“This is Kate,” Gerri said, taking the woman by the waist. “She will be your personal paddle woman for the day if that suits you.”
Devlin hadn’t realized that the bartender had brought him their drinks and that he was holding the glass near his lips, breathing in its lime scent. His mouth had run dry. He realized he was staring like a deer in the headlights, then shook his head and placed the drink on the table.
“Sorry, I’m being awfully rude,” he said, holding out his hand. “My name is Devlin. It’s wonderful to meet you, Kate.”
She held out her hand to smile with plump, pink lips. When their skin collided, the touch crackled in his eyes. It then combined with her fragrant apple and cinnamon scent, and with that, a truth whispered into the most private chambers of his heart. Kate was his fated mate.
He tried not to stare at her too long so as to not freak her out and may have let go of the handshake too soon. Her hands went back to the tray, and she looked at Gerri with a slightly apprehensive expression.
“I hope I don’t mess this up,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’ve never had the pleasure of being anyone’s paddle girl before.”
Devlin instantly thought of a way to sneak in an innuendo, but he wondered if it was too soon to add such flirtatious remarks.
Gerri scoffed, then placed both hands on Kate and Devlin. “You two get to know each other while I make sure everything is set up properly,” Gerri said.
She flashed Devlin another wink before walking away, leaving Kate and him alone at the bar. He could feel himself starting to sweat under his tracksuit. He had never felt that way about a woman, but he also hadn’t ever met his mate.
He found himself stumbling on what words to say, so concerned about the impression he was going to make on her. Devlin tried to remain cool and picked up his drink. “So how do you know Gerri?” he finally asked.
“I met her through my stepmother, and, well, she’s agreed to let me work off my payment for her matchmaking services with this,” she said, holding up the tray. “I wouldn’t be able to pay for it myself any other way.”
Devlin then realized that Gerri hadn’t been completely direct with Kate and what she was doing at the tournament. Because she was human, she didn’t have the fated mate sense, so she would need to be wooed.
He wondered how on earth he was supposed to seduce and charm a woman so breathtaking that she made his hands shake.
Her eyes penetrated him when she looked at him, smiling politely, and he had to look away. It was like staring too long into the sun.
“Oh, I understand that,” he said, downing the gin. “Have you done matchmaking before?”
Kate shook her head. “No, I’m kinda at my wits’ end. Though I doubt that Gerri can really find the perfect man … err, no offense.”
Devlin held up a hand, still feeling unable to completely look at her. “None taken, I’m a man myself, so I know what makes us so unappealing.”
He hadn’t meant to make her laugh, but she did. It sounded like the clouds parting heaven.
“That’s cute,” she remarked.
Devlin’s mind, heart, and a bit of his cock were in turmoil when she smiled at him, but he was saved by the announcement over the PA system that said the tournament was beginning. He held a hand in front of him, letting her lead the way, and adored the scenery of her firm butt along the journey.
Devlin began playing the tournament with the knowledge in mind to make himself look somewhat talented but not blow anyone out of the water the way he knew he could. That had been easy in the past, but it wasn’t when the goddess who was his paddle woman was standing there, watching him intently and hovering like an angel in his peripheral vision.
In between matches, they would chat, and they got to know each other in a way that he tried to be casual about. She didn’t have any idea that he was the person Gerri had set her up with, which made the pressure of the meeting a bit more diminished.
He slipped in compliments about her beauty every now and then in a way that was genuine and organic, not leery or creepy. But she was so incredibly distracting to him as he played. She was like a bright reflection in the rearview mirror when you drive on a sunny day, relentless and unforgiving.
She was so alluring that Devlin had forgotten to lose altogether.
He was given a trophy when he won and socialized with the runners-up. Kate was still standing at his side, smiling from ear to ear and looking like a fabulous snack that Devlin’s panther wanted to devour all night long.
He managed to keep his beast at bay despite the fact that she had touched him a few times in congratulations.
“Well, that was quite something,” she said, having removed the tray and standing there in heels that made her legs look even more delicious. “I’ve never seen someone hit a ball that hard in my life.”
They were back in the refreshment room again, with patrons filling the bar. She sat on a stool while he stood next to her, leaning on the heel of his hand like a smitten young teenager.
“What can I say? If I didn’t have my business, it would be the table tennis life for me,” Devlin said, widening his eyes sarcastically.
By that time, Kate was drinking gin and tonic and covered her mouth to giggle. Her eyes twinkled in an adorable way that he noticed throughout the day when she laughed, a feature that Devlin wished he could paint like Da Vinci had the Sistine Chapel.