Page 51 of King

“People are staring at us,” I whisper.

King chuckles and kisses the tip of my nose. “They’re so used to me blowing off women that this is probably a bit of a shock to them.”

“King… Willa,” Rafferty calls, and we turn that way. “Come sit with us.”

We gather around a high-top that doesn’t have stools and I meet Atlas for the first time.

“You guys played a great game,” I say as King rubs my lower back.

“Your man played a phenomenal game,” North says pointedly. “Short-handed goal.”

Rafferty claps King on the shoulder. “I’ll never have a shot at making first line with you playing so good.”

King snorts and shakes his head. “You have to work on getting from third to second before you can even think about taking my spot.”

Laughing, Rafferty opens his mouth to retort, but his gaze catches something behind King. His eyes widen and he ducks his head. “Shit.”

“What?” King asks, looking behind him.

“Don’t look,” Rafferty hisses and ducks lower. “It’s Tansy Carmichael.”

“Brienne’s cousin?” North asks, stretching up high and craning his neck.

“You know Brienne’s cousin?” Atlas asks, whipping back to Rafferty whose head has practically disappeared into his shoulders.

“Who’s Tansy Carmichael?” I ask King.

He leans over, puts his mouth near my ear. “Brienne’s cousin who is now the director of marketing for the Titans. Rafferty had a one-night stand with her a few weeks ago and let’s just say she’s actively pursuing a relationship with him and he doesn’t want any part of it.”

“Why not?” I ask, looking in the general direction North is. I see a stunning blond walking toward the VIP area where we’re sitting.

“Because—”

“Well, fuck,” Rafferty mutters, standing up straighter, his gaze pinned on the woman. “She saw me.”

Tansy stops short of approaching our table though because of the rope cordoning off the area. She waves to Rafferty. “I’ll be right back,” he says glumly.

We all watch as Rafferty goes to the woman. She’s animated, all smiles and touches to his forearm. She thumbs toward the door but Rafferty shakes his head. We all watch as they speak for a few moments and then she turns away with a jaunty wave and knowing smile.

When Rafferty returns to the table, King says, “Please tell me you told her you weren’t interested.”

“Interested in what?” North asks.

“Did she ask you out?” Atlas queries.

Rafferty takes a long pull on his beer, eyes going back and forth between his friends. “Short story is we went out, we hooked up…” He looks at me and offers a sheepish smile. “And now she wants to go out again, but I’m not interested.”

“And he won’t just tell her he’s not interested,” King adds with a chastising look.

“I’m trying,” he bemoans. “But the lady won’t listen. She’s convinced I don’t know what’s good for me and point-blank just said so before she jetted off to have drinks with friends. That’s crazy, right?”

Sounds a little crazy to me but I keep that opinion to myself.

“I told her I’d call her later just so she’d leave,” he says.

“Dude…” King punches him on the arm lightly. “The fact you told her you would call her left the door open and she’s going to think you’re interested.”

“Yeah, man… I know. But I don’t want to hurt her feelings either. Besides, I have no intention of calling her. That will give her a hint, right?”

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