“Tara Lincoln.”
“Nice to meet you, Tara Lincoln.” He walked her away from the crowd, outside the ballroom.
“I really should ...”
“You have communication central in your ear. If something comes up, someone will holler. And your job is to make sure your guests are happy, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a guest, and I’d like to get the hell out of this ballroom and talk to you. Which means you’re doing your job in making sure I’m happy.”
True enough, though for some reason she felt like she’d just been blindsided by a lineman.
And now who was thinking in football terms?
He sat her down on one of the cushioned benches in the outer lobby area beyond the ballroom. She had to admit it was blissfully quiet away from the noise of the party. And oh, what she wouldn’t give to be able to slip out of her heels for just a few minutes. But looking fashionable was required, even if it hurt. “Why aren’t you inside partying it up with your teammates?”
He shrugged. “Needed a break.”
“You needed a break from that awesome party I put together?”
“Your party is fine,” he said, leaning back and resting his arm over the back of the bench. “I’m just not a party kind of guy. Standing around making small talk just isn’t my thing.”
“And yet I see you in magazines at nearly every big event in New York and Los Angeles and here in San Francisco. Right in the center of it all, usually with some gorgeous woman right next to you.”
His lips quirked in a devastatingly sexy smile that made her belly quiver. “That’s just PR, honey.”
“Uh-huh. That’s not what the tabloids say.”
She felt his arm brush against her back. Very disconcerting.
“Don’t tell me you buy into those rags.”
“Don’t tell me all those women you’ve been hanging out with for the past ten years have been just arm candy and nothing more.”
“Okay, you’ve got me there. But I’ve never been seriously involved with any of them.”
“So you’re saying you’re a man whore?”
He choked out a laugh. “Wow. You don’t hold back, do you?”
She smiled at him. “Just call them as I see them.”
“Don’t believe everything you see on TV and read in the magazines. That’s not who I am.”
“Really. And who are you?”
“Hang out with me after this is over, and you can find out.”
He was definitely hitting on her. No doubt about it. And she had no clue why. But admittedly, it felt good. Star quarterback, fine-looking, and it had been a long time since a man paid attention to her. Plus there were some stunning women inside that ballroom, and for some reason he’d chosen her. Her ego had just climbed a few rungs up the ladder. Okay, maybe it had climbed to the top of the ladder.
Nothing was going to come of it, of course, but she was going to bask in his attention for just a few moments longer.
“I don’t get it, Mick. Why me?”
“Because you’re real.”
“And all those women inside the ballroom aren’t?”
He grinned. “Pretty much, yeah. But it’ll be time for me to get back to some serious work soon. And what better way to end my time off than with a woman who’s honest and not a game player.”
“You had a great last season. Congratulations. But I can’t imagine you wouldn’t enjoy your off season by basking in the glory of a beautiful actress or model or someone to help you relax.”
“Thanks. We did have a kick-ass season. And I have a top-notch agent who likes to toss these cover models and whoever’s the current hot actress at me. Good for my image, ya know.”
She leaned back to study him. “Yes, I can see how that would put you front and center in the entertainment news. And maybe get more people coming to your games.”
“Exactly. But it’s tiresome. And maybe once I’d just like to be with someone who isn’t—”
“Famous? Connected? Isn’t going to drag you onto the cover of the tabloids?”
He laughed. “Something like that. Someone I can just talk to, have a real conversation with. Be with because she just wants to be with me, not because it’s good for her career.”
She’d always envied people like Mick Riley and the women on his arm. Maybe she shouldn’t have. “It doesn’t sound like you’re having much fun.”
“Oh, on the field I have a lot of fun. Off the field ...”
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that much of a hardship having to be with all those beautiful women.”
His chest rose when he inhaled, and Tara wished he wasn’t wearing that tux. She watched all of the Sabers games. In his uniform, Mick was something to behold. He had an amazing athlete’s body. This afternoon when she’d run into him in the locker room? Wow. She didn’t know they made bodies that sculpted. She had to admit she wouldn’t mind a closer inspection. Did that make her shallow?