way she’d begun acting since the night of the dinner, Evie went along
with them too.

Tuesday, she sat with the WAGs, wearing my jersey fitted tight on her body as she cheered me on to my
seventh win of the season. At the end of the game, I jogged over to her by the first base line, flipped my cap
backwards and let her cup my face with both hands as I gave her a very public kiss.

“Good game, babe,” she murmured as the WAGs cooed behind her.

By the time I got home that night, she was asleep with her door closed and locked.

The case was the same for the next four nights.

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Not only that, she was always out of the house when I woke up and only met me at the location of our public
date – whether it was a stroll at the farmers market in Union Square, a sidewalk cafe lunch with Diaz and his
wife, or grocery shopping in a ridiculously crowded Trader Joe’s, her favorite store in the world. Whatever we
were doing, I found myself with consistently no time or privacy to talk or ask Evie questions – not that I had
any by the third night of this pattern.

I knew what was happening.

I wouldn’t talk to her about Tim, so she was reverting strictly to business.

My initial reaction was that of amusement. It felt like a direct challenge from her, and I was always up for
one of those. So I laughed to myself, albeit slightly bitterly, and I let that sense of game carry me till Sunday
morning, when we went shoe shopping at some store with a big, paparazzi-friendly window up front.

Evie lost her mind over strappy heels, I watched her try a dozen pairs in a pair of little denim shorts, and I
was pretty sure neither of us was faking our interest there.

But at the register, the act was on.

“Babe, wait. Which color should I get? The white or the tan?” she asked, her arms wrapped around my neck
as she gazed down at the shoes.

“Get them both,” I shrugged. The salesgirl smiled as Evie beamed up at me, saying something about me being
the best before she went on her toes and kissed me on the lips.

But it wasn’t a quick peck like I expected – it was a slow, sexy swirl of her tongue as she pressed her tits
firmly against my chest, and after a week without contact, my dick reacted immediately. I knew Evie felt it
because she let out a sexy little mm into my mouth.

Then the second my hand slid from her hips toward her ass, she pulled away, smiling brightly at the salesgirl
who handed over her bags.

I was pretty sure the only reason she waited at the door was because there were a few paparazzi camped right
outside the door, and she didn’t want to walk alone. Considering how aggressive those assholes could get, I
couldn’t blame her. I was glad she waited.

But after letting me guide her to the car and open the door, Evie slid in and went straight to answering emails
on her phone. I could tell the immediate silence was jarring to the driver because he kept peeking at us
through the rearview mirror. It was at that point that I wished I’d just called my usual driver Gary instead of
using some app, because I was pretty sure this guy was paying far too much attention to us.

“Everything okay, guys?” he dared to ask with a little laugh after about thirty seconds of silence. I gave him
an odd look but just as I wondered whether the kid was going to sell a tabloid some tidbit on our failing
engagement, I heard Evie purr.

“Babe, I love them so much. I can’t stop looking at them,” she said, peeking into the shoeboxes inside the bag
at her feet.

I grinned, partially over her wariness of the driver, but mostly over the little fuck-me voice she was putting
on for me.

“I’m glad you like them. You should put them on.”

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“Not now. Tonight. When you get home,” she said, leaning back on the window and briefly teasing me by
rubbing her ankle against my knee.

It lasted all of two seconds but I couldn’t erase the image of mostly naked legs on display for me like that, so
when she went back to her emails, I took advantage of our nosy driver’s eavesdropping and held my arm out.

  Tips for Working Moms

Page 76

“Baby, come here.”

Her eyes flicked up at me, and she silent for a few seconds before putting on a light, teasing voice for me.

“I’m doing work stuff, babe.”

“Fuck work. Come here,” I grinned, holding my arm out to her.

I stifled a laugh as she stole an actual eye roll before putting her phone down, resuming a smile and sidling
up to me. As I pulled her sexy legs onto my lap, she wrapped her arms around my neck, twisting her body to
face me and away from the driver.

I ignored her cocked eyebrow and the way she impatiently mouthed what? Instead, I enjoyed the fake giggle
she managed as I stroked the back of her calves and said something about her hair smelling good.

Considering I didn’t get to touch this body at home anymore – considering how she used my own body as she
wished in public – I was going to take my sweet damned time here. Hell, I was going to get fucking high off
the scent of that coconut shampoo. Maybe I already was, considering I was suddenly imagining Evie
lounging next to me on a beach, basking in the sun in a little white bikini.

“We need a vacation,” I smirked, buying more time with her on my lap.

“Mm-hm. The second your season is over, babe. We’ll go.”

“Where do you want to go?”

Away from you, was what she conveyed with that big, inaudible sigh that made her shoulders slump. Still
hanging onto my neck, she glanced back at her phone on the seat. I couldn’t help but break into a huge grin
because apparently insolent Evie was also a turn-on. When she turned back to me, she had her game face
back.

“Oh, I don’t know. Anywhere at all as long as I’m with you,” she said with a saccharine sweetness meant to
irritate me. It somewhat worked.

“Name a city,” I said. “London? Paris? Milan?”

“No. I need a beach. It’s already been too long since I’ve been in the ocean,” she said, almost accusingly, as if
I’d been keeping her from it myself.

“What, you a water baby like me?” I asked as she avoided my eye, gazing longingly out the back window like
she preferred to get out in the middle of traffic than sit on my lap.

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“Please. I’m more of a water baby than you,” she mumbled.

“Doubt that. I was born and raised in Florida. What do you got, Massachusetts girl?”

Just as I hoped, that set something off. I tried not to laugh as Evie pinned a brief but hot, incredulous stare
on me.

“For your information, there are lots of beautiful and famous beaches in New England,” she started sharply,
clearly about to school me. I was all for it. I’d set her up for it because as much as I enjoyed the sweet,
breathy voice she used with me in public, I missed the sound of her real one talking about real things. “Palm
trees are not a requirement in order to be considered a beach. Ever heard of Cape Cod? Martha’s Vineyard?
Good Harbor Beach?”

“I’ve definitely never heard of the last one. That sounds like someone got tired while naming beaches.”

She snorted but caught herself.

“Stop. Don’t be rude,” she said tartly. “That was my beach growing up, and it’s beautif

ul.”

“Probably still half as good as the worst beach in Florida.”

“There was white sand. Lighthouses. Nice people,” Evie seethed adorably. “It’s even pretty in the winter. I
hitchhiked at least once a week to get there.”

“Hitchhiked? How old were you?”

“When I first started? Thirteen, fourteen.”

I must’ve looked fucking horrified because she slid her eyes back to me and actually laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. Must’ve been a good beach,” I remarked.

  10 Necessary Things You To Do During Unemployment

Page 77

“It was. It was my one place where I could pretend I was normal,” she said, her sentence getting
progressively quieter before she suddenly frowned to herself and pulled to get off my lap. “Let me go,” she
whispered under her breath.

“What do you mean pretend to be normal?” I lowered my voice.

“Nothing,” she said, though I already had the answer pictured in my head. At the beach, she didn’t have to
think about her rocky home life or the lack of money. She had sand, sun and water like everyone else. It was
the universal pleasure of beaches. I had the same in Florida.

“Drew, just let me sit back down,” Evie repeated quietly but sternly. “Okay?”

I held her tight but said nothing in reply because I didn’t have an argument here. If she wanted to get off my
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lap, I was supposed to let her. But I hated the way my body felt whenever she physically pulled away. It was a
sudden loss of this peaceful feeling, like getting a warm blanket ripped off your body while sleeping.

It was actually easier to bear in the four-day stretch this week when I didn’t get to touch her at all. But getting
to run my hands on her soft skin then feeling it get taken away felt like shit.

So for a minute or so, we were engaged in a standoff.

But this time, I had a feeling she might win.

“Drew Maddox. I’ll make you regret it if you don’t let me go right now,” Evie whispered. Apparently just the
tingle of her breath so close to my lips was enough for me to risk it.

“Make me regret it then.”

She succeeded in the first second.

Climbing onto my lap, she squeezed my hands over her tits and kissed me deeply. The groan I let out was
instantly greedy, ravenous. Every hard inch of my body was starved and at her fucking mercy. We were three
minutes from home and I was already running late to get to the stadium – I knew that, she knew that, and
that was why she was comfortable doing this. I couldn’t be late for stretch and I wasn’t going to fuck her right
in this car in front of our creep of a driver.

So she was using this bit of time to torture me, and I was a willing participant.

“Let me taste them,” I hissed when she let me yank down her neckline and the cups of her bra.

“Uh-huh,” she exhaled breathlessly as I sucked her tits into my mouth, swirling my tongue all over them and
relishing every sweet lick before I felt the car slow to a roll. The app dinged to signal the end of the ride just
as the car stopped, and before I knew it, Evie was breathlessly covering up and reaching to grab her bags off
the floor.

“See you tonight, babe?” she panted, her lips wet and swollen as she moved to get out of the car. She dug her
nails into my shoulder as I pulled her hand off the door and grabbed her shirt, pulling till her tits sprang free
again. Her pussy grinded against my cock as I sucked her nipples hard, like I’d never get a chance to again.

We stopped abruptly when the car behind honked and just like that, she threw the door open.

“You gonna stay up for me?” I asked.

“Mm-hm,” she hummed sweetly before getting out of fast and shutting the door.

Then as I sat there recovering, telling the driver where to go next, I let myself picture Evie actually staying up
for me tonight, her sleepy head popping up from the couch the second she heard me coming in.

I used to love that couch – now I harbored a vague sense of resentment for the way it failed me every night.
Seeing it unoccupied was once the post-game norm, but now it was a letdown.

So I envisioned her sprawled out there tonight, in a little tank top and shorts. I knew it wouldn’t actually be
the case, but I wanted to believe it. And as tired as it had me, I’d gotten pretty damned good at the whole
business of pretending.

27

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EVIE

I’d gotten up early every day of the past week-and-a-half, mostly to avoid seeing Drew at home. So on
Tuesday morning, knowing well that Drew was out early for a day game, I slept in and wound up waking to a
series of weird texts from Aly that induced more than a few sleepy giggles.

“What the hell?” I mumbled, propping myself up on my elbow to better read her early morning craziness.

ALY: Hello???

ALY: Why won’t you pick up it’s already 7:45

ALY: CALL ME BACK PLEEEEASE

ALY: Fine you missed your window I’ll be busy for the next 2+ hours and then recovering for who knows how
long and then back at it again k bye

  A Brief History of Cold War

Page 78

I squinted at the text then the time. It was almost 10AM. According to her schedule, which used to be my
schedule, she’d been at the restaurant for almost four hours now, so I had no idea what this could be about.

ME: Hellooo. Just called you back and you didn’t pick up wanna stop being weird and cryptic?

I lay around for a bit as I waited for her response and after about twenty minutes, it finally came.

In the form of a picture.

Of an enormous rock on her finger.

“Oh my God!” I shrieked, jolting upright in bed and immediately calling her. But she wound up interrupting
my ringing with her texts.

ALY: Woman I can’t talk. I can barely breathe.

ME: Oh God you’ve been having sex all morning. That’s what you meant by the next 2 plus hours

ALY: Yes. I think I’m already pregnant

ME: I don’t think it works like that. Can we talk about that ring? IT’S AMAZING

ALY: I know. I’m dying. Aly Hoult. I’M GONNA BE MRS. EMMETT HOULT

I was giggling my ass off as she continued on with a dozen texts rattling off versions of her name. Alyson
Hoult. Aly Stanton-Hoult. It ended when she realized A. Hoult sounded a little too much like “a-hole.”

ALY: Well that was fun while it lasted.

ME: Aly Hoult it is. So when are we celebrating and with who

ALY: Tonight 8PM location TBD. Iain and his girl Keira will be there and heads up she does not know about

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you and Drew so keep the act up. She’s a bit of a chatty one.

ME: How does that work when Iain hates extraneous chatter more than anything in the world??

ALY: I think because they’re two of the most blunt Type A personalities I’ve ever met and he gets to dominate
where it counts, according to things I wish Emmett never told me

ME: Oh my. Can’t say I’m surprised

ALY: Speaking of doms though how’s your prick BF handling the ice out? Because if he’s pulled any more
dick moves since that night he said the real ring/fake engagement shit, I will dom the shit out of Emmett and
uninvite him from this dinner.

ME: No!! He’s Emmett’s best friend and this is Emmett’s night too. Plus it’s all good. I know I sounded ragey
last week but he and I have struck a balance at home

Lie. Total lie.

Drew and I had not struck anything and the only reason I was able to maintain my all-business ground with
him was because I wasn’t letting myself see him at all.

I wasn’t sure how successful I’d be otherwise because the one time I caught him coming down the stairs just
as I was leaving the house, he was wearing only blue boxers, and I nearly drooled onto my shoes. That chest
and those abs aside, just the way his eyes always found and locked on me caused such a physical reaction in
my body. Every time.

That said I was no longer letting people get their way at my expense.

I just wasn’t.

For more than a year, I had agonized over fixing a relationship that Mike already knew was ending. He was
just waiting out our lease so h

e could leave me in the most comfortable way possible, so I was done. Absolutely done being unwittingly
convenient for others.

ALY: Well good! I’m so glad you figured out a way to deal with Drew. You might be the first one

ME: As long as he and I are in public I can handle anything thrown my way. Besides you are ENGAGED
Aly!!! So don’t worry about me

ME: Tonight’s going to be perfect : )

  Battle of Khafji (Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia)

Page 79

28

EVIE

“To be fair, it’s really pretty,” Aly giggled as we sat at the end of the table together, our seats all rearranged.

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At one point, we were seated with all the couples next to each other, but after three courses and more than a
few rounds of champagne, it was musical chairs.

And by now, having sat a solid hour next to Aly, I knew exactly how many facets were on her massive rose cut
diamond, exactly how the proposal went down - Emmett surprised her while they were spooning in bed this
morning - and the fact that I was going to be her maid of honor.

So now, we had moved onto gazing at my big fake rock.

“I mean it looks insanely so real for being fake,” she whispered, peering up to make sure Keira was still in the
bathroom.

“No, no, it’s not really fake, it’s a real diamond,” I giggled. “I just mean it’s sentimentally fake. Iain chose it.”

“Ohhh. So you chose this ring Iain?” Aly whisper-yelled across the table. The damned near death look we got
from him made us burst into giggles. “I apologize. What I meant to say,” Aly started at full volume this time,
“was that you did a beautiful job, Drew. I mean she’s always preferred princess cut, but it’s cool. What’s done
is done.”

“Yes. I did my best,” Drew said, as unamused as Iain. To his left, Emmett wore a crooked grin while
mouthing for Aly to behave, and as Aly and I snorted, I groaned inwardly.

