Jaden follows her gaze. “What? That dude with the camera?” He shakes his head. “Little pests, man.”
Paparazzi. Ivy and I grew up with them. Though they’re nowhere near as annoying toward athletes—or most of them—as they are with actors and singers. Even so, we’ve always regarded them as the enemy.
Since I’m not really news, I’ve grown lazy about spotting them. But Gray is a huge star here. Already one of the best tight ends in the NFL, and ridiculously hot to boot, he has his fair share of attention. Ivy, as an agent, daughter of my dad, and Gray’s wife, gets a lot as well.
“I think they took a picture of us kissing,” Ivy says to Jaden.
“And tomorrow they’ll be saying we’re having a wild affair,” he says with an annoyed sigh. “Don’t let it bother you, Ivy.”
“I don’t.” She shrugs. “It just pisses me off. Gray deserves better than that shit.”
“Well.” I toss down my napkin and turn to Jaden. “Let’s give them something else to talk about. Smack one on me, lineman.”
A glint lights his eyes. “I like your style, Fiona.”
I know Jaden can tell we’re just messing around to help Ivy. I’ve always been a flirt. Pretending to kiss a guy is nothing to me. But some small part of me wonders why I offered to do this, because it suddenly feels very wrong.
It’s too late to back out. Jaden cups a hand at the back of my neck and leans in. His kiss is brief—hell, he’s practically laughing as he does it—but it’s just long enough to make certain the photographer will see and take a picture. And though Jaden is good-looking, I don’t feel anything other than mild satisfaction that we’re taking attention away from Ivy and Gray’s relationship.
Jaden pulls back and smiles wide. Ivy is laughing and shaking her head. But her smile fractures, turning into dismay as she glances over my shoulder.
And I feel cold to the pit of my stomach. Because I know. I turn and Dex’s gaze clashes with mine. The cold within me turns to hot, painful lead. His expression is unreadable. Gray’s isn’t; he’s pissed.
Together, they make their way to us.
“Ivy Mac,” Gray says softly as he bends to kiss his wife. He snags a chair from an empty table behind him and sits close to her. Dex takes the empty seat at my side.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
My throat clenches tight but some sullen, childish part of me wants to rebel. We’ve only exchanged one kiss and, okay, some seriously hot boob action, but we aren’t in a relationship. We don’t even live in the same city. Then I think of how I’d react if I saw Dex kissing someone else. I’d want to punch him in the junk.
Guilt and embarrassment grow painful as I feel Dex beside me, his arm resting on the table near enough to touch.
“Gray, my man.” Jaden and Gray exchange a dude shake, and then Jaden looks at Dex. “Dexter. Last time I saw you, I took your QB down at the thirty.”
Dex’s mouth twitches in a shadow of a smile. “Yeah, that two-point conversion we made on the next play for the win must have chafed.”
Gray starts laughing. “That loss fucking sucked. Way to bring it up, J.” He gives Jaden’s back a hearty slap.
The guys laugh.
“Forgot about that part,” Jaden admits with a head shake.
“Happens to defensive linemen all the time,” Dex says as if in sympathy. “They’re easily confused.”
Annoyance rises within me. Here I am feeling guilty as hell for exchanging a fake kiss with a stranger, and Dex is acting as if nothing happened. Well, it didn’t. But he doesn’t know that. He’s ignoring me.
As if he hears my thoughts, his hazel eyes meet mine. Still nothing. No emotion other than casual friendliness.
“So you’re lunching with my girl,” Gray says to Jaden.
“Naw,” Jaden answers easily before slinging an arm over my shoulders to give me a friendly squeeze. “I’m lunching with my girl, Fiona.”
Great. Lovely. Perfect.
If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Speared through the heart by Gray’s glare.
I force a laugh and give Jaden a light shove. “Then you can pick up the check.”
He sets his attention back on Gray and Dex, both of whom I’m ignoring in favor of patatas bravas.
“I got a poker game going tonight,” Jaden tells Gray. “Dean, Jamal, and Monroe will be there. Even pretty boy James is in. You coming?”
Gray doesn’t even blink. “No way. I’m staying at home and sleeping if I can.”
“That’s right. I forgot you’re on baby duty. How’s the little man?”
I drift away from the conversation and glance at Dex. He’s focused on Jaden and Gray, his profile to me. The slant of his nose and the jut of his chin are like the stamp of a Roman coin. I could totally see him as a centurion, slashing his way through armies.
I really have to stop crushing on him. I know myself. I’m not good at flings. One-night hookups I can walk away from without a problem. But if I start to like the guy, I need more. I’m not going to get more with Dex.
His deep voice breaks me out of my fog.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll go,” he says to Jaden.
I’m guessing he’s in for poker.
“Cool.” Jaden makes as if to rise. “It starts up in an hour. Why don’t you come with me now?”
“Sure.”
So Dex is leaving. Never once having said a word to me. He stands, his chair legs scraping over the floorboards. And a sense of loss plummets to my stomach.