His stupid grin grew a little wider. “I didn’t feel like going. You can’t get the glitter out of your hair for weeks,” he said slowly and let his gaze slide over her again.
Goodness, even her feet were in matching plush slippers.
“What the hell are you wearing?” he asked, and by God, why did she still look sexy? That shouldn’t bepossible! But her hair was curling out from under the hood and whenever he provoked her, she licked her lips…
“I get cold easily,” Penny replied, defending herself. “California in January is much colder than Argentina.”
“Aha. You look like you’re about to perform at a children’s birthday party.”
“Strange. And I thought I looked like I was about to punch a hockey player in the face,” she replied, unmoved, before turning her back on him and feeding the machine another dollar bill, this time for a Twix.
Jack knew she was suggesting he move on and that he should use the opportunity to disappear into his hotel room. He couldn’t, though. Instead, he said, “Aren’t you worried about getting crushed by that thing? The odds are 1 in 12,400.”
“That applies to beverage vending machines,” Penny answered absentmindedly. “But seriously, you remembered that?”
Yes. He remembered everything. “Facts never hurt.”
She laughed mirthlessly. “No. But they don’t help, either.” She pulled her chocolate bar out of the machine, raised an eyebrow in his direction, and was about to walk past him when he instinctively stretched out his arm. His hand hit the wall, blocking her path.
He didn’t want to let her go yet. That was selfish and stupid, but the last few weeks had been shitty, and talking to her was even better than winning tonight — and that clouded his brain. With fear, because it was absurd. With desire, because he knew what Penny felt like naked, pressed against his body. With acute confusion, because this could only end in disaster.
He was used to disaster, though. His whole childhood had been one. Every relationship. Every affair.Everything. So, what the hell?
“So?” he asked casually as Penny frowned and stared at the arm barring her way. “How’s your first week going?”
“Oh, fantastic!” Her biting sarcasm would make vampires jealous. “It’s always great to be ignored or insulted by a bunch of pro athletes. I also enjoy the fact that the general manager doesn’t take me seriously, my brother thinks I’m going to give up at any moment, and you’re making my life unnecessarily difficult! That’s exactly how I always imagined paradise.”
“Well, at least you seem to have found aclosefriend.”
Irritated, she glared at him for a few seconds and then groaned in annoyance. “Oh God, are you talking about Freddie?Is that why you ambushed me here? Because some primitive macho gene tells you to be jealous, to mark your territory?”
Um, well, he wouldn’t have put it that way…
“Man, Jack, this is ridiculous,” she added matter-of-factly. “Statistically, did you know that women are more jealous than men, but men are more likely to act stupidly when jealous? Okay, I made that last one up, but I’m certain it’s true!” She rolled her eyes. “Freddie is the only guy who has beenniceto me in the last few days! He deserves an award. And you don’t have to worry because, as you know very well, I don’t screw around with my employees.”
Angry, Jack frowned. “I would have been nice to you if you hadn’t forbidden me!”
“I didn’t forbid you from being nice, I forbade you from flirting and looking at me like you were imagining me naked!” she protested. “I certainly didn’t forbid you from inviting me to the after-game party. So, thanks for excluding me tonight.”
“Hey, we don’t know each other, remember?” he said quickly, raising his hands defensively. “It would have been weird if I had asked you to come along.”
“Sure,” she replied dryly. “We wouldn’t want anyone to think you were being polite. That wouldn’t fit your image as aSaintat all.”
He sighed. “How am I supposed to keep track of all these stupid rules? I’m not allowed to look at you like you’re naked, but I’m not allowed to ignore you, either. I’m not allowed to flirt with you, but I’m not allowed to be rude, either! And why do I feel that I’ve done something else wrong these past few days, something that has nothing to do with these rules?”
Penny pressed her lips together. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He snorted and leaned down to her. “Oh, come on. I’m not merely guilty of having slept with you, right?”
She said nothing.
“Fine, if you don’t want to talk, I’ll talk: Your plan isn’t working, Penny. It’s impossible to ignore you and impossible to forget you.”
“Because I’m so crazy, right?” she interrupted harshly.
Ah, yep. He had been right. His choice of words was still bothering her.
“Penny,” he said urgently, gently putting his arm around her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, okay? It just slipped out. And being crazy isn’t a bad thing.”
