Page 10

Chapter ten

Kade

As I climb into the driver's side of my black BMW, I can't help but feel relief that Sam agreed to go to dinner with me. When I’d first pulled up and went in to talk with her manager, I thought this whole thing was a long shot.

That she would see right through me and would still refuse to talk to me.

This morning when I went to see the coach, I was hell bent on getting out of this marriage in any way I could, but when Coach told me that I would be off the team if it was a drunken mistake, I thought maybe we could just stay married and pretend to be together, ending it later.

After running into her this morning, this crazy idea of staying married sounded better and better.

The only thing holding me back from going through with my plan is that I'm pretty certain I would be a horrible husband.

The same reason I had stopped the relationship from progressing the first time Sam and I started to get hot and heavy.

Now I'm regretting it all, because this woman next to me is one of the most wonderful women I know.

We pull into a cute little parking lot in front of my favorite place to eat. When Sam sees it, she lets out a small gasp, making me smile. " I can't believe you brought me here."

"Have you been here before?" I ask her.

"No, but I've heard that it’s really good and hard to get into."

"Yep, for most but not me," I say as I give her a wink, causing her to roll her eyes at me. "Shall we?"

Sam nods her head, opening the door to the car at the same time as me.

We meet in front of the car and all I want to do is feel her hand within mine, but I know that she won't allow it.

Instead, I let her walk in front of me, guiding her with my hand barely on the small of her back. Just enough that she knows I'm here.

When we open the door to the small Mexican restaurant La Chalupa, the smell of freshly baked tortillas hits my nose. I love the way this place smells.

Right at that moment, Sam's stomach rumbles and I can't help but let out a small laugh. "Let's get you something to eat," I tell her, feeling some satisfaction when her cheeks rise pink in color.

Reaching the hostess stand, the young woman sees me and starts grabbing the menus right away. I don't even have to say anything before she's already directing us to our table.

We sit down, but when the hostess walks away Sam looks at me with her mouth in a small thin line. Why is she so upset ?

"What should I get?" she asks me calmly, making me nervous. With the way she's looking at me, she should be yelling. This woman is so confusing.

Instead of questioning everything, I decide to answer her, "My favorite thing here are the chicken enchiladas."

"Mmm...that does sound good," she responds but doesn't say anything else.

I go to talk about my proposition, but when I do, I realize I haven't really thought about how to present it.

It needs to be perfect because I can't afford for her to not want to help me.

Thankfully, the waitress comes over, stopping me from putting my foot in my mouth. "What can I get you guys tonight?"

Sam takes control and orders for both of us. "We both want the chicken enchiladas and a margarita on the rocks."

The waitress looks between us and then gives me a sly smile, one that means if I gave her the chance, she would let me take her in the bathroom, even if I'm on a date.

It wouldn't be the first time I've been propositioned like that before, but I never take it.

In the past, a cute pretty woman might make me think about it, but she could never be as good as the woman sitting across from me.

I look away from the woman so she doesn't get any ideas. At that moment, Sam clears her throat, breaking the stare that the waitress is giving me and she calmly says, "Thank you for taking our order, but can you please stop ogling my husband?"

I can't help it nor could I stop it even if I wanted to, a smile spreads across my face at those words. The waitress doesn't seem to enjoy it as much as I do though, because she stutters, "Sorry." Then runs off to the kitchen, leaving Sam and I alone.

"So you don't want people checking out your husband?" I ask, grinning at her.

"Shut up. I just didn't want to sit here and watch her stare at you," she sasses.

"It's okay. I wouldn't want anyone checking my wife out in front of me either," I tell her.

Sam just rolls her eyes at me, and I find myself laughing again. Since she brought up our marriage, I take this moment to approach the subject, sobering up real quick. "I talked with my coach this morning."

She nods then mumbles, "I remember."

"He wasn't very happy about us getting married."

Sam's face softens with my words. "I'm sure he wasn't."

"So here's the deal—I can't get a divorce or an annulment right now."

I watch as Sam stiffens and begins to wring her hands in her lap but doesn't say anything.

She just stares but not quite at me, just right behind me.

I take this moment to keep explaining, hoping that she can understand where I'm coming from.

"I'm thinking we could stay married for a year, going out to a few public events, convince everyone that we are in love. "

"What?" she whisper-yells at me, leaning over the table.

"We could stay married and then people will think that I'm not just a playboy loser," I tell her.

"No. No. No," she barks, each 'no' getting louder and louder.

It would be comical if this wasn’t so important. Before she gets too far off, I place my hand on top of hers. "I know this is a lot to ask, but I'm willing to help you with anything you need if you do this for me."

Sam is still shaking her head, then mutters, "I'm not sure I could do that."

"Why not if it could benefit both of us?"

"When I was a little girl, I just always imagined I would get married to someone I liked, not just someone I slept with."

Placing a hand on top of hers, I whisper, "I get it. I never thought I would marry…ever. Especially after what I had to deal with as a kid. But this is important."

Sam closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly.

When she opens her eyes, I see that she has made a decision.

I hope it's one that leans toward helping me.

She stays silent, but keeps looking at me as if she is reading me.

I try to sit as still as possible, hoping that I'm showing her that I mean business. My heart beats as if it’s pounding out of my chest while I wait for her response.

Then she opens her mouth and I have to hold my breath when she says, "I have a few conditions."

That’s when, for another time tonight, Sam is able to make me smile. "Okay, let me hear your conditions."

"First, no sex. Se—"

"Wait, no sex?" I interrupt, and the smile on my face drops.

"Yeah, we can't confuse this as being something real by mixing our emotions with the physical," she says, giving me a look that tells me she is not letting that one go.

I take a deep breath and grit my teeth. "Fine."

That’s when she raises her brow. "Second, no being with other people."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you can't be seen canoodling with other women when you're supposed to be married to me," she snaps.

"Of course. That's a given," I tell her.

"I mean it, Kade," she grits out.

"I understand, Samantha. Anything else?"

"I will need you to pay off my college debt and any future classes I need."

"Got it. Also, how about for the next year, you quit your job and just focus on school?" Her eyes go wide from my suggestion. I'm assuming that she thought these conditions would keep me away, but I continue, "You won't have to worry about anything then."

"No. I'll keep working."

"Come on. What will it look like if my wife is working when I make millions of dollars?"

"It will look like I'm a very independent woman."

"Fine. But really, you should take advantage of this and just focus on school."

"I'll think about it."

"Anything else?"

"That’s it. Do you have any conditions?" she asks, sitting back in her seat.

"You have to live with me," I say. I expect her to freak out, but she doesn't respond.

It could be that she doesn't know what to say or she's just processing and the screaming might be coming soon.

Either way, I continue, "We will present ourselves as a married couple at the team’s family dinner on Sunday. "

Ignoring the family dinner comment, she focuses on the living together comment. "What do you mean that I'll be living with you?"

"It needs to look real, Sam. If you don't live with me, people will talk."

"How will people know?"

"I’m in the spotlight. You might have people watching your every move. Then they’ll talk. Our business might even post about it, like Kade’s wife is living in a separate building. They will question everything.”

"Fine. Fine. I get what you're saying. I'll move in with you, but I'm staying in the guest room."

"We’ll see about that," I tell her, giving her a wink, but she just rolls her eyes at me. The waitress brings us our dinner, and we spend the rest of the night eating and talking about nothing. But it feels nice, as if we are already comfortable with each other.