Page 73 of Love on the Waiver Wire

She narrows her eyes as she stares up at me. “Please tell me you didn’t pay a fortune.”

I shake my head. She doesn’t need to know those numbers.

“Are you ready?” I ask her.

She doesn’t answer, instead grabbing a vase under her counter, filling it up half way, and sticking the flowers in it. She studies them for a moment. Through the tough exterior, I can tell she loves them by the way her eyes light up, her finger brushing a petal as if testing how soft it is.

Her lip twitches, and she finally meets my gaze, giving me one curt nod.

She grabs her bag as I grab her hand, leading her to the elevator. Her brother is off with his new girl, so I know we won’t bump into him.

I don’t want her to have to walk down so many stairs in heels.

When we get to my car, I open her door for her. I wait a moment to close it to make sure she’s comfortable before rounding the car and climbing into the driver’s seat.

“You settled in okay?” I ask her as I press start, the car humming to life. I took the fancier one today; the one that normally sits in my garage. She looks around, pulling her seatbelt around her. She nods, but after a couple moments of struggle, she looks at me apologetically.

“Is the buckle stuck? I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone in the passenger seat of this thing,” I tell her as I reach over, grabbing the seatbelt. I dig for the buckle, pulling it up and clicking it into place. My head rests near her chest as I do, and I can feal that she’s stopped breathing.

She looks around once more as I’m pulling out of my spot. “What is this thing?” she asks, her fingers gliding over the smooth material of the dash over to the screen sitting in the middle. She pauses, looking at me for a moment before swiping through the music options listed.

“It’s a Mercedes-Maybach S Series,” I tell her simply. “I only got it because my financial advisor told me I needed to look into some new investments.”

She pauses, her brows furrowing. “Aren’t cars known for being absolutely horrible investments?”

My lips twitch as I run my hand through my hair. “Yeah, that’s what he said when I came back with what I bought. Gotta say, I thought he was going to be super proud of me.”

From the corner of my eye I can see Isla struggle to keep a straight face, her lips quivering as she tries not to laugh.

A second later, she coughs.

Great cover,I think.

“My brother has mentioned buying a fancy car, too.”

I shake my head, chuckling. “Your brother wants to buy a eight-hundred dollar Aston Martin Supercar. Hundreds of thousands of dollars more expensive than this baby here.”

She cracks a smile at that. “Yeah well, my brother is an idiot.”

“A very rich idiot,” I nod.

Leo’s rookie contract is up at the end of the season, and it’s been a push to get him to sign a new one. There are options, of course, that the league can take, but he’s already one of the richest rookies in the league. A number one pick of his draft, Leo signed a four year, thirty-nine million dollar contract, one of the highest ever.

He’s set to make history with his new one, but he’s weighing his options. Over money, fame, and fortune, Leo really does value the game and winning overall. Taking a bit of a cut would help the team pay for better players, stacking the team and ensuring we’re good for the next couple of years.

On top of that, Leo really does donate a lot of money on top of helping his family.

I hate the bastard sometimes, but he’s a good guy.

Regardless of how much the contract ends up being, it’s going to be a sum of money that many people can only dream of. More than enough to get his dream car.

“You know we could have walked, right?” she asks, watching as we round the harbor. While her apartment is on one side, the aquarium is on the other.

“We’re going to be walking around the aquarium all night. I’m not making you walk there and back, too.”

And I wanted to impress you,my brain screams.

But I know Isla isn’t impressed by fancy things. She may be curious, but she’s not impressed.

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