From Enemies To Expecting. Kat Cantrell
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veins in a rush that made him feel alive—only being on the mound had ever replicated that feeling.
Why her? Of all people? He’d always been on the lookout for a simple, uncomplicated woman who listened to country music and planned picnics. A nice woman to settle down with, who could have his babies and be the love of his life. That was how his dad had done it. That was how Logan wanted to do it. The fact that he’d yet to meet his fictional perfect lady was neither here nor there—she was out there somewhere.
And her name was not Trinity. He should not be attracted to her.
All at once, he remembered his manners and rose to his feet, palm outstretched toward the love seat near the window that overlooked the ballpark, his favorite spot in the whole stadium as long as there wasn’t a game in progress. Then it was the dugout until the bitter end.
Most general managers sat in an air-conditioned luxury box, but his players were slugging it out on the field, and in August, it wasn’t unusual for the temperature to hit 110. The senior McLaughlin had regularly hit the trenches alongside his employees. Logan could do the same.
Instead of taking the offered seat, Trinity slid a steamy once-over all the way down his body. “You’re wearing a suit. What was it you said about those?”
I’d rather go naked.
The unspoken quote hung in the air between them, dissolving into a dense awareness that answered one lingering question on his mind since that kiss—whether or not he misremembered how deeply she’d gotten under his skin with all her innuendo.
He’d recalled it perfectly.
“I’m being a grown-up today,” he croaked and cleared his throat.
“Oh, yeah, I once thought about being one of those for Halloween.” She shrugged with a smile that he felt in his gut. “By the way, I like you in a suit.”
“What can I do for you, Ms. Forrester?”
The sooner he got her out of his office, the sooner he could get back to work. Or take a cold shower. The last thing he should do was give her an advantage, or she’d railroad him into doing her bidding before he’d fully surfaced from being whacked upside the head by all the pheromones.
“You can call me Trinity.” She jerked her chin toward the desk, flinging the dark swath of hair into motion. She hadn’t colored it today, strictly to throw him off, no doubt. “Talk to me about your numbers.”
He glanced at the spreadsheet Myra had thrown at him to give himself a half second. What was she fishing for? “I’m happy with the results of the viral video and hopeful that when the show airs, the upward trend will continue. How about your numbers?”
“Fantastic. So good, in fact, I’m here with a proposal.”
The way she said it brought to mind closed doors, a secret rendezvous and a solid block of time to explore just how good that bar through her tongue would feel on his body. If that ever happened, she’d completely ruin him for all other women, no doubt.
His body tightened in anticipation. Let’s find out, it begged.
“I’m listening,” he said when what he should have said was there’s the door.
“My target customers loved the video of us together. My publicist thinks we should take advantage of it and start a public relationship. Pretend that we’re dating after meeting on the show.”
“That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. We’d kill each other before anyone believed we were a couple.”
His mind ignored his instant denial and latched on to the idea, turning it over. The timing of the video coincided with the increase in ticket sales too neatly to be a fluke. What would it hurt to capitalize on the momentum?
It could hurt a lot. His major objection had nothing to do with the brilliance of the idea and everything to do with his illogical reaction to her every time she got within breathing distance.
And then last night, she hadn’t even been in the room when he’d let himself envision a bedtime story about finishing that kiss with her legs wrapped around his waist. Yeah, she might be the star in his current shower fantasies. It wasn’t a felony. Except he’d never in a million years have guessed that today would bring her back into his orbit, especially not this way.
Her gaze glittered with calculation. “Actually, the worst idea you’d ever heard was the one where we got paired on that stupid game show. But we made that work. Together. It was a team effort, and we almost won. Just think what we can accomplish with a concerted effort to exploit the public’s thirst for celebrity couples. I’m offering you my complete attention to boost your ticket sales.”
Her negotiation skills hit all the right notes, buttering him up, stressing the goal. Worst of all? He had an urge to say yes, simply to find out what her complete attention looked like.
Was it distasteful to use this opportunity to sate his curiosity about Trinity? A better question was how long he could do it and keep his hands off her. Not long—either he’d make good on the urge to strangle her or he’d provoke her until she kissed him again.
This idea got worse and worse the longer he thought about it.
“How do you even know I’m single?” he countered. “Maybe I’ve got the perfect girlfriend already and I—”
“Please don’t insult me, McLaughlin.” She snorted. “Or yourself. You couldn’t have cut the sexual tension between us with a meat cleaver. If you do have a girlfriend and you can still kiss me like that, you’re not the man I assume you are.”
He scowled, and not just because of her excellent point.
“I get it now.” He nodded sagely. “This is a ploy to earn yourself some more camera time. Attend a few Mustangs games where the general manager’s hot girlfriend would most definitely be a subject of interest.”
Boldly, she contemplated him, not at all bothered by his half-assed accusations. “What if it is? Does that automatically make it a bad idea? My reasons for liking this plan have nothing to do with the reasons you should agree. Ticket sales are the only thing that matters.”
Wow. He shook his head. When you called a spade a spade with Trinity Forrester, she turned over a full house. “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. You’re suggesting we manufacture a relationship. Date each other, be seen at some events. And the public is going to approve of this by spending a lot of money?”
“We’re going to help them do that with ad campaigns heavily laced with click bait. But, yeah. Get your publicist involved. Talk to your marketing people. Let’s make it a party and get some eyes on our individual brands.”
Not only did everything she was saying make sense, she had a unique way of presenting it that appealed to him. That alone ruffled his nerves. “How exactly are we going to date and manage to be civil to each other?”
Like that was the biggest issue.
“Who said we were?” Her blue eyes glowed as she caught his gaze. “Part of what sizzles about us is the way we clash. It translates really well on camera. Didn’t you watch the clip?”
He might have watched the video a few times, and there wasn’t a good way to pretend she was wrong. Nor could he forget how arguing with her had exploded into the heat of that kiss. “So not only are we supposed to fake date, but we’re also supposed to have knock-down, drag-out fights in public, too?”
That was way over the line. Logan and his temper were old enemies, and bad decisions followed when he allowed his emotions off the leash. He’d left his hothead days behind him when he bought the Mustangs. A team owner had to play it cool, and thus far, he’d call his newfound calm a success.
Until Trinity.
She was the only person of his acquaintance who threatened his composure on a minute-by-minute basis.
She shrugged. “Let me be clear.