9. Morgan

9

MORGAN

“Have I told you that you are the most beautiful woman on this field?” The words are whispered in my ear as a muscular arm lands on my shoulders. “You really know how to wear those yoga pants.”

“Knock it off, Chen.” I nudge his toned abs with my elbow, forcing him to step back and drop his arm. “There are photographers here.”

Joshua Chen straightens and rubs his stomach with a wounded expression. “Are you embarrassed by my love, Morgan? Even after the night we spent together at my cousin’s wedding?”

Beside me, Carlee barks a laugh, spewing out the sip she just took from her water bottle.

I level a disapproving glare on the trouble-making first basemen, but my lips twitch when I see his pout.

“You’re determined to start drama, aren’t you?” I shoot a pointed look at the other side of the grassy field where the other half of today’s athletic volunteers are gathered with a group of kids, preparing to divide into teams for a friendly baseball game.

Carlee’s here for work, and I’m here to keep her company. My best friend is the social media coordinator for the Texas Lonestars, and she called Joshua over for a photo op that she’ll use later to promote today’s community field day. Athletes from men’s and women’s professional teams in the area are here to participate, including members of the Texas Ranchers.

My gaze locks with Dane’s like a magnet to metal, pulled in by the attraction that, as hard as I try to ignore, percolates between us anytime we’re in the same room. Even from this distance, I can see the annoyance in his expression, telling me he saw Joshua’s flirtatious gesture.

A thrill courses through me.

I’ve caught Dane checking me out when I’m cooking at his place and he thinks I won’t notice. It used to annoy me as much as flatter me. But now, after he helped me navigate the unwelcome run-in with Aaron, my feelings lean more towards flattery.

Which is dangerous now that we’ve officially launched our fake dating relationship with the world. And by the world, I mean we held hands when walking into the Ranchers’ Facility last Thursday. The news spread like wildfire through the locker room, and it took half a day before it reached my boss’s inbox.

Luckily, I’d anticipated that. Before I told Dane I was one hundred percent in on our scheme, I’d searched the Ranchers’ employee handbook for a no-fraternization policy. I’d be a fool not to, especially considering Carlee's mess with the Lonestars when they found out about her and Corey.

The hockey team’s policy states that no athletes are allowed to engage in romantic relationships with coaches, trainers, or other staff who hold supervisory power to avoid conflicts of interest and maintain a professional atmosphere for the team. Other consenting relationships are permitted as long as they are disclosed to the organization.

So, after confirming that Dane was serious about following through on his spontaneous idea, I emailed Dr. Gaines to inform him of my relationship with Dane.

Did I feel bad for lying to my boss?

Of course.

But the fact Aaron works for the Ranchers gave me no choice.

I’ve worked hard to overcome the marks his influence left on my self-esteem. I’m proud to say I’ve grown into a woman who would never allow herself to be treated so poorly by her partner ever again.

But that didn’t stop my body from snapping into fight or flight mode when I found myself in front of the man who single-handedly ground my confidence into dust. I shudder to think what would’ve happened if Dane hadn’t been there.

A sly smile curls my lips when I remember the shock and fury in the athletic trainer’s face when he heard Dane call me babe.

In the few times we’ve run into each other since, Aaron has been nothing but respectful. I’m not sure he won’t drop the facade one day and try to take an ax to my self-esteem, but for now, he’s keeping his distance. Which means I don’t have to work in a hostile work environment. Which means I can focus on doing my job.

I remind myself of that each time guilt tries to worm its way into my mind—telling me I shouldn’t lie to people about the status of my relationship.

The Ranchers want Dane to perform at his peak. I’m assigned to help by optimizing his diet and analyzing his performance during practice and games to assess the effects of my efforts. It would be hard to do the latter if I had Aaron nearby, sneering at me with those cold, judgmental eyes.

“I can’t believe you chose Larson over me.” Joshua’s words are the excuse I need to pull my eyes off the enigmatic man across the field. The handsome first baseman clutches the fabric over his heart. “I don’t know if I will ever recover.”

“Please.” I roll my eyes. “Just go on your secret dating profile and find a quality girl to date already.”

