Page 34 of Home Game

Emmett glanced over at me.

Button, pushed.

“I had one too many coffees earlier today,” he said. “And I have a question foryou, too. Why were you doing that? Acting all nicey-nicey to Tad from Racks?”

“I wasn’t acting like anything,” I said. “That’s just who I am.”

Emmett turned his head to one side, clicking his tongue. “Not what you’ve shown me.”

A little fire started to blaze inside me.

There it was. The Emmett treatment I’d come to expect. I was starting to think I was addicted to getting him riled up—I liked the spark that appeared in his eyes, and the way he looked at me like I was a challenge.

And I really liked having his attention on me.

“I’m not just one type of person, Emmett,” I said. “You think I’m only capable of being one thing, becauseyouonly think about one thing.”

“Quit saying all I care about is money,” Emmett bit back at me, hard and fast. “It just isn’t true.”

I paused, slightly taken aback. My heart sank, suddenly feeling compassion for Emmett that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Emmett didn’t just seem like he was sparring with me, with that comment.

He actually seemed a little hurt. Bruised, maybe. And that had never been my intention.

“Oh my God, it is him,” I heard a voice from behind me.

I turned to see a couple looking over at me, with big, disbelieving smiles on their faces.

“Storm Rosling?” the woman said to me, her eyes wide. “It’s really you! I’ve loved you since you first joined Texas.”

“Wow. Could we maybe ask for a picture with you? I’m so sorry,” the guy next to her asked.

“You absolutely can,” I said, swapping back into celebrity-mode in an instant.

It had been very hard to get used to at first, but by now I had come to expect this type of thing happening. The young couple had no idea that I’d just been in an emotional conversation with Emmett—in fact, when I got recognized, people tended to ignore anyone that I was with entirely.

I took a few photos with them and signed a paper Jade Brewery coaster for each of them. They headed back into the brewery after, and I turned to see Emmett giving me a polite smile.

“I’m so sorry,” I told him.

“Don’t be,” he said. “I’ve worked with plenty of famous people.”

“Emmett, I’m also sorry about what I said. I know money isn’t theonlything you care about. I guess I was just trying to push your buttons. Do some shitstarting. You know? For fun.”

He had a sad look on his face again, and it was making me panic a little inside.

I didn’t want to make anyone sad. And something about it made me want to reach out and give Emmett a hug.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been so…consumedby this Racks deal. I swore I was about to have a minor heart attack at the meeting earlier, even before you came by and said hello. I barely slept last night.”

I bit my lower lip. “Too busy thinking about my nude pics?”

Shit. Fuck. No. Not the time to make a joke, Rosling.

Emmett’s expression changed in a flash. He’d just been vulnerable with me, probably for the first time ever, and I’d gone and made a joke.

Maybe not the best road to go down.

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