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“You’re welcome. I did it for the fantasy team.”

“Obviously.”

She yawns again. “G’night.”

I say goodnight and click the phone off, but I don’t set it down. I hold it, staring at the black screen where Cass’s animated presence just settled my racing thoughts.

What just happened?

Chapter 18

Cass

What a man. Am I right?

~ Winona Carter

Our first big Porch Light event is a back-to-school drive. School’s already been in session a few weeks, but it took me a little while to pull this together since everything exploded so quickly with the charity. I never dreamed I’d be able to pull off something so massive so soon.

We’ve set up a Seatrain container on one of the ranch properties outside Waterford. Donations have multiplied because of what I’m secretly referring to as The Marcus Delaney Effect.

“Where do you want this table?” one of our volunteers asks me.

I point to a spot next to the cargo container.

“Donuts are here!” another volunteer shouts.

I walk toward Emberleigh and Syd. “Thank you so much! You two are the best!”

“Our pleasure,” Syd says. “Where do you want these? We have boxes of coffee and cups too.”

“Can you see Winona? She’s setting up the volunteer hub under the canopy over there. I’ve got to run through the order of things with the volunteers at the tables.”

I ordered hundreds of items over the past two weeks. It’s been a lot of work, but seeing it all come together this morning is worth every late night, every phone call, and every trip I’ve made out here to sort and organize.

The cargo container is filled with backpacks and bins of various supplies: paper, pencils, glue, tape and rulers. We’ve got a whole section of clothing and then a smaller area with nonperishable snacks.

My volunteers showed up early to set up the tables where families can line up to state their needs and a runner can go to the storage unit, gather the bundle and bring it out to the family.

The whole property is buzzing like a hive of activity.

Marcus’s black SUV pulls up and he hops out. My eyes track him as if he were really my boyfriend. We’ve seen one another here or there over the past few weeks since he called me the night after the Panthers game. And Winona, Patrick, Daisy and I went to the home game in the box Kate got me. It’s pretty cush. I can’t complain about that perk of fake dating a pro athlete.

Seeing him in the condition he was in that night after the Panthers game—emotionally spent and mentally distraught—tugged at something unfamiliar in me. I’m naturally compassionate, but not toward him. I wasn’t kidding when I finished our call by reminding him I still know he’s stubborn and self-serving.

The problem is, you can’t see someone in such a vulnerable state and not be affected. And I can’t shake how it felt to be the one to help him through his struggle.

Your talk helped. I can still hear him thanking me in his sleepy drawl. It’s not good. Humanizing Marcus Delaney is not on my Bingo card while we’re fake dating. It’s bad enough that he called me when he was shirtless with wet hair, a lock flopping onto his forehead, those silver-blue eyes tinged with pain and frustration.

And I made him laugh. Being the one to comfort Marcus Delaney in a vulnerable moment is a toxic cocktail laced with something dangerous. I need the antidote. Maybe he’ll be his same bossy, arrogant self today. That would help. Definitely. I just need a shot of a reminder of how unnecessarily domineering and all-about-Marcus he is and I’ll be good.

Marcus scans the area, taking in the setup, probably determining what’s wrong or not to his liking. His eyes land on me and his lips tick up into an almost smile. He’s not happy to see me. That’s not what we are. We’re not happy to see each other—ever. All eyes are on him, but no one’s watching the way he looks at me.

A few other high-end vehicles arrive, and other players unload onto the gravel area where volunteers have parked their cars.

Marcus doesn’t wait for his teammates, instead he makes a slow beeline to me, eyes unwavering, that same deceptive smile on his face.

When he reaches me, he loops his arms around me and draws me into a hug, placing a kiss on the top of my head.