the broad chest, and cocked head and palpable alpha-ness that got my pants flying off and started this whole mess in the first place.
“This is Matt McKenzie,” Noah continues, hopefully not sensing the tidal wave of tension that filled the room as soon as I looked at Matt. “He’s the quarterback, and you’ll be in charge of making South Florida fall in love with him.”
I try to form words, but I’m having a hard time even thinking clearly.
“Hi, Ellie.” His voice is laced with a subtle tease, a barely noticeable hint of something just the tiniest bit between us.
“Hey,” I manage, straightening my back as I walk over to Matt and Noah, hoping the dizzy lightheadedness doesn’t put me flat on my face.
Matt turns to face my brother and nods in my direction. “We’ve actually met. A couple weeks ago at the cocktail party.” He looks back at me. “But I thought you were headed off to Asia.”
Great. Now he thinks I lied to him to get out of seeing him again. No, Matt, I’m not a liar. Just a runner. A leaver. A woman in constant search of an escape, who, now, has none.
“Change of…plans.” I lift a shoulder and shake my head, hoping when I drop the pregnancy bomb on him, he forgives me for lying. Even though I didn’t. Technically.
I hold my breath and telepathically try to will my brother not to use that genius IQ and put two and two together about me meeting Matt and my subsequent unplanned pregnancy.
“Oh, awesome.” Noah smiles and shrugs. “Then you two will work well together.”
Oblivious. Thank God.
Matt shifts his focus back to me and gives the tiniest whisper of a wink. “I have a feeling we will.”
I widen my eyes and try to shoot him a look, still reeling from the shock of him walking through that door and trying to come to terms with the fact that I have to tell him my secret. Our secret, I guess.
Noah glances between us, possibly sensing something, but thankfully brushing it off. “All right, El. Work your PR magic and make the people love this man.”
Matt gives a cheesy grin and flicks his brows. “Don’t worry, I’m likable.”
Yeah. I freaking remember.
I laugh a little awkwardly and push some hair behind my shoulders. “We should talk. You know, strategize.” I peek at Noah, then look back at Matt and try my very hardest not to have a physical reaction to the scorching-hot memories I have of him from the night we met. “I can get to know you and figure out how to build your brand as the quarterback.”
“I’m free right now,” Matt responds quickly, his tone of voice and flashing eyes still teasing me with the silent, unspoken tension between us.
Right now? Like, now now?
“Perfect.” Noah smiles and picks the binder up off the desk, handing it to me. “Go get started.”
I follow Matt out of the office and try to maintain some level of composure. Facing the mind-blowing hookup that got me pregnant was sure as hell not what I expected of my first day working on Riders PR.
The office door clicks shut behind us, and we stand alone in a long, cool hallway.
“Coffee?” Matt asks with a half smile. “Seems we’ve got some chatting to do.”
Holy hell, Matt McKenzie. Do we ever.
Five
Matt
Why does she have to be so fucking pretty? And why didn’t I just take the fact that she lied to me about jetting off to Thailand as a clear and glaring I’m not interested and move on? Because I couldn’t. Because as soon as I heard she’d be working for the team with her brother, I echoed my agent’s demands that we improve my public image.
Don’t get me wrong, I want the fans to like me, and I need them to believe that I can win us a Super Bowl. But I’d be straight up lying to myself if my heart didn’t flip a little when I found out who the new PR person is. And if I didn’t at least push a little bit for a chance to be her…assignment.
Ellie takes a long, slow breath as the barista at Starbucks hands us our coffee. She forces herself to look me in the eyes. “I know this is…weird. And I’m sure there’s someone else we can assign to this job—”
“Ah.” I sip the hot coffee and gesture for her to sit at an empty table next to a sunny window. “Trying to get away from me yet