Magnolia playfully slapped her shoulder. “Hush. I’m going home after this. I have another interview tomorrow before the guys leave for their road trip.”
Cressida groaned and started leading Magnolia over toward the studio side of the building. Rows of spiraled iron stools set paired with easels in neat little rows separated down the middle by an aisle of red plush carpet. A couple women already took up the front row next to the platform that displayed a table and bowl of fruit they would attempt to replicate later. There was supposed to be a live model, but Magnolia had complained during the staff meeting that morning that the Greek model turned pop singer had canceled at the last minute. So, now they were stuck with apples and oranges.
Magnolia took the first open seat next to Cressida on the aisle. “Speaking of interviews,” Cressida said, whispering to her, “Stella texted me and said you totally ditched my idea and interviewed the coach today.”
“Wasn’t my call. Evan arranged it.”
Cressida held her glass to her lips. “That Evan. I will have to deal with him.”
“You will do no such thing. He’s a good guy. He was only looking out for me.”
Someone cleared their throat behind Magnolia’s shoulder, but it wasn’t until she heard the voice that she turned around. “Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
A girl with bright auburn hair smiled at her. She sat at the easel on the other side of the aisle. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you a reporter for MSG?”
Magnolia groaned. This was it. The beginning of the end. This girl probably saw the video and recognized her. Ferocia’s evil plan to ruin her career was quickly taking hold. “I am.”
The girl’s eyes lit up. “I thought that was you.”
Magnolia scrunched her nose, and the girl laughed. “I really don’t mean to bother you, but I had to tell you that I loved the interview you did with Austin Blakely.”
Austin was right. The magazine was evil. Ferra Decantur was worse. Something much worse.
Magnolia ran an annoyed hand down her face, sighing into it. “You shouldn’t believe anything you read in The Whisperer or that you see on their ridiculous website.”
The girl smiled. “I didn’t see it on The Whisperer. Well—I mean—I did, but that’s not where I know you.” She stuck her hand out to shake, and Magnolia cautiously took it. “I’m Leila Rylander. You also interviewed my husband the other night. Henrik. Though that interview wasn’t quite so memorable.”
“Your husband?” Cressida suddenly perked up. She leaned over Magnolia’s lap, practically scooting into the seat to share it with her. “You’re married to Henrik Rylander?”
“Yeah.” Leila turned her head curiously to the side. “Why?”
Cressida squeezed Magnolia’s shoulder as if reining in her excitement. “I want to ask you so many inappropriate questions.”
“Cressida!” Magnolia smacked Cressida’s shoulder.
“Oh, c’mon, Mags, you know you’re curious how far down all those tattoos go.”
Cressida slid back into her seat with a little encouragement from Magnolia’s elbow. She had to teach that girl manners. When Magnolia looked back around, Leila continued to smile. “So…you and my brother.” She paused, her smile broadening. “That interview.”
Magnolia’s lips pressed tight. She definitely just said brother. That meant she’d been right. Austin and Henrik were related. Leila seemed nice enough, but the last thing she wanted to talk about was that interview. Especially with Austin’s sister. She couldn’t handle one more person taking up for him.
Leila reached over and touched her hand. “It’s okay. I know Austin was a jerk.”
Leila must have read the surprised look on her face.
“I grew up with hockey guys,” Leila said. “They might look like adults on the outside, but they forgot their maturity back in college. My brother is no exception. Austin should have saved his shenanigans for after the interview.”
“Thank you.” Magnolia deflated. All the nervous energy and annoyance she built up faded. Finally. Someone understood.
Leila picked up her glass of wine and took a small drink. “That being said. My brother isn’t a bad guy.”
Then she gave Magnolia the look. The sister look. Magnolia had two sisters. She knew what that look meant.
“I’m sure your brother is—”
“Amazing,” Leila said, interrupting. “He’s the best big brother imaginable. I went through a lot the past two years, and Austin never left my side, not even for a moment. My daughter, Lucy, the one you met at the Blazer’s game. She is crazy about her uncle. And Henrik. Don’t even get me started about his bromance with Austin. Henrik almost risked our relationship because he was so scared of losing Austin as a friend.”
Cressida leaned across Magnolia’s lap again, clinking her empty wine glass against Leila’s. “Amen, sister. I’ve been preaching this to her all freaking day.”
Again, Magnolia pushed Cressida back into her seat. “You told me to stay away from the athletes.”
“I lied. Sue me.”
Magnolia shot Cressida a death glare and slowly turned back to Leila, trying to regain her thoughts. “Like I said, I’m sure Austin is a great guy, but I’m in New York to salvage my career. I can’t risk my job so your brother has someone to flirt with every week.”
“This one has a chance to move to L.A. in the spring,” Cressida said, giving Magnolia a not-so-gentle congratulatory slap on the back.
Magnolia eyed Cressida. “How do you know about that?”
Cressida snorted. “I have my ways.” She leaned closer. “I hear everything.”
Leila was laughing now. “How many glasses of wine has she had already?”
“Too many.”
