Chapter Eight

“No. No, no, no,” Ruby whispered.

One glance at her, and Alec could tell she was about to lose her shit.

Her face was flushed, her eyes wide, her body frozen.

“Ruby, don’t freak out,” he said quickly.

The truth was, she had every reason to freak out. Not only was Vince a douchebag, but he was also the worst person who could’ve seen them in a lip-lock like that. The dude was a walking social media app, spreading news and lies and shit worse than any town crier. Worse than Nana, Alec’s eighty-year-old grandmother.

“Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out? The question is, why aren’t you freaking out? He just—we just—Oh God.” Her eyes shot to the door Vincent had just shut then skipped to another door across the room that led to a maintenance hallway and then the parking lot. “I’ve gotta get out of here.” Swiftly, she walked toward it, threw it open, then charged through it, Alec trailing close behind.

Before they hit the parking lot, Alec reached out and took her arm, stopping her. “Ruby, we need to talk about this.”

She whirled around, causing Alec to drop his hand and step back. “What’s there to talk about, Alec? He saw us kissing!”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Red. I was excited because of the sponsorship news. Maybe Vince won’t tell anyone.”

“Vince will tell everyone!” Tears welled up in Ruby’s eyes. Her mouth kept opening and closing, like she was trying to find the right words. She shook her head, pools of blue reflecting shame and fear. He hated knowing she found their being caught kissing as shameful.

He wanted so much to hold her, but when he moved toward her she took a step back. She blinked back her tears.

“Everything was going great. Your fans have been supporting you, you’ve been killing it on the field, my father’s been proud of me for the work I’m doing, and then the sponsorship…” She shook her head. “My God, people will think I broke you and Colleen up. You’ll lose the sponsorship before you even get it. And my father… Even if we explain the kiss was just a reaction to good news, that it meant nothing, I’m still screwed.”

Alec scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Damn it, he knew the kiss meant something to her. That he meant something to her. In fact, he’d begun to suspect that he meant so much to her, it scared her. That his proposing to Colleen had hurt her so much, it was the real reason she’d been holding off starting anything personal with him. Sure, the fact they worked together and she didn’t want to disappoint her father was a convenient excuse, but she was probably far more terrified of what their kisses would lead to and how vulnerable it would leave her heart if she finally opened herself to him completely. He couldn’t really blame her either. The idea of her having that much power over him wasn’t the most settling feeling either. Even engaged to another woman, he’d thought of Ruby all the time, and that was before he’d even kissed her. Now? She was in his blood.

“I saw what those meaningless kisses led to, Ruby. I heard the way your heart beat and the way your hands trembled. You can’t tell me it meant nothing.”

She shook her head and threw her arms in the air. “I never said it meant nothing, Alec. But it’s probably what we should tell people.”

“I disagree. I think we should come clean about everything.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding? Your genius plan is to confess to everyone that we”—she lowered her voice only to hiss—“fucked on the football field because we were drunk off our asses? You’re sure about this, Alec?”

Alec’s jaw clenched. “First of all, we weren’t drunk off our asses. We only had one double whisky each. And no, that’s not what I think we should tell everyone. I think we should tell everyone we’ve been working together this past month, and as a result, we’ve developed feelings for one another.”

“Why should anyone care about our feelings?” Ruby cried.

At least she didn’t deny she had feelings for him. “People love a love story. Think about it. Me finding love again after a failed engagement? With the woman who’s been by my side for the past few months, bringing me back to myself, seeing me at my best, being a positive influence. They’ll root for us.”

“That’s a huge gamble.”

He took her hands and placed them on either side of his face to feel her warmth. She didn’t pull them away. “It’s one I’m willing to take. It’s also the smart move and you know it. Yes, we’ll face criticism by some, and Colleen alone will lose her mind. But you know better than anyone that if we leave it in Vince’s hands and rumors begin to swirl, it could be a thousand times worse. It’s easier to do damage control than skirt around rumors. If we do it this way, our way, by being honest, then we can at least manage things. Play things the way we want to play them.”