Ugh.

I hated myself for wishing this moment were real. But it was just so hard not to.

It was my best friend’s real engagement, and this felt like such an otherwise perfect moment. Aly was dressed
to the nines in a glittery champagne colored dress, I was wearing a backless cap-sleeved lace number I was
obsessed with, and the guys all looked so absurdly handsome in their sleek suits and ties. They looked like a
fucking cologne commercial.

And Drew... God.

I’d actually never seen him in a full suit and tie before and it was killing me. He looked like such a perfect
gentleman that it somehow turned me on just to know that he was hiding a whole sleeve of tattoos under
there.

“Here,” Aly said, taking an empty bowl and holding it under my chin.

“What?”

“You and Drew are doing sexy eyes across the table at each other and it looks like you’re going to drool onto
your dress.”

I grabbed the bowl and practically tossed it back on the table.

“Shut it. It’s not easy resisting him when he looks like that.”

“I bet. I can comfortably say this now that I’m engaged to the love of my life, but Drew looks absurdly good
tonight. He looks like a Viking that you tamed and wrapped in a Tom Ford suit.”

“Tamed my ass. Also, are you trying to make it worse for me?”

“No, if I was, I’d tell you that he’s looking at your back right now like he wants to lick it from you neck to your
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ass.”

“Jesus, Aly.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot of sex and champagne today. I shouldn’t even be in public.”

I managed a laugh with her but I was actually relieved when she had to get up and show her ring to someone
she and Emmett knew that worked at the restaurant. Of course, the relief was short-lived because the second
she was up so was Drew.

“Hey.” He pulled the chair next to me even closer and sat down. I had barely looked over before he took my
hand and held it in my lap as he kissed me. I wasn’t prepared for it, so when he pulled away, I was dizzy. “I
can’t stop looking at you tonight, Evie. Iain and Emmett are giving me shit because I haven’t listened to
anything they’ve said in an hour.”

When I peered up across the table, I spotted Iain talking to Emmett, who caught my eye, smirked and made a
heart sign over his chest with his hands. I narrowed playful eyes at him, not entirely sure what he was saying
but pretty certain I didn’t like it.

“You look good too,” I finally returned, letting our legs mingle as Drew sat closer. Maybe it was the
champagne, but when he touched my cheek, I let myself close my eyes and lean into his palm.

But before I could relax too long, I heard the return of Keira’s raspy voice with that permanent tinge of
mischief.

  Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: Death of Tipu Sultan

Page 80

“Aww, you two engagement trendsetters.” I turned to find her flipping away her side bangs as she sat down
across from us. She shook her head at my left hand resting on the table. “That is seriously beautiful. Although
I think you could’ve afforded to go up a carat just for the paparazzi hell you’re putting this girl through.”

“She’s been handling them like a champ so far,” Drew said, massaging the back of my neck. Ugh God. Yes.

“As long as they stay far back enough and they’re not yelling at me, I’m good,” I chuckled while trying not to
actually melt under Drew’s touch.

“Well, you’re a good sport. I told Iain I’d end up backhanding anyone who followed me down the street,” she
said, making Drew snort. “And I’d just like, burn down the offices of every newspaper if they interviewed the
idiots from my hometown and made them talk shit about me.”

Both Drew and I paused, and I could tell we were both wondering if Keira was making up a hypothetical
situation. She muttered to herself for a second before squinting at our quizzical faces.

“Oh Jesus. There was an article today. You didn’t see it?” she asked. But the curious part was that she wasn’t
looking at Drew as she said it. Oh God. My heart dropped when I realized the article wasn’t about him.

It was about me.

My hand flew to my phone. I wasn’t even listening anymore, but I could hear Drew’s hot irritation with Keira
as they went back and forth for a bit. He asked why the hell she even read that shit, she said something about
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Iain and then I found the headline.

COLD-BLOODED COUPLE: FUTURE MRS. MADDOX LIVING LAVISH WHILE MOM LIVES ON
WELFARE.

“What the fuck,” I murmured, my wild eyes scanning the article.

It mentioned my “unemployed sister” Kaylie, and included quotes from former high school classmates that I
barely knew, who claimed I had always “looked down” on others and that I “didn’t bat an eye” over the fact
that my mom and sister “went hungry.”

Seriously?

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

Because of Drew, some scumbag had dug into my life, aired out my dirty laundry and added bullshit details
to make me look completely despicable. And unlike Drew, I wasn’t a celebrity so when I eventually dropped
out of the spotlight, this horrible story would still be out there about me. It wouldn’t be pushed aside by years
and years of new headlines – it would exist forever to humiliate both me and my family.

I was so livid I was shaking.

“This is disgusting,” I whispered, twisting away from Drew when he tried to cover my phone.

“Evie, please stop reading it,” he urged in a murmur as Keira flipped her bangs again.

“Look, don’t even sweat it. They’re just white trash, and you did good leaving them behind.”

“Take it easy, alright?” Drew warned her in a low mutter.

“What, D? Anyone on welfare is going try to use her to get to your money. You know too well how that goes.
Protect yourselves.”

“This is not the time, and you don’t know the full story, so drop it,” Drew snarled despite the fact that I knew
he didn’t believe his own words. He himself knew the full story about my mother, and he’d told me to cut her
off too, but tonight I knew he could feel my hand shaking in his.

And though I recognized that he’d just had my back, I still felt a pit of fury inside me grow bigger for him.

“Hold on,” I heard Emmett say to Iain before calling down to us. “What’s going on? You guys okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” I replied fast, shoving my phone in my clutch and refusing to ruin his engagement
dinner with this.

And when Aly returned giggling about something or another, I forced myself to flash a big smile and act fine
for her, because she didn’t deserve to spend her big night consoling me, being mad for me and talking me
down from my emotions.

So I held it all in until we got home, and I knew full well that Drew’s eyes had barely left me throughout the
car ride.

“Evie.”

I was still and catatonic the whole way back, but upon getting into the house I made a blind, angry beeline for
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the kitchen.

“Evie, what are you even doing?” Drew asked, his voice coming closer behind me.

“I’m making myself tea.”

  Kingdom of Mysore

Page 81

I had no idea why. I was just letting my body make the decisions till my brain sorted through the storm of
incoherent fury and figured out what I was most upset about. And apparently, the plan in the meantime was
to boil water for tea.

“I’m sorry about the story.” I heard Drew toss his suit jacket over a chair. I also heard actual regret in his
voice but it didn’t thin my wrath in the least.

“It’s fine.” My reply was clipped as I opened the cabinets to find the tea I’d bought myself last week. “It comes
with the territory.”

The second those words came out I heard Drew’s fist hit the table.

“Goddammit, Evie, stop talking to me like that, alright?” he hissed, coming up behind me. “Just talk to me
again. Like a real person. Tell me what to do. Tell me how I can fix this for you.”

“You want to fix this?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I laughed so bitterly Drew spun me around by the waist.

“If this is your way of implying that I don’t care about you, I think I’m making it obviou

s now that you’re wrong,” he growled, gripping me tight, refusing to let me just shove him away. “You’re
upset, I know that, and I don’t like it. In fact, I fucking hate it. I hate that the media dragged your family into
this. I hate that they’re making you play the bad guy, because trust me, I know how fucking shitty that feels,
and I wish more than anything that you didn’t have to know the feeling too.”

“Well, I do, and unless you can erase the Internet, it’s too late to take any of it back,” I hissed, yanking out of
his grip. “So you can just let this go and stop pretending to give a shit.”

“If I didn’t give a shit, I wouldn’t be standing here, Evie – I would be gladly ignoring you because honestly,
that would work out a whole lot better for me.”

“Do you think that feels good for me to hear?”

“I don’t know what it feels like, Evie, I’m just trying to be fucking honest with you,” Drew muttered hotly as
he trailed me down the counter. “You know I need the focus just to do my damned job – just to keep my head
in the game. In case you don’t realize what it takes to win as much as I do, it takes consistency. It takes doing
the same goddamned thing every day, thinking the same goddamned way and not changing a thing. If I loved
anything, it was the routine I had before you came along – in fact, if anyone told me you would happen one
day and asked if I wanted to avoid that, I’d say yes a thousand times over, because I have a job to do, a team

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to lead and a fucking ring to win. But now that you’re here, now that I’ve felt you and I know what it’s like not
to have you, I can’t stand for that either because I fucking miss you, alright?” Drew demanded. “I want you to
come back to me.”

“Well, you can’t have everything you want without giving anything up. You don’t get to kiss me in public, fuck
me at home and get to know everything about me and force me to answer all of your questions while ignoring
every one of mine,” I argued as the kettle went from whistling at me to screaming at us. “In case you don’t
realize, I’ve put all of myself out there for you. I tell you what you want to know, I let the media completely
expose me, and everyone wins except for me.” My voice trembled as I faced decidedly away from Drew,
letting steam burn my fingers as I poured the boiling water into my mug. “You want from me what you give
to no one, Drew. You keep stripping me more and more naked while you keep staying comfortably hidden,
and it makes me feel like an idiot. It makes me realize how stupid I was for ever treating this as anything
more than what it is, which is a lie.”

“You don’t have to call it that.”

“Real diamond, Drew – not a real engagement. Remember?” I flung his words back before spinning around
to go to my room.

But since he was standing right there, I sloshed half the contents of my mug right down his chest. My jaw
dropped like a brick as I watched the scalding water soak into his shirt. But inch-by-inch my mouth creaked
shut because Drew gave no reaction whatsoever. All he did was clench his jaw, keeping that wolfish gaze
unflinchingly pinned to me as he gripped the knot of his tie and jerked it loose.

“You wanted to know something about me that I’ve told only one person in my life,” he muttered, whipping
the tie off his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. “And the only reason I told that person was because I needed
an agent. No one wanted anything to do with me after what happened with Tim, and I needed someone
willing to take a chance on me. The only reason Iain did that was because I explained myself to him. But trust
me, I didn’t want to.”

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as Drew stared at me while taking off his shirt. I was more curious
than ever now, but the storm inside me slowed to a rolling thunder as Drew dropped his button-down to the
floor.

“So that’s it. I’m still right where you left me. You’re not going to tell me.”

“I’ll tell you, Evie,” Drew said between his teeth, stunning me silent. “I’ll fucking tell you everything because I
hate what I’ve done to you with this story coming out. I hate that you have to feel even a fraction of how
shitty I feel every day of my life,” he said, making my heart twist in my chest. “Just don’t make me say it now.
Don’t make me do this tonight because I can’t do another second without touching you, Evie. I swear to God
I can’t. I need you back already.”

I swallowed the enormous knot in my throat. He had me and I probably should’ve let him know, but I was
speechless because Drew was officially stripped before me and I never thought I’d see him look at me this
way. At anyone. He was thoroughly chipped at. Broken down and pleading with me. I could only manage a
nod because I didn’t actually know how to react to the feeling of bending something so big and strong.

“Tell me I can touch you again,” Drew murmured, closing the small gap between us.

His mouth was an inch from mine, and he stood as tight as he possibly could without touching me. I felt
every inch of heat from his body, and I saw the need in his eyes as he waited for me to give him permission.

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Because once I did, I knew he wouldn’t stop. And just because he was begging for me didn’t mean he was
going to be gentle.

When I nodded again, I felt a rumble build in Drew’s chest. He was primed, ready, but he didn’t put his
hands on me until he heard me speak.

“Touch me again,” I whispered.

The words barely escaped my throat before Drew grasped hold of my neck.

Two fingers gripped my jaw as his free hand shot under my skirt, and the second his fingers pushed into my
pussy, his eyes closed as if they were rolling back in his head. His hold on me instantly eased and he exhaled
as he pumped inside me, breathing harder with each deep stroke, like my body returned air to his lungs.

  Third Anglo-Mysore War

Page 82

His eyes blazed into mine as he held me there for a full minute, driving relentlessly inside me, focused on
nothing but reclaiming my pussy.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured with satisfaction as I came desperately all over his hand, my body weak but
our eyes locked tight as he withdrew his wet fingers from between my legs.

I gazed back at him, dizzy as he slowly released my neck, giving me time to grasp the counter behind me for
balance. Then taking a single step back, he slowly undid his belt, button and zipper.

“Take your clothes off. Everything except the shoes.” Drew stroked his erection over his boxers as I did as I
was told. He mirrored me as I shed my dress and my panties, till we stood completely bare before one
another, all our clothes strewn in the same corner of the kitchen floor.

“Now?” I asked, barely able to stand in my heels as I soaked in every inch of Drew’s body, including the solid
nine that hung between his rock-hard thighs.

“Go to my room.” Easy enough. “And keep your pussy spread for me as you walk up the stairs.”

Goddammit, Drew.

I was needy enough without that carnal demand – and without all the low, sexy murmurs of appreciation he
made as I obliged him the whole way up the stairs. The one time I glanced over my shoulder, I saw him four
or five steps back, his thumb running across his bottom lip as he held his head tilted just so, enjoying the
view. An irresistibly sexy smirk curled his mouth when he caught me looking at him.

“That’s right. Keeping showing that pussy. Show me how it belongs to me.”

God.

“You better fuck me hard Drew,” I said as I reached the second floor.

“It feels like a year since I’ve fucked you, so hard won’t be a problem. Now get on my bed.”

“Any other requests?”

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“Wait for me on your hands and knees.”

My pussy throbbed.

Jesus. If there was any guarantee in the world it was that this man knew how to turn me on like no other. My
body was brimming with anticipation by the time I got into his bedroom – a room I’d only peeked into but
never stepped foot inside before.

There were books, framed photos and leather boxes on his dresser. Just a dent in his pillow, the rumple in
his bed sheets as I climbed on his bed was fascinating to me. It reminded me that this was Drew’s bedroom
where he slept every night. His home

within his home.

“That’s fucking perfect, baby.”

His pleasured rumble startled me and when I peered over my shoulder, I saw Drew’s powerful body striding
into the room, a rubber already stretched thin over his cock. He kept his eyes pinned to my naked body on all
fours as he moved toward the bathroom, never once breaking eye contact as he twisted the doorknob and
pushed.

I bit my grin as the door opened and I saw that his bathroom mirror directly faced the bed.

“Look at how fucking sexy you are,” Drew muttered in my ear as he climbed behind me onto the bed,
watching me watch our reflection.

I gazed at the dramatic dip of my arched back, at Drew’s long body positioned behind me, his muscled arms
looking so threatening as he simply cupped my ass. My senses tingled as I watched him palm it gently for
several seconds before winding up to spank me.

As soon as I cried out at the impact, Drew rubbed away the pain, his mouth next to my ear as he murmured,
“This ass belongs to me too.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Everything, Evie. Every inch of you is mine.”

