Catching the Player (A Hamilton Family 3)

Chapter Four

Oh. My. God. Wyatt Hamilton is touching me.

Between his fluttering touches on the side of her thigh, on her upper back, her hand, and the way he’d caressed her arm in her kitchen…she was starting to really, really want this to be a date, which was dangerous to her well-being. Guys like Wyatt probably ate girls like her for appetizers before moving on to the main course. Would he have tried to kiss her in her kitchen earlier if she hadn’t stopped him? If so, would she have let him? The answer to that, before she had decided to live her life fully, would have been a resounding no.

But now…

She wasn’t so sure.

Her money was on Wyatt being a hell of a kisser.

“More wine?” he asked, leaning close and picking up the bottle of Cabernet in the middle of the table.

“Yes, please,” she said breathlessly.

He leaned even closer, filling her glass and resting a hand between her shoulder blades as he did so. His fingers burned through the thin fabric of her dress, marking her skin in ways she’d never forget. All these touches were PG rated and completely innocent, but they made her heart race as if he were pinning her to the wall and stripping her bare instead. It was as if he’d unlocked this ferocious beast inside of her that demanded he do things to her that she’d only ever dreamed about.

“There you go,” he murmured, shooting her a sexy smile.

She took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

He nodded once, then turned his focus to the men across the table from them. They’d been discussing business for most of the meal now, and they were all waiting for dessert to be delivered. She’d interjected a few times, but they spoke English well, and there wasn’t much need for a translator, so she’d kept her linguistic skills mostly to herself, other than her greeting to them at the beginning of the meal.

“And how, exactly, would that be portrayed in your country?” Wyatt asked. His blond hair was swept to the side tonight and held in place with some sort of product. His hard jaw seemed even more defined when he was dressed in a suit—which made no sense, but whatever—and when he smiled, dimples popped out. Actual frigging dimples.

She’d been too blind to see those before.

The businessmen leaned forward, clearly also sensing the shift in the mood that said it was time to get to business. “We would advertise on the best shows, in the evening, and everyone would see you. We are big fans of American football, and we all follow the biggest quarterbacks.” He smiled and gestured at Wyatt. “And the ladies love the handsome ones, yes?”

Wyatt’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Well…”

“Yes,” she interjected, placing a hand on his arm. It was even harder than she remembered. She’d never met a man with muscles like this up close and personal. “We do love the handsome ones.”

He turned and locked eyes with her, and the breath she’d been inhaling stuck in her throat. His eyes dipped down her body slowly, thoroughly, as if…as if…he had every intention of doing what she’d only fleetingly fantasized about earlier, pressing her against a wall and stripping her bare.

And, God help her, she wanted him to.

“Did you just call me handsome, Kass?” he asked quietly.

“Duh,” she said under her breath for him, before smiling at the men across from her and raising her voice. “And handsome sells, does it not?”

“It does,” the older man said, nodding at her. “As does beauty such as yours.”

Her cheeks heated. “Thank you.”

“We have prepared an offer we think you will find very generous. If you’ll give us a moment to confer?”

Wyatt gestured toward them. “Of course.”

The older man spoke to his partner, expressing concern that she might understand them. She kept her face blank and tried to pretend like she didn’t. They said something shocking about her breasts, watching closely to see if she reacted.

She didn’t so much as flinch.

If they were testing out her linguistic skills, she wanted to hear every word, thank you very much. Satisfied, they nodded and said she clearly didn’t understand them. She held her breath as they talked about lowering their offer since he didn’t have an agent to speak for him at the moment. She stiffened as they dropped the number significantly, and then they laughed because their investors would more than likely give them a bonus for their smart strategy.

She listened in, weighing the pros and cons of speaking up and telling them she was fully aware that they were about to try and con a good man out of money. She had come along to translate, if necessary, but did this fall under that category? If Wyatt knew what they were saying, would he want her to intervene on his behalf? If she did, would it go well? Or would she be better off keeping her mouth shut and keeping her nose out of his business?

It wasn’t her place to negotiate for him.