Playbook (The Holland Brothers 2)

“Chris? Oh my gosh.” Her words come out all high-pitched and breathy.

I turn and look at the woman next to me. I barely know London, but I can tell she’s one hundred percent putting on an act. Gone is the fiery woman that told me off and instead she’s faking politeness. The question is why.

I try to shake off the weird turn of events of the past few minutes and focus on the couple in front of us. The man is a few inches shorter than me, with dark hair and an air of importance and sophistication about him. I catalog him quickly as a total prick who thinks he’s God’s gift, but it’s the way his stare lingers on London that pulls it all together for me.

She’s slept with this prick. Dated him maybe? He’s definitely looking at her in a way that tells me he wants me to know he’s had her already. Correction, he’s a grade A prick.

“I thought you saw me. You looked right at me,” the guy, Chris, says. He doesn’t like being ignored. What a shock.

“Sorry, no. I didn’t see you.” She leans into me and rests a hand on my stomach.

I have no idea what’s happening or what to do, but my arm just sort of naturally wraps around her waist. She fits against me nicely.

Chris’s stare locks on my hand resting against her hip.

“So this must be him,” he says. “This is the guy you just started seeing.”

If we had just started seeing each other, I think it’d still be an awkward thing for him to toss out so casually, but as it is, I’m a) taken aback and b) wondering why she agreed to have a drink with me when she’s not single or why she yelled at me over the body shot when she’s got someone else.

I’m also pissed I missed my window. She was single just last week.

London’s eyes widen and she tries to pull away from me, but there’s a crowd around us and she can’t get far.

“Oh, uh…” She trails off like she isn’t sure if she should introduce me. She probably doesn’t want to, but it’s getting awkward. Well, more awkward.

Stepping forward, but not letting go of her, I extend the other hand. “Hey, what’s up, man? I’m Brogan.”

Chris studies it for a moment before shaking my hand. “You play for the Mavericks.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Are you a fan?” I ask even though he’s wearing a Mavericks shirt under his jacket.

“Oh my gosh,” the girl next to him finally speaks up. “We were just at the game. No way!”

“My company had some free tickets,” Chris says quickly. He looks to London. “This is the guy you’re dating? Brogan Six?”

“Umm…” She trails off, then smashes her lips together like she doesn’t trust her voice.

Chris looks to me like he wants my verification.

I can feel her body stiffen against me. It’s all coming together now. Or at least enough to know whatever lie she’s wrapped up in hangs on my response.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends, sweetheart?” I ask her.

She looks up at me with a flare of shock that slowly dissipates into a calm resolve. Her lips curve into a smile and she turns her head to stare at the guy standing in front of us.

“This is Chris. We went to high school together,” she says.

“We dated,” Chris says, like I didn’t already have that figured out by the possessive way he’s eyeing my hand draped over her hip.

“I’m Gretchen,” the girl pipes up. She looks to London. “You’re Sierra’s sister, right?”

“That’s right,” London says. “Have you and Sierra met?”

“No, not yet, but Ben talks about her nonstop.”

I feel Chris’s stare still hard on me.

“Can I get you guys something to drink?” I ask.

“No. Thanks. We’re gonna head out.”

“We are?” Gretchen asks.

I can practically feel London’s relief.

“Yeah. I think we should try that new bar down the street.”

“Well, hey, it was good to meet you. Any friend of my London is a friend of mine.” I extend my hand a second time, forcing him to shake it again. I might squeeze a little extra hard too, just to fuck with him. I don’t know what’s gone down between these two but it’s easy to be team London when the other side is this prick.

“I’ll see you next weekend,” Chris says to her, then, as if it just occurred to him, he asks me, “Are you coming to the engagement party?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I say without missing a beat and then I wink at him just for kicks. I don’t usually try to piss people off, but this guy is making it too easy and too much fucking fun.

He tugs his girlfriend away and they head straight for the door to leave. London slumps beside me and lets out a breath.

“Thank you,” she says.

“No problem, sweetheart,” I say, using the endearment that had rolled off my tongue so easily in front of her ex. I’m not mad, in fact I rather enjoyed it, but I am curious. “What the hell was that about?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” She smiles. Sort of. It’s kind of a grimace. “Well, this was fun, but I’m going to go home and smother myself with a pillow now.” She starts to walk off, but I grab her hand and she slingshots back to me. A tingle spreads up my arm.

“You’re not getting off that easily.”

“Can’t we just call us even? You can go back to doing body shots and I can go home and forget this all happened.”

“It’s been a strange night for sure.” I try a smile on her. She doesn’t seem pissed anymore, more like shell-shocked. “Stay. Just for a little while. It’ll give your douche ex enough time to get to his next stop and you won’t risk running into him on your escape route.”