I moaned as he nudged inside me, his flared tip throbbing between my wet lips. I closed my eyes as I felt his
hand on the back of my neck, the other fondling my breast before gripping my waist.

“Say it.”

“I’m all yours,” I breathed.

And as soon as I did, he sunk the length of his cock inside me. His ragged groan drowned out the gasp that
ripped from my throat because like last time, he felt too big, and as wet as I was, I could still hear him
grunting – still needing to exert himself to push in and out of my pussy.

  Battle of Jhelum (Indian Mutiny)

Page 83

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But while it hurt, the pleasure overrode any pain. All the sexy, throaty sounds tearing out from Drew’s chest
made me that much wetter, and on top of that this time, I had the visual of his ripped body in the mirror, his
chiseled muscles clenching with every trust. One glance at the reflection and I saw those deep-cut lats and
triceps flexing as he drove steadily inside me, slowly stretching me around his shaft till each push was
nothing but pleasure.

“So tight,” Drew hissed, circling an arm around my stomach and hugging my back against his chest. His
every inch buried inside me as he gave short, hard thrusts that forced me onto my elbows. “You feel so
fucking good, Evie,” he growled, turning my face and licking my lips as he continued to pummel inside me.
“This is all I ever need. Your pussy. These lips.” He groaned as I swept my tongue against his. “So fucking
sweet.”

Our frenzied kiss stayed locked as he lowered his hand down from my belly, reaching between my legs and
smiling against my gasping mouth as he played with my clit. With two fingers, he rubbed it at the same harsh
pace that he fucked me, rapidly tightening every muscle inside me.

“Oh God, Drew…”

At some point I was on all fours but now my breasts were pressed flat on Drew’s bed, my pussy contracting
around his girth as I moved my hips to grind against his fingers.

“Damn, baby, look at you,” Drew rasped in awe as I grasped handfuls of the sheets for leverage, my muscles
burning as I swiveled back against him, controlling the pace under the full weight of his body. “Christ, you
make it so hard not to come right away. I just wanna fill you with my cum, Evie. I want to bend you over this
fucking bed and watch it drip from your pussy while I spank your ass. All. Fucking. Night,” he muttered,
thrusting deeper, harder with every word he muttered.

Holy God.

I never knew that was something I wanted till the image Drew painted had me so hot I was cursing the
condom between us.

“Drew, I’m going to come...” I panted as he pulled my hair.

“Do it, baby, come all over my cock.”

As I did, he groaned and muttered in my ear, reminding me through every second of my vicious orgasm that
I was his.

“Do you hear me, Evie? No one’s but mine,” he hissed as I moaned and fell limp underneath him, though a
sharp gasp choked from my lips when he pulled out, leaving me with a void that I loathed for the two seconds
it took for him to turn me onto my back and position between my legs.

DREW

Gripping her knees, I held her thighs apart, no hands needed as I slid my cock back inside her wet heat.

Every thrust gave me a bounce of her tits that tempted my eyes away, but I didn’t cave. I refused to break
away from the way she gazed at me now, because it was everything I had ached for in the past week-and-a-
half. It was all the warmth I missed. It was that look of content and the way she raked that sleepy smile
between her teeth in a way I could admit I fucking loved.

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Everything about her just felt so damned good.

“Come here, baby,” Evie murmured, making my eyebrows pull together for a moment. I realized at a delay
that she’d never called me that before, and the second I saw her hold her arms out, reaching for me, I let
myself fall into her. I groaned against her lips as I allowed myself to succumb to her sweetness. I let her comb
her fingers through my hair as my lips moved from her mouth to her neck to her breasts, kissing every inch
of her I could reach till I burst off inside her.

“Fuck, Evie,” I groaned as she held my face and kissed me, her pussy gently coaxing out every last drop of my
cum.

A part of me expected to feel regret for everything I’d promised her the second after I came. It was just the
way I was.

But to my own surprise, I didn’t feel an ounce of that. Still buried in her, all I felt a sense of calm and ease –
like I’d misplaced something before, but now everything was right back in place.

“You feel so fucking incredible,” I exhaled as I lay on top of her, our limbs entwined and all my senses
drinking her in. Her touch, her scent – all the breathy little sounds she made as I went back to kissing her all
over. The way she seeped into my skin and got into my head was everything I never wanted, but at this point
I was too lost in her to stop it.

She just felt too damned good.

29

EVIE

I woke up first the next morning and upon opening my eyes, felt myself immediately hit with an emotional
hangover from the drama of last night.

The tabloid. My fight with Drew in the kitchen.

The mind-blowing sex that followed.

Biting my lip, I lifted my cheek off Drew’s bare chest and looked up at him, soaking in the view. God, this
man. He was still asleep, and he looked so peaceful and handsome I couldn’t bear to wake him up, so slipping
out of bed, I hopped into the shower, taking my time to rinse off the stress of last night.

I must’ve taken awhile because by the time I got out of the bathroom, I noticed the bottom drawer on the
dresser was open. Drew was up and sitting shirtless at the edge of his bed, the width of his muscled shoulders
on display as he leaned forward on his knees.

There was a letter in his hand, and judging from his rigid body language, it wasn’t one he was particularly
fond of.

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Page 84

“Hey,” I frowned when he looked up at me. “What’s that?”

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He didn’t answer immediately, instead waiting for me to go over to him. Once I was close enough, he pulled
me onto his lap, immediately kissing me deeply, as if needing to draw strength or patience or something
from my lips.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly when I pulled away.

He ignored the question to answer the one I’d asked before.

“A stranger sent this to me four years ago,” he murmured, picking up the letter again. “Right before
everything that went down with Tim.”

“Oh.” Hugging the towel to my chest, I blinked down at it in his hands. “Why are you looking at it?” I asked
gently.

“It’s been four years since I touched it. But it’s what I showed Iain. To explain why I did what I did to Tim.”

Oh. Shit.

My eyes widened as I stared at the thing. Suddenly, it went from a normal letter to a map into the mind of
Drew Maddox, which was precisely why I expected Drew to just read me bits and pieces.

But to my surprise, he handed the whole thing over.

“If there’s anything I’m not good at it’s talking about this subject,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard
it. “So just read that first.”

I looked at him – at the pain storming behind his green eyes as he held out the piece of paper. But I noticed
that his broad shoulders relaxed as soon as I took it from him – as if I’d just taken an actual burden off his
hands.

“Okay,” I murmured as his arms circled around my waist, holding me still on his lap. My heart was already
beating fast before I started reading.

But once I did, my heartbeat only quickened.

Hello Mr. Maddox,

I am writing to you as both a longtime fan (North Florida native here!) and a mother of a child undergoing
cancer treatment. I watched your ESPN interview four years ago, in which you opened up about Pattie
Lillard, her extraordinary impact on your childhood, and finally, her cancer diagnosis. I am aware of the
significant financial help you have contributed to Ms. Lillard’s treatments over the years, and even donated
to her GoFundMe when you first publicized her story.

I have long felt connected to both your story and Ms. Lillard’s, so it was deeply saddening for me to hear
about the return of her cancer. I have followed both your stories for years, so safe to say it was of great
surprise for me to spot Ms. Lillard at the same hospital in which my daughter has been receiving treatment.

I want to inform you that every Tuesday for the past month, I have watched her enter the building and
appear nowhere near the infusion center. Admittedly, I have on two occasions watched her arrive at the
hospital and spend approximately two hours in the cafeteria before exiting the building and being picked up
to go home. I am holding out hope that there are explanations to these incidents, but I am writing to simply
urge you to keep a closer eye on Ms. Lillard’s story.

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Wishing all the best for you.

Sincerely,

Jill Marino

My stomach twisted furiously by the last word of the letter, and for some reason, I held out hope that I’d read
this wrong – that this didn’t mean what I thought.

But when I brought my wide eyes up to Drew, he confirmed my suspicions.

“She didn’t have cancer,” he said. “The first time or the second time.”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“What… what was she sick with then?”

“Nothing. She wanted money,” Drew said, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed hard.

I shook my head, already having troubl

e processing.

“But…” I remembered the images they showed during that interview in which Drew talked about how much
he loved her. “There were pictures of her in the hospital bed. She didn’t have her hair anymore. She looked so
sick.”

  25 Most Popular Books Published in March, 2022

Page 85

“That was Tim’s doing. He did a fucking stellar job keeping up the act,” Drew muttered, shaking his head in
disgust.

The look of revulsion continued to twist his features as he told me everything – about how he’d gotten the
letter and immediately called Tim to make sure it was a lie. But Tim wavered, found an excuse to hang up fast
and ignored Drew’s texts and calls for the next day.

Five hours before the first pitch of the game he was due to start that night Drew booked a flight from L.A to
Florida. On the plane, he tried to remind himself about how Tim had looked out for him as a kid – how he
kept him out of fights in school or on the field, and how he tutored Drew on all tests and homework so he
wouldn’t flunk himself off the team.

He thought about that and then the years of lies Tim fed him as an adult – about how sick his mom was
feeling, and how hard she’d vomited all night. He thought about the detailed stories of the pain that came
with chemo, and how Pattie was no longer able to eat.

“He made me feel all those years of gut-wrenching pain for something that wasn’t even real,” Drew said, his
brittle voice barely above a whisper. “Fucking hell. I spent so many nights just sitting up in bed and hating
the world for how cruel it was to good people. Especially when the cancer came back. I’d been so high off her
beating it, and when they told me it was back, I felt fucking broken. I lost my mind a little because I felt like I
had personally failed her – that I didn’t do enough and I could’ve paid for even better doctors.” His eyes were

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lost in memory as I held his jaw in my hands. “For Christ’s sake, he kept me on this crazy hell of an emotional
roller coaster for four years. Just so he could cash checks from me whenever he wanted.”

“God, Drew,” I whispered, my forehead touching his as I shook my head in stunned shock. “I’m so, so sorry.
That is evil what they did to you. I can’t even fathom how they could stomach that kind of lie for so many
years. I can’t even begin to understand how they could betray your trust like that.”

“His justification was that they didn’t realize till too late,” Drew said. “They didn’t realize how much they
were owed for what they did for me growing up. He said at the time, they did it out of love and the kindness
of their hearts. But years later, when they saw what everyone else was getting from me, they realized they
deserved some kind of cut. And probably a big one considering they did so much more for me than any of the
other assholes from home that I was writing checks to.”

“That’s horrible. That’s not an excuse for what they put you through,” I said furiously. “What they lied about
is despicable. The world needs to know the truth about them, Drew. Why did you never tell?”

“The same reason you still help your mom out,” Drew murmured, looking me in the eye. “Because I couldn’t
help but care about her still. I thought about all the good memories when the love was real because there was
no money in the picture yet. And as much as I hated her, I couldn’t sic the media on her either.”

“Especially now that she’s gone,” I said softly, to which Drew nodded. “How… did she pass?” I asked warily.

“I heard a heart attack, but I don’t even know for sure, which fucking kills me.” Drew closed his eyes,
breathing in deep as I gently rubbed the back of his neck. “After I found out the truth about her cancer, I
ignored every time she reached out. I tossed all the letters she wrote me without ever opening them. And now
that she’s gone, I somehow feel like shit about that. About the fact that I’ll never know what she wrote in
those letters.” The breath he exhaled as he opened his eyes was shaky, and a sharp pain twisted in my chest
when I noticed his eyes were glassy, wet with tears he still refused to let spill.

“Drew. It’s okay to feel regret about that. You’re allowed to.”

“You sure about that?” he laughed bitterly. “She stole a quarter of a million dollars from me and put me
through a living hell, but I still miss her sometimes. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

“Of course it does,” I said gently. “She played a huge role in your life. She was genuinely good to you at some
point. She did love you. But as much as it hurts to say, good people don’t always stay that way. Sometimes
something happens and they turn. But we’re human, Drew, and some days we’ll miss the good times we had
with those people. That’s just how it is.”

Drew nodded, quiet as he looked into my eyes, as if he knew I was thinking of Kaylie. I was remembering
when I was nine or ten, and how she taught me to stand up for myself against the bullies at school. I thought
of Mike, and how I only ever dared to dream of a better life because of him. Both of them were instrumental
in carving out a lot of the good qualities I still had today.

But the people they were when they helped me do that were gone.

“I always thought as a kid that life would get easier as I got older,” Drew said with almost a laugh.

“No. It gets harder,” I said quietly. “We meet more people, we love more people. Sometimes they leave and
disappoint you. Or they pass and we miss them forever.”

“So why care about anyone?”

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His question surprised me – not in the words he said, but the tone he spoke in. It wasn’t cynical – it was
honest. Genuinely curious. It made me search hard and fast within myself for a good answer, because I knew
Drew needed to hear one.

“We care because love is stronger than hate, and it’s worth the risk,” I finally said. “Even if it doesn’t pan out,
it turns you a little closer in the right direction. Every time.”

“You believe that?” Drew asked. Like his last question, it was an honest one. I bit my lip as I thought about it.

“I do,” I said, feeling a little smile drift slowly onto my lips as Drew simply held me and gazed at me. He was
quiet for a bit before finally nodding and returning my faint smile.

“Well, if you believe it, then I guess I can give it a try.”

30

DREW

Against Iain’s wishes, Evie decided to fly in for the L.A leg of my west coast road trip.

“She does realize how much L.A hates you, right?” Iain asked, having called me the second I told him of our
plans. “She’s not going to have fun in the stands by herself. The fans are going to heckle her just for being
your girlfriend. You have to realize that.”

“I do, but she’ll be sitting with the rest of the WAGs, including Diaz’s wife so she’ll be in good hands,” I said
as my car crossed the bridge into Brooklyn to get to the stadium. “Trust me, I’d rather her avoid LA too but
she wanted to go. She said she’s never been to California before and this is her shot,” I lied.

That wasn’t the reason. It was more so the fact that Evie now knew why L.A hated me so goddamned much.

  25 Most Popular Books Published in February, 2022

Page 86

I had missed five weeks of games after putting Tim in the hospital. I had been forced to go to anger
counseling and when I returned to L.A, I was broken down enough to let a former fling become something
more. I needed the emotional support.

But I wound up discovering that she was emailing the team daily updates on me – when I got home, who I
spoke to on the phone, and any info she could get out of me regarding Tim.

I was an expensive investment for them, and they didn’t trust me to stay out of trouble, so they paid someone
in my life to spy on me - to monitor my day-to-day behavior.

It was why I demanded a trade from L.A the same year they traded three key players to acquire me. It was
why their manager, current roster and front office hated me, and why the fans went out of their way to heckle
me when I visited. It was never a particularly enjoyable city to play in. In fact, I hated being there. Four years
later, and I’d yet to touch down in L.A without thinking about all the drama that went down when I was on
that team – especially since the fans loved to use the Lillards against me while heckling.