“Secret profile?” Carlee’s eyes widen.

Joshua glares. “Nice, Morgan.”

“What?” I hold my hands up innocently. “Is it a secret?”

“I know you try to hide that you’re a baseball player,” Carlee tells Joshua. “But I didn’t know you had a secret profile.”

Joshua sighs. “That’s kinda the point.”

“Whoops.” I wince. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He shakes his head. “It’s not like I use it anyway.”

“Why not?” Carlee asks.

“I don’t know. It feels weird to lie about who I am to get a girl. Even if I have a good reason. Relationships are supposed to be based on honesty. You know?”

“Yeah, they definitely should be.” Carlee shoots me a pointed look.

I narrow my eyes at her in reply.

“Chen,” Corey shouts from across the field. “Get your ass over here. We’ve got a game to play.”

“Language!” Carlee shouts at her fiancé.

“Sorry, babe!”

The players and kids around the star pitcher chuckle. Carter makes a whip motion, accompanying it with the appropriate sound effect.

Corey shoves his childhood friend on the shoulder, eliciting another round of laughter from the audience.

“Sorry, ladies. It looks like I’ve got to go.” Joshua shoots me a wink. “I’ll text you later.”

I shake my head and smile. “Go away.”

He laughs and then jogs over to join the large group.

“So… are you sure this thing with Dane is fake?”

“What?” My eyes snap to my best friend. “Of course it is. Why would you ask me that?”

Her brows arch skeptically. “Many reasons. One is that you were just at each other’s throats at the airport.”

She’s talking about when we all got together to welcome Valerie back after living in California for a few months. I bite my cheek and remember the petty remarks I lobbed Dane’s way. I was pretty rude.

I pretend it wasn’t a big deal and shrug. “Things change.”

“Clearly.”

My forehead creases. “What does that mean?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” I frown.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Dane is clearly into you, Morgan.”

I ignore the way her words make my stomach flip. “No, he’s not.”

I never told Carlee what happened between Dane and me. I didn’t want her to mention it to Carter and have it get back to Dane, and I didn’t want the hockey star to know how much it stung when he didn’t text me after asking for my number.

And while Carlee is one of the most level-headed women I know, she’s also a hopeless romantic. Unsurprisingly, she sees Dane’s willingness to act as my boyfriend as a sign that he’s into me. She wouldn’t understand another motivation given how tense he and I have been acting towards each other recently.

No doubt, she thinks we’re perfectly set up to become an enemies-to-lovers love story. The romance novel fanatic probably imagines so many sexually charged encounters and palpable angst between us.

I snort.

She couldn’t be more wrong.

While I find Dane undeniably attractive, there’s no angst here. The hurt of his dismissal is too big of a hurdle for me to overcome. No matter how hot he is. Or how incredible he’s been by acting as a buffer between Aaron and me.

“Yes, he is.” Carlee’s lips lift into a knowing grin. “And he’s about to prove it.”

My forehead creases. “What do you?—”

“Hey, babe.”

My head snaps up, and I see Dane jogging up to us.

“Hey…” My eyes widen. “Um. What are you doing? Aren’t you about to play a game?”

“I am, but first, I wanted to check on my girl.”

Oh, brother.

The only reason I don’t roll my eyes is because we have an audience. The crowd of athletes and kids Dane left behind are watching us with a mix of impatience and curiosity.

“You can drop the act. Carlee knows the truth.”

“Oh.” Dane’s smile doesn’t falter. “Cool. Good to see you again, Carlee.”

“Good to see you, too, Dane.” Carlee turns her cheerful smile onto the hockey star. “Thanks again for agreeing to participate in today’s outreach program. A few people had family obligations come up. We were nervous we wouldn’t have enough players to interact with all the kids.”

“Of course. Happy to help.” Dane’s smile is nothing short of charming. And by all accounts, he seems sincere. Then, he turns to me. “What about Chen?”

I blink. It takes a moment to process his question. “Joshua? What about him?”

“Does he know the truth about us?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Of course not.”

Dane and I had agreed that the fewer people who knew this was a fake relationship, the better.

