I’d do that through the gala, then… let her go.

  Why did I feel like someone just punched me in the gut?

  “I’ll leave you young people alone,” Barbie said, then waited. Was she waiting for one of us to tell her she was young too? What a vamp.

  “We’ll see you at the gala,” I said and tossed my Am Ex Black on the table. “My treat.”

  Her eyes gleamed as she looked at the card. “Thank you.” She slid from the booth and waved her fingers. “Ta ta.”

  I waved my fingers back and turned to Eliana, ignoring Barbie completely. The tap tap of her heels told me she was finally leaving.

  Eliana just looked up at me until the door closed, then she laughed, a beautiful sound that made me smile. She flung herself at me, her arms wrapping around my waist. “Thank you so much! That was awesome! Incredible!” She laughed again. “Absolutely perfect. Thank you, really.”

  I twirled a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of her tight bun around my finger. “You were a champ, recovering so quickly after I jumped in on you like that. Well played.”

  She preened, batting her long lashes, making me laugh again.

  “Seriously, you were brilliant,” I told her. “And I was serious when I said I’d take you to the gala. It’s an off day for me, and my grandmother has been begging me to go. I won’t have any trouble getting tickets.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really? What you just did was enough. I could tell Alize that we had a fight and broke up. Or I could just pretend I’m sick and dodge the entire bullet.”

  I leaned closer. “Or you could go with me. You could enjoy your spa day and new dress on your mom’s tab. It would be fun. I’ll dote on you all night. We’ll dance and eat expensive food, and if we’re lucky, you’ll get to watch me break that Winston guy’s face.”

  Her eyes clouded, and I felt like a shit for bringing up his name.

  “Sorry that happened to you. It happened to one of my sisters too; it haunts her to this day. And when your mother blew it off like that, it just…” I shook my head, my teeth grinding together. “I couldn’t sit there any longer.”

  She laid her hand on mine and our fingers automatically linked together, as if we’d been holding hands for ages. “Thank you. It really was perfect. I appreciate you being my white knight.”

  I laughed. “I’m no hero, and I have a confession.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

  “I followed you here. We bumped into each other at that alley, and I…”

  “Followed me. Why?”

  She really doesn’t know how beautiful she is.

  “I don’t know. Why do flowers turn to the sun?”

  Holy fucking shit. Why did I just say that?

  “And your ass in those jeans,” I said quickly to cover my embarrassment. “You have a fine ass, Eliana.” She blushed. “Besides, I was fascinated that you were feeding the homeless and taking care of the dogs. I guess I just wanted to see what you’d do next.”

  Her thumb traced a circle on the back of my hand. “So here you are.”

  “Yeah. Here I am. And I’ll pick you up next Saturday at seven. Type your contact information into my phone.” I unlocked it and handed it over, regretting doing so when she unlinked our fingers to add her info. She handed the phone back, and I sent her a text. Her phone pinged. “There, now you have mine.”

  She slid her finger across her screen and added me as a contact. Tapping on the camera icon, she held her phone out and leaned closer to me. “Smile.”

  I did, and she snapped our selfie. It was cute. We looked good together. She added the picture to my contact. “There, you’re my official fake boyfriend now.”

  Why did the fake part feel wrong?

  Looking back up at me, she licked her lips, and my cock responded to the action. “I better go,” she said in a low voice. “I need to get to work soon.”

  “Where do you work?”

  Her face brightened. “Right now, I’m working for a woman who has a dog grooming business. It’s only part-time, but I love working with animals. My dream is to become a veterinarian, and I was going to start vet school this fall, but…” She swallowed hard and looked down at her fingers.

  “But something happened with your mother?” I guessed.

  She nodded.

  “Is that why you have to pay your mother, who is clearly very rich, rent?”

  She nodded again, still looking down.

  “What happened?” I asked gently, unable to stop myself. I hadn’t even known this girl an hour, but I wanted to know everything about her. The good and the bad.

