Page 62 of Man Candy

I kept scrolling. Oh shit.

There were the ones of me and Lindy. Nothing racy at all because we’d never once kissed in public. There was one where we were holding hands outside the complex. Another with us sitting on the bench together by the rink. I was smiling at her in a way that anyone could see meant I was into her. I scanned the headlines.

Does Dex have a Dame?

Sexy Dexy and the Montana Mystery Woman

Dex James: Brawler or Boyfriend?

Sexy Dexy. Fuck, I hated that. It sounded like I was a porn star or in an all-male revue.

Besides that, I was fine being plastered all over social media, but Lindy wasn’t. It was to be expected though, people speculating about a woman in my life. I didn’t imagine it would happen this fast, or without me even realizing. Paparazzi hadn’t swarmed us. I hadn’t even seen one flash, but that meant nothing these days.

I should have known. I’d been in bed with Lindy this morning and she hadn’t known anything about this then, because she totally would have said something. So it was either new, or she didn’t do much social media. Maybe both. Except Mallory did and I had no doubt knew all about this. I had to wonder why she’d stayed quiet. Giving me a chance with Lindy, perhaps?

What was she going to think when she saw it? Panic? Get angry? Hide? She didn’t want anyone to know she was a romance author and now her life was going to be splashed all over the world. If the media went digging…

“It seems you’ve turned your image around,” Ellen added. “A special woman?”

I didn’t even take a breath before responding. “Yes, I have a special woman in my life now. Hopefully she wants to keep me because I sure as hell plan to keep her. Ellen, I’m the same person I’ve always been, girlfriend or not,” I countered, then set the phone down and looked at the four across the table. “I want to work with OutdoorNow. I have for a long time. Your business and philanthropic goals align with mine and I see a long-term future together, one where we can hopefully make some kids lives better. I hope you do, too.”

Ellen finally–finally!–smiled. “We do as well. I understand you are off to Finland for an exhibition game. We don’t want you to miss your flight. We’ll work the details out with Scott.”

That was it? Grill, grill, grill and then go? She’d already made up her mind about me but seemed to want to hear what I had to say. A reasonable action, although she could have said we were a go before the cross examination.

I stood, buttoned my suit jacket.

“Welcome to the team,” she said, standing as well and holding out her hand.

Reaching across the table, I shook it and grinned, finally at ease. Except what about Lindy and the media? I couldn’t return to Montana and shield her. I was off to fucking Finland.

29

LINDY

* * *

I knocked on the door of Mav’s rental house. Bridget texted mid-afternoon telling me to come over for dinner and if I didn’t show up, they’d send Scout out to find me.

I laughed at my desk because Scout was so smart he’d definitely find me, but with his little dog legs, he might take a while.

Mav opened the door, dish towel slung over his shoulder. He had on the Steaming Hotties t-shirt. Again.

“I think you have a thing for pink,” I said as I stepped past him into the house. Scout appeared with too much speed and slid into my calves. I gave him a pet.

“I have a thing for your sister and this shirt reminds me of her.”

I glanced up at him from my crouch. “Seriously?”

“I lost a bet with Theo,” he admitted, a soft smile turning up the corner of his mouth.

The place was massive, probably three times the size of my little house. While Mav was built like a TV wrestler and needed things supersized, no one person needed six or seven bedrooms. Even temporarily.

But I didn’t have a house either at the moment, so I wasn’t one to say anything about temporary housing.

I followed voices into the kitchen while Mav and Scout veered toward open French doors and a patio beyond. The scent of grilled meat made my mouth water so I assumed he was grill master. Bridget was at the center island slicing tomatoes and a man was settled on a stool across from her. He was attractive with light brown hair and fair eyes. There was a half-finished glass of beer in front of him which meant he’d been here for a bit.

“Hey!” Bridget said, turning her brilliant smile on me. She used the back of her hand to push her glasses up. “This is Theo, one of Mav’s other brothers.”

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