She stared at him for a second before closing her eyes and taking a solid breath. “You’re starting to sound like me.”

Alec smiled. “Right. Which means I’m making sense.” He reached out and pushed reddish-orange strands behind her ears. “But I’ll be honest here, Ruby, letting the world know we have real feelings for one another? It’s not just about protecting our careers. I know you wanted to wait, but if this helps us start to explore what’s between us sooner rather than later, I’m thrilled as hell about it.”

She bit her lip, her expression still clouded with doubt.

“Tell me the truth, Ruby. If your job, my job, the public, Colleen, your father—if none of them mattered, if it was just you and me, and it was just a matter of what we wanted, what would you want to do?”

“If none of those things mattered, then yes. Of course I’d want to date you, Alec. I wouldn’t care if the entire world knew it. But my father isn’t going to be one of the people rooting for us. He’s going to see that kiss as irresponsible behavior on my part. Even so, my job isn’t the main thing at stake here. Don’t you want to protect your image? Don’t you want to protect your chances at winning this sponsorship? If people think you cheated on Colleen with me—”

He swiftly cupped her face, making her gasp. “Ruby, I want you. I let Colleen’s lies mess things up for us before, but I’m not going to let Vincent, or your father, or this potential sponsorship with Sports Armour mess things up again. We’re not fucking criminals, for God’s sake. We didn’t kill anyone. The worst we’ve done is get feelings for one another during a professional relationship. It’s happened before and it will again. People will understand.”

“Maybe at first. But what happens when things don’t work out between us? A month from now—hell, tomorrow—you could be done with me. You could want someone else.”

He cocked his head, wincing. “Is that what you think of me? That I’m that fickle?”

She closed her eyes. “Alec—”

“Ruby, I understand why the thing with Colleen makes you leery, but I told you the truth. It’s you I wanted all along. I vote we take a chance. Take a chance on me. I won’t disappoint you.”

It was all he could do or say. All the cards laid out on the table. He’d made his feelings known. Now the ball was in her court.

She bit her lip. “I don’t know, Alec. I just don’t—”

Ruby’s phone rang. She looked down at it and dread filled her face. “It’s my father. Again. See? Look how quickly it’s gotten to him.”

“You can’t know that.”

“No. But I need to tell him what Vincent saw. I need to give him a heads-up.”

Alec nodded. “Do it. But can I ask one thing? Can you put the call on speaker? Because I kissed you, and if you’re going to have to face the consequences of that, I want to face them together.”

The phone continued to ring.

Ruby stared at it, then at Alec, then at the phone again. Finally she bit her lip and took the call, hitting the speaker button.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart. Do you have anything on LeBrun’s schedule for this Friday? I think it’d be a good idea to take him to that racing event that’s in town. It won’t take long and will work wonders in crossover sport publicity.”

“I’ll check in a minute,” Ruby said. “But um… There’s something I have to tell you, Dad.” She turned to her side, as if to speak privately, but Alec was still privy to the conversation. “You might hear something today or tomorrow…something about me and Alec LeBrun kissing in the locker room. Don’t freak out. There’s an easy explanation.”

Phil O’Brien was silent for so long, Alec winced. “What explanation, Ruby?” He finally said, his voice clipped.

“Well, see, the moment I told Alec about the sponsorship, he got so happy, he kissed me. Right at that moment, one of the assistant coaches came in. He might have...misunderstood.”

Alec frowned even as Ruby glanced his way. Obviously it wasn’t what he’d wanted her to say. He’d wanted her to trust him. Trust his idea. Take the chance on exploring what they could be to one another. But this was her father. Her career. She had a right to handle things as she saw fit.

Phil was once again silent for a few seconds, then he sighed. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. Spin it that you’re dating,” Phil said. “We’ll play the soul mates card. People will be all over it. The good girl who tamed the bad boy.”

