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My mouth pops open for a moment, but I recover quickly.
Cass Carter has a fantasy team.
I should have known. She’s fanatical about football. Of course she’d make a fantasy team.
And I’m her quarterback. Well. Well. Well.
Cass looks at me, popping a hand on her hip. I can tell she’s dying to say something about how loving the way I play doesn’t mean she loves the man under the jersey. But then she has to stop herself.
“Yep,” she says, popping the P a little extra. “Marcus Delaney is my fantasy quarterback.”
“I always knew I was your fantasy,” I say, pushing my luck.
The smile she gives me is tight and forced, but I don’t think Loretta notices. She’s too busy giving me her own smile.
“Just like I’m yours,” Cass says, turning and heading toward her own desk.
She thinks we’re finished talking about this, but I’m not dropping the subject. We’re discussing this later, when we’re alone. Although, why I’d be alone with her is beyond me. Still, I need a time when I can rub this in just a little. It’s just too good.
Talk about reloading my ammo. I’m her fantasy QB.
This day couldn’t get better.
Coleman comes down the hallway. “Marcus!”
“Hey, Coleman! How’d you like the game?”
“It was amazing. The seats were great. Thanks again. I didn’t know if you were going to pull out a win.”
“It was tight,” I agree. “Let me know if you want to come to another game later in the season.”
“I’ve been asking Cass to bring me to a game in the box seats you got her,” Coleman says.
Loretta’s eyes go wide. “You got her a box? For the season?”
Technically, Kate got Cass the box. But it’s something I would do if I had a girlfriend coming to all my home games.
“She belongs in a box,” I say.
And then I realize how that sounds. But I don’t make any attempt to change what I said.
“And you belong in a sack,” Cass says.
“A sack?” I say. “You want me to get sacked, Cass? Is that any way to talk to your fantasy QB?” I wag my brows, taunting her with my newfound intel.
“Just a little sack I could put you in and carry you around with me,” she says. “Safe and snug and all bundled up.”
She shakes her head and glances down at the papers on her desk.
“Well, now that we’ve got everyone wrapped up,” Coleman says. “Maybe we should head to the inspection?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Coleman,” I say. “Let’s do that.”
I turn toward Cass. If she were my new girlfriend, I wouldn’t walk out without hugging or kissing her or at least saying something private.
I turn and walk back toward her desk. Her head pops up from the paper she’s reading.
I lean in close and put my mouth next to her ear. As expected, I’m greeted with the warmth of citrus and flowers.
