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It’s crazy and demented. I’ve never battled a woman. Never wanted to see the score evened out and then tilted in my favor. I don’t know how to operate on these terms. But I do understand what it means to compete for a championship. And this feels a lot like a game against my biggest rival.
She finds her key. Holds it up as proof.
Then she turns to me, cups my jaw and stares into my eyes. I think she’s actually going to kiss me. My heartbeat speeds up. Why? I said hug. Not kiss.
She moves her face slowly toward mine and then, just when I’m about to pucker my lips to meet hers, she runs her palms down my face, across my shoulders and settles them on my pecs.
“Goodnight, Marcus,” she says in a low whisper.
Then she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a hug.
I’m too dazed to reciprocate, but then I get my head in the game and draw her near, making the mistake of inhaling when her head is under my chin.
She pulls back. “We’re done now. No more faking.”
“Right. Yes. We’re done.”
Winona and Declan walk onto the porch, beaming at what they think they just saw.
I smile at O’Connell, nodding at him.
“Night,” I say.
Then I walk briskly back to my Escalade, not even glancing over my shoulder or looking in the rearview mirror as I drive home.
I wake to the text thread with my teammates popping off, which I ignore.
My phone rings when I’m on my way to the kitchen for my protein shake.
Kate greets me with, “You need to keep this momentum with Cass going.”
“Nah, Kate. We’re good. We put the whole thing to bed when I dropped her off last night.”
“Well, you might need to pull back the covers and get this whole thing out of bed … metaphorically speaking. The world is abuzz about the two of you.”
“I’m glad. Mission accomplished. Cass Carter and I did our thing. Now it’s time for me to put my focus on the upcoming season.”
Kate doesn’t even take a breath. Her voice is more commanding. “The fact that you forgot a handshake is the last thing on anyone’s mind right now, Marcus. Do you realize what it takes to bury a rumor like that? Well, we buried it. Everyone’s calling you ‘the couple to watch’. They’re talking about her dress and how you looked at her.”
“All an act,” I tell Kate.
Not Cass’s dress, which I hope I forget sooner than later. But any appearance of affection between us was definitely for show.
“That’s the best part, Marcus. You two are very, very convincing.”
“Kate …” I scrub my hand down my face, which only serves to remind me of the moves Cass used to try to take me down on the dance floor—the feel of her smooth palm running across my skin, the drag of her fingernails through my hair.
I shake my head and pull out the blender.
“I thought this was a one-off,” I say.
“It was. It was,” Kate says. “But now requests are coming in. I’ve already talked to your agent this morning.”
“Chance?” I ask. “What kinds of requests?”
“Yes. Chance called me. We had a little powwow as to what to do about this uptick of interest. He’ll be calling you shortly, I’m sure.”
Uptick of interest? From sponsors? How does me dancing with an obscure and problematic small town woman cause brands to sit up and take notice? That doesn’t make sense.
