Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

brADEN

Why the hell did Dani look so familiar?

And why was I so drawn to her? I'd never experienced this kind of pull to another person before. It was like the second we met, a switch flipped inside me. Even though she'd made it clear that this arrangement was just for show, I knew I needed to get to know her better.

It wasn't just that she was hot as fuck with her bronze skin, petite frame, shoulder-length black hair, and chestnut eyes. It was her strong, quiet determination to do right by her nephew while still following her own dreams. And fuck, the pain and exhaustion I could see written all over her face. It seemed to permeate every single fiber of her being. I couldn't explain why, but the desire – no, the need – to make it all go away was so strong I could taste it.

I still couldn't figure out why Amara's name was resonating with me so much. It was like a ghost of a memory, something in the dark recesses of my mind that was trying desperately to break free. But no matter what I did, it was just out of reach.

Trying to shake the nagging feeling, I pulled my phone out and dialed Vicki's number.

"Garman and Garman, Vicki Preston speaking," she singsonged.

"Hey, Vicki. It's Braden," I muttered.

"Braden," she gushed, making me roll my eyes so hard that I was surprised they didn't get stuck in the back of my head. "Hi, sweetheart. What can I do for you?"

"I was just calling to let you know I'm taking a girl to La Terrasse next Friday night. I was hoping you might be able to drop a hint to the gossip rags so we could get a few pictures taken."

Vicki scoffed. "La Terrasse? Really? Why bother spending that kind of money on her?"

What the fuck? This whole charade had been her idea, not mine. So why was she criticizing my choice of venue to take Daniela on our first date?

Okay, it wasn't really a date, but still.

"Um, because I can afford it? And because I thought it was a good way to get the press talking, since that's one of the most popular restaurants in the country."

"Whatever you say," she sighed. "You made sure to have this girl sign an NDA, right? You don't need her running to the press with her own story the next morning."

"Glenn's working on the paperwork now, and Dani and I are going to figure out a time that works with her class schedule to go to his office and sign it."

"Why the hell wouldn't you have talked to her about this at his office in the first place?" she spat. "For all you know, she could be calling TMZ right now!"

My blood started to boil in my veins, but I took a few deep breaths to calm myself so I wouldn't fly off the handle. As much as I wanted to put Vicki in her place, that wouldn't help this situation, and I knew it.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to be a decent human being when I met her," I scoffed. "I thought my living room would be a much better place for that conversation than my attorney's office. And for your information, Dani's way too busy taking care of her newborn nephew and going to school full-time to even think about trying to undermine me."

"I knew this was a bad idea, Braden. You really should just let me do this. I know what you need, and I promise I'll make it good for you," she purred, like she was trying to sound seductive or some shit.

I groaned. This was the fourth time she'd tried to convince me to let her be the one I showed off to the press. She'd included a plea in the email she'd sent me about the nonprofits I was interested in, and then she'd texted me a couple of days later asking me again if I was absolutely sure I wanted to find someone on my own.

But on the plus side, at least I now had some of this inappropriate and highly unprofessional shit in writing, so I had receipts if this got worse and I had to take any kind of action against her.

"No fucking means no , Vicki!" I snapped. "I did what you wanted. I found someone to pretend to date. So shut up about my choice of companion and do your damn job!"

"But this girl is only after your money," she whined like a toddler throwing a tantrum in a grocery store because their mom said they couldn't have Cocoa Puffs. "She doesn't care about you like I do."

"No shit, she's after my money! I'm literally paying her to do this. That's sort of the whole point. And why do you care whether or not she's using me? I'm using her too, remember?"

"Because I'm the one who's going to have to clean up your mess – again – when this gold-digging tramp decides to sell her story to the highest bidder!"

Again, I took a calming breath to avoid screaming at this bitch, who was walking on thinner and thinner ice by the day. I couldn't explain why it pissed me off so much to hear Vicki talking about Dani like this, but it did. A lot. Maybe because I could tell, even in the short amount of time I'd spent with her, that Dani wasn't that kind of person. She didn't seem to have a vindictive bone in her body.

"You know, Vicki, I actually feel sorry for you. You must be miserable walking around with a chip the size of Texas on your shoulder all the damn time. Now, do your fucking job and make sure the press is at La Terrasse at eight next Friday, and let me worry about what Dani's motivation is," I spat before ending the call.

I threw my phone down on the couch and took two steps in the direction of my in-home workout room when I heard it ringing again. Snatching it back up, I slid the icon across the screen to answer without even looking at the caller ID.

"What?" I barked.

"Damn, B. What'd I do?" Ian chuckled into the line.

