Page 109 of False Start

Frankie nodded, whispering to Kit before guiding him toward us.

“Diego!” Frankie pulled our quarterback into a hug that expanded to include Cas. “Cassandra! Long time, no see.”

“How was your off season?” Cas asked Frankie. “And introduce me to your friend.”

“Myfriend,” I clarified, catching Kit’s bemused smile. “This is Kit. Kit, this is Diego and Cassandra.”

Frankie pulled up another chair while the three exchanged greetings. I tugged Kit down into the seat beside me, forcing Cas to sit by Diego and leaving Frankie on his own.

“So, Kit, how did you con Trent into a car rally? I never really took him as a car guy.”

“He’s not. He didn’t even know how to drive stick. I didn’t have much of a choice. He incapacitated my rally partner.”

“Trent!” Cas smacked my leg in mock outrage. “If you wanted to ask the girl out, you could have just done that. You didn’t need to hurt someone.”

“I didn’t hurt anyone,” I argued as Kit snorted.

“He didn’t want to ask me out. He wanted to steal my best friend.”

“You were that lonely without me?” Frankie asked, giving me a good-natured punch in the arm. “You’re stealing friends?”

“He might have been a little desperate.” Kit grinned, leaning into me in a familiar way that eased my nerves. “He kept trying to befriend me even after I made it incredibly clear I wasn’t interested.”

“And it worked,” I said with a smug grin.

Kit wiped it right off my face. “Only after we were forced to sit in a car together for five days.”

“Honestly, that would have pushed me in the opposite direction,” Diego muttered, shaking his head.

“That’s so fun, though.” Cas ribbed his side. “An adventure. What a fun way to get to know each other. So, since you’re here together, does that mean I get a new friend to watch games with?”

“Probably not,” Kit said, almost apologetically. She didn’t offer any other explanation and Cas frowned.

“You could come to a game if you wanted.” I nudged her shoulder, offering a smile. The wan smile she gave me in return didn’t fill me with confidence. “Or not.”

“I think you’ve all got the wrong idea.” She scrunched her nose. Her shoulders worked their way up nearly to her ears. “We’re just friends. There’s nothing else going on. Obviously.”

The “obviously” hit me in the gut like a punch. She downed the last of her drink in a nervous gulp.

“Should we grab another drink?” Kit nodded. I surveyed the group. “Anyone else?”

“I could use another beer.” Diego held out an empty bottle.

“Red wine?” Cas asked.

I nodded, taking Kit’s elbow. Once we moved far enough away from my friends, I dipped my head to her ear. “Are you okay?”

THIRTY-SIX

KIT

Was I okay?

No. I was decidedly not okay. I stood in a stranger’s multi-million-dollar mansion surrounded by rich pro football players and thought for half a second that I could somehow fit into this life. That Trent and I were…

“How much longer are we staying here?” I asked.

Trent’s face fell. “However long you want. We can take off now.”

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