Page 41 of Under Pressure

“I assure you that I can go as long as I need to. Want me to prove it?” His brows waggle, drawing a strangled laugh from my throat.

“Not in this lifetime.”

“Mm, right. In that case, may I suggest we focus on the problem at hand. How about you tell me what you need me to do? Come by a few times and kiss you in front of that swinging door? Because I think I’d excel at that task.”

My lips twitch, taking the bait. “Are you sure? Because for a guy so good at kissing and lasting ages in the sack, you sure spend a lot of time here at my coffee shop.”

“I knew you were going to remember that little tidbit of information.” His smirk has stretched into a wicked grin. “But to answer your question, yeah, I’m sure. I’m here so often because this is the only place I want to be outside of Summit Field.”

“Do you enroll in a yearly Sweet Talking refresher course?”

“No. If anything, I could host one. Think I’d get enough students to make a career out of it?”

“Flash those dimples on a busy street, and I’m sure you’d have quite the list of applicants.”

“You like them?”

I try to flatten my lips, but it’s helpless. “You know damn well there isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t.”

“Maybe. But your approval? That means far more to me than a random person on the street,” he states with utter conviction.

There’s a flutter in my stomach that I know damn well didn’t come from hunger. What the fuck is happening here right now?

“Focus, Beck. We’re talking about Ruthie here.”

The knowing glimmer in his eyes doesn’t disturb me the way it usually does. Luckily, that little tidbit of knowledge does, and I’m able to settle that agitating swoop in my belly.

“And I’m waiting for instructions. A game plan, if you will.”

I jostle my leg, heel clapping against the freshly washed floor. “She won’t be here often. I’m still hoping she’ll forget all about this and move on without mentioning it again.”

“What do you think the odds of that are?”

“Slim,” I mutter, frustrated.

“Alright. So, we figure something out.”

“I don’t want this going any bigger than it needs to. It doesn’t leave the coffee shop.”

“What doesn’t, exactly?” he asks slowly.

Tugging anxiously at my hair, I try to wrangle the proper words together into a coherent sentence.

“I don’t want a fake boyfriend. This isn’t some elaborate fake-dating agreement. Ruthie doesn’t watch baseball or follow social media pages. This would only be for her benefit, which means there’s not really any fakedatingeven going on. Just some mild PDA when she’s here and can see you.”

“Mild PDA? You expect her to believe I come by and squeeze your ass once a day and that’s it? Because if that’s the case, then we probably don’t need to do anything at all. Just tell her we get in on every once in a while, and she’ll be none the wiser.”

He says the words with ease, but there’s a tightness hidden in the depths of his voice that tugs at my chest. Guilt rains down on me, forcing me to backtrack.

“I don’t have the time for a real boyfriend, let alone a fake one. Not to mention, I have no intention of letting this get big enough that other people find out. Have you forgotten who you are, Beck? What city we’re in and how many eyes are on you everywhere you go?”

His hand runs down over his lips, fingers pinching them before falling to the table. “You’re worried about the public?”

“Obviously.” I blow out a harsh breath.

“If this is because of the articles, I’ve cleaned my shit up. I’m not out searching for another bad headline, Quinn. And I can assure you that nobody’s itching to focus on my love life. My reputation is a stain on my back, yeah, but there are more important things happening in the MLB than me finding a girlfriend.The only thing the media cares about right now is how well I’m playing and the fact that I’m showing no sign of slowing down.”

“I just don’t like being the centre of attention, nor having my private life on display for others to look at and examine. Especially when it isn’t for a reason better than being someone’s fake girlfriend. The only way I can do this is if nobody finds out besides those who need to.”