She finally nods. “One drink and then I need this day to end.”

After getting our drinks, I lead her to a table in the bar away from my teammates. I get the sense that whatever she has to say, she doesn’t want an audience.

She takes a long pull from the beer bottle before setting it down. I’m across from her, watching her and waiting for her to speak. She fiddles with the label on the beer, pulling at a corner.

She doesn’t meet my gaze as she says, “That was my ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh, I know. He made sure I knew.”

She looks up. Those dark green eyes lock on me. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got all night.”

I’m not sure she’s going to say any more at first. She sits across from me, picking at the beer label, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. I’m content just to stare at her. I’d forgotten just how gorgeous she is. That thick, long brown hair, the contrast of her inky black lashes against her skin, and the way her top lip flips up, giving her mouth this puckered look like she’s just been kissed.

“We broke up a couple of years ago, but that’s only the second time I’ve seen him since then. The first time was last weekend when I lied and told him I was dating someone. Sorry for getting you involved.”

Am I relieved she’s not actually dating someone? Yes, yes I am.

“Why’d you lie?”

“Pride?” She shrugs. “I knew he was dating someone else and I didn’t want him to think I was hung up on him or anything.”

That makes sense, but it seems like a lot of effort for some douchebag that doesn’t deserve any of her thoughts or attention.

“I never expected to need to prove it, but then he walked into the bar as I was trying to escape you and I didn’t know what to do.”

“I’m thrilled I seemed like the better option.”

“Well, I didn’t expect him to think we’re together.” She laughs. “Can you imagine?”

I can, actually. Or at least some heavy making out.

“In hindsight, I probably should have just told him you were a friend and that the guy I was dating was meeting up with me later.”

“He wouldn’t have believed that.”

“No?”

“No guy is letting you out of his sight at a bar and he’s definitely going with you to meet up with another guy.”

Her cheeks take on a light-pink blush.

“Who’s getting married?”

“My sister,” she says, “is marrying his brother.”

My brows rise. Damn. That’s sticky.

“Yeah,” she says as if reading my thoughts. “They started dating shortly after Chris and I broke up. I’d successfully avoided him until they announced their engagement. They’re getting married in a few months so suddenly there are all these parties and plans, and I guess I’m not going to be able to avoid him forever like I’d originally planned.”

I never understood how two people who used to date or cared about each other could come to a point where they’d need to avoid each other. It’s beyond the feelings I’ve ever had for someone, I guess. But I can read the pain on her face and I feel for her, even if I don’t think that asshole is worth it.

She blows out a breath and gives me a smile that doesn’t seem all that happy. “Thank you for going along with it tonight. I guess he’s going to figure out that I was lying soon enough.” She laughs. “I probably should have thrown myself at someone a little less high-profile.”

“Right,” I say, thinking. It wouldn’t take a lot of research to find pictures of me with another girl as recently as tonight. An image of the woman who asked me to take a shot out of her cleavage comes to mind. “Yeah, I guess so.”

We fall quiet. She keeps picking at that label, and I look up toward the bar where my teammates are still hanging out. Cody glances over at the same time and I can tell he’s assessing the situation. His words from earlier this week come to mind and an idea forms slowly.

“Or maybe there’s a way we can help each other.”

Her head lifts and the question is on her face before she asks, “How?”

“I have started to get a bit of a reputation.”

One brow cocks and her lips twist into a smirk.

“I know, I know,” I say. “I’m not trying to say it isn’t deserved, but my performance on the field is being questioned now because of it and I can’t have that.”

“Maybe you should stop taking body shots at the bar.”

“She pulled my head into her cleavage.”

“Or stop calling women during the game.”

I wince. Yeah, Coach wasn’t happy that I was almost late. I just had to make sure she didn’t run off again. It felt like my last chance.

Fuck. Maybe my dick is still getting me into trouble. Which gives me all the more reason to convince her of my grand plan.

“Just hear me out.”

She leans forward, elbows resting on the table.

“Let’s just keep telling people we’re together. You can let the prick ex think we’re dating for as long as you need.”

“What do you get out of it?”

“The same thing.” I motion with my head to the bar. “If they think I’ve settled down, then they’ll get off my back, and hopefully my coaches will too.”

She looks at me like she thinks I’m joking. Her lips turn up at the corners and she opens her mouth as if to speak, but then stops herself.

The longer I think about it, the more I’m certain it’s a great idea.

“How would we pull that off?” she asks.

“Simple.” I shrug one shoulder.

“The second you hook up with another girl, they’ll all know.”

“All right. Good point.” I tap my hands on the table as I think. Lying low isn’t such a bad plan. Especially as the season is ramping up. I don’t want my game on the field to be overshadowed by anything else. “So I won’t hook up with anyone else.”