  “You’re being nosy,” she said with a grin.

  “Hey, I’m your fake boyfriend, I’m allowed to be nosy.”

  She nudged me with her shoulder. “Okay, fake boyfriend. I’ll tell you why. Alize hated the idea of me being in the ‘working class’ as she calls it. She says it’s embarrassing.”

  I laughed. “And doctors of veterinary medicine are considered working class in her world?”

  She finally looked up and smiled. “Yes. In her world, only models and actors, artists, can work without being disgraced. Everyone else needs to be socialites with family money. That’s what she wanted me to be. A mini-me of her. A little girl she could flaunt to society and preen over. She wanted me to be a model, but I wasn’t pretty enough for that. An actress, but I hate being in the spotlight.” She shrugged and took a long drink of her tea.

  “I think I hate your mother.”

  She choked on her tea, spitting the sweet stuff out on me. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, blushing furiously as she wiped me off. I wished she’d sprayed me on the crotch instead of the thigh. The softness of her hand on my skin was making me hard.

  I covered her hand with mine before I embarrassed myself. “It’s athletic gear. It’ll wash. Don’t worry about it. Finish your story.”

  She breathed in deeply. “Alize — her real name is Helen Jean, by the way — was born on a farm in Tennessee but was ‘discovered’ when she was on a school trip in Nashville. She became a model when she was fifteen or so, and was even in some soap operas and pretty awful movies. She met my dad, who was in his sixties by the way, and got pregnant with me when she was nineteen. He was very rich, and they got married, but he died when I was just a baby.”

  “And that’s how you became wealthy,” I stated, the puzzle coming together.

  “That’s how she got wealthy. My father hadn’t set up a trust for me or anything like that, so all the money is hers. That money, plus all the money she’s gained from marrying rich four more times. She never lets me forget that it is her money that buys — well, used to buy — my apartment, clothes, paid for my education, blah, blah.”

  I whistled, and Eliana nodded. “Yeah. My mother has made a career out of marrying well. I’ll never be like that. I do live in the apartment she bought just because the rent is so crazy around here, but as you can see, I do pay rent. Well, my roommate and I pay the rent.”

  “What happened that you couldn’t start school this year?”

  She blushed, but it wasn’t from embarrassment this time. Anger and disappointment combined to just make her look sad. “Alize was going to pay for school, and I had everything ready. I’ve been accepted, and my class schedule was set. On the last day tuition was due, Alize changed her mind. She said that she, in good conscience, couldn’t support me in tossing my life away.”

  “The bitch.”

  Eliana laughed, but the sound was bitter. “Yeah. The thing is, if I’d known she was going to go back on her offer to pay for school, I could have made other arrangements. Scholarships. Loans. Found another job. But because she pulled out on the exact day of the deadline…” she lifted a shoulder.

  “You were screwed,” I finished for her.

  She nodded. “Pretty much. So now I’m working and saving every penny that I can. I’ll also apply for loans and scholarships. I have expensive clothes and purses,” she pointed at the one beside her, “that Alize bought, and I’ll try to sell. I have options. It will just take me a little longer to get started.”

  “Did you ever consider moving to Tennessee and staying with your grandparents? You could go to school there.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I’d love that more than you’d ever know. I stayed with them every summer. I wanted to live with them full-time and go to high school there, but Alize thought people would feel poorly about her if she didn’t bring me back.”

  Right. Image is everything.

  “My grandpa was a vet, and I got to be his ‘assistant’ when I was there. They were both so wonderful, and they were going to fight Alize for custody, but there was a fire, and…” She shook her head sadly, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again.

  “Why homeless animals?” I asked in order to change the subject.

  She sniffed hard and her forehead wrinkled. “One day about a year ago, I was passing by an alley and heard this man screaming and a dog barking like crazy. It turned out that somebody reported the man to the local humane society, claiming there was no way he could take care of the dog on the streets. The man, his name is Joseph…”

  Ah. Joseph and Target.

