Erik (Arizona Vengeance 2)

I force myself not to wrinkle my nose as I look to Erik. “And you?”

“Same,” he replies, a wide grin breaking out on his handsome face. He knows he makes me uncomfortable and I think it gives him pleasure.

I wish he wasn’t so easy on the eyes, as it would make it a whole lot easier to ignore him. As it is, his face is all molded cheekbones and strong jawline covered with what is always more than a five o’clock shadow, but something less than a beard. Dark hair and darker eyes give the immediate impression of danger and sin, but once he opens his mouth to flirt, you know he’s nothing but pure fun-loving playboy.

“Be right back,” I mutter and head to the kitchen, glad to be out of Erik’s presence.

I hate that he’s been occupying my thoughts since I’d seen him at the harvest festival three days ago. The Cresson, which is the group home that Billy now lives in, organized a field trip for some of the residents and I went along as a chaperone. It was a great way to spend quality time with Billy away from the home, which is difficult for me to do on my own. Billy is able to move short distances using his braces and with support from someone else, which is usually something like moving him from his wheelchair to the bathroom sink in his room to do morning necessities like brushing his teeth and hair.

But for any trip that requires more than a few steps, he needs a wheelchair. He has a motorized one at the Cresson but it’s not practical to transport for group outings, so wherever we go, it has to be conducive to using a regular portable wheelchair. I’m a strong woman by most standards as I work out pretty seriously, but it’s still hard for me to manage Billy’s weight on my own in a lot of situations.

Erik really surprised me the way he handled Billy at the festival.

Or rather, didn’t handle him.

He didn’t treat Billy differently because of his handicap. He spoke directly to him without even knowing if Billy could respond. And he was sincere and genuine, and let’s face it…that’s the part that’s got me freaked out because the Erik Dalhbeck I know is a self-centered, egotistical jerk. Those things just don’t reconcile.

After I have the beers on a tray along with a small bowl of warm, mixed nuts, I return to Erik and Bishop. I weave my way through other players milling about and finding their seats, making note of those that I’ll need to serve.

“Thanks a bunch,” Bishop says as I set his beer in front of him. I put the bowl of nuts in the center, then put Erik’s beer down without looking at him.

“My pleasure,” I reply. “Where’s Brooke?”

Bishop grins at me. “That’s right. You probably hadn’t heard.”

“You mean that you had a fake relationship that turned real with her,” I reply with a laugh.

Because that story has totally made the gossip rounds, not to mention national sports news outlets. The star player in a fake relationship with the coach’s daughter was really juicy fodder for a while.

“Yeah that,” Bishop replies with a laugh. “But Brooke isn’t working in team services anymore. She’s over in merchandising, so that means no more traveling with us.”

“Bummer,” I commiserate with him.

“Tell me about it,” he grimaces.

My smile turns sympathetic. “Well, tell her I said hello, okay?”

“Will do,” Bishop replies with a nod, and that’s the perfect cue for me to leave so I can attend to the other players.

I start to turn away but end up freezing in place when Erik says, “How’s Billy doing?”

What I really want to do is ignore the question and get to my duties, but that would be obnoxiously rude. I don’t mind being just regularly rude to Erik, but I can’t go overboard. I’m being paid to serve him and make this trip comfortable and pleasant. I can only get away with so much and not get fired.

My smile is forced and I can’t seem to put any warmth into my voice, but it’s the best I can do. “He’s fine.”

There. My polite duty is done, and I start to pivot away once more.

“He seems like a great guy,” Erik says casually, a completely annoying method to extend the conversation.

Really annoying actually, and my temper flares.

My words are razor sharp as I turn back to face him. “What would you know? You spoke to him for a grand total of ten seconds.”

The tone of my voice is nasty enough, Bishop actually jerks in surprise. Erik, however, returns a lazy smile as he shrugs. “In that ten seconds, I saw a happy, smiling man that adores his sister. I apologize if I’m wrong about him being a great guy.”