Escorting the Player (The Escort Collection 3)

I smiled at him. "I can make a pretty mean lasagna."

"That's awesome. I've been eating nothing but takeout…" His voice trailed off longingly.

"I'll make it for you."

"Soon?" His eyes glittered with excitement.

I laughed. He was a big, tough quarterback, but he was really being a baby about a lasagna. "Sure."

We continued with our tour of the home. We went up the grand staircase, and a chill went through me. I could picture kids playing up here, looking through the rails down at their parents. Each bedroom we entered was sunny and perfect. What would it be like to live in a house like this?

I was never going to find out, and I knew it. This was a different world from mine. A mere fifty-thousand dollars—more money than I'd ever had in my whole life—wasn't going to bridge the gap.

We went outside and found Jackson and Eric seated on the steps, enjoying the sun. "We'll take it," Chase told them.

We'll take it. I shivered. Chase sure was good at putting on a show.

Jackson clapped him on the back. "I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Chapter Twelve

CHASE

Jackson and I settled on a preliminary offer. He said he'd get back to me soon, and if everything went smoothly, we could probably close in a few weeks.

Things were moving fast, but that was fine by me. Onward and upward.

Eric paced down the sidewalk nearby, on a call with a client. I looked at the sun glinting off Avery's hair as she peered around the neighborhood. "It's such a great day," I said. "Do you want to go to the park?"

She turned to me and smiled. Which for some reason felt like she was punching me in the gut—in a good way, if that was possible. "Sure. That sounds nice."

"Then right this way, milady."

I jerked my chin at Eric. "We're walking. Take the car if you want. Catch you later."

He gave me the thumbs up and kept pacing.

One of the great things about this neighborhood was that it bordered the Common, which was the main park in Boston. It was filled with flowering trees and kids running around. The Common was centrally located in the city, close to Newbury Street's shops, restaurants and hotels, as well as the State House and the Freedom Trail. People didn't know it, but Boston was a walkable city. I'd be able to get to about a thousand restaurants from my new house, including my favorites in the

North End.

The press had come, taken some pictures, and gone. Civilians might be snapping pics of us on their cellphones, and that was fine. I laced my fingers through Avery's as we walked to the park. Eric had mentioned that there were new pictures of us being posted, but I didn't want to think about that now. I wanted to enjoy the sun. My limbs felt loose and relaxed.

It was because I'd finally gotten laid. And because it had been awesome.

"It's so beautiful," Avery said, taking in the purple, flowering trees. "I never come here."

"Me either. But that's going to change." I spotted something I'd forgotten about: the Swan Boats. "Do you want to take a ride?"

She looked surprised. "On the Swan Boats? I never have."

I squeezed her hand. "Let's do it. They don't do much—they just go back and forth, real slow."

"Perfect," she said.

We waited in line. A mom with two boys was in front of us. She kept trying to get them to stop staring. "Give them some privacy," she hissed.

One of them, who was probably eight, kept looking at me with big eyes.