Page 28 of Play On

“So what do you all do for a living?” Aimee asks.

“We all play for the same team,” Kieran says casually.

“Team?” Aimee’s brows draw into a V.

“They play for Stonebridge United, Aimee,” I explain.

Her brows go from a V to shooting upwards in surprise. “Oh wow!”

“What do you do for a living?” Kieran asks her.

“I’m an editorial assistant at a publishing house,” Aimee explains, picking up her drink and taking a sip.

“What does that mean?”

“I work with romance authors,” Aimee explains. “I work with them from the proposal stage all the way through to a completed, published book.”

Kieran cringes. “Romancebooks? Are you waiting for a better job to come open?”

And there goes any chance he might have ever had with Aimee.

“No, I love my job. Why are you cringing, by the way? Are you biased against romance novels?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at him.

I smile. Aimee is going to teach him a lesson about romance books.

“No, not necessarily against novels, but romance books are cheesy.”

“Have you ever read one?” she asks.

He snorts. “No.”

“Then you have no idea of what they are. A good story—no matter what the genre—can provide different things to a reader. It can be an escape. It can make you think. Or feel. And I’m proud to be part of bringing books like these into people’s lives.”

Noah dips his head towards mine. I instantly inhale the sensual scent of citrus lingering on his skin, sending goosebumps over my skin. “Aimee just hit the back of the net with that comment,” he murmurs against my ear.

My pulse quickens with this gesture, of Noah wanting to share a personal thought with me.

I lean in closer to him so only he can hear me, relishing the intimacy of our conversation. “I knew that wasn’t going to fly with Aimee,” I say. “If he wanted a chance with her, it’s gone.”

“As it should be, that was a rude thing to say,” Noah murmurs. “Between you and me? All he’s talked about is football from the time we met him for dinner. I’m a footballer, and I’m bored. I can’t imagine what you and Aimee will think by the end of the night.”

“I think we need to give him a code name. How about The Dead Bore?”

Noah chuckles. Goosebumps prickle my skin the second I hear that sound pass his lips.

“Perfect.”

Yes, perfect,I think, gazing at him.Just perfect.

Drinks are brought to the table, and if Noah has any hesitation hanging out in my presence, he certainly isn’t showing it. Thankfully talk shifts away from books, but I notice Kierandoesn’t fit into the conversation in the way Noah and Camden do.

And just as Noah warned me, all he talks about is football. Being a footballer. Playing football. What other football teams are doing. That’s his only contribution to the conversation this evening. He’s a bit arrogant about it, too. Like Aimee should be impressed with his stories, because he keeps talking to her and seems to be floored that she isn’t falling all over him.

I wonder if he thought just dropping that he was a footballer was enough to get Aimee’s attention.

A one-word answer pops into my head.

WRONG.

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