Page 53 of Making the Call
Still feeling odd, I take the attention off me by stating, “I’m the lucky one.” Not wanting to disappoint her fans, I pose with Dani and her fans, then help them with some merchandise purchase as Dani greets the next person at the table.
For the next couple of hours, there’s a steady stream of people at Dani’s booth. I’m completely impressed by the way she greets each fan with genuine enthusiasm. If they purchase a book or bring one from home, she takes the time to give each person a personalized message in the books she signs. She also chats them up, takes a photo if they’re bold enough to ask, and she flirts shamelessly with me if I happen to catch their attention.
Who the hell am I kidding?I draw a lot of attention being her assistant for the entire day. Which means I’ve resorted to calling her a nickname because I jokingly said her name reminds me of drinking sweet tea from home between fans. She thought it was hilarious and now instead of almost outing her, I simply call her Sugar.
When there’s a lull in the crowd just before noon, I quickly run to the restroom and grab a bite for Dani and me to eat back at the booth. When I return, Dani is, of course, with another fan. As soon as she gets a break, I encourage her to use the restroom, figuring I could hold down the fort until she returns.
I. Was. Wrong.
What the hell had I been thinking?The second, and I mean the second Dani exits the room, no exaggeration, all hell breaks loose. It starts with a simple question.
A woman in her mid-twenties comes up to the table with a friend about her age. She’s dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a flowy pink top. Her energy radiates from her as she approaches. “Ohmigod! Are you the cover model for Charlotte’s latest book? I swear you look familiar.”
She picks up the book in question and eyes me and then the book, holding it up for comparison. The cover has a faceless man from the chin down, with a hairless, eight pack boldly on display. My abs look nothing like his.
I attempt to laugh it off by picking up her book and displaying it next to my abs as I lift up my shirt to show the obvious difference. For starters, my chest isn’t waxed. I do have some ink, but it’s not displayed on that book. I’m not an ape or anything, but I do have some chest hair and a definite hair heading south from my abdomen. “Sorry to disappoint. But it’s not me.” I drop my shirt and shrug with a shit-eating grin, hoping they’ll let it drop.
She eyes me suspiciously, but doesn’t seem convinced. “I swear I know you from somewhere.”
Her friend steps forward, and her eyes go wide. Her mouth opens to say something, then closes. She looks from me to her friend, her mouth gaping. As she draws the attention of her friend, she points in my direction. “He… Uh… Isn’t the cover model. But I’m pretty sure you might recognize him.”
It’s then I take notice of her shirt. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. There in the center of her shirt is the logo I wear almost daily. Yep. She’s a Rainier Renegades fan. Her wide eyes take me in, and it’s only a matter of time before I’m outed.
“Listen,” I begin, and her friend gasps.
Thankfully, Dani interrupts by saying, “Thank you so much for waiting for me.”
Dani’s fans are excited, but instead of the accolades being only about her, the first woman reaches out to her other friend and jumps up and down. She freaking jumps up and down. I can’t make this shit up. “Ohmigod! Ohmigod! It’s Charlotte AnnandLuke Leighton.”
The friend who recognizes me doesn’t disappoint. “It’sThe Luke Leighton! Only the hottest coach in the league! And he’s helping Charlotte Ann!” She turns to us. “Can we take a picture with the two of you? This has to be the best. Day. Ever!”
Dani pulls out her best smile and wraps an arm around the closest woman. “Here, why don’t you stand here, and I’ll take the photo.”
“Can you be in it, too?” the Rainier Renegades fan practically begs.
Dani, never being one to disappoint a fan, steps to me and wraps her arm around my waist. “Sure. Hey, Shay, can you take our photo?” Thank God, Shay happens to be between fans at the moment.
She steps up and takes the photo. We’ve been helping her throughout the day, so I’m sure she thinks nothing of it. When she’s done, the Rainier Renegades fan continues to look questioningly between Dani and me. “Wait…” and my stomach drops to the floor. Her eyes scrutinize my hand still on Dani’s waist. “Are you guys dating?”
“Shelby,” the first friend scolds. “That’s none of our business… Besides, if it keeps Charlotte writing hot as hell books, who are we to complain?”
I look to Dani who looks as if she’s just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Fuck. I have no fucking clue as to how to proceed. Just yesterday, she was talking about loving her anonymity.
The Rainier Renegades fan misinterprets Dani’s expression and jokingly states, “Well, if you’re not dating, can I volunteer as tribute?”
Dani’s spine straightens, and her chest pushes out. Unsure as to what she’ll say, I wait and watch. Dani steps closer to me as if her ass is on fire, placing a hand on my chest. “Oh, heismost definitely taken.” Holy shit.Is she jealous?
The girl she’s directed the statement to just steps forward and hugs her. She fucking hugs her, and it’s as if I’ve been sent to an alternate universe. There is zero cattiness and nothing but excitement displayed. “I’m so happy for you, Charlotte. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”
Well, that was unexpected.
The Rainier fan reaches out and pats me on the arm. “You have one hell of a woman here. Treat her right.” She winks at Dani, and Dani all but rolls her eyes.
“Oh, he does.” The words come out of Dani’s mouth as if she’s forgotten I’m standing right here.
“Your fans are going to flip their lids when they realize you’ve been hiding out with Luke Leighton,” the Rainier fan whispers so only the few of us can hear. “We’ll all be wondering which character you write about is most like him,” she teases as she rolls her eyes in my direction.
“Well…” Dani pretends to think over something. “You never know.” Her beautiful smile lights up my world and if she’s happy with this, I guess it’s okay.
Within a minute or two, another fan makes their way to Dani’s booth. The two fans who recognized me quickly depart and say their goodbyes. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, but I ignore it. It’s too loud in here, and Dani needs my assistance. Besides, there’s a steady line for the remainder of the afternoon. Whatever it is can wait.