“Would it make your stay a little easier if I came?” Evie had asked yesterday morning, after our long talk in
bed.
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It took a good minute for me to answer because on instinct, my tongue refused to admit that I needed anyone
for anything. Even after I’d proven to myself that I was no good without Evie – that my body physically ached
when it wasn’t near hers – I refused to just flat-out say that I wanted her to come.

That I would be happier if she did.

But eventually, I fought myself for long enough to utter the words, “I’d like if you did.”

“Cool. Then I will,” Evie had smiled breezily, completely unaware of the fact that my body had just gone to
war with itself to give her that five-word response. It was honestly ridiculous, and I recognized that. For so
long, I’d trained myself to function just fine without relying on anyone but myself.

But now that I’d had a taste of Evie’s brand of warmth and comfort, there was no going back.

“Maddox. You know they’re going to go harder than usual, considering this is your first time back since you
punched their captain in the face,” Iain said, reminding me of that home game a few months ago.

Cody Bryce had said something about how Pattie was rolling in her grave over what a piece of shit I was. I
responded by throwing a fastball high and inside, damned near skimming his fat mouth. He stormed the
mound, I clocked him in the jaw and a few days later, I was covering my bruised ankle with Keira’s makeup,
in a car that would eventually take me to meet Evie.

That night had been only months ago but it felt like well over a year at this point, because I could barely
remember what my life was like before this contract –before knowing Evie.

“She’s tough as nails, Iain. I promise you she can handle whatever the L.A crowd has to say to her,” I said.

“You better hope so, Drew. After that story in the tabloids about her family, the last thing you need is for one
more drama to explode in her face and chase her away.”

“Have a little faith in her, Iain,” I said, a grin on my lips as the car pulled up to the stadium. “I promise you
she isn’t going anywhere.”

EVIE

After my final meeting on Wednesday, I caught an afternoon flight into Los Angeles. And pretty shortly after
touching down, I realized that Drew hadn’t been exaggerating in his warnings to me about L.A.

“Hey! Fuck the Empires!” some guy in the airport yelled at me with a big grin, inspiring someone else to pipe
up.

“Fuck Drew Maddox!”

Jesus.

I was pretty sure I was getting recognized more here than I was at home. Thankfully, there was a lot less
walking to do in L.A than in New York, which meant that for the rest of the day, I was pretty much hidden in
the safety of a car. I was even able to enjoy a little bit of shopping and a solo lunch in relative peace and quiet.

No one called out at me, but I did have a pretty bad case of the giggles because Drew would not stop checking
in on me.

DREW: Hey. What are you up to?

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ME: Pretty much the same as when you checked in on me twenty minutes ago silly

DREW: Hey a lot can change in 20 minutes. We lost the World Series last year in a matter of 20 minutes

ME: Fair enough. Though I should say no one has said anything to me since leaving the airport

DREW: Paparazzi?

ME: Not that I can see

DREW: Good

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Page 87

ME: Shouldn’t you be stretching or bagging flies right now or something? Why do you have your phone on
you?

DREW: Shagging flies. And I just wanted to check in to make sure you’re okay

I smirked to myself, trying to suppress my amusement since I was attracting eyes around the restaurant for
laughing to myself so much. But I couldn’t help it. Drew Maddox being protective was as adorable as it was
sexy to me, and I honestly couldn’t believe he was taking time out of his pre-game routine to check in on me
so much. I kept imagining him in uniform, jogging back and forth between the field and the clubhouse to
sneak texts to me.

ME: Drew as cute as you are to worry about me I’m going to tell you to get back to doing your pre-game
thing. Still not sure how baseball works but I do know I need you to win tonight, especially if the crowd is
going to be as bad as you say.

DREW: I will win tonight. And they’re probably going to be even worse than I said.

And as it turned out, he was right on both counts.

Because as soon as I got to the stadium the heckling started up again, and were it not for the company of the
other WAGs, particularly Angie Diaz, I’d be a little intimidated – mostly because the majority of the yelling
was directed solely to me.

It was mostly a lot of “fuck Drew Maddox” with some “stupid gold-digger” and “whore” comments peppered
in, but by the time we sat, the hecklers got more creative.

“What’s a nice girl like you doing with a psychopath, huh?”

“Is he holding you against your will, sweetheart?”

“Hey, blink twice if you need us to call the cops!”

“Ignore them, girl.” Angie squeezed my hand while wearing a big grin and waving down the field to her
husband, Alex – or as Drew called him, Diaz.

“I am. Not even looking behind me,” I reassured her.

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“Good. The boys always worry when we come to L.A games because the fans get rowdy,” she said between her
brilliant, smiling teeth as she blew Diaz a kiss. “And they were even more worried today, but I told them
we’re big girls, and we don’t scare easy.”

“Yes. Totally,” I nodded vehemently, but then I frowned. “Wait. Why were they particularly worried today?”

Angie turned to me with a funny smile.

“Well… because you’re here today, sweetie,” she said as if it were obvious. “Drew can ignore the hecklers
easy, but with you here? The fans know he’s got a weakness now, and if they can’t get under his skin, they’re
gonna try to get under yours – which is why we’re just gonna let that shit roll off our backs, right? Because we
don’t want to give our boys anything to worry about.”

“Oh yeah. Totally,” I agreed readily, though I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of worry.

And guilt.

For God’s sake, I had come here to serve as Drew’s emotional support, not his Kryptonite.

“It’s okay, honey,” Angie said, patting my hand when she read the look of concern in my eyes. “As long as you
stay strong for him, he’ll be fine. All Drew needs is to know you’re okay, and he’ll be okay, too. That’s just
how love goes.”

“Of course,” I said, blushing like an idiot over the L word.

Still, I did manage to heed the rest of Angie’s advice by staying calm and giving the crowd nothing to work off
of for the next two-and-a-half hours – even as the abuse started to move away from Drew and more toward
my family. Clearly, these people were Googling me between innings because the taunting was starting to get
insanely specific.

“Evie! That beer you’re drinking could pay your mom’s mortgage this month!”

“Hey, Belfield girl, are you really his fiancée? Or are you his drug dealer?”

“Hey, sweetie, I’ll buy you a pack of cigs if you suck my dick.”

“Fuckin’ trailer traaaash!”

I could see it getting to even Angie.

“Jesus, these fuckin’ pendejos, are they serious?” she muttered to herself, in the midst of turning around in
her seat before I stopped her.

“Angie. It’s okay,” I said, forcing a laugh. “It doesn’t bother me. I’ve already started getting used to it.”

  History of Ancient Egypt

Page 88

“Well, good,” she huffed, taking a second to calm down. Once she did, she eyed me with a smirk. “See, you
look like the nice girl next door, but I should’ve figured you were a tough cookie. No way you lock down Drew
Maddox without being a bad bitch.”
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I laughed.

“Oh yeah. He can be difficult,” I admitted, feeling every bit like a real girlfriend as Angie and I commiserated
over the bullheaded tendencies of our men. “But he’s worth the fight,” I said eventually.

And I meant it, especially as I remembered our last morning in bed together. I had the real Drew Maddox
wrapped around me. His real embrace, his raw emotions, his real kiss. It had taken awhile, but I finally had
all of Drew.

It felt incredible.

“Looks like he’s finally met his match,” Angie said as she looked at me.

I grinned. “Maybe.”

And for the rest of the game, we successfully ignored the yelling and shouting – especially since the seventh
inning saw the Empires scoring four runs to up the lead to 8-1, which meant Drew was pulled in the next
inning.

“He killed it, honey. They just want to send in some relief pitching to let him rest,” Angie explained to me as
Drew got a dozen pats on the back from his teammates before hopping off the mound.

I had to laugh at the instant downpour of boos that rained down on him as he jogged from the mount to the
dugout because he was completely unfazed and grinning, and my God he looked good.

That uniform fit tighter on his lower body than any of the jeans he wore on a regular basis and Lord, that ass
was calling to me. I was pretty sure watching Drew jog across the field was what men felt like when they
watched the women running on the beach in Baywatch. Even as I looked around, I could see some female
fans in L.A gear biting their lips at each other and shrugging as if to say, yeah, gotta admit, he’s hot.

I was pretty sure it didn’t get better but just as Drew passed my section along the first base line, he looked
directly at me. Locking eyes on me, he pointed, grinned and blew a kiss.

As he disappeared into the dugout, I promptly melted into my seat.

“O

migod!”

“Evieee!”

The WAGs were squealing, pinching me and losing their minds so hard that I could barely hear the hecklers
booing even harder around me than usual. All I could do was laugh my ass off because I couldn’t believe this
was my life. I had survived the L.A hecklers, my man had gotten the win and we were bound to celebrate
tonight with a room service feast at the hotel before passing out together in bed.

“See?” Angie murmured to me after we’d all come down from our giggles. “Isn’t it fun being Drew Maddox’s
fiancée?”

I said nothing, simply nodding because I wasn’t sure what it felt like to be Drew’s fiancée. But I did have an
idea of what it felt like to be his girlfriend.

And that, I had to admit, felt better than I could’ve ever imagined.
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31

“She died hating you.”

That was the drunken jeer we heard as we approached the taco stand we’d stopped at on the way to the hotel.
Drew needed some “hold me over” food and it didn’t seem like the worst idea considering there was no one
else waiting at the taco stand.

Of course, we failed to factor in the sports bar a few doors down – and the fact that it was full of L.A fans
watching post-game coverage of Drew’s win tonight.

“Hey, sweetie, get away from him while you can!” yelled some guy hanging outside with the bouncer. “Make a
run for it! Now!”

I ignored the shouts, my neck tense till I looked up at Drew. His eyes were somewhat covered by his baseball
cap but his jaw was relaxed and he looked utterly unfazed. The only giveaway that he’d heard was the fact
that he held my tighter to his side.

“You good?” I whispered up at him.

“As long as you are,” he whispered back, looking down at me with a crooked grin touching his lip.

After he ordered and paid up with the cashier, he sat me at the colorful metal stool in the window, while he
leaned against the counter. It made us sitting ducks for the heckling, but the way Drew smiled at my number
twenty Maddox jersey and denim skirt had me easily ignoring the occasional jeers from a few doors down.

“Think you might have to come with me on all my road trips now,” he said.

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Page 89

“Oh yeah? Why is that?”

“You made it easy tonight. The game just went by fast. I didn’t feel the usual shit as much,” he confessed.

“What do you mean the usual shit?”

The cotton pulled tight on Drew’s T-shirt as he shrugged his big shoulders.

“I don’t know. I just didn’t feel the stress as much. The shit they said to me – I wasn’t just pretending not to
care this time. I really didn’t,” Drew said, his brows pulling tight as if he was realizing all this as he said it.

“And you think that has to do with me?” I laughed gently. He didn’t return my amusement.

“Yes,” he said, looking me in the eye. He stood closer now, stroking the back of my calves as he gazed down at
me. “Helped just knowing I had you to come home to tonight. Kind of made it feel like everything the fans
were saying didn’t mean shit. Pattie, Tim – the fans use them against me because they think that’s as
personal as it gets with me. That that’s what I care about most.”

“But… it’s not?” I asked slowly, feeling a dorky smile curl my lips. Drew laughed as he watched me.

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“No. It’s not,” he said.

“What is it then?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips.

I didn’t even care that he didn’t say it out loud. You’re what I care about most. It would’ve been nice to hear
but I knew how hard it was for Drew to say even as much as he’d just did. So as I kissed him back, I told
myself to give him time.

Eventually, he’d come around.

“Aww, look at these fuckin’ lovebirds.”

I heard the jeer and immediately pulled away from Drew’s kiss, but he caught my jaw with his hand, pressing
his lips to mine for another hot second before letting me go. Then he eyed the heckler standing in line to
order.

“Don’t let them get to you,” Drew murmured just as our orders arrived.

“I won’t,” I said calmly, though I could feel the tension rising as more bar patrons trickled over to the taco
stand, all of them hawking us like a damned zoo exhibit.

Fuckin’ Drew and his hunger emergencies, I groaned inwardly as the hecklers got closer.

There were two in particular who worried me. They were in their fifties with ruddy faces and beer bellies.
They looked like actual pigs to me, especially as they talked loudly about being about to see up my “slutty
little skirt.”

“Don’t,” I whispered under my breath to Drew. “Don’t give them a reaction.”

He had his back facing them and his eyes staring straight ahead into the kitchen, but I could see as he
chewed on his food that his jaw was tightening. I could tell from the way he stopped blinking that he was
focused on these assholes without looking at them, and his sudden concentration scared me. He seemed
suddenly locked in the way he was when he was on the mound, and it made all the hairs on the back of my
neck stand up at attention.

“Save yourself, sweetie,” the one with the ponytail said, waving at me in the corner of my vision. “You don’t
wanna end up like that poor Lillard bastard.”

“Team Lillard!” someone shouted from a few doors down as Ponytail’s friend laughed.

“Yeah, you get this guy fired up enough and who knows what he’ll do. I’m sure he’s hit a woman before.”

“Plenty, in fact.”

Disgusting assholes. My jaw clenched as I folded my paper plate and tossed my unfinished food in the trash.

“Let’s go, Drew,” I murmured, exhaling in relief when he simply nodded.

“Oh, no, sweetie, you leaving?” Ponytail asked me as I got off my chair, though his bleary, mischievous eyes
were on Drew as he said it. “You sure you wanna go with him? We won’t mind taking you in for the night.”

“No, we’d love it. In fact, I’ll let you sleep in my bed if you take that Maddox jersey off.”
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“Watch it, motherfucker,” Drew barked, making my pulse jump.

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“Drew.” My heart slammed as I pulled him closer to me, feeling eyes in all directions pinned on me as I
looked frantically for where our car had parked. Dammit, where the hell did it go?

“Alright, bye, guys. Nice talkin’ to ya,” Ponytail chuckled as we successfully passed him without saying a
word. Thank God, I exhaled just as I spotted the car. But then I heard him whisper to his friend about
whether or not he was recording.

And before I knew it, I was gasping from the sensation of ice-cold liquid splashed all over my back.

“Drew!” I screamed, pulling him back even before I fully processed that someone had thrown a beer at me.
“Stop. Stop, Drew! Stop!”

