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“You’re throwing me off my game.”

“Maybe you need to be thrown off your game.” He shrugged. “Maybe you need someone to help you shake things up.”

“What I need is to focus on my work.”

“And you’re saying I’m getting in the way of that?” Jacob playfully winked.

“Sabotage. Absolute sabotage…,” I murmured as I stepped around him. I heard Jacob let out a laugh, somewhere behind me, as we headed to the main dining room.

“You really do look good, you know,” Jacob said, as we were steps away from the doorway.

“Thanks. You look good, too,” I finally admitted, before I cleared my throat. “Seriously, though. Once we’re at the dinner table, I’m going to need you to keep things professional?—”

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Suddenly, Keith’s voice was cutting through our conversation. I took a deep breath before I looked over at him, dreading this moment ever since I’d seen his name as one of the athletes listed on the call sheet.

Keith Rogers. Basketball superstar.

Known for breaking hearts just as easily as he masterfully handled himself on the court.

He was the hardest lesson I’d ever had to learn about not mixing business with pleasure. We’d met when I was doing some interim PR for his team, and he’d spotted me in the first row during playoff season. I’d tried to tell him that I didn’t date my clients, but he wore me down using every trick in the book, flower deliveries, thoughtful gifts, even shouting me out after a game.

Of course, I fell for him. What else was I supposed to do?

We’d dated for a few months last year, and at first, everything seemed perfect. He was too good to be true, in all the ways that mattered, and I loved getting access to VIP clubs and the VIP treatment literally anywhere we went together. And then, one day, I was scrolling through my social media accounts and noticed a few DMs. All of them were from different guys around the country, telling me that they’d seen Keith and I all over social media like we were areal coupledespite the fact that Keith had been secretly sleeping with them, too.

Finding out the man I was in love with was cheating on me, so openly, so regularly? It absolutely broke me. And the cherry on top? All the guys that Keith was cheating on me with looked nothing like me, as in, they were all super built and muscular with abs for days. I’d always been built more like a runner, lean and tall, my muscles built for use and not for show. I’d basically stared in the mirror for weeks after Keith and I broke up, wondering if I could ever look like those guys, if Keith would’ve been more committed if I’d tried to bulk up for him.

Wondering if I could get the man I loved to love me back, just the same.

“Hey, Leo. How’ve you been?” Keith beamed over at me before he looked over at Jacob. “And who’s your new friend?”

Keep it professional, Leo. Just keep it professional.

“I’ve been fine. Not much to report.” I shrugged. “And this is Jacob. He works with the transporter team.”

“Could’ve fooled me, Jacob.” Keith chuckled. “I thought you were another one of the athletes for the shoot.”

I looked back at Keith, reading his expression, noticing the way he glanced up and down Jacob’s body…

It was the same way he used to look at me at his games.

“No!” I accidentally blurted out loud.

“No, what?” Jacob seemed concerned. “Is everything all right, Leo?”

“Yeah, of course.” I tried to laugh it off. “I just meant, ‘no,’ as in, we should save all the small talk for the dinner table. We don’t want to be late. It’d be rude.”

“Right. Excuse us.” Jacob nodded, before he placed a hand in the middle of my back, ushering me further into the room.

And I let out a shaky breath, trying and failing to hide the sudden wave of emotions that hit me like a ton of bricks.

I wasin heaven and hell, all at the same time.

Heaven, because the spread of food laid out on the table was beautiful. There were perfectly roasted potatoes and carrots, the scent of butter and herbs rolling off them in delicious waves. There was also applewood smoked trout and grilled corn, right next to a bowl of cooked blue crabs. I was salivating pretty much as soon as we sat down at the table, my eyes going straight toward another bowl that was filled to the brim with fresh-baked rolls.

Hell, because Keith’s eyes had been on Jacob ever since we’d sat down. It was like watching a hunter learn about its prey, stalking it before it got the chance to strike.

Waiting for the perfect time to drag it off somewhere in the dark and have its way with it.

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