“So are you saying that Porter here is a bad wingman?” I asked, hoping to keep the others distracted while Ivy did her job. Nothing was more obvious than an entire group of people turning to stare.
Porter shook his head and sipped on a glass that looked identical to mine, and remembered he’d said he didn’t drink, but never explained why, not that he needed to. “Not interested,” he said.
“It wouldn’t matter if he was,” Lukas added. “He’s not exactly the approachable type. He honestly serves more as reparent to the ladies. They all watch him, but they all steer clear.”
“It’s repellent,” I corrected him. My guess was that Porter’s self-imposed celibacy had something to do with whatever had sent him here from Ontario.
“If you don’t like the ladies,” Zach interjected, “maybe you like the gentlemen?”
Porter didn’t say a word, just sipped his drink and stared Zach down.
“Porter is about as gay as I am,” Lukas answered, waving the bartender down for another drink.
“Off-limits,” Ivy hissed at Zach.
I had to admit, her possessiveness was sexy as hell.
“Jesus, Ivy,” Zach responded. “I was just curious.”
“I’m not gay,” Porter answered. “I’m just discerning. And seriously, when are you guys going to call me by my name?”
“When you earn it,” Eric retorted with a quick smile.
Porter simply shook his head and went back to his drink.
“Oh,” Ivy said, looking past her sister. “I think that’s David Armstrong, but who is he sitting with?”
I followed her line of sight. “Yeah that’s David,” I recognized the major league baseball player. “And that’s the manager for the Marlins.”
“But doesn’t he play for Cincinnati?” She asked me.
“Sure does,” I answered, more than a little impressed that she recognized the athlete.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Ivy said as she stood and tugged the hemline of that incredible dress down her thighs. “Zach?”
Like a faithful puppy, he immediately followed as she headed toward the small, but stocked VIP bar against the wall, conveniently close to Armstrong.
I wasn’t sure if the guy was going to take pictures with his eyes, considering his camera had been confiscated, but I wasn’t too concerned.
“Who has Hannah?” Porter asked.
That was another thing about the guy. For being tough, unapproachable, and more than a little intimidating considering his size, he had a soft spot for Hannah. I guess that gave me a little soft spot for him. I knew it had been hard for him to be traded here, considering the rivalry that brought our teams to blows nearly every season. I was pretty sure Porter had been the one to break Davis’s front tooth off last year when the benches cleared.
“Faith,” I answered, my eyes tracking Ivy as she made her way down the bar, chatting it up with a couple local celebs. “I actually can’t stay out too late. I don’t like her driving back to her dorm past midnight.”
Porter grunted, nodding his head. “College campuses aren’t always the safest places for young ladies. Shame that they can be populated by such assholes.”
“Amen,” Eric added. “I made sure she was in the best dorm on campus. Hell, I wanted her to live with us, but someone,” he nudged his wife, “told me that she deserved a true college experience without an overbearing older brother in her way.”
Pepper smiled. “Hey, her dorm is great. She’s in a private room in a suite with two other girls. It’s not like she’s been shoved into a 5 x 7 cube with bunk beds and a group shower that she has to wear flip-flops in.”
“Don’t knock group showers,” Lukas said.
“I want to dance,” Pepper said suddenly, changing the subject. She was like that, making up her mind about something quickly and not pausing to care what anyone else thought except Eric.
“Your wish is my command,” the giant ginger answered, taking Pepper’s hand and leading her out of the lounge.
“So Faith is at your house,” Lukas asked, his innocent tone absolutely negated by the interest in his eye.
“No,” I said as assertively as I could in the small, confined space. “The answer is no. It will always be no. As a matter fact, the answer to even thinking it is no.”
It took a second for me to realize that the dark chuckle I heard was coming from Porter.
“What?” Lukas asked. “Aren’t I allowed to be concerned for teammates’ sister?”
“No,” I responded. “You’re not. At least not Faith. Now, if Crosby has a sister, I’m all about it.”
“Whatever. I’m getting bored. I think it’s time to go hunting.” Lukas put his newly-filled drink down.
“I said no,” Ivy snapped as she came back over, Zach in tow.
