Page 38 of Snap Shot

“I suppose.”

“Your turn!” I say, louder than intended, swinging my legs out from beneath me. The wine makes its home in my veins. “Lemme grab my notes.”

Landon sighs and nods, thumbing through the scruff on his chin. “Sure.”

“Tell me about Annalise Pall.”

His chest expands with a deep inhale.

“She worked as the team's PR lead for a while, back when we first signed Boehner and Donovan. The owners wanted to boost ticket sales, wanted us on social media. We were friendly, I guess. I'd see her around the lockers or before press conferences. But apparently, she wasn't as good as they hoped and fired her after two seasons. They hired a new guy who is doing better, and the season was going pretty well. We never do this in the regular season, but in January, the guys and I went out to celebrate beating the Sky here at home. Wade left early with someone, Fletch got wasted and called a cab and I was about to leave, too, but Annalise sat next to me at the bar.”

Landon's fingers dawdle as he shifts his shoulders up and down before muffling words behind his hands. “God, this is so embarrassing.”

“You're fine.” It's the best I can do as consolation. “Keep going.”

“We talked about the team and how she misses her job. I felt bad and bought her a drink. I don't know exactly when things changed, but…”

“But?”

Landon massages his forehead. “It got flirtatious.”

I snort.

He reddens and reclines, crossing his arms like an insolent child. “Never mind.”

“Sorry—I'm sorry.” I clear my throat. “That’s a funny way to say you slept together.”

“Sure. Laugh away, Indi.”

“I didn't laugh! Continue, please.”

He grumbles, then stares at his hands. “We had too many. It was a mistake. I didn't mean for it to happen.”

“Okay.” My eyes wander to the panel of glass windows edging the living space before refocusing on my notes.

Landon catches me. “That was her idea, by the way.”

I pull my lips into my mouth. “Uh-huh.”

“What? It was!” He facepalms. “And I never said any of that stuff to her.”

“Elaborate on 'stuff.'“ My hand cramps.

“I never said I loved her. Hell, I didn'tknowher. That was the only time we talked for more than a few minutes and the absolute only time we had sex. I was drunk, but I never told her I'd get her job back.”

“Are there any texts or voicemails? Any sort of verbal exchange where you discussed putting in a good word or…?”

“No. Nothing. Like I said, it was an impulsive thing. One night only.” Tongue rounding out his cheek from the inside, he locks into my line of sight again. “It's not my style.”

I cock a curious eyebrow, then lower it. “And what is?”

“I'm a one-woman kind of guy.”

“What's the story behind these then?” Pictures of Landon with Callis Key, Rayna Metzer, and Sierra Martin splay across the coffee table.

“Callis was a failed date. Cooke set us up. I couldn't get her to pay attention to anything I said. She kept talking about herself between schmoozing with other industry people there.” He makes a face, clearly unimpressed. “And Rayna was trying to hook up with Wade. Sierra and I dated. We were together all of university. Broke up when I got drafted. Her business only got popular after. That picture is from about” —he squints to study it— “three years ago.”

“Why'd you break up?” Wooooow. Auntyhood has come for you.

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