Page 6 of Faking the Shot

A flash of a camera dropped her hand, and most of her smile. “I should go. But it was nice to meet you, Zac.”

“You too.”

He felt a moment’s loss as she moved away, and couldn’t help but keep watching her as she moved to a table near the front of the room, smiling at everyone, before slipping into a seat next to her boyfriend.

Zac’s chest physically pained as the man leaned over and spoke into her ear, intimately it seemed. He exhaled slowly and turned away. No good would come of looking at that. Or thinking about her. This was probably some of that stuff the guys in the Bible study group were going on about, taking thoughts captive, not stirring up emotions, being wise with relationships and stuff. Stuff that he, as a baby Christian, as he’d heard one of them describe him, needed to learn.

“Zac Parotti!”

He turned and greeted the mayor whom he’d met back in June when the city had been buzzing with winning spirit. “Hello, sir.”

“Good to see my favorite player out on a night like this.”

He small-talked with the mayor, who thanked him—once again—for what he’d contributed to the city. “It’s always a team effort, sir.”

“Well, let me know if there’s ever anything I can do.”

He nodded then found his spot at the team’s table, between Drew and Diana, and glanced across the room to realize when he looked at the stage that Ainsley was directly in his line of sight. Awesome. So much for not thinking about her.Hey God, I know I’m new at this, but I could do with some help here.

“So, are you having fun?” Diana asked, as her husband talked to the guy beside him.

“Yeah.”

Drew nudged him. “I noticed you and Ainsley before.”

Zac shrugged. “She thanked me again. That’s all.”

“Yeah, Logan didn’t think that was all. He’s gone over to ask her out.”

“What?” Heat flared. But then he realized what his indignation looked like. He didn’t have the right to tell a man to stay away. He pasted on indifference. “Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s jealous of you.”

“Why? She’s got a boyfriend.”

Diana leaned forward. “She does?”

“The guy she’s with.”

“He’s her new co-star,” Diana said.

He was?

“Yeah, and no actress has ever gone out with a co-star, have they?” Drew rolled his eyes.

“Hmm.” Diana frowned. “I’ve read that she has gone out with a few actors before, so maybe you’re right.”

His heart squeezed.

“Queen of Romance still looking for the one,” Drew joked. “Which, judging from that look, isn’t Logan.”

Zac’s gaze lasered back to Ainsley again, the way she shrank away from Logan, like she could smell the alcohol on his breath. Yep, the man had obviously preloaded before coming tonight.

“Like he ever had a shot with her.” Diana scoffed. “She’s in a league way beyond him.”

Understatement of the year.

“Look.” Drew chuckled.

---