“But, that is the story,” he responded in the same curt tone. “If you’re too stupidly moralistic to see it—”
I stood, my height giving easily six inches on the guy. “Yeah, I think this is where you leave because no one talks to her like that. At least not in front of me. And also, you say moralistic like it’s a bad thing.”
“Yeah, okay.” He rolled his eyes, and it was all I could do not to throw him through the glass. But brawling wasn’t something Hannah’s social worker would look favorably upon. “Look, I’ll just see you tomorrow at the office, but please think about what I said. It’s not just your career that you’ve got on the line here. It’s mine, too.”
Ivy softened a little, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to.
“Good night, Zach.” The guy paled a little under my glare, finally understanding that I meant what I said when it came to Ivy. He nodded once and almost ran out the VIP door.
“I’m so done tonight,” Ivy groaned. “Can we go dance? I’d love to turn my brain off for a while.”
“I’d be happy to dance with you,” Lukas answered as he stood.
“No.”
“No.”
Porter and I answered simultaneously.
“You guys are no fun.” Lukas led the way, and Ivy and I followed him out. It didn’t surprise me that Porter remained behind. He hardly seemed like the club dancing type.
“What was that about?” I asked Ivy as we descended the steps.
“I saw something. Something no one else was meant to see.” Her tone had dropped to a hushed whisper, so I paused on the steps, turning so that we were at the same eye level.
“The Armstrong thing? I honestly think that’s a good scoop. A couple of calls, and you can have enough to run with it. You don’t even need the picture to say that you saw him meeting with Marlins management.”
“That’s the problem. I got close enough to introduce myself, play the flirty blonde and tell him what a great fan I was. I saw terms on the table. It’s a good scoop.” She bit her lower lip, and I knew I hadn’t heard what was really bothering her.
“Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“I pulled Zach into that private booth. You know, the one that overlooks the dance floor?”
“I know it.” I knew the room well. Hell, I’d fucked a girl or two in that room. I didn’t even want to think that she might have had the same experience while dating Crosby.
“Right, so I pulled him in there to ask him what we should do without the camera, but we weren’t alone. Rob Dyon was in there, and he wasn’t alone.”
“Okay.”
“Connor, he was in there with Brandon Alameda.”
“Alameda, as in his partner? Like, his brother?” This could be bad.
“His partner’s son.”
“And they were…” I leaned forward.
She lifted her eyebrows.
“Oh. I didn’t realize Dyon was gay. Shows you how much I pay attention to the news.” I shrugged. “So what’s the big deal? Is it because he’s his partner’s son?”
“No, it’s because Dyon isn’t out yet.”
“Oh. Shit. Ivy, you’re not going to…” Please, God, tell me I knew her
better than that.
“No!” she hissed. “I’d never! I mean, that’s his decision. Not mine. Zach whipped out his cell phone, but I smacked his hand down before he could snap a picture. That’s what the argument was about. The Armstrong meeting is absolutely newsworthy and won’t hurt anyone. I didn’t become a reporter so I could ruin families.”
“I’m proud of you,” I told her, my voice drifting into sentimental territory. “I know that as much as you know you did the right thing, it has to be hard to walk away from something that could launch your career. Even if it’s in a direction you don’t want to go.”
Before she could respond, Lukas called up from the dance floor beneath us and waved us down. He was surrounded by women all dressed alike except for the brunette with a tiara.
“This should be good,” I muttered, and we headed down the steps.
“Here he is!” Lukas grinned and slapped me on the shoulder as Ivy headed over to Pepper.
“Oh. My. God. You’re Connor Bridgerton!” The Brunette squealed loud enough to hurt my ears over the music.
“I am,” I confirmed, plastering a smile on my face. I was never a dick to fans.
“Connor, this is my friend Vicky, and it’s her birthday today,” Lukas said as Vicky pointed to the birthday girl scrawled across her chest in rhinestones.
“I can see that. Happy Birthday, Vicky.” My eyes flickered to where Ivy talked to her sister. Even in a crowd of women, I couldn’t keep my attention from the one I couldn’t have...yet.
“I can’t believe I’m meeting you! Lukas said he could get me a dance with you, but I didn’t believe him!” She staggered forward, obviously three sheets to the wind.
“Whoa,” I said, catching her by the elbows.