  “He was devastated and crying so hard, it cracked something inside me. I went to the shelter and adopted Target and took him back, promising to feed him every day. After that, I noticed more homeless dogs and…”

  “You take them all food. Treat them for fleas. Stuff like that.”

  “Yes. And if I can’t for some reason, my roommate, Zoe, does. She’s going to vet school too. She actually did get to start this year, so I help her study which helps me better prepare for when I get started. It works out great.”

  “And you’re able to pay for all this on your own? Grooming dogs?”

  She smiled. “Long Islanders are crazy about their pooches and pay a crazy amount to make sure Fluffy’s fur is perfect. The business is incredibly lucrative.”

  The pride in her eyes made me smile too.

  “You seem very determined.”

  “I am. And I actually like that I get to do it on my own. One less thing I’ll feel indebted to my mother for.”

  “And when you graduate?”

  “I’ll open my own clinic and offer free services to homeless dogs. Then I’ll get to do more than provide a meal.”

  “I’ll talk to Katrina Delaney about what you’re doing. She’s the Beasts’ PR director, and I’m meeting with her this afternoon. She’s always looking for stuff the players can do for the community.”

  Dammit. I hated thinking about my stupidity of last night, the real reason I was meeting Katrina.

  Eliana’s smile lit up her face. “That would be wonderful.”

  An idea sprang to life. “What time do you get off work?”

  “Not until about nine tonight. One of my dog moms needed a late appointment. Why?”

  “Well, I was going to leave you a ticket at the will-call booth. If you were able to come to the game tonight, I’d introduce you to Katrina. Hell, I would have introduced you to Ace Newman too. He does a bunch for homeless vets, and I heard him talk about pet therapy for vets with PTSD. I’m not sure, but there might be some way shelter dogs could be trained to help?”

  “That’s brilliant!”

  “Maybe another night? I’m leaving tomorrow for a nine-game road trip. There will be a couple home games before the gala. Maybe you’ll come then?”

  “Yes, I’d love that. I’ll go online and look at the schedule to see if something works. Could I bring Zoe too?”

  “Of course. Just text me, and I’ll leave you both tickets. Don’t eat beforehand because there will be tons of food available in the suite.”

  “Suite?”

  I grinned at her. “Yeah, it’s where all the players’ wives and fake girlfriends sit.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and I realized I was jealous of her teeth. I wanted to be biting it, sucking on it, slipping my cock... Shit. My ability to concentrate was whacked.

  “And…” she said, looking worried, “if I’m able to come to a game, we just go in? Start munching on the buffet?”

  “Yep. Eat, watch the game, then I’ll introduce you to Katrina and Ace afterward.”

  “That actually sounds like fun.”

  It was my turn to preen. She laughed. “Good. Then we can work on our ‘how we met’ story before we hit the red carpet.”

  I hadn’t even noticed that the waiter had taken my card until he brought it back with a ticket for me to sign. I paid for our meals but wasn’t yet ready to say goodbye.

  “Well, I better go, dear,” she said. “I have a labradoodle in twenty minutes.”

  Reluctantly, I slid from the booth and extended my hand to help her out. Our fingers linked together as I walked her to the door. At the entrance, an older woman was smiling at us both, and she gave Eliana a long wink. “You two have a good day.”

  “Thanks, Helen. You too.”

  On the sidewalk, we were still holding hands, and I was still reluctant to let her go. “So… see ya soon?”

  She nodded, another blush creeping onto her cheeks. “Yes. And thanks again. For everything. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for what you did in there.”

  I took a step closer and bent down, placing my lips to her ear. “Get that Brazilian at the spa.”

  She gasped and giggled and coughed all at once. Pulling back, she looked up at me. Even in the heels, the top of her head only came to my shoulders. “I didn’t think fake boyfriends got to even see things like that.”