“Anyone else?” she repeats. “I’m not hooking up with you.”

“That isn’t what I meant.” Though it doesn’t sound so terrible. My gaze drops to her mouth. “The season is about to get hectic anyway, so how hard could it be to make people believe I’ve settled down and become a one-woman man?”

She huffs out a short laugh. Her green eyes shine bright with disbelief. “You’re serious?”

“Absolutely.”

“No one will ever believe we are dating.”

“Chris did.”

“Only because you were with me. I can’t just go around telling people I’m dating Brogan Six.”

“We’ll tell them together.” I pull out my phone. “I’ll post it.”

“Hold up.” She flings a hand out between us. “You want to post on your very public social media that you’re dating me?”

“You can post and tag me if you prefer.”

Laughter slips from her lips. It starts quiet but soon her body is shaking with it and she can’t seem to stop.

“Don’t worry. My ego isn’t hurt at all,” I say wryly. I honestly didn’t think it’d be so hard to convince her to do this. It seems like the perfect solution to both our problems.

“I’m sorry,” she says through more laughter. “It’s just…this is crazy.”

“Maybe, but it’s a quick, easy fix.”

“One social media post isn’t going to convince anyone.”

“When is the engagement party?”

She shakes her head. “Oh no. You can’t show up to my sister’s engagement party.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She trails off. “So many reasons.”

“I like parties and weddings, and Chris already thinks I’m the guy you’re dating.”

“But my entire family will be there.”

“Do they think you’re dating someone too?”

She doesn’t need to answer for me to read it on her face. She went to a lot of trouble to avoid telling Chris she’s single.

“Would any of your teammates truly believe you’re suddenly dating someone?” she asks.

“Sure.” I think they would anyway. Archer is the only one that would question it, but I’d have to tell him the truth anyway. “I’m gonna grab another drink. You want anything?”

She shakes her head, and I leave her at the table to go to the bar.

Cody steps up beside me as I order another beer. “Who’s that?”

“That is the girl that handed him his ass at the club.” Archer smirks.

Cody’s eyes widen. “I thought she looked familiar. The one with your old mailbox?”

“Yep.” I accept the beer with a thanks to the bartender. “We’ve been talking since then. She came to the game tonight.”

“That’s…” As he trails off as if he’s unsure what to think about the situation, I wait in suspense. Maybe she was right. They won’t buy it.

“Surprising. You need someone like that who can keep you in line,” Cody finally finishes, wearing an amused smile. The worry I had at selling the idea that I had a girlfriend is quickly forgotten. Sure, they’d be suspicious if I continued hooking up with other girls at the bar or parties, but if I don’t and instead she were there…

“I gotta go,” I say to him quickly. “Don’t want to keep her waiting.”

I’m mentally preparing how I’m going to convince her to do this, but when I slide into the chair across from her, she looks up at me with a steely resolve.

“How do we do this?”

“Really? You’re in?” My relief is so swift and immediate that it takes me by surprise.

“On several conditions.”

“What conditions?” I sit taller, leg bouncing with excitement.

“Number one: no hooking up. Not with other people and not with each other.” She gives me a pointed stare like she’s sure I’m going to cave on that point.

“Fine. Me and my hand for the foreseeable future.”

“Not an image I needed.” She winces. What the hell? My dick is a sight to behold. Or at least I like to behold it quite often. “But along those lines, the foreseeable future is how long? I think through the wedding should be fine. After that, I can tell them we broke up or whatever.”

“When is the wedding?”

“The last Saturday in October.”

“That’s not that far away.” Two months. We’ll be smack dab in the middle of the season. “How about December?”

Her eyes widen. Before she can argue, I add, “A two-month relationship isn’t that long. It doesn’t really sell me as a changed guy.” I’ve had casual flings last longer than that. “I know it’s a lot to ask. You’re a beautiful woman and giving up that amount of time to pretend to date me when there are lots of dudes wanting to take you out for real is not ideal for you.”

She snorts. “That’s not the issue. It’s just…four months is a long time.”

“I’m gonna be busy. We have games nearly every weekend and practices and meetings…”

“What kind of things would you need me to do? Parties and bar hangs?” She glances around.

“We also have some team events. There’s a community health and wellness day coming up.”

She looks visibly nervous. “And I’d go with you as your girlfriend?”

“Mhmm.” Picturing it, I smile. This could be cool. I’ll get to hang with her while easing the minds of my coach and teammates.

She blows out a breath that puffs out her cheeks. “Oh god, I feel like I’m going to regret this.”

“Nah. It’s going to be great,” I tell her. “For both of us.”