Jonah (Chicago Blaze #7) - Brenda Rothert Page 0,20

doesn’t give a shit about hockey—she just wants to stir shit and press players to talk about their lives off the ice. I swear she’s trying to land an athlete husband.

“I’m not gonna talk about my personal life,” I say. “I never have, and I don’t plan to start.”

“Just a little hint?” she begs. “All we know is she’s very pretty and the two of you had a passionate kiss in a North Side neighborhood the other day.”

I stare at her in silence. After a few seconds, she huffs out a sigh.

“I’m trying to give you good coverage here,” she says.

Another reporter, Julia Kerr, interjects with, “Jonah, what do you think made the difference for the team tonight? It was a decisive win.”

I turn to her. “Yeah, it was. And that was thanks to our offense. They brought it hard tonight.”

“But you held Austin to one goal. What’s your strategy against their offense?”

Jessica slinks away as I continue the interview with Julia. I’m definitely bitching to PR about getting jumped like that. They usually escort us up to a table to be interviewed by all the reporters in the room. I don’t like getting blindsided by one.

I know Rey and I are supposed to be seen together, and that coverage of our relationship is the goal. But I’m letting all that unfold on its own. I’ll never feed gossip columns information about her.

She may not be my real girlfriend, and she doesn’t need me protecting her, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it anyway.

Chapter Nine

Reyna

I’m wearing new Converse shoes for my third date with Jonah. Chicago isn’t a city for uncomfortable shoes. I could take Ubers from here to there and wear the heels I learned to hate in my short time wearing them, but I like to walk everywhere I can.

There’s so much to see here, and since I’ve only been to Chicago briefly for business, I want to do as much as I can while I’m here. That’s why I asked Jonah to meet me at The Bean to start our daytime date on this fall Sunday.

The other reason is because it’s time to step things up and get our fake relationship into the spotlight. Now that I’ve seen that Jonah has what it takes to help me complete this undercover case, I’m ready to push my way into Darren Shields’s view.

Even though it’s fall, it’s still pretty warm, and I’m comfortable in my cuffed jeans and maroon T-shirt. Kai put waves in my hair and then put it up in a pretty, sporty ponytail, and he applied my makeup just a little more subtle than usual. With a dark crossbody bag hanging at my hip, I’m comfortable and ready for my date with Jonah, which will hopefully catch the eyes and ears of some locals.

As I approach Cloud Gate, the official name of the big, reflective steel sculpture in Millennium Park that locals have dubbed The Bean, I’m able to spot Jonah immediately, because he’s already drawn attention. A small group of people is clustered around him.

“Hey man, can we get another one with my brother in it?” a man is asking him.

“Sure,” Jonah says.

The guy snaps a couple selfies and asks Jonah if he thinks the Blaze will make it to the playoffs this year.

“I hope so,” Jonah says, grinning.

A woman cozies up to him for another photo, pressing her temple to his cheek. Jonah takes it in stride, smiling but not putting his hands on her like she’s doing to him.

“Hey guys, I gotta go,” he says as he signs an autograph for a boy and passes the paper back to him. “My girlfriend’s here.”

People start looking around, and when they follow his gaze to me, the looks turn to stares. As Jonah walks over to me, camera phones are whipped out of pockets and purses. My heart skips a beat as he approaches and I realize…I was wrong.

Jonah’s not really pretty at all. I mean, his eyes are definitely pretty. But wearing a gray T-shirt, black shorts and tennis shoes, with dark blond stubble and a backward baseball hat, he looks…manly.

He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me close, murmuring “hey” as his lips meet mine for a kiss. This one is nothing like our first. I smell his light cologne and feel the press of my soft curves against his hard chest as his tongue gently brushes mine. One of his hands comes up to cup the back of my