I said it so many times so many ways that I barely recognized my own voice anymore. All I knew was that my
heels were digging into grass, and I was exerting every muscle in my body to get in front of an unhinged
Drew. He looked like a raging bull. His jaw was so tight the veins in his neck were protruding, and my heart
pounded because it felt like I was hugging the mouth of a cocked and loaded gun

“Drew, stop. Look at me. Look at me!” I pleaded as the drunks around us hooted and hollered, egging him on
with talk of how good I looked all wet. “Look at me.” I grasped his face and tilted it down, repeating for him
to look at me until he finally did, his green eyes wild on me. “They want this reaction from you. They’re
recording you now. They’ve got no stakes but you do, so breathe. Calm down.” My calf muscles strained as I
dug my heels to push him backward, unblinking as I kept his glinting green eyes locked on mine. “This is
what the world expects of you, so prove them wrong. Show them the Drew I know. Show them that nothing
comes before a championship. Do it for me, baby, please,” I begged breathlessly, grasping handfuls of his
collar. But my grip loosened as I listened to his jagged breaths slow down, and I was convinced I had him
pacified.

&n

bsp; But then another holler rang out.

“Stay with him long enough, and you’ll meet Pattie Lillard real soon!”

“Drew!” I threw my weight against his rock-hard chest, but then I realized he wasn’t moving.

He hadn’t charged. He hadn’t reacted. Standing there, he simply looked down at me, his shirt stretched tight
around his heaving chest. There was still fury in his tight shoulders, and fiery wrath in his eyes, but as
primed as he looked to knock someone the fuck out, he didn’t.

Yes. Perfect. Breathe, baby, I willed him to hear as I stared up at him, in awe of the fact that I had wrangled
such a beast. But I knew my job wasn’t done till he was safely in the car, so with two hands flat on his chest, I
whispered in his ear.

“I know you’re pissed, Drew, but if you turn around and start walking now, I promise to blow your fucking
mind once we get back to the hotel. You can choose my pussy or my mouth, but either way, I’ll make you
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come harder than you ever have in your life. Okay?”

When I pulled away, his wolfish stare was still hard on me. But he let it linger another second before pulling
me tight and cupping the back of my neck as he crushed a furious kiss to my lips.

Then with a gaping crowd behind us, we got back into the car.

32

My blood was still on fire by the time we were back at the hotel, but my hot focus was no longer on the
drunken hecklers.

It was a hundred percent on Evie.

She walked ahead of me, teasing me with every step in those heels, every sway of those hips. The way she
sauntered across the marble floor caught the eye of every man in the lobby. From guests to staff, she had
them all staring in the way she knew I both loved and hated.

This woman. She knew me well enough to know just how to rein me in. Another thing I both loved and hated.
Little cocktease, I ground my teeth as I watched her, my pulse rising with the need to just lift that skirt and
spank her ass till she couldn’t take anymore.

Fuck. She was so damned good at turning me into an animal. I’d already forgotten whatever sequence of
events that had led us here. It was all a fog because all I saw was Evie, and the second I trailed her into the
elevator, I cornered her, standing tight against her body to hide her from cameras.

“Come here,” I muttered, holding her neck with one hand as the other reached under her skirt. Her mouth
hung slightly open, her lips curving in a breathless little grin as I reached between her legs and palmed her
soaked panties. “Jesus,” I muttered, licking her smile.

“Take them off for me.”

I grasped a handful of the lace, relishing the sound of her raspy yelp as I ripped it clean off her pussy.

“That hurt,” she pouted as I slid her panties into my pocket and rubbed her wet pussy.

“Does that feel better?”

“Yes.”

“This?” I slid two fingers inside her. She tightened around me.

“Oh God.” Her nails dug into my chest as she whispered, “It feels so good.”

My teeth skimmed her sweet lips as she panted against me, moaning softly as I pumped my fingers inside
her. I started slow, picking my pace up gradually, till my fingers were fucking her so hard the sound of her
wetness was bouncing off the walls. “Drew,” she exhaled, her moans growing louder as she grinded her clit
against the heel of my palm.

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“Are you going to come all over my hand?”

“Yes,” she breathed with desperation breaking her voice. But in seconds, she ripped her body away from me
because the elevator had stopped on a floor that wasn’t ours. “Fuck,” she hissed, writhing in torment against
the wall opposite me.

I had to stare.

She looked like walking sex. And not just any sex – dirty sex. Her hair was messy and her dress was twisted
askew. Her tits were ready to spill and those pillowy lips were so red and swollen I couldn’t be surprised at
the reactions of the two guys who walked in. I wasn’t easy to miss but they didn’t even see me as their wide
eyes flew right to Evie pressed up against the wall, staring speechlessly back at them. Secretly dripping from
her naked pussy.

One of them muttered “wow” but the second he stepped toward her, I cleared my throat.

“Oh! Fuck.”

In one breath, he acknowledged both who I was and the fact that he’d just been looking at my woman. It was
all he needed to shut right up and do a one-eighty.

I caught Evie biting her smirk because for the next four floors, both men were wide-eyed and silent. They
stood dead center between us, staring straight ahead and so still you’d think I’d turned them to stone.

The second they got out, I had Evie pressed back on the wall, both our hands frantically grasping at one
another as we kissed till we got to our floor.

I barely remembered how we got into our room. All I knew was that I was watching her skirt fall around her
ankles, exposing her sweet pussy to me as she whipped my jersey up over her head.

“Bounce those perfect tits for me, baby,” I murmured as she unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor.

“Ah, ah,” she smirked, cupping her breasts and pushing them gently together. “I told you I was going to make
you come harder than you ever have in your life, which means I’m in control tonight. You just tell me
whether you want my mouth you’re my pussy first.”

“Let’s start with that smart mouth,” I muttered as I undid my belt buckle.

“Perfect,” Evie grinned, mischief glimmering in her eyes. “Now go lay down in bed. You’ve had very long,
trying day, and you deserve to be taken care of now.”

God, she was so fucking sexy.

I didn’t need to be told twice. Peeling off my shirt, I lay down in bed, folding my arms behind my head and
just watching as Evie climbed naked on top of me, her tits bouncing softly between her arms as she began to
work my sore quads.

“Fuck... “ I exhaled, closing my eyes. A post-game massage by a naked Evie was pretty much exactly what I
needed to wind down from tonight. I was pretty fucking content as it was, but then I felt her nipples graze my
thighs just before I felt the heat of her mouth on my dick, kissing it over my boxers. “Holy shit, baby, what
are you doing?” I rasped as she continued moving her mouth up my shaft, wrapping her lips around my tip
as her palms applied more pressure to my thighs. “Oh my fucking God, Evie…” I groaned when I realized she

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was about to suck on my cock while working on my sore muscles.

I was delirious by the time she’d stripped my boxers off.

“Are you kidding me, baby?” I hissed, watching in awe because the way she took my cock was out of control.

She had my pulsing head at the back of her throat, and at the same time she was massaging the hell out of my
sore muscles, never losing the rhythm of either stroke. It was fucking wild. With every push of her palm up
my hamstring, she dropped her mouth down my cock. With every pull back, she sucked slowly back up to the
tip, her cheeks hollowing as she spoiled every hard inch of me with her unbelievably skilled tongue.

“Holy shit. Fucking marry me,” I groaned, my fist pulsing around my handful of her hair. “That feels so
fucking good. You’re gonna make me come so fast, baby.”

“Come whenever you want. I can do this all night,” she murmured against my pulsing tip. She lifted those big
eyes and watched me as she stuck that pink tongue out slowly and swirled it around me like she was savoring
an ice cream cone. The shuddering sensation was heaven enough but top that with the sexy little look on her
face and I almost busted right there.

“You have no idea. I’m trying so hard not to come right now, baby,” I rasped. “I swear I’m wearing out every
muscle in my body trying not to blow my load right fucking now.”

Evie’s sweet giggle against my cock sent a little buzz humming down from my tip to my root.

“Wear ‘em out then. I’ll always be here to massage you if you’re sore.”

Holy Christ, this woman.

“You’re fucking perfect. Do you know that?” It wasn’t even a rhetorical question. I needed her to know how
incredible she was. How I loved when she proved me wrong. How she made me feel things I never thought
were even real. “Oh fuck... baby.”

My balls were so tight I knew I couldn’t last much longer. She knew it too because she licked around the
throbbing head of my cock while asking me, “Where do you want to come?”

God. Every little thing she did. Every fucking word she said was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard in my life.

“I need to come inside you. Get on top of me. Let me see you ride my cock,” I muttered fast, both loving and
hating the fact that she knew to roll a condom on first. I wanted to feel her skin to skin, with nothing in
between. I wanted my cum to fill her pussy but I wasn’t about to dwell on those thoughts as I watched her
straddle and lower herself onto me. “Yes. Just like that. Just like that, baby... you’re such a good fucking girl,”
I growled, dizzy with lust as I watched her mount me, gripping me and guiding me between her wet folds. A
deep groan tore from my throat as she sank that warm pussy down to the base of my cock, her round ass
pressed tight against my churning balls.

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I swore it couldn’t get better but the second that thought crossed my mind, Evie smoothed her palms up from
my chest to my shoulders, rubbing my sore muscles and treating me to the incredible view of her full tits
bouncing heavily as she rode me.
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Once again, I tried holding out. I didn’t want this to end. I couldn’t let it. Never in my life had I felt this good.
This taken care of. For Christ’s sake, not only was this the most beautiful girl in the world, I had her in my
arms and I could see in the way she looked at me that she was mine. All fucking mine. That she wanted no
one and nothing but me.

And it was the best feeling in the world.

I never wanted to let it go.

But the second Evie lowered herself and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips, I exploded inside her, growling like
an animal as she bounced on my dick and milked every last drop of cum from my tip.

For what felt like a

full hour after, I lay in bed recovering. I could barely open my eyes.

All I could do was bask in the blissful haze she’d put me in, letting a delirious smile drift onto my lips as I
heard her giggle and felt her brushing soft kisses along my shoulders, my cheeks, my lips.

It was probably 1AM when she laid on my chest and whispered my name. I opened my eyes to see her looking
up at me, and she gazed at me for another few seconds before murmuring, “I love you.”

Three words and she rearranged everything inside me.

My brain, my heart – they both knew different truths now. Trust was real and so was love because I loved
Evie more than I thought I could love anything. As I held her to my chest, I swore I could feel all the good in
her soul. I felt the warmth of it seeping into mine, filling in every chip and crack I’d sustained from every
instance of hurt in my past.

She made me whole and as I felt all that, I tried my hardest to return those words she’d gifted me.

But they never made it out of my mouth before we fell asleep.

33

DREW

As soon as Evie and I touched back down in Seattle, we were told we'd gone viral. I shouldn't have been
surprised, but there wound up being passerby footage of the L.A fans pulling her skirt and setting me off like
a cannon.

I wasn't particularly pleased about that moment being viewed by millions, and played repeatedly on sports
talk shows, but of course, Iain was and I knew why.

STRONG MAN, STRONGER WOMAN.

That was one of many headlines that credited Evie for holding me back. Some of the stories insinuated that
she had me whipped at this point – probably just to piss me off – but it didn't. I knew well that Evie had
saved me from a guaranteed suspension that would've probably pushed my name further into the Empires'
trade talks.

So safe to say, I didn't give two shits about what the media was trying to say. For all I knew, she'd just saved
my career and I owed her the world for it.
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"You do realize that shit was exactly what I was trying to help you avoid, right?" Iain said when he called me
after my win in Seattle, after I'd gotten home from a peaceful, heckle-free dinner with Evie.

"Yeah, man. I do," I conceded distractedly as I sat at the end of the bed in the hotel room.

"Jesus. Did I just hear you admit to being wrong?" Iain laughed.

"Sure," I smirked, too tired to come up with a rebuttal. There was also the fact that I was distracted as all hell
as I watched Evie wander out of the bathroom, freshly showered and hugging a towel to her tits. I failed to
suppress my groan as I watched the towel droop as she let go of it to grab her toothbrush out of her bag on
the couch.

"Maddox."

I ignored Iain to grin at Evie as she let the towel just fall the rest of the way to the floor, walking around the
room ass naked.

“Drew. Jesus,” Iain muttered, sounding both amused and disgusted. “Considering you’re openly groaning on
the phone with me while undoubtedly watching Evie do something or another, I guess we can take this time
to stop pretending that she isn’t actually your girlfriend. Right?”

“Yeah, probably,” I said as I enjoyed my view of Evie leaning naked in the bathroom doorframe, smiling
innocently at me as she brushed her teeth.

“Thought so, prick,” Iain said with a snort. “Anyway, I’d give you a lecture on holding onto her for the sake of
your career, but judging from how ridiculously lovey dovey you’ve sounded throughout this phone call, I
don’t have to worry about that. I’ll just leave off on the fact that the Empires saw that L.A debacle as your
crazy ass turning a new leaf. As far as I know, they’re pretty much sold that you’re a changed man,” he said.
“So long story short, you're lucky as shit you had your girl that night, Maddox."

That night. In general.

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"So, am I fully safe now or what?" I asked as Evie came back out in one of my T-shirts and a pair of black lace
panties. I grinned when she climbed straight into my lap where she belonged, letting me wrap my arms
around her and suck on her bottom lip as Iain answered my question.

“You’re as safe as it gets, Drew. From what I’ve heard, the team’s no longer looking to make any moves before
the trade deadline. Talks have pretty much slowed to a stop.”

“Good to know,” I mumbled, barely listening now as Evie pushed me onto my back, rubbing my shoulders as
she kissed me gently. “God, I could get used to this,” I murmured to her just as Iain cursed under his breath.

“Alright, asshole, I’m not listening to you whisper sweet nothings all night. See you when you get back to
New York.”

I laughed when Iain hung up, tossing the phone aside and letting Evie massage my left forearm with both
hands as she straddled me. I wanted to let my eyes roll back because it felt so damned good, but I didn’t want
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to miss the view. I narrowed my eyes at her as she simply smiled down at me.

“What?” she giggled.

“Nothing. Just wondering what I did to deserve you,” I replied. “Pretty sure I’ve been nothing but an asshole
my whole life.”

“Stop,” she said firmly, looking adorably annoyed. “Stop letting everyone else sum you up with a buzzword or
a headline. You know you’re not the person they say, and you don’t have to bear this burden forever, Drew.
I’m not saying you have to tell the world the truth about Tim and Pattie, but I’m just saying you should give
yourself a break from being the bad guy.” Her eyes were locked on mine as she brought my fingertips to her
lips, kissing them gently as she continued massaging my forearm. “You’re not that person, Drew. You have
such a big heart. You have so much good in you, and I think you’ve always known that. But now you have one
more voice to say it to you, so maybe…” Her eyes floated off as she shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll
believe it now.”

I looked up in her eyes, my heart aching in a way I’d never felt before, because it was a good ache. For the
most part. It was an ache that made me wonder why it took so long for me to find this woman – why I’d been
forced to go through so much pain and bullshit before God, or the universe or whoever it was gave me Evie.

