Prologue
Asher
Five Months Ago
Cameras flash and reporters yell out my name as I get out of the backseat of my SUV in front of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. I grin and wave, well used to the fanfare that comes with arriving at an event in this city. As the veteran quarterback of the Renegades, Pittsburgh’s much beloved NFL team, I attend a lot of events, but there is no event quite like the Kids Play annual gala. Started by a retired hockey player, Kids Play is a powerful foundation in the sports world that funds sports equipment for kids and sponsors scholarships for teams and leagues at all levels of sport.
After almost nine years as a professional athlete, you would think it would get old. I know there are guys who have been in the league as long as I have who would rather sit in a two-hour ice bath than show up at one more event, but that’s never been me. I live for this. I have always been fascinated by the razzle-dazzle of a big, fancy event. Charmed by the well-dressedathletes and city movers and shakers gathered together to raise money for a cause. The hum of energy from the crowd is a welcome shock to the system. It buzzes through me as I make my way towards the green carpet stretched along the sidewalk in front of the hotel.
“Excuse me, can you take our picture?”
The voice, rich and smooth and commanding even in its question, stops me in my tracks. I turn, ready to smile at the sexy voice that has me thinking about laying, limbs tangled with its owner, in a darkened bedroom in the middle of the night. But when I get my first look at her, my smile freezes, and I feel like I’ve been hit by lightning. She is standing with three other girls, but she holds every ounce of my attention. She’s tall, with curves for days poured into a floor length black dress that leaves her shoulders bare and shows a flash of well-toned leg out of a slit stretching to mid-thigh. Her blonde hair tumbles in waves down her back, and her cobalt blue eyes arrow straight through me. She exudes purpose and an aura of something unnamable that is sexy as fuck. She is tapping her phone against her palm in a gesture of anxiety and impatience so incongruous to the confident way she carries herself that I am instantly intrigued. Realizing I may have been staring at the gorgeous stranger for an uncomfortable amount of time, I grab her phone and motion the four girls together.
“You ladies look stunning,” I say, and I inwardly cringe becausefor fuck’s sake, Asher. Do better.
I snap a bunch of pictures and hand the phone back to the blonde stranger whose gaze is making my insides go haywire. My fingers graze hers, and the electricity of the touch shoots up my arm. I have never reacted like this to another person in my life, and I have the sudden urge to grab her hand and pull her away so we can be alone. But I still have some chill, so I take a step back and flash allfour girls a grin.
“Enjoy the party.” I go to turn towards the hotel entrance before I think,what the hell. Looking straight at the blonde, I say “save me a dance Blondie.” Her cheeks instantly flush and I love it. Forcing myself to walk away from her when all I want to do is stand there and stare like a super fucking creeper, I shoot her a wink and head towards the hotel.
“Come meet my friends,” Jeremy says, gesturing towards a table on the edge of the dance floor. Jeremy is the founder and executive director of Kids Play. We have crossed paths on and off over the years I have been in the league, and he is an excellent guy. I love what he has done with his foundation and have been looking around for ways to get involved. When I mentioned that to him, he immediately gave me his number and told me to call him next week to talk about it.
“Hey best pals.” Jeremy starts talking as we approach. The only guy sitting at the table starts talking to Jeremy, but I don’t hear anything he says because the blonde from outside is occupying one of the chairs, and all I can see is her.
“Have you guys met Asher Hansley? He’s going to be doing some work with the foundation.”
Hearing my name snaps me back to reality and I find my words. “I met these lovely ladies outside earlier.” I shoot a smile right at the blonde. “They drafted me to be their photographer.”
“Great, well, Ash, this is Emma, Molly, Hallie, and Julie.”
With the last name, he points to the blonde, and I finally have a name.Julie. Then he gestures to the guy, who has his gaze firmly pinned on Hallie, the pretty brunette sitting next to Julie.
“This is Ben, one of my best friends. And wait, where’s Jordan?”
“Having sex,” Julie and Molly say together.
I grin at that, liking them already. “I think you all are my people.”
I chat with them for a few more minutes. But when the music, which has been loud and upbeat, changes to something slower, I take it as a sign and hold my hand out to Julie.
“Want to dance Blondie?”
She pauses for a minute before shrugging. “What the hell?” She takes my hand and lets me pull her up.
“Well, if we’re dancing now, I’m going to hunt me down an athlete.” Molly grins and stands. She has this magnetic energy about her that I like instantly. I point a couple of tables away.
“Take a walk past table twelve. Rookie table.”
I wink at her and then lead Julie to the dance floor. When we reach it, I turn her around, sliding my hand around her waist and bringing our joint hands up between us. The movement has a dull, familiar pain shooting through my right shoulder, but I ignore it. No time for that right now. Not when Julie wraps her hand around my neck, fitting herself perfectly against me. In her heels, she is the perfect height for me to rest my cheek against her temple. The rightness of her body against mine is sudden and startling and has my heart pounding against my chest in a way that I hope she can’t feel. I wrack my brain for something to say, but like the first time I saw her earlier in the night, words escape me.
Get your shit together Asher. Gorgeous, intriguing woman in your arms. Conversation. Make conversation.
“You look gorgeous tonight.”
Fucking hell. Stunning earlier and gorgeous now. Get some new material.
She looks unimpressed. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? That tired line?”
I shrug at her. “Just because it’s a line doesn’t make it any less true. You’re gorgeous.”