Despite how annoyed I still was, I smiled. It had been way too long since I'd talked to him and Kyler.

"Sorry, man. It's not you. It's my fucking publicist."

He snorted. "What'd she do this time?"

This wasn't the first time I'd complained to him about Vicki, and he'd suggested more than once that I just pay to get out of my contract with her and be done with it. But if I went around firing people for no good reason, no one would want to work with me, so I was determined to just suck it up and deal with her until our contract was up next year.

But I needed to vent, so I started at the beginning and told him everything.

"Wait, wait, wait," he snickered when I was done talking. "You…you're actually paying her to…oh, my God."

Ian broke down in a fit of laughter, and I had no choice but to join in. Because when I really stopped and thought about it, this whole situation was completely bizarre.

"Shit, with friends like you, who needs enemies?" I teased.

"Seriously, B, this could only happen to you," he cackled.

"No fucking joke," I agreed, chuckling. "But I swear, ever since I told Vicki I'm doing this my way, not hers, it's like she's fighting me on every little thing. She's convinced Dani's only in this for the money and is going to sell the story to the highest bidder the second she gets a chance."

Even saying that out loud rubbed me the wrong way, and I didn't get why. Because the truth was, Dani was in this for the money. But somehow, I just knew I could trust her not to tell anyone about our arrangement.

"I mean, isn't she in it for the money?" he asked.

"Yeah, but…I don't know, man. It's not the same thing. It just pisses me off to hear Vicki talking shit about a girl she's never even met. I've only spent like an hour with Dani, and I can already tell she's not the kind of person who'd try to fuck someone over like that."

Ian let out a quiet chuckle, but didn't say anything.

"What?" I wondered.

"You just remind me of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Hearing those rumors about Ky always used to piss me off too, even before I got to know her. I knew there wasn't even an ounce of truth in them from the second I met her."

Oh, hell no. No fucking way was I about to let him think I was starting to catch feelings for this girl – or any girl. Because if he thought that, then he'd go telling Kyler. And I couldn't let him get her hopes up about this. Not when she'd been telling me for years that she knew there was someone out there for me and I just had to find them. It'd just break her heart when this charade ended.

"That's different," I insisted.

"How?"

"You saw Ky at school every day. I've spent a grand total of one hour with Dani. I like her, sure, and I admire the hell out of her for still finding a way to get out of bed every morning after everything she's been through. That's why it pisses me off that Vicki's talking shit about her."

"Whatever you say, man," he chuckled. "Look, speaking of Ky, I hate to change the subject, but I actually called for a reason, and I need to talk to you about this before she gets home."

"Okay…" I said slowly.

"I'm gonna ask her to marry me after graduation. Before life gets crazy with me going to training camp and her documentary premiere and speaking engagement tour. And I was hoping to get your help."

An ear-splitting grin spread across my face. "About damn time. What do you need?"

"I'm putting together a scavenger hunt for her, sort of taking her through how we met and started dating, and I want someone she loves to be at each stop with a gift and a note. I've already got Melissa and Izzie, but I need one more person, and I know it'd mean a lot to her if it was you."

"I'm in," I said immediately. "Just tell me when and where."

"Thanks, B." His voice was thick with emotion.

"Don't go getting all weepy on me, dude."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Really, though. Thanks. I know you're about to be busy with your escort—I mean fake girlfriend."

"I'm never gonna live this down, am I?"

"You kidding? This shit is gold ," he snickered. "But hey, at least you're not fucking one of your teammates' moms."

I groaned at our running joke. "I'm hanging up now."

Ian just laughed. "I've gotta get going anyway. Ky'll be home any minute."

I chuckled. "Okay. Just let me know when I need to book my flight out there."

"I'll text as soon as I figure it out," he told me.

"Sounds good. Tell her I said hi."

"I will. Talk soon," he said.

"Later, man."

I ended the call with a smile. I couldn't wait to be there when Ian and Kyler got engaged. They loved each other fiercely, in a way I'd never seen before, and Kyler deserved this happy ending after all the shit she'd been through.

Part of me wished there was someone in my life I cared about that much, but another part of me couldn't imagine settling down right now. Besides, as a professional athlete, I traveled all over the damn country so much that I didn't have time for a relationship.

At least that was what I told myself. And I almost believed it. But the truth was, hooking up with random women to scratch an itch was getting old. If I was honest, I kind of envied what Ian had with Kyler. Someone to come home to. Someone to celebrate the good days with and make the bad days better. Someone who always had my back and believed in me no matter what.

Whoa! Where the fuck did that come from?

Who was I and what had I done with Braden Hicks?