Page 12 of The Player I Can’t Pick

“Who is she?” Bree asks softly.

“No one.” The words come out before I can stop them, and I regret them instantly. Nicole is definitely not no one.

Penn’s eyebrows lift. “No one?”

I glare at him. “Drop it.”

Aria nudges my shoulder. “You should probably call her and give her a heads-up.”

I turn my glare on her. She puts her hands up. “What? I’m just saying. If she means anything to you, you might want to check on her.”

My family starts throwing questions at me, wanting to know who Nicole is and where we met. I don’t tell them anything. The need to protect her is too strong, especially after seeing the way that article talked about her. Aria finally convinces me to call. Not that I need much convincing.

I walk out of the waiting room and find a quiet spot in the hallway before dialing Nicole’s number.

“Hello?” she answers softly.

“Nicole. It’s me, Guy.”

She inhales. “How did you get my number?”

I chuckle. “You should know better than to hand your phone to just anyone. When I put my number in, I called myself so I’d have yours.”

“Oh.” Her voice softens. “You know you could have just asked for it.”

“I wasn’t taking any chances.”

She clears her throat. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane right now?”

“Well, that’s sort of why I’m calling.” I lean against the wall. “I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but someone took pictures of us leaving the bar together.”

There’s a pause. “What?”

I close my eyes. “Look, I wanted to make sure you’re okay. These people are ruthless, and they’ll say anything for clicks. I need you to ignore it.”

I can hear her moving around on the other end of the phone. A few seconds later, she gasps softly.

Fuck. I want to find whoever wrote the article and punch them in the face. “Nicole.”

She doesn’t answer, and I know she’s reading it. “Nicole,” I say again.

She sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly. “Well, I guess it’s good they don’t know who I am. All the pictures are from behind. You can’t see my face.”

“Nicole.”

“It’s fine. Thanks for calling and letting me know. I⁠—”

“Nicole.”

Her voice softens. “What?”

“Those people are idiots, and you are exactly my type.”

I can picture her rolling her eyes. “Guy, I’ve seen the women you date. I’m nothing like them.”

My voice thickens. “I know you’re different, but you’re exactly what I want.”

I know I sound crazy. This is all happening too fast, but the thought that one random post might scare her away makes something twist inside me.