Troublemaker - Lisa B. Kamps Page 0,8

that I had deliberately looked. Looking had been more of an ingrained instinct, kind of like breathing. And it was kind of hard not to notice when she had been right there in front of me.

Nice ass aside, she still wasn't my type. Even though she hadn't gone through with it, she still almost got married. That meant at least part of her was interested in those complicated strings. And if that wasn't a red flag, the fact that she was a runaway bride definitely was. At least, it should be. That in itself would be enough to scare off any sane man.

Which obviously meant I was at least partially insane for just thinking of things I shouldn't be thinking.

We side-stepped a trio of weaving women only to bump into another small group. I bit back an oath and grabbed Morgan's hand then led her from the sidewalk and into the street. Her fingers briefly tightened around mine and for a second, I thought she'd keep her hand in mine. Maybe she wanted to because I sensed a reluctance in her before she finally pulled her hand free.

More mixed messages? Or just wishful thinking on my part? It was hard to say.

"Have you lived down here very long?"

"Me? No. I moved down here four months ago, after I got traded."

"Traded?"

"Yeah. From one team to another."

"Does that happen a lot?"

I shrugged and hoped she'd leave it at that because I didn't want to get into the details of how I'd screwed up.

"Where were you before coming here?"

"Hartford."

"Connecticut?"

"Yup."

"I've never been to Connecticut. New York, yes, but not Connecticut." She jammed both hands into the front pockets of her jeans and slid a sideways glance in my direction. "Is it nice up there?"

"It was okay, I guess."

"Is that where you're from originally?"

"No. I was born and raised in Wisconsin. How about you?"

A ghost of a smile teased her mouth. "You already asked me that."

"Did I? Funny, I don't remember you answering."

"I did. I said here and there, remember?"

"Now that you say it, that does sound vaguely familiar."

Her smile widened and I thought I saw a faint blush stain her cheeks. Or maybe it was nothing more than the glow of neon coming from one of the many bars we were passing.

I paused and pointed at the closest one. "Did you want to grab a drink or something?"

"Did you?"

"I don't care either way."

Her eyes darted behind me and she frowned. "It looks pretty crowded."

"We can grab one to go."

"To go?"

"Yeah. Look around. I'd bet that every single cup you see being carried is filled with alcohol."

"And they don't get in trouble for that?"

"Nope. It's perfectly legal." I pointed at the walk-up across from us. "Did you want to grab one?"

She chewed on her lower lip for a fantasy-inducing second then shot me an apologetic look. Hopefully she couldn't tell where my mind had wandered or else I'd be the one apologizing to her.

"I'm really not much of a drinker."

"Then I guess we don't need to stop."

"You can get one if you want."

"No, I'm good. Game day practice is early, I don't need the headache."

We continued walking up Bourbon Street, neither of us saying much. That suited me just fine because I was having more fun watching Morgan as she watched everyone else. Her gaze flitted from face to face as we moved through the crowd. To anyone else, it would probably look like she was enthralled with the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street—and maybe she was. But something told me that she was still very much aware of everything—and everyone—around her.

We had just turned onto Bienville when she stopped and looked up at me. I sensed her hesitation rather than saw it but said nothing, figuring she would either say what she wanted to say or just blow it off and act like she wasn't going to say anything at all.

"My mom drank a lot. I guess, seeing her, I just never—"

"You don't owe me any explanations."

"I know. I just...well, I just wanted to let you know. That's all."

"Fair enough." I wasn't sure what else to say. I wasn't even sure if I should read anything into the fact that she opened up to me. And I really didn't want to read into the fact that her arm brushed against mine when we started walking again.

We entered the apartment building and made our way through the lobby in silence. That silence shifted and morphed into something a little thicker and maybe even a