Page 76 of Not A Chance

Only when I set my phone down did I feel the ache from gripping it so tightly my fingertips tingled mildly.

A warm, calloused hand enveloped mine where it now rested on my thigh, resisting the urge to fidget.

“What’s got you smiling?” Theo whispered. His lips brushed my ear as they moved because he’d leaned in so close.

I held up the screen of my phone for him to read the exchange with Connor. Theo lingered in my space as he read through the texts.

“Way to throw a teammate under the bus, Andrews. What kind of loyalty is that?” He shifted back to his own side of the armrests that divided our seats.

Theo had insisted we fly business class, even though it wasn’t something I did anymore because it made me feel like I was mirroring my parents’ lifestyle.

He’d said he wanted me to be comfortable. For once, I didn’t argue the principle of sitting in coach just because I made my decisions based on rejecting my parents’ lifestyle.

Dating—whew, that was still a mind-bending concept—an NHL star came with some realities.

I’d joked that Theo Yao, the famous NHL goalie, could not be expected to fly in coach where he might be mobbed by an unknown number of rabid hockey fans, Canadian and American alike.

Plus, it meant lots more room for Gizmo’s carrier, where she was currently sound asleep.

But the real reason I’d agreed was I’d noticed a few winces now and then after Theo played a particularly rough game. I’d wanted him to have the chance to recuperate as best as possible, and business class meant a lot of legroom.

I was very conscious of, ahem, the need for extralegroom. Theo definitely needed space for his…largelower appendages. I had to force myself to keep a small chuckle from escaping my mouth.

Great, not only are you an idiot for falling for him all over again, but all the sex you’ve been having has given you the sense of humor and maturity level of a fourteen-year-old boy.

“Baby?” Theo looked at me with a questioning gaze. He’d obviously said something I’d missed while thinking about giving up my principles to protect hisassets.

God, his ass was a work of art too.

“Aw, Ind. It’s really going to be okay. Em’s not going to get mad at you, I promise. I bet, if anything, she’s going to be thrilled, and then all this worry will evaporate.” He moved our entwined hands from my thigh to his. I could feel the strong muscles underneath the designer black sweatpants he wore; the name of the specific sponsor was lost to the other thoughts swirling in my mind.

I needed another distraction. With my free hand, I tugged my airline-provided blanket further up and over so that it covered both our joined hands and both our laps. I leaned my head onto his shoulder, consciously ignoring the way the armrest dug into my rib cage.

Feeling unsettled was something I’d always squashed under the heel of whatever stylish shoe I happened to be wearing. I loathed the sensation of being out of control.

I gently detangled my fingers from Theo’s and gripped as much of his thigh as my hand could reach, giving it a playful squeeze. “You’d bet on it, hmm?”

“For sure I would. Em will want us both to be happy.” He kissed the top of my head sweetly. Ialmostfelt bad for the diabolical act that was about to unfold.

“So…” I said while I dragged a finger over the soft, thick fabric of his sweats. “Whatwould you bet exactly?” I tilted my head back so I could see the side of his face as I waited for him to catch on to my plan.

He glanced down at me, the side of his mouth I could see curved upward. “Like an actual bet? With stakes?”

I merely nodded, my fingertip continuing to graze his pants up toward his mid-thigh.

The competitor in him wouldn’t be able to resist my challenge, and deciding the stakes would help me cope with the nerves that threatened to overwhelm me.

A quirked eyebrow completed the now intrigued expression as Theo shifted slightly in his seat to turn his head in my direction, but not enough to dislodge my head from where it leaned back against his taut shoulder muscles (nor did it stop my hand from continuing its trajectory toward its target).

“What do you have in mind?”

Taking in all his features at once was enough to scramble someone’s brain if they were attracted to men. I was made of tougher stuff than most.

Goddamn, he was handsome, though.

“Whatever you want.” I threw out the potentially limitless prize options to him. I returned his curious gaze with a sweet smile.

That should have raised all his alarms. But we were pretty cozy snuggled up under this blanket, and that made the anticipation of my sneak attack that much more satisfying.

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