Illegal Contact (The Barons 1)

In college, my relationship with the guys on my team had been tense. The chip on my shoulder had prevented me from too much bonding. It was different on the Barons. Different with Marcus and Simeon. But now they were busy and likely wouldn’t be able to come kick it with my house-arrested ass for weeks.

“Hey.”

I didn’t look up. “What?”

“I’m about to go, but I got the cars all finished.”

Now that got my attention. I shut Snapchat and glanced up at Noah. He’d finally changed out of his stupid button-down and was wearing a T-shirt that fit closely to his lean torso. He looked better when he wasn’t trying to impress me.

“Did you wreck any of them with your shitty driving?”

“No, but the Triumph had to wait. The shop I found doesn’t do motorcycles, and also I really have no idea how to drive one.” Noah ran a hand through his hair, causing thick black strands to fall over his forehead in an unruly swath. “But I have a landscaper and a pool guy all lined up for this week, and a stylist will be here tomorrow. They’re all vetted by Joe’s people, so there are already privacy agreements signed off on. They work for his other clients.”

I frowned. This was supposed to have been a challenging week, but Noah was practically glowing. “How’s my fan mail doing?”

“Can’t say. You still haven’t unlocked your office for me.”

“Get on it next week.” I slumped further on the couch. “What are you so happy about?”

“Me? Nothing.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

“I’m not lying.” He was looking so pleased with himself that he seemed to sense it was an obvious lie. “Well, if you need to know, I have a date.”

“Really.”

“Yes. Really. I met him in town today. He works at the shop where I took your cars.”

“You’re picking up dates while running my errands? Cool. Guess you get points for multitasking.”

“He picked me up.” That defensive fire reentered his eyes. “And it wasn’t on purpose. We were talking about cars, he asked me if I wanted to get a drink, and I said yes.”

“When?”

“Tonight. Now, actually.”

“And where’d you find this winner? Which shop?”

“Out in the world. What does it matter?”

“I think I have a right to know who’s gonna be strolling up to my gate to pick you up for dates.”

“He doesn’t have your address. I’m meeting him at the train station.”

And now I was out of ammo.

I dragged my phone against my lower lip and looked him up and down, wondering whether he was going to get laid.

“What’s he like?”

Noah was starting to look incredulous, which turned into him giving me this hilariously sassy eyebrow arch. He really was cute as hell.

“Is this a real question?”

“Yup. I’m curious about the type of guy my snotty assistant swoons for.”

“First off, I don’t swoon. Second, my personal life isn’t up for discussion unless we’re also going to talk about yours.”

I snorted. “That’s easy. I don’t have one. Do you see anyone lining up to come visit me?”

Noah looked all geared up to say something mean but frowned as if realizing my point. “Do you have friends who aren’t football players?”

“No.”

“Well then, there you go. They’re all at training camp, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” I said, pointing at him. “And I thought you didn’t know anything about football.”

“I don’t, but my father is a fanatic and doesn’t stop talking about it. So.” Noah shrugged, but his expression flickered when he mentioned his father. “Anyway, I’m going to go now.”

“You’re really not going to tell me about your mystery man?”

“I’m really not going to tell you,” Noah said.

I crossed my arms over my chest and studied him. I’d been lounging around in states of undress for the past week, and despite checking me out from time to time, he still seemed to hold me in at least some contempt. My personality was enough to detract from my looks, and always had, but my ego still chafed at the thought that some rando had caught his attention with barely any effort. I didn’t even know why I cared. He was hot, but not my usual type, and high-strung as fuck.

“Well,” I drawled, because I couldn’t let it go. “If you start spending nights on the Island, I hope you’re going to start being on time.”

“We’re just getting a drink, not moving in together.”

“Yet. You look like the hit-it-once-and-settle-down type”

Noah gave me a flat stare. “You must be really bored.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“Yes, but I’d try my best not to be insufferable to others. That might be the reason no one is rushing to come visit you.”

Ouch. That had actually stung. I slumped lower on the couch since no witty retort sprang to mind.

Noah sighed. “Sorry. I need to work on not being an asshole.”

“‘S’okay. It’s not like I don’t bring it on myself.”