Page 21

Without thinking, I’m on the move, and in a few short steps, I am right in front of the two of them.

“Hey,” I say to both of them, quickly trying to come up with a reason for my interruption. “Scarlett, can I steal you for a minute?”

Ryan’s face lights up. “No problem, man.” He pats me on the back. “I should check in on my best friend, Sebastian, anyway.” With that, he saunters off in the opposite direction.

“Best friend?!” I exclaim. “What the fuck?” That man is definitely not Sebastian Goodick’s best friend. He’s only known him for a few months at most.

I start to pace, but Scarlett places her warm hand on my arm and keeps me in place.

It’s the first time we’ve touched intentionally, and I really hate that there’s fabric separating us. I can still feel the heat coming off her, and somehow she’s calming me down in a way I didn’t know possible.

Usually, I don’t get upset about things, especially as trivial as this, but Ryan Moore seems to know how to push all my buttons tonight. I’ll have to ensure I put itching powder on his fitness equipment or something this weekend to secretly piss him off.

I smile to myself at the notion.

“Hey,” Scarlett says, voice soft and sweet, which matches her scent that I can barely catch. “Don’t listen to him. Everyone knows how important you are to Sebastian.”

Am I important to you, too?

“Yeah.” I gulp. I am not stupid enough to say those words out loud. I’m sure Scarlett barely notices me on a good day.

She removes her hand from me and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. However, she doesn’t step away from me, staying mere inches from me.

People are all around us, laughing, eating, drinking, but at the same time, this moment is still, just for us.

We stand together in silence for a few minutes. There’s a giant ice sculpture to our left, and I squint to get a better look.

“Is that a dog?” I place my hands above my eyes to get a better look, although not sure why, because it doesn’t help.

“Uh, yes.”

“And is he peeing?” I ask. The clear Labrador Retriever has a hind leg up in the air with some kind of yellow trail shooting out. I’m unsure how to describe what I’m witnessing.

“Um, yes.”

“Okay.” I whistle. I’m not going to question it if she’s okay with it.

She clears her throat. “Uh, there was a misunderstanding.”

I turn my head to face her. There’s a cute blush on her face.

“Would you care to elaborate?” I ask.

“Not particularly. I was hoping people would be too drunk to notice,” she admits.

I turn my head to take in the crowd again. A teammate walks in front of us, tripping over his own feet, despite having Feet as a nickname. Not sure how you can trip on thin air, but the guy manages to do it.

“Some people will definitely be too drunk to notice.” Probably most people, actually.

“I knew you’d notice,” she says with a nervous laugh, her cheeks still ripe with color. “You see too much.”

I can’t help but take that as the biggest compliment of the night, especially since all I can see is her.

Chapter Twelve

Scarlett

My eyes scan the ballroom; the smell of stale booze and body odor still lingers in the air from eight hours prior.