Leila scooted up to the edge of her seat, moving her feet into the aisle between them. “I don’t think this thing with you is about flirting for him. I think he has a crush on you.”
Magnolia nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s the difference?”
“With my brother—there is a big difference. I can’t remember the last time he had an actual crush.”
“It’s the smile,” Cressida said, remaining in her spot for once. “You can tell by his smile. It’s different than his usual one. It changes when he looks at her.”
Magnolia shot her a glare. “No one asked you.”
“Yeah. I noticed it on the video, but it didn’t hit home until I saw him talking with you at the game Saturday. That wasn’t his normal flirting smile.” Leila nodded now as if Cressida made perfect sense.
They had to stop this now. She had to stop it before they all started making too much sense. She’d made up her mind already. “It’s best if we stay away from each other. I think we can all agree that we don’t need to give Ferra Decantur any new reasons to be interested in us.”
Leila bit her lip, and then took a rather guilty sip from her wine glass. “I may need to apologize, then.”
“Apologize for what?”
Leila winced. “I texted Henrik that you were here right after I saw you walk in.”
Cressida popped up to her feet.
Magnolia’s heart started to sputter, and she ignored the pat on the shoulder from Cressida. “You think he’d tell Austin?”
Leila’s smile was soft and warm. “Those two tell each other everything.”
“Oh. Hell.” Cressida shook her shoulder harder now, until finally Magnolia turned around.
“What is it?”
Cressida placed one hand over her heart like she might faint and started slapping Magnolia on the head with the other. “This got interesting real fast.”
The bell above the door chimed. Magnolia swatted Cressida’s hands away and turned toward it. Five very large figures, resembling a string of crime fighting heroes, stood at the desk. In the middle, like the Norse God of them all, was Austin. A black on black combination of shirt and jacket only complimented the holey jeans and reckless glint in his eyes.
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It was the wine. Only the wine that caused her blood to run warm and her thoughts to fuzz into a haze. Magnolia purposely turned around in her seat. Austin said for himself that The Whisperer was dangerous. He would never risk being seen with her after Ferocia posted that—
Damn it, they walked toward her.
Henrik approached first. He threw his arms around his wife, taking her seat before delicately placing her in his lap. “Good afternoon, ladies. Funny meeting you here.”
Leila kissed his cheek. “I told them about the text.”
It didn’t deter his grin. Henrik simply cleared his throat and tried again. “Good afternoon, ladies. Thanks for inviting us.”
Then came the rest of them, a parade of dirty fantasies. First Callen Copley with his lip ring and I-don’t-care attitude. He winked as he trotted by. “Georgia.”
Then Samuel O’Dell. He gave her a simple, but perfectly sweet smile. “Georgia.”
Last was Drew Rylander, or at least, Magnolia assumed it was Henrik’s younger brother. He couldn’t deny the matching blond hair. He gave her a chin-up acknowledgement. “S’up, Georgia.”
She held her breath. She knew what waited for her next.
“Magnolia.”
She took her time turning around. Slow and steady. She made sure not to look him directly in the eye. Like the sun, she feared Austin might blind her. Or worse, cause her to lose the grip she had on her stool and topple over with lust.
Austin Blakely would break her. She knew that now. It was only a matter of time. She couldn’t let that happen.
Cressida took a step backward, already moving in the direction of the other guys like a magnet drawn to its opposite. “This must be what heaven looks like,” she said, giving Magnolia a pat on the head. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
Magnolia tried to grab her hand, to pull her back to sanity, but it was no use. She was on her own. Austin motioned toward the empty seat beside her. “Do you mind?”
She smiled through her clenched teeth. Cressida was totally getting bailed on next time. “It’s apparently empty.”
Austin took off his jacket and sat down, examining the paints and easel in front of him as if he showed up to actually participate instead of torture her. He ran his fingers down the canvas, and across the brushes. She sat there and watched. Mesmerized. His hand was so steady. It wasn’t fair that he showed no sign of unease when her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She took a slow breath and cleared her throat to test her voice. “So…you paint?”
She still sounded nervous, but Austin didn’t seem to notice. He casually accepted a glass of wine from the waitress who passed by, and tasted it. “No, but I do drink. I figure if I drink enough, I’ll at least think I can paint.”
Magnolia scowled at him.
He set another glass of wine down on the table at her easel. The one in her hand was empty. She must have downed it without thinking.
“I’m not here to ruin your night, Magnolia.”
“I’m not here for your entertainment, Austin.” She didn’t take her eyes off him. She had to make him understand. He couldn’t smile at her like that. His non-flirting smile as if he had any other kind of smile. One he saved just for her.
He eyed her for a long moment before finally nodding. “Point taken. I was about to apologize to you for that Saturday when—”
“Ferocia saw us together, and decided to turn your practical joke into a reality soap opera for her website?”
Austin clicked his tongue. “You saw the site.”
It wasn’t a question. He was merely disappointed.
She held her wine glass up in fake excitement. “One million hits and counting.”
He growled at the notion, and it eased her annoyance. That website bothered him too. Good. Her future depended on their ability to put this behind them and move on.
