Page 25 of Getting the Grinder
“It wasn’t like that. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and Carter backed me up with the photo you took of us.”
A note of laughter bursts out of her. “No, don’t put this on me. I’m not part of your ... shenanigans just because of that photo.”
“You don’t have to actually date me. I just need you to go along with the story.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose, not saying anything for a few seconds. When she finally speaks, she says, “It doesn’t even make sense, Leo. Your teammates have all seen us together at parties and they know it’s all we can do not to strangle each other.”
“We can tell them it took a turn. The passion was always there; we just rechanneled it.”
She smiles, amused. “Rechanneled it?”
“Yeah. You’re still yelling when we’re together, but now you’re yelling out my name while my face is between your thighs.”
Her brows shoot up. “Really? Is this the charm that parts legs in every city you visit?”
“Not even close. You haven’t seen any of the charm yet, but you will if you do this for me.”
She furrows her brow in a half cringe. “I honestly don’t think I can convince anyone I’m into you.”
I bristle at that. “Why not? Am I really that bad?”
“No, you’re actually very hot. But everyone knows we hate each other.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I used to—before your drunken intrusion.”
I have to force myself to focus on the road, though I’d rather look at her. Traffic is heavy, but within a minute, I’m pulling into the parking lot of Neptune’s.
“Do you mind if I park in the lot next door? I’m kind of precious about my car.”
“I’m precious about human rights. You and I are not the same. See what I mean?”
I ignore her jab and park my car in a spot without cars on either side of it.
“What can I say to convince you?” I ask on the walk into the restaurant.
“I can help you find someone for this. Easiest job ever with you being a hockey player. You’ll be so much happier pretending to be with someone you could actually end up liking instead of me.”
This is going about as well as I was worried it would. I run a hand through my hair, feeling a few cold snowflakes. “I already told him it’s you, Mara. Can you please just do me this one favor?”
She stops walking, turning to me and lifting her chin so we’re eye to eye. “Why would I do that? To be nice to you? I don’t fucking care if you think I’m nice. I once heard you tell Carter I’m a spoiled brat whose voice makes you want to claw your own eyes out.”
I exhale heavily, remembering the day I said that. I was in a shit mood. “That was more than a year ago.”
“So fucking what? You still think that.”
I pause, feeling the ruse slipping through my fingers. “Not as much. You stayed to help me with Darling—a brat wouldn’t have done that.”
“A brat.” She crosses her arms, her eyes bright with anger. “You want to know how much of a brat I am, Leo? I’m two hundred eighty-one thousand dollars in debt from college and law school loans. I make sixty-eight thousand dollars a year and can barely afford my loan payments. If I’m wearing nice clothes or shoes, I bought them used. My parents have nothing.”
Her voice breaks on the last word, and I feel like the world’s biggest asshole.
“Mara, I’m?—”
“I’m not done! My parents worked so fucking hard, Leo. So fucking hard, and everything was taken away from them for something they didn’t deserve. I waitressed in high school just to keep food on the table when things were really bad with my dad. I promise you I am not the least bit spoiled, but you’ve never taken the time to know anything about me.”
Angry tears well in her eyes. Or maybe they aren’t angry. Her parents are clearly an emotional subject for her, and I didn’t mean for us to get into something so heavy in the parking lot of Neptune’s.