  My cock twitched. “Maybe we can break the rules?”

  Her eyes darkened until the sky turned into the sea. “Well, I’ve heard that’s what’s supposed to happen to rules.”

  “I’ve heard that too.”

  She lifted herself up to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. “I’ll let you know next Saturday.”

  Then she was gone, leaving me with a hard-on and a view of that swaying, very sexy, ass.

  And I knew I was totally screwed.

  ***

  Yep, I was totally screwed.

  Katrina Delaney was tapping her nails on her large mahogany desk as I stepped into her office. She didn’t even smile when I flashed her my most brilliant one.

  She pointed at a chair. “Sit.”

  I liked Katrina, although I didn’t at first.

  Rhett had hired Katrina just before spring training began, then sent her down to Florida with the team to babysit us, which essentially meant that she was supposed to keep us out of the tabloids.

  Yeah, her job sucked from the very beginning.

  But she turned out to be a hard worker, which had been a surprise considering she was Bobby “Spaceman” Delaney’s daughter — another kid born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

  Turned out, her silver spoon had gotten lodged up her ass when her baseball icon father lost it all at the gambling table, forcing her to find work for the first time. But it turned out alright. She and Todd Morris, our catcher, ended up falling in love and were now disgustingly happy.

  She wasn’t happy now.

  Still giving me a blank face, she reached into her drawer and pulled out a box of Clorox wipes. When she tossed them to me, I caught them, my eyebrow raised in question.

  “Scrub.” She pointed at the wipes. “Scrub your hands, your mouth. Everything you touch in this office. Hell, take them home and scrub your…” she growled but didn’t finish.

  I rolled my eyes and she growled again.

  “I didn’t know she was in porn,” I began my defense. “She—”

  “Divine? You didn’t have some inkling that a 44DDD bleach blonde with artificial everything and a name like Chelsie Divine might possibly be in the business?”

  Well, when she said it like that…

  “I didn’t know her last name,” I said, grasping at straws.

  She tapped her fingernails again, and I deflated.

  “Okay, I know what you’re going to say. I shouldn’t be having relations…” I nearly snickered as I coined Nana’s phrase, “with women whose last names I don’t know.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s a start.”

  Her fingernails were going a mile a minute now, driving me crazy.

  “Did you even bother to google Chelsie Divine?” she asked, but didn’t give me time to answer. “No, of course you didn’t because you were probably never properly introduced to anything other than her…” She snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

  “Katrina—”

  “Hush it. I’m not done.” I tipped an imaginary cap, not daring to laugh. She narrowed her eyes at me. “This isn’t funny, Kane. Over the past three years, Miss Divine has created nearly two thousand films. Want to know what the last one was?”

  No! No, I do not.

  “It was a bisexual production where she had sex with two guys who were having sex. And you know what…?”

  Please God, don’t let her tell me.

  “One guy is screwing another guy in the ass, and he pulls out, and she gives him—”

  I jumped from my seat, my hands held out like I was trying to stop a truck. “Stop it.”

  “Head!”

  I slumped back down.

  “Apparently, ass to mouth is big in the business. Did you kiss her? Huh? Huh?”

  I pulled a Clorox wipe out and scrubbed my mouth, then my tongue. I was going to be sick.

  “I really didn’t know,” I said lamely, “but you’re right, I should have thought it through.”

  Katrina pushed her hand through her hair and sighed. “Kane, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all that, but it freaked me out when I saw your picture with her in the paper. I like you. I want what’s best for you.”

  “It’s okay. You’ll be a great mom someday. I feel about nine years old right now.”

  A smiled played on her lips. “Any suggestions on what we can do to help restore your good name in society?”

  I thought immediately of Eliana.

  “Actually, I met this girl today.” Katrina’s eyes narrowed, and I went on quickly. “A good girl…”

  By the time I’d finished my story about following and meeting Eliana, Katrina was smiling.