Page 28 of Pucking My Grumpy Accidental Husband

"Like you scored it for me."

He's quiet for a moment. "Maybe I did."

"See? That. We can't do that."

"Okay, fair point. Professional eye contact only. What else?"

"Second, we keep this completely separate from the team. No one can know, which means no dates anywhere we might be recognized."

"Hence the off-the-beaten-path café choice."

"Exactly." I take a sip of my latte, grateful for something to do with my hands. "Third, we pursue the annulment as planned. This doesn't change our timeline."

His expression shifts slightly. "And fourth?"

"Fourth?"

"Yes, fourth, Tessa. I can tell there is something else that you’re not saying."

I stare into my coffee cup, trying to find the words. "Fourth, we don't let this affect our professional performance. The moment either of us starts compromising our work, we stop."

"What if our work gets better because we're happy?"

"That's not how it works."

"Isn't it? Martinez said I played the best game of my season after Detroit. After we..."

"That's correlation, not causation."

"You sure about that, Dr. Bennett?"

"I'm sure that happiness doesn't fix everything. Trust me on that one."

He studies my face. "What happened to make you so sure about that?"

"Life. Experience. Watching people make stupid decisions because they confused temporary feelings with permanent solutions."

"Is that what you think this is? A temporary feeling?"

"I don't know what this is. That's the problem."

"Fair enough." He breaks off a piece of scone and offers it to me. "Now can I add a rule?"

"What kind of rule?"

"We're honest with each other. No pretending this is just physical when it's not, no downplaying what's happening because it's complicated."

"What if honesty makes it more complicated?"

"Then we deal with complicated. But we don't lie to each other or ourselves."

"That's a dangerous rule."

"Why?"

"Because honesty means admitting that I haven't felt this way about anyone since... maybe ever. And that terrifies me more than losing my job."

He reaches across the table and covers my hand with his. "There it is."