Mathis and I burst into laughter as I drag Shaw away to find Gail. She and her husband hand Shaw and I a fresh glass of champagne when we get to them.
“Happy New Year, welcome home, and congratulations to both of you.” Gail raises her glass.
“You arranged this, didn’t you? It has your stamp all over it.” I wave around the room.
“I may have made some special requests once Maria confirmed you’d be here today.”
“It’s wonderful. Thank you.”
There’s a loud roar behind me as the team takes the field, and we all move to the seats.
The game is a lot closer than any of us are comfortable with, and Nicky’s star receiver gets hurt in the second quarter. By the time halftime comes, Nicky has thrown three interceptions and leaves the field without a word to any of the waiting reporters.
The mood in the box changes as we all worry about what this will do to Nick’s mental state in the second half. He’s had bad games all his life but never three interceptions in one quarter. He’s going to be pissed.
I make my way to the dessert table and try to eat a strawberry, but my nerves are shot. Shaw paces on the other side of the room on his phone, barking at someone. After a few seconds, he raises his head and gives me a smug grin then finishes his call, coming to me.
“There’s a little chocolate on your lip.” He leans down and licks along the corner of my mouth.
Even with all the anxiety, a shiver of desire runs through me. “Shaw—”
He cuts me off by placing another strawberry at my lips. “Take a bite.”
I do as he says and watch his eyes start to glow the honeyed hazel that makes my insides melt.
“We’re taking some of these home,” he says so low only I can hear.
I nod, in a trance with his seductive tone, the worry completely gone. “How do you do that? Thirty seconds ago, you were irritated beyond belief, and now, you’re standing here turning me on.”
“I didn’t like the worry and tension on your face, so I decided to relax you.”
“You’re being cocky.”
“You’re being beautiful. Now, let’s go. We’re going to the field. I got us three passes. I tried to get in the locker room, but it was impossible.”
“That’s why you were on the phone?”
“Yes, I need to get down there and talk Nick out of his head. I think it’ll help to see Mathis, too. You’re an added bonus.”
I smile, glad I decided to wear the newest jersey Nicky gave me for Christmas. But this one was modified. He had the letter ‘C’ stitched in front of the ‘Bennett’ at Shaw’s demand. “Let’s go.?
??
Shaw motions to Mathis, who is already on his feet waiting. On our way out the door, he tells his parents where we’ll be, and drags me behind him in a rush to get through the tunnel before Nicky gets back on the field. A staffer meets us at the restricted access entrance to hand us our passes and escort us to the field.
The atmosphere is electric when we get to the sidelines. The New Year’s celebration is in full swing, even with the poor performance. We watch the team come back through their tunnel, and Shaw guides us to a spot out of the way.
“Mathis, don’t take your eyes off her.” He points to me and gives his brother a strong glare. “I’ll be right back.”
“That was entirely unnecessary.” I think I mutter the words to myself until Mathis starts to chuckle.
“Get used to it. He’s very protective of you. Look at all these men around us. I’d be the same way.”
“That’s because you’re all barbarians! I’ve been on the field many times before. I can handle myself.”
He purses his lips and does a terrible job of trying to hide his amusement.
“What? What’s so funny?”