Escorting the Player (The Escort Collection 3)

"Okay. You go up and sit in the stands and cheer for me. Real loud, like I like it." He leaned down as if he was about to kiss me. "Thank you for being here," he said, with a look that melted me. "It means a lot."

I smiled at him, feeling as though things were back to normal between us. "Are you kidding me? This is awesome!"

"Then you should come with me every day. I seriously love having you here, babe."

He put his hands in my hair, leaning over me, and then crushed his lips against mine. It felt so hot between us I was worried my shorts were on fire. "Mmm," Chase murmured, pulling away too soon. "We need to do more of that later. We wasted too much time sleeping last night."

I stared up at him, feeling woozy. I forced myself to snap out of it. "Chase Layne, you stop that right now. Get over there and see your teammates."

He laughed. "Chase Layne hates to leave you. But he has to go." With a parting nod, he ran off happily toward his team, as if he was a little boy and couldn't wait to practice.

I climbed into the rapidly filling stands and sat with the rest of the fans. A lot of them gave me curious stares. One woman in particular kept looking at at me, trying to make eye contact.

I finally turned to her. "Hi," I said awkwardly.

"Hi!" She was obviously thrilled that I acknowledged her. "You're Chase's girlfriend, right?"

"Right." I felt stupidly proud.

"We"—she said, motioning to the rows of fans all around us—"are so excited that Chase seems happy. It's a terrible shame about that wife of his. Ex-wife, I mean." She looked momentarily chastised, but I just shrugged, trying to indicate it was fine. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "I never saw her smiling, that one. It was like she was too good for him." She snorted. "As if." Seemingly satisfied, she turned back toward the practice.

I watched too, mesmerized. Chase was out there, glorious and muscled, in the center of the field. I couldn't help staring at his calves. They were huge. I guess I hadn't noticed them before, but with his football pants on, they were accentuated, glistening in the sun and straining beneath the fabric.

I mentally slapped myself. Here I was, sitting at training camp for the Warriors, drooling over the quarterback. I forced myself to stop ogling his calves and take in my surroundings. The stands had filled already, and the grass nearby was quickly being covered by picnic blankets and eager fans. There were hotdog vendors and places to buy slushies; the air of excitement was palpable in the crowd.

I watched as Chase deftly threw a pass, the ball sailing down the field to Reggie, who caught it easily. Smiling, Chase turned to look for me in the stands and our eyes briefly connected. My heart leapt.

I hated to admit it to myself, because I knew it was going to hurt later—but even with the Lila drama, and the fact that I was Chase's fake girlfriend, this was hands-down the best week of my life.

That was sad. It was also true.

Practice continued through the morning and eventually they took a break. Some of the fans had autographs signed by Chase and the other players. And then I saw a very attractive, albeit overdressed, woman with long dark hair make her way out to the field and drape her arms around one of the players.

Oh shit. It was Jessica Layne.

One of Chase's teammates came up and whispered in his ear as he chatted with the fans. Chase shot a wary glance over his shoulder. I took a deep breath and headed down to see him. I could see Jessica and Pax still out on the field, their arms around each other, having a full-blown make-out session, violating every ethical and moral code that a wife and a teammate should hold dear.

Chase leaned over me when I finally got to him. "I can't believe they're doing this," he said. "It's so unprofessional."

"I know," I said. I looked over his massive shoulder and caught Jessica staring our way, her gaze flicking curiously over me. I turned back to Chase and grabbed his hand. I didn't want his first practice back ruined. "You're playing really well," I offered. "Everybody in the stands is raving about you. And one woman even told me she was happy you're getting a divorce. The fans are not loving Jess right now."

"Well, that's good I guess." He shot another look over his shoulder, where they were still engaged in a very public display of affection. "I just want him off my team."

I squeezed his hand again. "I know." I went back to my seats, my stomach roi

ling on Chase's behalf. I watched as Jessica strutted back across the field in her inappropriately sexy dress and took her place in the stands.

The woman who'd spoken to me earlier leaned over. "Did you see that?" she hissed. "Absolutely no respect for this team. They ought to throw her out."

I grimaced in agreement.

As I watched the practice continue, something was clear to me—Jessica wanted to hurt Chase. Bad.

I had to make sure she didn't get to my sister.

That would be a disaster.

Chapter Eighteen