“What?” Ruby’s eyes, which hadn’t left Alec, boggled.

Alec raised his brows even as he suppressed a grin. Obviously, he and Phil O’Brien processed things in a similar fashion. The question was whether Ruby would go for it.

By the look on her face, her father hadn’t sold her on the idea any more than Alec had. “Are you sure, Dad? It will be viewed as…unprofessional.”

“It’s fine, Ruby,” her father said. “However, you will have to give up your position with the Bootleggers. Maybe take a leave of absence indefinitely from the first. You’ll be let go from the firm immediately.”

Phil’s words immediately wiped the grin off Alec’s face.

Ruby’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded. “Okay. Who do I give my cases over to—”

“No.” Alec swiped Ruby’s phone from her. She tried to take it back, but there was no way he was going to let any harm come to Ruby. Even from her father. “That’s not going to happen, Mr. O’Brien. Ruby stays. After all, it was her hard work that earned me a shot at the sponsorship. If she goes, I go.”

“LeBrun, I believe this is between me and my daughter.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Phil. You’re talking about disciplining her for something I did. I initiated the kiss, not Ruby. We don’t have to say we’re dating. Ruby thinks we should simply explain we were celebrating and went too far. That the kiss meant nothing. And I trust her, so if that’s how she wants to play it, that’s how I’ll play it.”

Alec felt Ruby place a hand on his arm. He looked down at her and sent her a silent message. He might have made the same suggestion as her father, but she was calling the shots here, no one else. And she certainly wasn’t losing her job over any of this.

“No one’s going to buy that and just let this lie,” her father said. “Saying you’re dating is the better strategy.”

“Maybe. Like I said, that’s up to Ruby. But no matter what she decides, she remains a Bootleggers publicist. She remains my publicist. If you fire her, I will fire you, and I’ll take the Sports Armour deal to another firm. Is that clear?”

After a moment of silence on Phil’s side of the call, he muttered, “Fine, Ruby stays on. But if you lose the sponsorship because of all this, there’s going to be hell to pay.” The line went dead.

Alec held out the phone to Ruby and braced himself for her anger. Sure enough, she snatched the phone from him and snapped, “Lord protect me from men who know best.”

Alec winced. “Actually, I believe what I told your father was you know best. I was just making sure he knew I had your back while you decided what that was.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have told him that. I let you in on that phone call, Alec. I didn’t give you permission to take my phone and hijack the conversation. That phone call was between me and my dad. My boss.”

God, she looked so fucking beautiful when she was pissed off. Of course, he valued his life too much to tell her that, and anyway, the point she was making was completely valid. Even so, he’d do what he did all over again if he had to.

“Ruby, I’m sorry if that was pushy, but you weren’t going to play hardball with your dad. I had no problem doing it. Your job is safe, no matter what. How we play things next is totally up to you. The question is are we playing it safe by brushing off that kiss, or are we going to start dating—out in the open, for real? And, Ruby, if you decide not to do the latter because you don’t think it’s the best move professionally, that’s one thing. But if you decide not to do it because you’re scared of what you feel for me, well…that’s something else. All I can say is…don’t. Don’t be scared. Take a chance on me. You won’t be disappointed.”

She stared at him for so long, her gaze searching, yearning even, but she remained quiet. So quiet, he knew she remained unconvinced. She didn’t want to take a chance on him. Not again. Not after he’d fucked things up, asked her out then proposed to Colleen, then been a complete asshat, jeopardizing his career and hers in the process. Fine.

He sighed. “Okay. We’ll play it your way. I’ll talk to Vince first and tell him the kiss meant nothing and we’ll see what—umph.”

All of a sudden, Ruby wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him. When she pulled back, she rested her forehead against his and said, “Let’s do it. Let’s date. Let’s date the fuck out of each other and see where it goes.”

Alec grinned and pulled her in for another kiss.