Page 63 of The Long Game

He’s sitting at a small table as his fingers work quickly, typing away at a text or an email. I’m not sure which one but based on his professional demeanor, I’d guessed it was work. The minute he looks up and sees me, he abandons his attention to his cell phone and quickly makes his way over to me.

"Good morning, Lexi." His deep raspy voice sends exciting goosebumps down my arms.

He leans in, gently gripping my arm as he kisses my cheek. Another set of rogue chills ripple through my body.

"Good morning," I say, unable to hold back my giddy smile.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes, I did thank you. How about you?"

"I woke up every thirty minutes after three. I couldn’t wait to get to work this morning." His smirk sets butterflies free.

"Oh, really?" I ask.

"Is that too forward?"

"No. But I feel like I need to be honest with you," I say as my face scrunches up a little.

"Ok?" He encourages me to go on.

"You know that family friend that you met in the courtyard? He asked me to have dinner with him, and I agreed. It was before you asked me to the gallery, but I thought I should be up front with you about it."

I can see him think for a second.

"The pro football player."

"Yeah. You know who he is?"

He smiles, "You’d have to live under a rock to not know who Tucker Evans is."

"I guess that might be true," I say stepping along with the moving line.

"He holds the most rushing yards held in one year. Last year, before his injury, he completed his seventieth career touchdown. He’s now the highest paid RB in the league and was traded for nineteen million,witha knee injury. Indianapolis knows what they're doing, since the QB and Evans used to dominate around here playing high school ball. Looks like it’s going to turn out to be a good move for the franchise."

"Luca Benson is my brother," I tell him.

He looks at me, trying to determine my sincerity.

"Oh," he says with both brows raised. "You two do have a lot of history."

"More than you know," I say, looking away for a moment and then turn back with a perfectly placed smile.

"Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate when people establish trust early on."

That gets my attention.

"Do you have issues with trusting people?"

"Lexi, I’m a lawyer," he chuckles. Based on the life he’s had since he was a kid, I think there’s more to it than that.

"Oh… right."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

We make it up to the barista and place our orders. Then, we move to the pickup counter and Sebastian continues.

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