Page 15 of Bound and Blitzed

She gives me a withering look.

“Okay, okay.” I hold up my hands. “Do you have plans this week?”

“No, not really.”

I grin. “As I said, I have a bye week. I’m off.”

“Okay.”

“Want to go on a five-day first date?”

“What?” she nearly laughs.

“Picture this. We hit it off after Raia and Cohen’s engagement party and spent the night together.”

Valentina pales.

“Then I whisked you away on holiday and we spent a week together. At the end, we eloped.” I shrug. “It’s hardly conventional but if we sell it, I think people will buy it. On some level, my parents are desperate for me to settle down. My friends have been ribbing me for years about having a flavor of the week but deep down, they think that when I fall, I’ll fall hard and fast.”

“And they’ll believe you fell for me?” Valentina asks skeptically, pointing at herself.

I look at her with her big, bright eyes and beautiful smile. Her sharp mind and burning curiosity. “In a heartbeat,” I promise. “They’ll be wondering how the hell you reciprocated.”

Chapter6

Valentina

Nerves of anticipationskate up and down my arms as I board the flight to Austin, Texas.

I smile gratefully at the flight attendant before sitting down in the business class seat. Avery slips into the seat beside mine.

I glance at him as he stows our carry-on luggage. The only luggage we brought. “You didn’t have to splurge for business class.”

He winks at me and pulls out his cell phone. “It’s fine and besides, we need to document this for our wedding.”

Right. My stomach tightens as I smile for the photo. Avery and I settle into our seats, and I glance out the window to mentally regroup.

When Avery asked me to name a city in the US I want to visit, I immediately replied with Austin. Especially now, in late November, with migratory bird-watching at a peak. Austin is situated along the Central Flyway region, and we can catch some great bird sightings—especially songbirds and raptors—while also having an adventure. One, Avery reminds me, is crucial to selling our story.

Our story. Ourmarriage.

I still can’t believe Avery offered marriage. But after he explained his past, it makes more sense. He wants to prove to his family and to himself that he can be a man who does the right thing. And while I would hardly put fake marriage into that category, I understand why he does.

For me, it’s a win-win. I’ll be able to stay in the States to complete my research with Dr. Mendoza and I won’t risk my heart. Avery is all about his football career and doesn’t do serious romantic entanglements.

In fact, by marrying me, he’s probably made his life a lot less complicated with the female drama that seems to follow him.

When I mentioned this, he’d grinned and said, “More time for football.”

And more time for my research.

It’s a plus that being career focused is something Avery and I share.

The plane takes off and I watch Knoxville fade away. When I glance at Avery, his headphones are on, his eyes are closed, and his face is serene.

I study him, wondering how my whole world flipped upside down in twenty-four hours. Of course, I’d seen Avery around. We live in the same building, Carla is friends with his sister, and he was recently on the cover of a magazine stocked in every grocery checkout aisle in the city.

But to be sitting beside him, I shiver. He has the same charm Dane has. He draws people in without even trying. When he enters a space, you feel his energy and you want to be near it, like flowers lifting their faces to the sun. It’s intrinsic, almost desperate, and you never take the time to consider what if you get sunburned?

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