But then I thought about what she’d said that morning we had in my bed.

Love is worth the risk. Even if it doesn’t pan out, it turns you a little closer in the right direction. Every time.

I wasn’t sold the day she told me, but I definitely was now. And as I gazed up into her eyes, I tried to say
those three words I’d never uttered to a soul in my adult life.

I felt them. And I wanted to say them.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Evie,” I finally murmured, my heart beating faster at just the look of
the smile on her face. It wasn’t what I wanted to say, but I still meant it.

Baby steps, I told myself.

At the very least, I was getting a little bit closer.

EVIE

“Woman. You have to tell me everything,” Aly said as soon as I touched down in East Hampton.

Literally the day I got back to New York from California, she insisted I take a damned helicopter from the city
to the Hamptons, because apparently, that was the lifestyle she was now used to with Emmett. And,
apparently, she “required” my company for a variety of reasons.

“One, you must provide detailed reports on everything that went down between you and Drew in L.A because
I saw the pictures and the video, and holy shit, woman,” she rambled a mile a minute as she drove me from
the helipad to her house. “I took a whole day off to hear the juicy gossip so you better spill.”

“You took a day off just to hear about stuff I’ve basically told you via text already?” I giggled.

“Yes. Because I want to hear in detail how you managed to tame the Viking. Also, I need emotional support
for a thing I have to do today.”

I cocked my head at her curiously.

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“What thing?” I asked slowly, somehow already expecting what she was going to say before she said it. “Are
you…?”

“Pregnant?” she blurted, restlessly drumming her fingers on the wheel as we stopped at a l

ight. “Maybe. Hopefully.” She shoved her Ray Bans up her face as she turned to look at me. “Or not
hopefully? Do I want to be pregnant before the wedding? I don’t know. I have no idea, and I’m freaking the
fuck out.”

“Aly, breathe,” I laughed, squeezing her shoulder till I heard her breathing normally again. “If your biggest
concern is rocking a baby bump at your wedding, you’re in good shape. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out
together, and my L.A stories will keep you nice and distracted while you wait for the results. Okay?”

“Yes. Perfect.”

I knew it probably broke some sort of code, but I wound up showing Aly some of Drew’s texts to me since I’d
gotten home. It was all I could do to get her to calm down as we sat on the floor of her bedroom waiting for
the results on the pregnancy tests.

“Holy shit, woman,” Aly murmured in awe as she read the last text Drew had sent me, that I already
memorized by heart. I keep trying to pretend you’re in the stands. Tell me you’ll wait up for me when I get
back on Sunday. I miss you like fucking crazy. “Evie… do you realize what a big deal it is for Drew to say that
to someone?”

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I tried not to beam like a giddy idiot, but I could tell from the way Aly burst into giggles that I’d failed.

“No wonder you’re not worried about that whole ‘I love you’ thing,” Aly mused as she reread the text.

Right. The whole ‘I love you’ thing.

“I don’t know why I said that,” I mumbled, thinking back on that unbelievable night. “I just… felt it in that
moment.”

“Which means you meant it, and you had every right to say it,” Aly reasoned gently, with a little shrug.
“You’re not like him, Evie. You say what you feel without going through a million walls and filters.”

“I guess,” I murmured, giving down at my hands in my lap. I had meant those three words when I said them,
but it was easier for me to pretend they’d just slipped in the heat of the moment, especially since he didn’t
say them back.

“I know you hate the idea of needing time, but give Drew a little more of it,” Aly said. “Look at those texts he
sends you. You know he feels the same way about you. He just has a shit ton of mental blocks because of…
whatever reasons. Reasons I’m sure you know by now.”

I bit my lip and blushed as I looked up at her.

“Yep. You do. He’s told you everything he never even told Emmett, hasn’t he?” Aly laughed, shaking her

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head.

“Maybe.”

“And you won’t even tell me what his deep dark secrets are because you love him! Oh my God,” Aly
exclaimed incredulously as I covered my giggling face with my hands. “Evie. You two are so in love with you
it’s ridiculous. You realize what this means right?”

“That your test results are ready and you can stop giving me a hard time now?”

“I was going to say that the four of us are about to have double dates like it’s our jobs, but sure, yes, let’s go
see if I’m pregnant.” Aly jumped up to her feet so fast I had to laugh. It was so clear to me that she
desperately wanted this baby – she was just trying to find reasons to be nervous about it because that was
just the way we were.

When things were too perfect, we questioned it.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.”

“What? What?” I giggled excitedly, running into the bathroom to find Aly standing there holding the
pregnancy test on the right – the one I’d taken with her in solidarity.

“Evie...” My heart thumped against my ribs as she turned to me with wide eyes. I shook my head, denying her
two words before she could even say them to me. “You’re pregnant.”

34

EVIE

Waiting for Drew to come home to New York was a unique kind of torture. It was like an emotional purgatory
in which I constantly told myself that maybe Aly was right, and things could turn out just fine. Actually, the
mental limbo was a whole lot like the one I’d been steeped in the first night I met Drew – when I was still
trying to figure out where I stood with Mike.

God.

That name was like a foreign language to me at this point. Once upon a time, it represented my world. Now,
it couldn’t be more of an afterthought because not only was I in love with Drew Maddox, I was carrying his
child.

It was so unreal to me that I kept bursting into tears without warning.

Because the truth was that as completely unexpected as this was, I wanted this child. With Aly, I’d taken
several more tests to confirm it, but by the second one, I had already made up my mind on the matter.

I was going to be a mother in about nine months, and nothing anyone said was going to change that. I
wanted my own family. I wanted a son or a daughter whom I could shower with all I love I missed from my
own mom.

With the Empires game playing in the living room, I stood against the kitchen counter, cradling my belly in
my arms and crying again when I imagined the life this child could have with both of his parents.

In my imagination, it was idyllic and perfect. In my mind, I vividly pictured an emerald-eyed little boy
playing catch with a father he worshipped and adored. I imagined us sitting with ice cream on the couch,
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watching Daddy on TV.

I imagined a lot of things that deep in my heart, I didn’t think were going to happen.

Yet at the same time, I held out hope.

It wasn’t purgatory, actually – it was hell. And by the time I heard that elevator humming up to the
penthouse, I was at the edge of my sanity. As I waited for Drew, I fought my own negativity with all the
mights and maybes that Aly had fed me with.

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Maybe he’ll be excited to be a father.

He might be craving the stability.

Maybe this will be his push to realize that he loves you.

When the elevator doors finally opened, I was standing in the middle of the kitchen with my breath hitched
in my throat.

As usual, Drew’s eyes found me immediately, and just like that, those steely eyes I had watched all night on
TV warmed over. When he smiled, I felt the emotion well in my chest.

“Hey, you,” he said, sounding that distinct kind of post-game tired that I’d come to love so damned much. I
closed my eyes as he floated over to me, pulling me into his arms and holding me tight as he murmured into
my neck about how much he missed me.

I closed my eyes as I melted into his embrace, my breaths becoming hiccups as I fantasized that he felt two
heartbeats pressed against him instead of just one.

“Baby. What’s going on?” Drew pulled away, frowning when he caught the look in my eyes. He brushed back
the hair from my face. “Evie. Did something happen?” he asked, his tone hardening as if he was already
preparing to take care of something or someone. When I shook my head, he thumbed a tear from my cheek.
“Then what is it, Evie? Tell me so I can fix it.”

My heart twisted at his words, and I gazed up at him. He was so damned gorgeous as he searched me with
those sparkling green eyes. He looked so full of warmth and love and concern, and all these things I’d never
have expected to see in his face before.

I told myself it could be fine. I repeated it a thousand times in my head before just blurting it out.

“Drew, I’m pregnant.”

My heart promptly broke when his hand dropped from my cheek. I forced myself not to cry as I watched him
immediately step back.

“Evie. What are you talking about?” He looked at me like I had lost my mind. “That’s not possible. We used
protection every time.”

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“I – I don’t know…” I trailed off, realizing I’d never paused to wonder how this could have happened. “I don’t
know how it happened, Drew. Maybe a condom broke. I don’t know. All I know is that I took a pregnancy test
as a joke with Aly, and before I knew what was happening, she was telling me that I’m the one who’s
pregnant.”

Drew stood a full two steps back now as he stared at me. I felt my pulse rising with every second of silence
that passed – with every second that his gaze returned from warm to steely.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that,” I hissed.

“Like what.”

“Like I’m just another person in your life you can’t trust. Don’t you dare look at me like I somehow planned
this, Drew.”

“That’s not how I’m looking at you.”

“It is,” I seethed, the knife in my heart twisting as Drew fell silent, not even bothering to deny it any further. I
let a tear fall as he turned away from me, palming the top of his head as he stared at the wall. I watched him
shake his head, as if he refused to believe this.

This nightmare.

“You think this is easy for me, Drew?” I whispered. “I agonized for days about this. A part of me knew you
were going to react exactly like this, and it’s been eating at me for so long that all I want right now is for you
to hold me. I just want you to hug me again and say you can fix this, but you won’t. Right?” I demanded, my
voice trembling and the tears falling as I watched him stand there coldly.

It was silent for so long, but when he finally spoke, I wished he hadn’t.

“This wasn’t part of the plan, Evie.”

Ouch.

I hadn’t thought this could hurt more, but apparently Drew wasn’t finished.

“A lot of things haven’t been a part of the plan,” I replied shakily. “I wasn’t supposed to fall for you, and I did.
You weren’t supposed to care about me, and you do. This baby wasn’t supposed to happen, but he’s here.”
Drew shot me a look. “She’s here. Whatever it is, it’s not going anywhere.”

“You want this baby?” Drew asked.

I stared at him.

Four words and I was officially shattered. To pieces. Because it was clear to me at this point that we were
done here.

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I wanted our child, Drew didn’t, and that was that.

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“Where are you going?” he asked when I turned to go upstairs. I was numb at this point, and I barely
recognized my own voice as I answered.

“I’m going to sleep, Drew.”

“Go to my room.”

&

nbsp; “No,” I replied harshly, though a part of me held out hope that he’d stop me – or that he’d sneak into
my room, lift me out of my bed, and bring me to his.

I held out hope the entire night.

But in the morning, when I woke up in my own bed in the guest room, I lost that last naïve dash of faith.

And with a glance at my empty bags by the closet, I knew what was left for me to do.

35

EVIE

There were more boarded up buildings than the last time I was here. That much was for sure.

Whether it was houses or storefronts, half the buildings that were once occupied no longer were. At this
point, Belfield just felt like a long stretch of marshland with a road, some old billboards and dusty bus stops.

But if any one thing stayed the same, it was bearded Kurt who worked at the gas station where I picked up
my mom’s lotto tickets. He was in his fifties the last I saw him. Now he was in his sixties and he still wore
suspenders and the same Patriots cap that was so faded now it was grey.

“Just so you know, Missy Remsen said her daughter didn’t say those things. I think those reporters – they
just make up lies,” he said as he rang up the Snapple I threw in there for Mom as well.

“They definitely do,” I said to keep it simple.

The last thing on my mind was what my high school classmates said to the media or not. But that was all
Kurt and I had to talk about when I came here before going to Mom’s.

I didn’t stay right in Belfield, let alone in Mom’s house. I rented a car and booked a motel a few towns over. I
told myself that if I wasn’t sleeping in that house, I was still being somewhat responsible.

Because the reality was that I knew it wasn’t smart to be here.

But I was distraught like I’d never been in my life, and I just needed to be in my mom’s arms. I needed to feel
her combing her fingers through my hair like she did when I was little, and saying, “Mommy’s got you.
Everything’s going to be alright.”

I needed the given of that comfort, even if I knew it would be short-lived. Even if it would blow up in my face
in a month, a week or maybe even tomorrow. At some point, the novelty of my being home would fade. The
stress would be hard to ignore, and Mom would begin picking fights about my absence all these years.

Kaylie would act up. She was already resenting the fact that I’d showed up, spending a lot of time with
friends while I was around during the day, and screaming at Mom at night once I left.
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There was no way in hell things wouldn’t blow up between us. She would steal from me or hit me. Maybe pick
a fight about the money I was spending on a motel, or perhaps go missing for days. She would hate that my
pregnancy took Mom’s full attention away from her, and she would do something drastic to get it back.

She’d done it before and I knew she’d do it again.

So I wasn’t sure if I was walking on thin ice or in a minefield, but either way, I was bound to be miserable in
the near future, and I was bound to be putting this baby through stress it didn’t need.

But right now, I needed the comfort. My brain was in shambles, and all I could do was cry and feel scared or
guilty – guilty mostly for what I’d done to Aly.

For two days, I’d let myself stay with her and Emmett in their East Hampton home, and as much as Aly took
care of me before and after work, or kept me hidden and doted upon in the office of our restaurant, I could
see her being constantly worried about me. I could feel myself bringing her down and considering she was
supposed to be enjoying real post engagement bliss, I couldn’t continue to cry to her about the fact that Drew
had clearly made up his mind about us, since he hadn’t so much as texted since the morning I left. I could
feel myself drowning her, and it made me feel like the most needy, selfish person in the world.

So I came here to Mom.

I called her to tell her why I was coming home before I did, so the second I walked through those doors, all
she did was hug me.

“It’s a blessing, and everything’s going to be alright,” she whispered before burying a kiss in my hair.

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It was simple yet exactly what I needed and wanted to hear.

So for three days now, I was picking up scratch-offs and OJ or Snapple for her in the morning, chatting a
second with Kurt, driving straight to the house, and spending the day with her on the couch. We’d watch
daytime talk shows while looking at her old boxes of photos on the couch. Kaylie would pop in and out, say
something either neutral or hostile to me, and Mom would whisper, “She’s just adjusting,” to me and give
either a little eye roll or a squeeze of my hand.

Most curiously, she’d pay Kaylie very little mind before turning back to me, trying to get me to look at a
picture of when I was baby wearing pink and purple socks she knitted, and talking about how we should
perhaps start knitting.

For the first time in a long time, I had her attention back.

And it felt good.

“When did you start showing?” I asked as we settled into the couch today.

“I started showing with you when I was nine weeks, so good luck with that,” Mom snorted, patting a gentle
hand on my tummy. “Whole town’s gonna know soon ‘cause of Kaylie’s mouth anyway. Did Kurt try to
convince you to forgive the Remsens today?”
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“Sure did,” I managed a smirk as I jammed my thumb on the old remote to turn on the TV. It took about
seven tries.

“That ass. Don’t let him worry you about that. You got enough on your mind, sweetheart,” she said,
squeezing my hand. “Tell him you’re busy making ten fingers and ten toes, for Chrissake! And they’re
probably gonna be big ones, considering.”

