Page 72 of Press Your Luck

“It’s beautiful." And I wasn’t talking about the necklace. I was talking about his gesture. I looked up at him. He smiled, and I swore I saw relief in his eyes. "You didn't need to get me anything."

"I wanted to." He took the necklace from the box, undoing the clasp and then holding his hands forward. "May I?"

I turned, and he brought the necklace over my head and then around, clasping it at the nape of my neck. His fingers lingered, gently rubbing my neck, and I couldn't stop the sigh that escaped from his touch. Then it wasn't his fingers there. It was his lips, and that sent a rush of need through me.

A loud banging sounded. Pierce straightened and let out a breath. "Time's up. Will you be ready in a half-hour?"

I turned on wobbly legs. "I'll be ready."

I took a quick shower and then put on a pair of jeans for which I had to get a button extender because I was beginning to show, a reminder that I couldn't put off telling Pierce about the babies much longer. I put on a flowy floral peasant shirt that hung over my belly. Because we were going to the beach where I knew it could be windy, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. When Porter and Pierce knocked at my door, I looked in the mirror one last time, making sure the elephant necklace could be seen over my top, and I went to answer the door to my dates.

Pierce hired a car to drive us to the ocean. As we pulled up to the restaurant, Pierce leaned over to me. "I hope you don't mind the restaurant. Porter’s taste buds pretty much only tolerate burgers and pizza."

I looked at the giant neon taco sign. "This is tacos."

He laughed. "And tacos. The good news is this place has some of the best reviews for tacos along the coast."

We entered the restaurant and were seated outside where we could see the beach. Porter talked our ears off on all the things that he was learning from the books that Pierce had bought him. Like earlier in the day, the evening was relaxed and enjoyable. I wasn’t a part of them, really, and yet I felt connected to them, and it was nice. It was definitely something I could get used to.

As we waited for dessert, my phone pinged. Realizing I hadn't checked to make sure that the team had arrived at the airport on time, I decided I needed to check the text just in case there was an emergency. Just my luck, some of the players could still be stranded in San Diego. Or worse, in jail.

I pulled the phone from my purse, holding it in my lap as I checked my notifications. Thankfully, it wasn't from Todd or Max. It was something from Analyn. I opened the text.

Have you seen this?

Along with hertext was a link. I poked the link and up came the news article.

Coach Withers’sLove Triangle is Now a Square.

My heart stoppedin my chest. I scroll down to see a picture of me at the zoo with Pierce and Porter.

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening.

I did my best to plaster on a smile as I looked up at Pierce. "Can you excuse me for a minute?”

He looked at me, concern etched in his expression. "Is everything all right?"

I nodded. "Just need to use the little girls’ room." I hurried off to the bathroom, locking myself into a stall as I poked the autodial for Todd.

"Are you behind this?" I said without any preamble.

"Naomi, I don't have to be responsible. You have a tendency to do things that attract their attention all on your own."

Dammit, he was right. The fact that he didn’t ask what I was talking about meant he’d seen the report. Of course he had. The man was obsessed with the team’s media.

"I will tell you, though, that I think it's great,” he said.

"What?" I practically shrieked the word. "How is this great?" Todd was a happy-go-lucky guy, but how wasn’t he upset that I was with Pierce? The fans couldn't at all be happy about my seeing the coach of a rival team. That was the whole reason I'd been trying to avoid him in the first place.

"You know me, all news is good for us. I doubt Reed will agree. I'd be curious to know what Pierce thinks."

I leaned against the stall wall, feeling the world crashing down. It was only a matter of time before Pierce would get a similar text from Reed.

"The fans won’t be happy about this." For once, the news got the story somewhat right, which meant I couldn’t deny it. Maybe I needed to talk to Pierce about this. His fans might not like it either.

"I don't think there's gonna be a problem with our fans. They’re spinning it as you using your feminine wiles against him. After all, you've beat him in nearly every matchup."

"Todd. God... why is it always about my being a woman? Are you ever going to give me credit for these wins because I'm a good coach? It has nothing to do with the fact that I have breasts and a vagina. Are you really this much of a misogynist?" The words came flying out without my having any control. My emotions were running haywire and I was tired of this game.

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