Page 75 of Unwritten Rules
“To add icing to the cake, the bartender, Penelope—you remember Penelope? She was a few years below us in high school, and her older brother, Rhys, left to go to Western Australia to work on a cattle station or something, I don’t know. She was always a wild child around town. Anyway, she recognised said person as Sinnett Baxter, the halfback for the Wolves. And youleftthe pub with him!”
My eyes flutter closed as my secret explodes from the box I have kept it hidden in since leaving Barrenridge. I didn’t know if I was ever going to tell Noah and Nathan about Sinnett and what happened the night before I left, only because I knew how they would react. Not only would they want to know every detail—as much as I’m willing to share—but they would make a big deal of it, much like Nathan is now as he continues his spiel.
“Like, seriously, Tate. How dare you hook up with the halfback of a rugby team and have the audacity not to tell us. I thought we were friends.”
I lean forward to drop my head on the desk, blinking rapidly as darkness consumes my vision. “It’s not a big deal, Nate.”
“It is to me,” he retorts. “Our little Tate is finally moving on from Jayden, and it just so happened to be with a famous athlete who is fucking built like a brick shithouse. You’re one lucky lady.Andyou get to work with him.”
“You sound like you want to sleep with him, too,” I quip, needing to find some humour in the situation I’ve found myself in.
“Don’t change the subject.” My friend’s voice is stern but holds nothing but happiness. “I want to know everything.”
“Nathan…”
“Everything,” he repeats, leaving no room for argument. “Now, or I will tell Noah. And, as the dad of the group, you’ll get more of an ear-full from him than me.”
I groan and lift my head, resting my chin on my bent hand. “Fine. But only because I know if I don’t, you won’t shut up.”
“It pays off to be annoying. Now, spill. And don’t leave any details out.”
Of course, I left some details out. I kept it as PG-friendly as I could while also keeping some more intimate details to myself. There was no way in hell I was going to reveal I’m still sleeping with him because it’ll only add fuel to the fire Nathan started.
For now, all he needs to know is I hooked up with Sinnett the night before I left Barrenridge, and now I’m treating his injury as the physio for the Wolves.
“You saucy minx,” Nathan says when I finish speaking. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“What?” I quiz, tilting my head to the side.
“A one-night stand.”
My shoulders lift in a shrug even though he can’t see me. “Yeah, well, I thought I had nothing to lose at that moment. I had no idea who he was when I saw him. It wasn’t until a week later that I realised he played for the Wolves.”
“The no dating the players rule your dad gave you must suck,” he comments. “Knowing you can’t do anything about it.”
If only he knew the truth.
“Yeah,” I murmur. Glancing down at my watch, my eyes widen. I have a session with Sinnett in two minutes. The man has never been late before, so knowing my luck, he’ll appear in the doorway to my office on the dot. “I have to go, Nate. I have a session booked in a couple of minutes I need to prepare for.”
“Since you kept your end of the deal, I’ll keep mine about not telling Noah. Yet.”
I exhale a sharp breath and stand, hand firmly pressed against my hip. “You promise? He has a lot on his plate right now.”
“Scout’s honour,” Nathan responds, and I just know he’s smiling like a fool. “I miss you, Tate.”
I smile. “I miss you, too. Talk soon, okay?”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
The moment the call ends, a familiar head of inky hair appears in the doorway, right on time. Sinnett saunters into the room and closes the door behind him, heated eyes locked with mine.
My stomach flip flops like it does every time I lay eyes on this man, and my skin tingles. How he effortlessly makes me want to melt into a puddle at his feet still baffles me.
“If this wasn’t our last session before my six-week check-up, I would be all over you, strawberry.”
A shiver races down my spine as I step out from behind my desk. I gesture to the table in the middle of the room, my eyes tracking Sinnett’s movements as he sits on the edge; his eyes trained on me.
“We need to behave ourselves at work,” I remind him, but my heart is racing with the possibilities of what he could do to me in this room.
