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I have to chuckle at his surliness. “Didn’t you invite him?”
Ronan shrugs, doing a decent Declan impersonation with his spoiled scowl. “It’s customary. Our team extends the invitation to every team we host. They all do the same for us; we can sit in their boxes when we go to away games.”
Usually, the concept of traveling with the team gives me butterflies. I love the thought of seeing different parts of the country, and imagining my men taking on opponents in hostile territory turns me on.
But right now? Nope. My stomach turns. Being more than ten minutes from the pack house practically gives me hives.
Ronan misreads my face and moves to hail the elevator. “We’ll go home now.”
I grab the sleeve of his black dress shirt. “I’m fine. I was just—” I come up with a false source of anxiety. “Can you smell me?”
His lips twitch. “I can always smell you, omega. But the neutralizers are working. Even with your pre-heat and my intensified sense of smell where you’re concerned, the scent is very faint. I hate it.”
Some of my tension escapes on a hard laugh. “All right then. Let’s do this.”
Ronan introduces the other team owner and leads me to my usual leather recliner in front of the box’s window.
When a waitress appears at my elbow, I startle and instantly feel ridiculous. The guys warned me that the box would have catering and waitstaff for this game, because of our guests.
“Sorry,” I squeak.
The girl smiles, tilting her head at me. “Can I get you anything?”
I almost order a stiff drink, but Archer would kill me. A drunk omega going into heat? Yikes on spikes.
“Just water, please.”
She nods and fetches me a water bottle. Ronan returns, frowning severely. He pulls me up so he can take my seat and arrange me on his lap. His lips find my ear.
“Are you uncomfortable? We can go home, but we might miss the kickoff if we leave now.”
I want to turn tail, but I talk myself down again. Ronan is warm and solid underneath me; and I don’t want to let Theo and Declan down by missing a single second of their big rivalry game.
We watch the kickoff. Overhead, the TV shows close-ups of Theo and Declan’s faces as they arrange their offense and lead the Ospreys down the field to score on the opening drive. The other team scrambles to answer, going three-and-out before Declan jogs back onto the turf.
Mm. He looks so ridiculously good.
My crazy hormones hate that everyone else can see him looking this gorgeous. But what is the guy supposed to do? Wear a bag over his head at all times?
It wouldn’t help because Theo is just as sexy. He has his hair up, showing off the hewn plains of his face. Pride swells in my chest at how intimidating he looks.
My big guy.
He’s in the zone today. Every time the camera zooms in on him during a replay, I catch the determination in his eyes, the violent gnash of his teeth. By the second quarter, he’s made a ton of stops and has twelve completions. The Ospreys lead 17-10 going into halftime.
Ronan convinces me to eat a little, pointing out that the box once again has all of my favorite things. My stomach turns after half a piece of pizza, so I set it aside. The waitress notices and brings me a fresh water. God bless her.
I need it. I’m starting to sweat.
No, I tell my body. You’re fine. You can wait two more hours.
Ronan frowns at my uneaten food. He casts me a mild scolding look and speaks low, not wanting the others to overhear. “Baby girl, you know you need to keep your strength up. How about dessert? We have those cupcakes you like.”
I sigh and agree, knowing he’ll be anxious if I don’t eat something else. Besides, the cupcakes look adorable.
The second all that sugar hits my stomach, I know I’ve made a mistake. My gut clenches, churning. I jump up automatically. “I’ll… be right back.”
Ronan’s silvery eyes narrow at me, wary. “I’ll come with you.”