Considering.

She knew well that Drew was the father. I wouldn’t confirm it to her, simply because I felt wary – and then
guilty about feeling wary – carrying a millionaire’s baby into the town of Belfield. My overactive mind
pictured people hearing that I was pregnant by Drew Maddox and suddenly showing up to tell me to get him
in court, to get that child support.

It was the last thing I wanted to think of right now.

And thankfully, Mom didn’t press. Much to my relief, she said, “If Daddy ain’t in the picture, we don’t need
him, honey. When did the Larsen girls ever need a man?”

“Never,” I had said, sounding convincing enough for her to beam at me.

But I was lying to myself that day and I was lying to myself now as I thought about what Mom said. Because I
couldn’t help imagining the incredibly torturous image of Drew Maddox – happy, smiling and sitting next to
me at the hospital, helping me count those ten fingers and ten toes.

36

DREW

“Drew, you were already coming off a bad loss in Cleveland on Monday, and tonight’s performance was
obviously no better. Six innings. Six earned runs. Can you tell us what might be behind the offensive
meltdowns in this two-game losing streak? Perhaps the flare-up of an old injury or… distractions in your
personal life?”

And there it is.

There was always one reporter that got tired of my well-practiced stoicism during my post-game interviews.
Win or lose, I didn’t give the press much to work with because no matter what I said, it was twisted and used
against me. So I stuck with the usual responses.

My focus tonight wasn’t a hundred percent. There are no excuses. Next game.

Since those words weren’t easy to twist into some juicy headline, there was always some asshole who started
prodding me with scumbag questions, just to see if he could get a fed-up reaction to turn into a good sound
bite.

But even tonight – even after the stress of the past five days – I refused to give the little shit the satisfaction
of my anger. So without a flicker of expression on my face, I lied straight to his.

“Physically, I’m a hundred percent. My personal life couldn’t be better. As far as the seventh inning goes, it
was just a loss of focus.”

Lie. It was more so Emmett’s text about Evie.

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“But what was the cause of the loss of focus?” the asshole p

ressed on.

The fact that he told me there “might be an emergency” and to meet him after the game ASAP, I thought
furiously as my lips gave a different answer.

“I think I let myself get hung up on what I thought was a bad call from the umpire. It took me out mentally
for just long enough to do offensive damage. I definitely won’t let it happen again.”

And after that sufficiently bland answer, the interview wrapped. Though of course, that didn’t stop one
reporter from calling to me, “Might be time to start bringing your lucky charm again.”

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The prick looked at me for a reaction – perhaps some flinch or grimace to give away the fact that I hadn’t
seen Evie, my media-dubbed “good luck charm”, in almost a week. He was hawking me for something,
anything, but I gave him nothing because the reality was, it had only been five days.

Five days since the morning I woke up and she was gone.

I couldn’t say I was surprised that morning because I’d expected her to leave. I had driven her away with my
reaction, and I knew that. In fact, a part of me knew it would as the words this wasn’t part of the plan were
coming out. It was an undeniable piece of shit thing to say, and I knew it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

But it was my cynical asshole nature coming back to protect me from what she had told me.

Pregnant.

I still couldn’t believe it.

It was the word I’d been trained to fear since the day I came into the league. For Christ’s sake, there were
official league training videos we were required to watch as rookies, just to protect us from women who were
after our money.

These women want child support from you. They’ll poke holes into condoms. Always bring your own rubbers.
Never get a girl pregnant.

In my heart, I knew Evie hadn’t poked a fucking hole in a condom. I knew she wasn’t swindling me out of
some desperate need for money.

But at the same time, I forced myself to question her. She’d reversed a good amount, but she hadn’t gotten
rid of all my doubt and cynicism – the side of me that believed that every person in the world had a price.
There was at least a sliver of that side of me left, and it reminded me of what Iain’s girlfriend Keira had said
the night of Emmett and Aly’s engagement dinner.

Anyone on welfare is going try to use her to get to your money. You know too well how that goes. Protect
yourself. I replayed those words in my head. I thought of Evie’s mom. Her drug addict sister. I ran through
all my cynical thoughts for the first two days that Evie was gone.

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And on day three, I concluded that it was all bullshit.

She wasn’t some scheming, conniving con artist – I was just eager to find one. I was eager to believe that over
the course of my career, all the walls I kept up, all the suspicions I had for everyone in my life weren’t just for
nothing. That I was justified in my lack of trust for anyone – that I had always been right.

But the reality was that I wasn’t now, and I hadn’t always been.

“Asshole. There you are,” Emmett greeted me when I finally got out of the clubhouse and found him in his
usual suite at the stadium. It was right behind home plate, and since that meant he had a fantastic view of me
fucking blowing it tonight, I braced myself for some smartass dig. Rather, I hoped for one. It would mean
that whatever he texted me about wasn’t actually as grave as it sounded – that everything that already
resolved.

But since no dig or joke came, I frowned hard at him.

“What? What’s going on?” I asked Emmett. The way he rubbed his jaw and took a deep breath made the
blood in my veins set on fire. “Emmett, what the fuck happened? Is she okay? You said she was in good
hands.”

He had. And I’d believed him.

The morning that Evie left, the first person I had called was Emmett. Not her. Maybe a dick move on my
part, but I wasn’t ready to talk to her. The first few days were when I was entertaining the dark side of my
brain – the part that tried convincing me that Evie had been playing the long con, and that she was in this
solely for the money.

So I didn’t trust myself to talk to her yet.

But I’d trusted Emmett, who told me she had gone to his and Aly’s house in East Hampton.

“Look, she’s likely fine right now,” he started evenly, but it set me off fast.

“’Likely’?” The word launched me from zero to sixty fast. “For Christ’s sake, Emmett, she’s pregnant – there’s
no room for ‘likely!’”

“Well, if there’s no room for ‘likely’ then why the fuck haven’t you called her or come to see her yourself?”
Emmett challenged, making my fists ball tighter. “How long were you planning on relying on the comfort of
knowing that she was safe with us? Were you going to ignore her forever as long as she was under our roof?”

“I told you I needed time to get my fucking thoughts straight. Considering the shit that was going through my
head, I can guarantee you I would’ve made things worse by talking to her.”

“Well, whether or not that’s bullshit, the fact of the matter is she hasn’t been at our house for three days
now.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Emmett?”

I wanted to choke him out, but instead I turned to storm out and find her – before realizing I had no idea
where the fuck she was. With my hands thrust in my hair, I faced Emmett again.

“Tell me you know where she is,” I said, my voice shaking with fury. I already had a guess as to where she
was, but I was praying for him to prove me wrong.
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“She gave us a hotel name and we confirmed that she had a reservation there. But Aly went the other day and
they told her Evie never checked in.”

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“Why the hell didn’t you tell me, Emmett?” I demanded.

“Because Aly made me swear not to tell you shit,” he said, getting in my face. “You already proved to her what
a piece of shit you were by not calling Evie the day she left, so she doesn’t trust you to do the right thing
anymore. She told me she had it covered, but I know she’s struggling to find coverage at the restaurant. She
wanted to leave to find Evie today, but she still can’t get away from work.”

“Fuck that. I’m going,” I said. I didn’t even realize my feet had begun walking already till I found myself in
the hallway, Emmett trailing behind.

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

“Belfield. In Massachusetts.”

“That’s where she’s from?”

“Yes.”

“You think she’s with her mom?”

“I know she is, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting her stay there one more fucking day,” I ground out, my
heart slamming in my chest as I thought of Evie living alongside an unpredictable addict while pregnant –
with my child, no less. It immediately dashed my need to wait things out, to talk to her when I felt like I knew
what I wanted to say. It lit a fire under my ass and reminded me that some things happened before you were
ready – and this was a prime example.

Because while I didn’t know what I wanted to say, I knew I needed to feel Evie safe in my arms. I knew I
loved her – that I loved everything about her, including the man I was around her. I knew I’d never forgive
myself if anything were to happen to her.

Or our child.

And suddenly, I needed to tell her that in person. STAT.

37

EVIE

This morning, I ran into people I actually knew at the gas station, which would’ve been terrifying if it weren’t
for the fact that it was the Bloom siblings - Carly, Ashlyn and Trevor - who had always cracked me up in high
school because they were more preoccupied with arguing and one-upping each other than anything in the
world. At least the twins were, whereas Trevor, the youngest, always stood there kind of stoned before
eventually saying something breathtakingly weird and random.

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“Evie, don’t listen to Kurt, the people in this town are so bored they will absolutely say anything to anyone
about anyone. Trust nobody. No-bo-dy,” Carly said as Ash argued the opposite point.

“No one said anything about you, Evie! That newspaper emailed a bunch of us and I told everyone we’d agree
on ‘no comment.’”

“You’re full of shit, Ash! No one emailed your ass!”

They went back and forth for awhile until, as usual, Trevor interrupted to say something that sounded super
high and unrelated.

“I heard someone’s comin’ to get you, Evie,” he giggled while making eyes with a bag of Fritos. We all paused
and turned to look at him funny, but he didn’t look up till Carly smacked him hard on the arm.

“Trev. Why do you always have to say such creepy shit when you’re high?” she snapped before turning to me
and rolling her eyes. “Sorry. We watched scary movies last night.”

“It’s cool,” I laughed as I saw another car pull in outside. As harmless and actually enjoyable as this
interaction was, I didn’t want to risk any more unexpected run-ins today, so I quickly paid for my things and
started backing out. “Guys, I gotta get going but it was nice seeing you again,” I said, as all three Blooms
stopped yelling at each other to wave and sing bye as I walked out.

I wore a vague smile on my lips as I got in the car and started driving, because I needed that laugh this
morning.

Badly.

Last night, I had stayed longer than usual with Mom because we were having a conversation about all the
things she’d help me do for the baby. Kaylie came home, heard the baby talk then started slamming drawers
in the kitchen, eventually accusing me of eating something in the fridge that she’d been saving for herself.

Mom stormed in there to quiet her down and before I knew it, we were all in there screaming at each other.

The night ended with me in tears, and Mom also in tears, but still putting on her calm, soothing voice as she
told me to go to the motel and come back the usual time in the morning.

“Tomorrow will be a fun day, promise. I’m going to have a surprise for you,” she said in the driveway, holding
my cheeks and kissing my forehead before watching me get into the car.

We ended on a nice note but I felt horrible as I pulled up to the house today because I knew she’d probably
been up all night dealing with Kaylie’s wrath. It was probably why I got her the usual from the store but also
bought out pretty much all the chocolate bars Kurt had in stock. I want

ed to make it up to her for last night.

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“Mom?” I called when I tapped open the creaky front door of the house. I stepped over something or another
and spotted that the closet door in the den had been left open, with a bunch of old boxes and board games
spilling out.
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“In the kitchen, Evie.”

Right away, I felt like her voice sounded strange, like she was reading from a script. I smirked because I had a
feeling this meant she had her surprise for me in there, and I was pretty sure it was the box of yarn and all
the knitting needles she said she’d dug through the closet to find.

“Mom, I hope it's not just pink and purple yarn you’ve got, because I have a feeling this kid’s gonna be a - “

I shut up the moment I stepped into the kitchen.

Right away, every part of my body froze, my heart stopped like a floating rock in my chest. The blood drained
from my cheeks as I simply stood there and stared.

Because sitting with Mom at the tiny kitchen table, on the “good” crown back chair that would actually hold
all his weight, was the last man I’d ever expect to see in Belfield, Massachusetts.

“Evie.”

I dropped my bags at just the sound of Drew’s voice saying my name.

“What are you doing here?” I breathed as he rose to his feet.

From the corner of my vision, I saw Mom cover her mouth the way she did right before she cried, and only
then did I realize that I had started it. Tears were already welling in my eyes from barely a second of standing
in front of Drew, because I was so immediately overwhelmed.

Looking at him, I was somehow as angry, confused and embarrassed as I was completely relieved.
Apparently, it was still my instinct to feel comfort, relief when I saw him because my body was still trained to
want to be near him. It still wanted to melt into his chest, and even now, I had to stop myself from running
straight into his arms.

I had to remind myself of the way he looked at me last. Like he didn’t trust me and never should have - like
perhaps this whole time together, I’d had ulterior motives.

“Please tell me what you’re doing here, Drew.”

My breath rattled in my throat as he came closer to me. It was too bizarre to see him in my childhood home -
the place where I’d dreamt and fantasized and wished for a different life. It hurt more to see him here than it
did somewhere else, and despite the fact that he’d clearly come all the way to Belfield to find me, I refused to
get my hopes up for what he was about to say.

Clearly, he’d passed some of that famous Drew Maddox cynicism to me because a part of me was preparing
myself to hear him say that he’d come to write a check to buy my silence on the baby, or maybe he was here
to sue me for somehow breaking my NDA.

But when I felt him cup my face, his thumbs stroking my cheeks, I knew I was wrong and I immediately burst
into tears.

“You know why I’m here,” he murmured, wiping my tears as he kissed me on the forehead.

“Just say it,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry. I fucked up that night when you told me, and if you’ll forgive me, I’m here to take you home,
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baby.”

The words alone made me cry into his chest for who knows how long. Mom was up at this point, standing a
few feet away with her hands pressed together in front of her lips, waiting for the moment when she needed
to step in and take care of me. But she didn’t, instead standing back and smiling through her sniffling
because apparently, I was in good hands. And she could tell.

“Trust me, I let him have it when he first got here,” she said the moment our tears wound down enough to
make room for talking again. “I didn’t make it easy on him.”

“She didn’t,” Drew smirked as I looked up at him in awe. I could’ve sworn I was dreaming. I still couldn’t
believe he was here.

“How did you find me? Even Aly doesn’t know this address,” I asked when Mom went into her room to give
us privacy in the kitchen.

My voice was still shaky, and I was still trying to keep at least some of my guard up because Drew was
touching me so tenderly, pushing locks of my hair from my eyes, and it made me want to forget everything
he’d ever done to make me question him.

But I couldn’t do that. Not just yet.

“I Googled you, Evie,” Drew answered my question with a laugh. “Apparently all I needed was your name and
hometown. That said even the GPS couldn’t find your street when I got here. I had to roll my window down
and ask someone. Not that that really helped. He was high off his ass.”

