The Billionaire Player (In Too Deep)

CHAPTER11

TANNER

The next morning, I went downstairs after grabbing a quick shower, still feeling like shit about how things had gone down last night. Since the house was quiet, I assumed Larisa was still sleeping.

When I reached the kitchen, I switched on the coffeemaker and resolved to make up for it today. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d misread a situation that badly, and even if she hated me now, I didn’t want that to be the lasting memory she went away with after this weekend.

I’d rather leave if she wanted me to. I didn’t know all that much about her, but we had talked about how much she’d needed this time away, and if it made her uncomfortable to be here with me now, I’d go and let her have the rest of her break in peace.

While I went over my other options for making it up to her and waited on the coffeemaker to do its thing, I looked out the window at the misty lake and saw a figure sitting on the dock. Since it was the one right in front of our house and there was no one else around here, I was pretty sure it was Larisa.

So she’s not still sleeping after all.

The coffeemaker hissed as it started filling the cup I’d placed in it, and I reached for another as soon as it was done. She’d seemed pretty excited about good coffee yesterday, so bringing her a cup and apologizing again seemed like a good place to start making it up to her.

When the next cup was full, I walked out with both coffees and cleared my throat to announce my presence once I reached the dock. “Can I join you?”

She agreed with a curt nod, not turning to face me until I stuck the coffee out far enough that she saw it in her peripheral vision. Surprise flickered across her features, but she took the mug with a small but grateful smile.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, her voice matching the stillness of the early morning air.

I sat down a little distance away from her, letting my feet dangle off the dock as I wrapped my hands around the hot drink. For a moment, I was transported back in time to when I was a kid, camping and fishing with my family.

A vise-like grip wrapped itself around my heart when I thought about my dad. He’d passed away a few years ago, but he would’ve loved this place.

He’d also have kicked my ass for making Larisa feel so uncomfortable with me last night, even if it was the furthest thing from what I’d intended on doing. Dad would’ve been appalled at my behavior, and he would’ve insisted on me going down on my knees and groveling for her forgiveness.

With that thought in mind, I opened my mouth to do just that, but before I could say anything, she spoke. “What do you think everyone else is doing this weekend? We won you guys at that auction, but I’m still not clear on what that means.”

I laughed a little, glad that she didn’t seem that upset with me anymore. “I have no idea. It’s my first time too, remember? A lot of people bid on people they already knew, like with Steph and Jeremiah.”

“Sure, but what about the rest of them? Do you think they’re having a good time?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I still think we should just have fun, relax, and get to know each other. No pressure. Just a weekend away from everything stressful.”

She glanced at me. “Getting to know each other better is probably a good idea. It might help us avoid any further misunderstandings.”

“Agreed,” I said. “While we’re on the subject of the misunderstanding, I really am sorry. I was an idiot and you should be able to wear a bikini without me jumping to any conclusions. Obviously. I can’t even believe that I actually just had to say that out loud. It was my mistake. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.”

Sipping her coffee in silence for a few minutes, she just kept staring out at the lake but at least it didn’t look like she was scared of me or like she was pissed off anymore.

“If we’re getting to know each other, tell me something about yourself,” she said.

“Like what?”

She shrugged. “Anything.”

I blew on the surface of my coffee and watched the steam mist away. “Do you follow baseball?”

“I don’t.” She chuckled, her head shaking a little. “I’m not really into sports. Why do you ask?”

Well, fuck. That’s a really good question. “You asked me to tell you something about myself, and that was the first place my head went to. I guess I just did it for so long that it kind of started defining the way I think about myself.”

“I don’t think that’s strange at all. We spend so much time doing what we do for work that I think we all probably define ourselves at least a little bit according to what we do.”

“Probably.” Before I could ask what she did, she turned and crossed her legs, facing me for the first time since last night.

She looked at me, her dark eyes intent on mine, and she tilted her head. “Baseball must pay really well if it allowed you to become a billionaire. What’s that like?”