Page 20 of The Red-Hot Stakes

The emphasis wasn’t lost on me, and I flipped him off.

He chuckled as the video finished. I made the officer a copy, and we gave him our info, finally able to call it a night. My eyelids felt like they were made of cement as I sank into the cold leather seat of Liam’s Porsche. I dozed on the way home, waking up when the lights turned on and he got out.

He opened my door, teasing, “I can carry you. Be the handsome prince in this fairytale.”

“There’s something wrong with you. Fighting in a parking lot isn’t in any fairytale I’ve ever heard of.” I shook my head, groaning as I got out of the car.

“That was the rescuing the damsel in distress part.”

I glared. It stung a little that it took Liam insulting me to get me to that point, but at least I hadn’t made him actually rescue me. That counted for something. “This damsel rescued herself, thank you.”

He punched the elevator button, his gaze weighted in a way that made my stomach flutter. “Yeah, she did. And you’d look great in a tiara.”

* * * *

Sunday night football was the bane of my existence. Avery and Derek always had a bunch of rowdy, obnoxious guys over, and usually I worked. Today I’d gotten out early because of my arm, and had been planning to catch up on some homework.

But I’d forgotten about football.

Team sports had never been my thing. Cross country, now that was a sport. You competing against yourself and your time, pushing to get better each week. Sure, you wanted to be the fastest, but it was also about personal growth. How far you could push yourself, how hard.

I walked into the raucous apartment, the combination of noise and the heavenly smell of food nearly bowling me over. Avery had been cooking again. She glanced up from the chair where she snuggled with Derek, both of them waving in greeting. I waved back, feeling unsettled when the room went completely quiet. Must be an intense game.

The kitchen island was covered in food, and I headed right for it. I’d just put a handful of chips on my plate when everyone yelled in triumph. I jumped a mile, chips flying everywhere.

Liam stood at the edge of the hallway, laughing. He must have just come back from a bathroom break. Still chuckling, he wandered over to snatch a few chips from the bag, watching me scramble to pick up the ones I’d spilled. “Having fun?”

“Yes, this is how I always eat chips. It’s how you determine they’re fresh—the longer the air time, the fresher they are.” I rolled my eyes.

A huge smile spread over his face.

“What?” I finished picking up the last chip and stood to try again.

“Nothing.” He raised his shoulder. “Just haven’t heard that snark in a while.”

“Well, you always bring out the best in me.” I absently piled more food on my plate before I realized he was still staring. Why is he being so weird? “I’ve got some studying to do, so see ya.”

“Hey.” He touched my shoulder lightly as I tried to breeze past. “I know we’re loud. Um, my place is open if you want to go somewhere quiet.” He smirked at my raised eyebrows, glancing pointedly at the island. “Just trying to save the rest of the chips.”

“Really? That would actually be super perfect.” I winced at my ridiculous words.

“Well, my team’s losing anyway, so I’ll hold your plate. You grab your stuff, and I’ll walk you down.”

My lips tipped up in my first real smile in forever. “Thank you.”

When I didn’t move right away, he drummed his fingers on the counter. “Just because we’re losing, doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch.”

Oh, right. I quickly gathered my things, throwing my stuff in a bag. We trotted down one floor to his apartment. It was huge, three bedrooms and a big living room with a fireplace.

“Why don’t you have the parties down here? Holy cow.” I poked around, peering into each of the rooms.

“Looking for something?”

“Yeah, your harem.” I knew he was wealthy but, man, this was huge. “There has to be a reason you have a place this big all to yourself, right?”

He huffed out an annoyed sigh. “Holler if you need anything.”

I gave him a thumbs up and settled in at the sprawling island to get to work.

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