The Rules of Friends with Benefits, Lauren Blakely [the false prince series TXT] 📗

for attendance was one of them. It had been getting harder every year, and he wasn’t sure how to solve the problem either.”

Crosby taps his finger thoughtfully on his glass. “Is it a matter of marketing, do you think? Or is it just the nature of the beast in Vegas?”

I groan. “That question keeps me up at night. I think, in large part, it’s the nature of Vegas. But do I just accept that, or do I do something about it?”

We stand there for a moment, and I can almost hear the gears turning in his head. We’re comfortable enough together that I can wait, barely, for him to speak in his own time.

“Now . . . don’t just dismiss this idea because of the source,” he begins.

“You’re worrying me, Crosby.”

“It’s ballsy, but not as crazy as staking your Lombardi Trophy at the poker table to make ends meet.”

“Okay. Now that I’ve got that for perspective . . .”

“You could, say, move the team to San Francisco.”

He says it levelly, seriously, like it’s a thing I should legitimately consider.

Still, I laugh. “Oh, that’s ballsy, all right.”

He shrugs, but not lightly. “I told you not to dismiss it right away.”

“Moving a team is one of the hardest things to do. But I’m sure the NFL will trip all over themselves to approve that proposal.”

“You never know.” Meeting my eyes, he smiles. “You never know about a lot of things, right?”

He holds my gaze a long time, long enough that my heart flips, that I feel like it’s one of those things where anything could happen. Like we are one of those things.

Am I reading too much into it?

Is it wishful thinking?

Or do I know him well enough to infer what he’s thinking?

I look away first and take a sip of my champagne, savoring the way it makes my skin feel all sorts of tingly.

Only maybe it’s not the bubbly.

Maybe it’s the way he’s looking at me.

And maybe that’s why, when I glance back at him, I say, “Yes, you never know about all sorts of things.”

It comes out a little breathy, a little flirty, and he taps my arm, echoing, “Exactly. You never know.”

The possibility in those words, in the way he says them, stays with me after we part, after I’m in my hotel room. In the dark I imagine things spinning out in unexpected directions. Dangerous things, lovely things. Moments. Times together.

But in the morning, on my flight home, I remind myself that things I don’t know can’t be accounted for. They’re not variables I can change, or outcomes I can affect.

That’s where I need to put my focus—on things like luring scads of fans back to the stadium.

4

Nadia

A little later

My cell rings as I’m wrapping up my notes for an upcoming owner’s meeting. When I see Eric’s name on the screen, I grab it right away.

My brother never calls. He’s a texter. Between picking up the phone and swiping the screen, I go right back to when my dad phoned to let me know he was sick. God, I hope nothing is wrong with Eric. I hope nothing’s wrong with my mother.

“What’s going on?” I ask. “Is everything okay?”

Maybe I sound less frantic aloud than I do in my head because Eric launches right in with “Everything’s great!”

That’s obviously true from the sound of his voice, and I sigh in relief.

“Either you just landed a huge new deal for Harlowe Funds or you’ve finally found that first edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

He laughs. “Neither. Something worlds better. I asked Mariana to marry me.”

I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth even with no one here to see. “Oh my God! I’m so happy for you! I’m thrilled.”

Thrilled barely scratches the surface of my feelings. My brother found the love of his life at a friend’s wedding, and now they’re going to be starting a life together. Who wouldn’t want that for her beloved brother?

“Oh, that’s perfect, Eric. Tell Mariana, ‘Welcome to the family.’ And I think you should get to work on babies because I want to be an aunt, and I’m not getting any younger.”

He makes a choking sound, and I glance at the time. Three o’clock, so yep, I made him spit out his afternoon coffee. Or, if I’m really lucky, I made him spurt it out his nose.

Score a point for the little sister.

“One, you’re twenty-four,” he says when he recovers. “A good thing because, two, babies aren’t happening anytime soon.”

“One, you don’t know the future, and two, I would really love it. And Mom would love it too. You need to give her a second grandchild. Since Brooke’s already beaten us to the punch.”

“As she should, since she’s the oldest. And give us a few years, please,” Eric says. “At the moment, I’m underwhelmed by your enthusiasm for my simply getting married.”

“What? I said I was thrilled! I thought Mariana was the bomb from the first time I met her. You two have always had this wonderful connection.” I speak from the bottom of my heart, and hope it carries over the cell connection. “It’s been amazing to watch my big brother fall in love and become such a terrific man and wonderful partner. And Dad would have been so happy too.”

“Okay, stop. I already have coffee all over me. I don’t need to be soaked in man-tears too.”

“This call just keeps getting better and better.”

“Will you come to our engagement party in a couple of weeks?”

He asks it so earnestly, as if there could be a snowball’s chance in Vegas that I’d say no.

“If you didn’t invite me, I would disown you.”

“That’s the only reason I ask. So you won’t disown me.”

“Well, as long as you have your priorities straight,” I say. “Now, tell me how you proposed.”

I spin my chair as he gives me the details. I spot Matthew in the doorway on my second revolution. His green eyes are wide as he points to the phone