I insisted on telling Carlee because I needed someone I could confide in. I considered being honest with my family, but then I’d have to dive into all the shitty things Aaron did to me during our relationship to explain. That wasn’t something I ever wanted to share.

But Carlee knows what I went through, and she didn’t ask for more information about me and Dane than I was willing to share. The Caldwell Clan would not be so accommodating.

As for Dane, he told me he only planned to tell Eli about us. From what I’ve witnessed and heard in the short time I’ve been around the brothers, they’re incredibly close despite their age gap.

“Interesting.” Dane’s features harden. “So, what was he doing flirting with you?”

Is he serious?

“Deadly serious.” Dane’s eyes flash. I realize I asked the question out loud.

I shake my head and paste on a smile for the watching crowd. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I?” He crosses his arms, and his biceps bulge in his tight sleeves. “Does Chen know we’re dating?”

“Yes, he knows we’re ‘dating.’” I put air quotes around the word.

“Then, from my perspective, Chen is a guy who is flirting with another guy’s girl. Where I come from, that’s disrespectful.”

“He has a point,” Carlee says lightly.

“You, stay out of this.”

Carlee bites her lip but fails to hide her smile.

See what I mean? Hopeless romantic.

I shake my head and focus my attention on Dane. “Joshua is just a friend. He’s harmless.”

“He’s a friend who doesn’t respect you’re seeing someone.”

“It’s not like that. Joshua always acts like that. He jokes that he and I will get together, but he knows we are strictly just friends.”

Dane snorts. “So, he openly says he’s interested in you?”

He gives me a look that asks if I’m willingly na?ve or just stupid.

I throw my hands up in the air. “I’m telling you, it’s not a big deal.”

“It might not seem like a big deal to you, but I’d rather not have people whispering about how the girl I’m dating is flirting with other guys behind my back.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to remind him none of this is real, but then I remember why Dane is doing this. He wants to improve his image. He doesn’t want to be seen as a player, and I’m not sure being seen as a guy being cheated on is much better.

I let the fight flow out of me and take a deep breath, reminding myself that Dane has the least to gain from our arrangement between us. He’s honestly doing me a huge favor. I can’t blame him for not wanting to look like a fool.

“Okay. Fine. You’re right. I’ll make sure Joshua respects our… relationship.”

“Good.” Dane’s arms fall to his sides, and he shifts his stance. “Well, I guess I should get back.”

He hikes his thumb over his shoulder and gives me a sheepish look that is annoyingly adorable. He’s surprised I gave up the fight so easily.

I offer a wry smile. “Yeah, I guess so.”

He rolls back his shoulders and lifts his chin. Then, in a loud voice, he says, “I’m going to hit a home run for you, babe. I promise.”

I mutter, “You’re ridiculous.”

“I know, but you like me.” He steps forward, and I suck in a breath as he presses his lips to my forehead in a chaste kiss that sends tingles to my toes.

His lips are gone before I can exhale. “See you after the game.”

With a wink, he jogs back to the waiting group. The other athletes jeer at Dane for postponing their scrimmage. He laughs good-naturedly, taking it all in stride.

I stare at the group and try to reason away my body’s reaction to the unexpected kiss. Dane and I had discussed the fact there would be a need for public displays of attention from time to time. Otherwise, our relationship wouldn’t seem legit.

But that kiss had been… sweet .

It didn’t feel strategic.

I feel Carlee’s eyes boring into my face as I watch Dane start warming up with his team, throwing a baseball with twelve-year-old girls from the local softball league.

“What are you staring for?” I grumble, finally tearing my gaze away from the distracting hockey player.

Carlee’s lips twist. “Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m staring for.” She glances meaningfully across the field.

I risk another look and see Dane looking our way. Seeing my attention, he lifts his hand with a bright smile.

Ugh. Why does he have to be so freaking hot and adorable at the same time?

Carlee chuckles under her breath.

“Oh, be quiet,” I huff before turning on my heel. My cheeks burn as I stomp away to the sound of my best friend’s prolonged laughter, but the butterflies in my stomach don’t stop fluttering.