Page 46 of Tempting the Player
Bridget’s heart did another cartwheel as she stared at him. How had he known the truth? She didn’t want to look too closely into that. Silence fell between them and as they ate, she noticed he barely drank any of the wine and stuck to the water while he ate with a zest she envied.
She looked up when someone approached the table. It was a cute brunette, barely into her twenties, who wore the cutest red dress with cap sleeves. Her cheeks were flushed as Chad put down his silverware.
“I don’t mean to interrupt you and your friend,” the girl said. “But I’m here with my girlfriend.” She nodded over to a table where a blond-haired girl beamed. “And I just had to tell you that you’re the main reason why I watch baseball.”
Bridget’s lips pursed. Was there any wonder Chad had a gigantic ego?
“Thank you,” he said, smiling. “Good to know I’m doing my part in spreading the love of the game.”
Oh. Eye. Roll.
The girl bit down on a glossy lower lip and placed her hand on the table beside Chad. It was then when Bridget realized she had a piece of paper in her hand. “Call me, okay? Anytime.”
Bridget wondered if she was visible, and she also wanted to dash under the linen-covered table or recreate a jungle scene and take the chick out, which made no sense.
Chad’s smile didn’t fade. “That’s really kind of you, but I’m not available.”
Eyes widening to epic proportions, Bridget went very still as the brunette glanced from Chad to her.
“This is Bridget,” Chad continued. “My girlfriend.”
A dumbfounded look crossed the girl’s face and her mouth opened, but she closed it. Murmuring an apology, she went back to her table, where she immediately started whispering to her friend.
Bridget squeezed her eyes shut.
“Well, that will probably also go out on Twitter,” he said, and she opened her eyes. “What?” he teased. “My relationship status is apparently big news.”
Taking a drink of the wine, she told herself to just keep her mouth shut. Her mouth didn’t listen. “When the picture of us hit the newspaper—”
“A good day for you, I’m sure.”
She took a deep breath. “Some lady approached me on the street as I tried to go to lunch and told me you were good in bed but not out of it.”
“Oh.” He arched a brow. “Well, the ‘in bed’ part is true and it’s been—”
“This isn’t funny.”
“Whoa—why the attitude toward me?”
Was he for real? There was a whole buttload of reasons. Leaning forward, she kept her voice down. “You’ve successfully hijacked my life in a matter of hours.”
Chad frowned. “I haven’t done anything.”
“Really?” she hissed. “Did you slip and fall into bed with three girls and there just happened to be someone there to take a picture?”
His eyes flashed a deep denim blue. “That damn photo. I didn’t sleep with them.”
Bridget didn’t know if she should laugh or throw her wine in his face. “Yeah, said no man ever.”
His eyes rolled. “Why doesn’t anyone believe me? I don’t get it.”
Did he really think she was that dumb? “All of this because you kissed me—”
“And you enjoyed it.”
“That’s not the point, you jerk.” Bridget glanced around. Surprisingly, no one was paying attention to them at the moment. “I have no control over my life now because of you.”
Chad inched forward, too, until only the flickering candle separated their mouths. “And I’ll say it again—how is this my fault?”