“Ohhh...” I wanted to ask if that someone’s name was Trevor Bloom but I highly doubted Drew asked for a
name, and I had far too many other questions to ask. “Drew...” Of course, despite all the questions, I barely
knew how to start. “Drew, the last time we spoke, you were - “

“An asshole,” he finished, quietly but firmly. “I was... shocked. And overwhelmed. My instinct was to
question. But that’s not an excuse, Evie. It was knee-jerk reaction because I still have a lot to fix with the way
I think. It’s habit for me to question everyone in my life, and I know it’s fucked up but I’ve already started
turning some of it around.” His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed and brought his gaze from our
entwined fingers to my misty eyes. “And it’s solely because of you – there’s no denying that. Just being
around you showed me that people can be good. Hell, I enjoy everything around me more when you’re by my
side. My world’s just better with you in it, and I don’t want to go back to how it was before you came, Evie. I
love you. I love you too much to let you go.”

I was crying again and he had me sitting now - propped up on the shoddy kitchen counter I barely trusted to
hold me. But my legs were too weak to stand and if I fell, I knew Drew would catch me.

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I hiccupped as I tried to get out my words.

“The baby though, Drew...” I could barely look up at him as I said the words. “I’m going to keep it.”

“Evie, I want you to,” Drew said, sounding urgent now. Emotion tightened his voice as he held my cheeks and
forced me to meet his eyes as he spoke. “Look at me. I want this with you.”
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“If you’re just saying that to – “

“I’m not saying just anything to win you back, Evie,” Drew interrupted me, fire in both his eyes and his voice.
“I’m saying everything I know in my heart because I’m not hiding anything from you anymore. I’m done with
that,” he said vehemently, his insistence far too strong for me to fight. “Believe me when I tell you that I want
this with you. I want every step of this journey with you. I want to see that little bump of yours wearing a
Drew Maddox jersey when I win a championship in October. I want to make your life as good as you’ve made
mine.”

He was gently squeezing the backs of my calves now, and I was suddenly giggling delirously through my tears
as he cracked a grin.

“I know you’re a little better than me in the massage department, but I swear I’ll fucking blow you away with
my foot rubs. I’m going to make you the most pampered mom in the city,” Drew said, making it feel like my
heart was swelling too big for my chest. “And the best part,” he laughed as he feathered kisses on my lips, “is
that our kid’s going to be older than Emmett’s, which means he’s going to be automatically better.”

“Drew!” I smacked him though I was cracking up hard now, wiping happy tears from my eyes. I was suddenly
thinking of Drew and me raising a child alongside Aly and Emmett, and it made me want to bawl with pure
joy and disbelief. I imagined beach days with them in East Hampton, and bringing the kids to the restaurant
to try their first lobster roll.

I was so over the moon I had to control myself, sniffling for a few seconds before tilting my head up curiously
at Drew.

“You said ‘he.’ You think he’s going to a boy?”

“No, you do. I heard you about to say that when you thought it was just your mom in here,” Drew laughed,
his thumbs skimming my cheekbones. “Speaking of your mom, she really let me have it when I first got here.
She almost didn’t let me in.”

“She can be pretty tough to

her family members, let alone a non-related male. I’m surprised she even allowed you to sit in the kitchen,” I
mused.

“Yeah, I groveled a bit on your porch,” Drew laughed at himself. “But we managed to have a nice talk before
you came. And she said she can’t wait to be a grandma.”

I swallowed. I knew Mom couldn’t – she’d said it a million times to me before – but hearing the words from
Drew’s mouth as he wore that quiet smile made my heart twist a hundred different ways.

“I want her to be in the baby’s life, Drew,” I said softly. “I just need to say that now. I don’t know how to make
it work, but I want it.”

“If you want it then we’ll find a way,” he murmured, looking me in the eye. “That’s my promise to you. Do
you believe me?”

“I believe you,” I whispered, letting him kiss me again before hearing my mom’s stirring in her room. “We
have to stay a little longer to talk to my mom. But after, you’ll take me home?”

There was a smile of content as he nodded down at me, brushing the hair from my face.

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“Baby, you know I will.”

38

DREW

I always woke up when she woke up now, because there was no ignoring the feeling or the sounds of her
stirring on my chest, her cheek still pressed to my skin as she yawned and stretched.

It always put a smile on my lips before I so much as opened my eyes.

Usually, after that, she’d get up and giggle at how I groaned over the void she left on my chest. I felt it every
damned morning and yet I still hated the feeling. Of course, I made up for it by waiting to hear the water run
before following her into the bathroom and making her late to work.

Three weeks later and fucking Evie in the shower was still my preferred way to start the day. I was pretty sure
I was growing dependent on starting my morning with kissing her as she washed her hair, and as I leisurely
soaped up her tits. I was always rock-hard and jacking it by the time she stood with her eyes closed under the
water, rinsing away the shampoo and all the suds from her body.

I could get used to this view, I thought the first morning it happened. And every day since, I’d been doing
exactly that.

Though Evie and I changed it up slightly this morning.

“And here I thought you were trying to get me to work on time for once,” Evie giggled, setting the blow dryer
down as I got out of the shower and started kissing the back of her neck.

There had been no sex in the shower – I really was trying to get her to work on time since I had another
surprise queued up for the morning – but all it took was one glimpse at her standing in front of the mirror
and my self-control was done for.

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“Just blame it on me when you get in,” I murmured as I unlatched her towel and let it drop to our feet.

“Trust me – they’re huge Empires fans, so I always do,” she smirked as she pressed two hands flat on the sink
and arched her back for me.

I made sure to watch her in the mirror as I slid my cock into her pussy.

Christ.

The way her lips fell apart got me every single time.

I fucking loved that look on her face, and that raspy morning moan as I thrust deep inside her. I loved every
last goddamned thing about Evie Larsen, and on this particular morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about that
day down the line that I could call her Evie Maddox.

It wasn’t going to be quite yet.

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But soon.

“So fucking beautiful, baby. Look at you,” I murmured as we locked eyes in the mirror, her lips curving in a
grin as I let go of her heavy tits to watch them bounce in the reflection. I kept my stare pinned on her
perfection as I rocked my hips into her, soaking in her every breath, her every bounce, her every sexy little
sound.

I didn’t even remember carrying her into our bed. All I remembered were her honey waves spilled like silk all
over my sheets as she came, taking me right with her.

“God... so late,” Evie giggled, eyeing the clock on my nightstand as we lay together in a hot, breathless fog.
“But so... so worth it.”

I grinned at her words because they rang truer to me than she even knew.

Worth it were the unlikely words I’d used to close the chapter on my parents, Tim, Pattie, L.A. Everything.
Before Evie, they felt like ugly scars I’d bear for the rest of my life, but now I just saw them as my stepping
stones toward everything I needed.

I had lost a lot to my career, but it was nothing compared to what I had gained. Without my love of this game
I wouldn’t have found the love of my life.

Turns out it wasn’t a fucking baseball, and I should have known because even during my happiest moments
as a player, I’d still think about what the hell life would look like in fifteen years, when my arm had thrown its
last pitch and my body could no longer play the game.

So I should’ve known the game wasn’t my everything. In reality, it was the woman who was giving me a
family, a new lease on life and a reason to live off the field. For all that, I was prepared to give her the world
at whatever cost.

But I needed the perfect moment to tell her that, and it wasn’t today.

That said I couldn’t hold in a small part of the surprise any longer.

“Drew, you unlocked the guest room?” Evie called as she made her way down the hall.

I had locked it as a joke the first night she came back, after I’d gotten her from her mom’s house in Belfield
and brought her back to New York. She had instinctively gone to set her things down in the guest room, and I
reminded her that that wasn’t where she slept anymore.

And since that day, whenever she was home, I kept that door locked.

But since the project had been officially finished late last night, while she’d been fast asleep, I left the door
unlocked and open for her to discover on her way down the stairs to breakfast.

Three... two...

“Oh my God – Drew!”

I laughed the second I heard her reaction, and by the time I got down the hall, she was standing in the middle
of the room, one hand thrust in her hair and the other covering her mouth.

“How...” She trailed off, tears replacing her words as she stood in what was formerly the guest room.
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Now it was our nursery.

“Drew, when did you do all this?” she whispered as she floated over to the mobile hanging by the crib. The
little moon and star shapes were made of her ticket stubs from all my games she’d gone to during that road
trip out west. The moment she realized that, she turned around, flew into my arms around me and kissed me
so hard I couldn’t answer her question.

But at this point she didn’t care.

“I love you,” she whispered,

  Treaty of Amiens

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“I love you so fucking much, Evie,” I said, knowing well that I meant those words more than any I’d ever
spoken in my life.

The certainty made me almost want to laugh as I stood there with the full knowledge that I was holding the
woman I was going to marry, in the room our child would be sleeping in within seven months. All the most
important things in my world were right in this room, and life had never felt so good. Or simple.

I had to smirk as I thought about the total lack of content the tabloids were about to deal with. Drew Maddox
Rubs Wife’s Feet Before Bed, Wakes Up First to Change Diapers.

“Why are you laughing to yourself right now?” Evie giggled up at me as I kissed her on the forehead.

“No idea. Too many things,” I grinned.

And it was the truth. I still didn’t have all the answers, but in Evie, I had my definition of love and trust. And
if there was anything I knew for sure, it was that if I had her at my side, I had everything I needed.

Now, forever and always.

Epilogue

EVIE

Four Months Later

I had been standing for an entire inning now, and I couldn’t tell if I was squeezing Aly’s hand numb, or if she
was squeezing mine numb. I was pretty sure it was even because we were equally nervous – she as a lifelong
Empires fan, and me as the one person who knew just how badly Drew Maddox needed this win.

The stakes were high enough that I actually watched every second of the game instead of drifting off here and
there to ogle how damned good my boyfriend looked on the mound.

During the regular season, it was definitely a problem.

I usually sat in a suite behind home plate with Aly and Emmett, and despite having the game right in front of
me – and seats most people would kill for – I generally just hawked the TV broadcast on the flat screen,
waiting for those close-ups of Drew’s green eyes framed between the bill of his cap and his glove.
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They were just so damned gorgeous and every time I saw them, I touched my belly to ask the little one a
silent question.

Do you have his eyes or mine? No pressure at all. I’m just curious. But I kind of hope you have his.

That was usually how it went, but there was no ogling today. Because this was crunch time.

Game 7 of the World Series. Bottom of the ninth. Empires up 4-2 with one on, two outs and the count at
three and two.

I literally had no idea what any of these numbers meant at the beginning of the summer, and if I had to be
completely honest, I still sometimes cheered prematurely and needed to ask Aly why something wasn’t
considered an out.

But tonight, I knew exactly what was happening – not just because this was the biggest game in Drew’s life
but because my man had already made history.

It wasn’t common for pitchers to go nine innings in even a regular season game, but in the final game of the
World Series, nine innings later, Drew was still on the mound – sore, aching, but still locked in beast mode
and striking out batters on ninety-five mile-per-hour fastballs.

He was still laboring, and now he was only one out away from winning it all.

“Omigod, omigod, here we go, here we go,” Aly whispered as Drew wound up for his next pitch. As he
delivered, she gripped my hand so tight her engagement ring crushed my fingers, but I didn’t even register
the pain till I saw the swing and heard the crack of the bat.

> Fuck.

There was a collective gasp in the stadium followed by utter silence as fifty thousand pairs of eyes flew to
follow the ball of white that soared high in the sky, eventually landed foul in the seats.

Then came the collective exhale.

“Oh God, thank God,” I squeaked as the stadium returned to a buzz in anticipation of the next pitch.

“Come on, come on, I can’t take this stress anymore,” Aly breathed, squeezing my hand as we both bounced
on our toes.

“Me neither, and I’m feeling very left out,” Emmett hissed on her right, to which we both went shh because
Drew was getting into position again, preparing for another wind-up on hopefully the final pitch of the
season.

Okay, maybe I was lying about the lack of ogling, because God he looked so damned tall and powerful on that
mound. I held my breath as I watched that long body turn to wind up for the next pitch.

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But just before its release, I felt a little twitch that I knew wasn’t butterflies in my stomach.

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It was the first little kick in my belly.

My mouth fell open just as Drew launched an absolute rocket to home plate. I saw the big, healthy swing just
as I heard the ball hitting leather.

And for a second, time stood still.

It slowed before me as I stood there, savoring every aspect of this one incredible moment. The roar of the
stadium. My hand in Aly’s. Drew’s pumping fist.

And our baby kicking once more to celebrate the win.

“Oh my God – yesss!”

Aly and Emmett’s raucous cheers brought me back to Earth, and before I knew it, I was laughing, crying and
screaming my face off with them as well as everyone around us.

Because Drew Maddox and the New York Empires were World Champions.

It was absolute chaos, but in the best possible way, and just when I thought I was out of tears, the mob of
Empires finally started climbing off of Drew.

And by the time I spotted him in the crowd of white jerseys, he was already headed my way.

The second our frantic, wet eyes locked he mouthed I love you, and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms,
his cap flipped backwards as he kissed me so deeply my knees went weak.

“I love you,” I whispered back between his kisses, too far over the moon to care about all the cameramen and
big, crazy-looking cameras surrounding us.

I was so in love with the man holding me in his strong arms, and I was so overjoyed for his joy. I felt it
welling inside him as he held me tight, kissing me so sweetly as I brought his palm down to my belly.

“He kicked right before your last pitch,” I whispered excitedly once we’d caught our breaths enough to speak.

Well, I certainly did. It took another second for Drew, especially after processing the words that I said.
Cupping my face, he gazed down at my belly before looking into my eyes.

“He?” he repeated breathlessly, his eyes crinkling as he smiled wide. “You know something I don’t know?”

“I found out today,” I grinned, laughing with surprise as Drew scaled the fence into the front row seats and
knelt right down before my stomach. With the crowd roaring around us, I couldn’t hear the smiling words he
spoke to our son, but I didn’t need to. I chalked it up as their first father-son pep talk, and I couldn’t think of
a better time for it.

The cameras flashed like crazy as Drew knelt before my little bump, and I giggled with Aly, especially as
Drew bumped fists with Emmett before giving our little one the last word and rising again to his feet.

“Listen, Evie,” he murmured close to me, thousands of eyes upon us.

“Yeah?” I giggled.

“There are a lot of people watching us right now.”

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“Yes. More than ever. Cameras too.”

“Yeah. Thought so,” Drew smirked close to my lips. “Should probably wait till later to ask this but fuck it,” he
murmured, taking my left hand in both of his and kissing me softly as he wiggled the ring off my finger.

I wasn’t fully sure what was happening, but I looked down, a stunning new diamond had replaced the one I’d
worn since the summer. It was a similar size to the first – just princess cut this time around – but somehow it
was so many million times more beautiful, and it snatched my breath straight away.

Because this time, I knew the man I loved had chosen it.

“Will you marry me, Evie?” Drew whispered his question with a wicked little on his lips.

Fresh tears sprung to my eyes as I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him again, giving him the
answer he’d already known for awhile now.

“Baby, you know I will.”

The End

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