“I mean, could you imagine?” Sarah went on. “Still, you know someone out there has totally done that. And I really hope that kid is lucky because otherwise that would suck hardcore.”
When she took a second to suck in a breath, Zach jumped in. “Hey, Sugar, you still want that pic?”
The woman turned to him as if she’d totally forgotten he was even there before she gave him a smile big enough to be seen from space. “Yaaaaaasssss!”
He took a step closer, and then Sugar got really close—hip to hip, thigh to thigh, where-are-you-going-with-that-hand close. The first few times in his career that had happened, he’d reveled in it—nothing like a little female appreciation to enhance a horny twenty-two-year-old’s ego. After a while, though, he began to distinguish the overenthusiastic-but-harmless fans like Sarah from the how-can-I-work-this-into-a-new-car puck bunnies.
“Oh my God, you smell so good. Lady Luck, will you be in the pic, too?”
Fallon shook her head no, but that always-quick mouth of hers didn’t seem to be working so well at the moment. She wasn’t the first one to fall victim to the what-in-the-fuck-have-I-gotten-myself-into freak-out—that’s why most teams gave the players media training.
“How about if it’s just us,” Zach said, giving Fallon a wink when she sent him an appreciative look. “She’s not really used to all the attention.”
“Oh, I totally understand,” Sarah said at her signature fast clip. “I had this one Instagram post go viral this one time, and oh my God, the notifications were intense.”
Her friend took the pic, and then switched places with Sarah, and they did the chat and pose. And that was how it went for the next three hours as he chatted with one fan after the other. At some point, someone brought out a table and put it in front of a large sign with the clinic’s name on it. Cameron, the clinic administrator, ended up staying at the table with him and collecting the donations people dropped off before asking Zach to autograph something—he drew the line at signing someone’s butt—and then taking a picture with him.
As the line moved and flowed, he kept looking around for Fallon, only catching a glimpse of her for a second every once in a while. It was like she was avoiding him. Yeah, that’s not how negotiating went, and he wasn’t about to give up now.
“Hey, Cameron. I need to visit the head. Can I have a second?”
“Sure.” He nodded. “I’ll keep the crowd at bay.”
“Thanks, man.”
He ducked into the clinic and went in search of the woman who seemed to be dead set on avoiding him and almost slammed right into her. She was standing right beside a window that just happened to look out onto the table where he’d been sitting. He raised an eyebrow in question. She rolled her eyes at him, but her cheeks turned pink.
“Were you spying on me?” he asked.
She dropped her gaze. “No.”
Someone’s pants were on fire. “You totally were watching me.”
“You wish.”
He turned to the woman with two small kids standing next to Fallon. “She was checking me out, wasn’t she?”
The woman just giggled, but the little girl she was with nodded yes. He turned back to Fallon, not bothering to keep the triumph off his face.
“Out of the mouths of babes.”
“Antonia didn’t say a single word.” If a technicality was the best she could come up with, then Fallon was definitely flustered.
He kinda liked it. So it wasn’t just speed-talking fans that could get her out of her comfort zone. He’d done it. Why that felt like something worth celebrating, he wasn’t sure, but it was, and he wanted to do the toasting with her.
“About how much longer do we have before the fundraiser is over?” he asked.
“I told everyone you’d be gone an hour ago,” she said, crossing her arms and lifting her chin. Now that was the Fallon he knew. “Never expected you to last this long.”
“Ouch.” He smacked his palm over his heart. “Just for that, you’re picking up the tab during dinner.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not going out on a date with you.”
“Good, because it’s not a date. It’s a negotiation, remember?” Business. That was all it was between them. She’d be his Lady Luck. He’d be her fundraising charm. Everyone would walk away happy at the end of the season. That was all it was, and he’d only flinched at her answer because he’d been surprised. “The line is winding down out there so let me get back out there and we’ll head out in a bit.”
She looked at him like she wanted to say no. His lungs were burning from holding his breath, but he did his best don’t-give-a-fuck stance and waited her out. Just as she started to open her mouth, the little girl who’d ratted her out for spying tugged on Fallon’s pant leg. She squatted down to get on the same level as the girl, who leaned in close and whispered in Fallon’s ear. Fallon’s gaze flicked b
ack up to him before she closed her eyes and let out a sigh and standing up again.