Page 137 of How to Prevent a Fumble

I roll my eyes with a smile. “You get what I mean.”

She shakes her head. “I think Chad is one of the greatest singers of our generation.”

I dip my hand into the water in front of her, splashing it up at her chest. “Now Iknowyou’re lying.”

“I’m not!”

Her laugh rings through the bathroom, and it does something deep within me.

It occurs to me that I’d like to hear this laugh for the rest of my life.

40

BRIAR

Leo being this sweet is something I’m not quite sure I can completely comprehend. Sure, he’s been nice. Cute even. But the level of care he’s shown me is on another level, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t scare me a little.

But I think maybe, just maybe, it’s because I’ve never quite felt this cared for in my whole life.

The reality of it comes crashing down on me like a tidal wave.

Freezing as I feel him palm my shoulder, the water suddenly feels like an ice bath. Turning slightly, I watch him as his big green eyes stare at me in surprise.

“You okay?” he asks.

“I—”

What’s the answer to that? Because I’m not. I don’t think so, anyway. I’m supposedly engaged to Leo Warner. I used to be tied to a man who verbally abused me, and walking away took everything in me. I failed at marriage.

And now I’m going to fail at an engagement on a national, possibly even global scale.

Leo Warner is beloved around the globe. He put his teamon the map, and other than his recent escapades, he’s done well. He’s the National Football League’s Golden Boy no matter how much he fucked up.

No matter what he’s done in the past, I’m going to be the villain the second this engagement fails. The second he walks away to go find something real.

I swallow roughly, sinking down a little.

As if reading my mind, Leo leans down, his palm on the back of my head. “I wish they told me, Sunny, or I’d never put you in this position.”

And I believe him.

I believe him with every fiber of my being.

In a moment of pure insanity, my head swivels, my eyes meeting his, the tepid bathwater splashing on the floor.

“Have sex with me,” I tell him, watching as his hands still, his eyes widening as his mouth opens, but no words come out.

Shaking his head gently, Leo regains his composure. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” he tells me, his eyes flickering out the large window in front of us overlooking the harbor.

“I’m an adult and of sound mind,” I defend vehemently. “I just need to forget everything. People have sex for much less.”

His green eyes slide back to mine, the crease between his brows furrowing just slightly as he studies me, trying to figure me out.

“Please.”

I’m not sure if it was the way I was five seconds from pathetically begging him, or if his resolve finally just simply snapped, and I’m choosing not to think about it too hard, but when he grabbed my towel from the hanger, opening it for me, my heart leapt from my chest, my whole body practically vibrating with anticipation for what’s about to come.

Grabbing for the towel, Leo shakes his head, his eyesfocused so intensely on mine that a shiver makes its way down my back. Licking my lips nervously, I bite down on the inside of my cheek.

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