His finger rubbed the bottom on the glass in his hand, his voice low. “She must have noticed us at the game, and then saw the video. We have to be more careful.”
Magnolia almost laughed. “We? There isn’t a ‘we’ in this scenario.”
“Of course there is a ‘we.’ You’re part of the Rangers family now. I told you we’re friends with all the reporters.”
She scoffed, and he turned around in his seat to face her. “What?”
She moved in closer, challenging him. “Look me in the eye, Austin Blakely, and tell me you had my friendship on your mind when you eyed me up and down like a new play toy that night.”
Austin bit his lip, that same spark flashing in his eyes that she had seen in him just before the interview. “You’re making this worse.”
“Answer me.”
He released a sigh as if giving in to her demand was difficult. “I made a mistake in judgment that night.”
She held firm, her nose, her lips, all of it mere inches from him. “That isn’t what I asked you.”
Austin jerked her seat around, pulling the stool between his legs, blocking her in. “What do you want? Do you want me to admit I’m attracted to you? That I saw you that night in the bathroom in the staff hallway before the game?”
Magnolia’s mouth fell open. “What?”
His gaze dropped down to her lips. “That I watched you fuss over your make-up and give yourself a pep talk.”
She jerked back an inch. “What the hell were you doing in the women’s restroom?”
He ignored her. The tips of his fingers brushed the side of her thighs. “Do you want me to tell you I can’t stop thinking about you? Your legs in that skirt. Those glasses. Because I do. I think about it a lot.”
She pursed her lips and pushed away from him. She deliberately moved her seat back into position a safe distance away.
“I’m a guy, Magnolia. I know I appear cocky and overly confident to you, but that’s because if I didn’t tell myself I am those things, I’d never get the nerve to open my mouth in front of a girl like you. I saw you that night in the bathroom. I thought you were cute, and when you showed up at the interview all wide eyed and feisty…well, I went a little overboard. I’m sorry.”
She was engulfed in him. Even feet away, he was all she could see. The chatter faded around them. A stale backdrop compared to the blazing green eyes staring at her now. She set her chin. “I need this to stop.”
“This? Why? This is fun.”
Her lips pressed together. “You’re doing it all over again. You’re toying with me.”
Austin laughed. “What you don’t realize is that it’s mutual. Right now. That night before the interview. You conned me out of my shirt, for Christ’s sake.”
Magnolia gritted her teeth. Damn it, he was right. She started it, and now she needed to finish it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t apologize for that. I won’t accept it.”
He was so damn frustrating. Irresistible and insufferable combined in one giant pristine wrapper of perfection. “And why not?”
“Because I liked it. I liked it then, and like it now.”
She took in a breath and held it for a moment. “This isn’t a game.”
“But it is.”
“Ferocia.” She stuttered now, or rambled. It was difficult to make sense when his lips curved up like that. “Do you remember her? You’re the one who freaked out about her seeing you at the game. Now we’re both on her radar, and you don’t care.”
His face hardened. “I care.”
“Then act like it.”
Magnolia stood up to go find Cressida. She couldn’t let this go on. It would be too easy to give in to him. It would be irresponsible. She had to keep her eye on the prize. A chance at that L.A. job required her to keep a clean slate. She needed Ferocia’s interest in her to pass.
Austin touched her hand. It was brief, but enough to make her pause. She glanced back at him, and his features were tight again. “There are ways to avoid Ferocia. Tha
t’s why I came tonight. I need to explain that we have to work together. You just have to trust me.”
Magnolia shook her head. “Trust isn’t a word I place much faith in anymore.”
He moved into her seat. This time he touched her hip. “Trust me, Magnolia. Relax and have fun tonight. We will worry about Ferocia tomorrow.”
No. It sounded too familiar. A graduation party gone wrong. ‘Fun tonight and work tomorrow’ was what started this never-ending nightmare. She couldn’t go through that again. She stumbled backward, away from him and his offers. She’d figure out a way to get out of this on her own.
He stood. “I’m winning.” There was desperation in his voice. That was new. “You know you don’t want to let me win.”
How could he possibly know that? They’d barely talked. A two-minute interview and a rushed conversation before he dashed off at the game last weekend. How did he know how to push her buttons? The perfect combination to make her lose sight of that goal, to shift her focus back to him, back to things she shouldn’t want. She looked over her shoulder, meeting his stare head on. “You don’t want to play games with me.”
He leaned in, his teeth involuntary tugging on his bottom lip. “But I do.” He brushed a strand of her hair away from her cheek. “I really do.”
She turned around and handed him her glass of wine. She didn’t have to say the words. That spark between them flamed now. She held in the scream.
She glanced at the platform and then back to him, considering her options. She could leave now, but this little cat and mouse game he wanted to play would only continue some other day. She couldn’t risk that. It needed to end tonight. Embarrassing her, toying with her emotions, and endangering her career came at a price. Austin Blakely would have to learn his lesson the hard way.
“Fine. We’ll see who wins, and then it’ll be over. For good.” She stalked toward the stage, not bothering to look back. Cressida stood at the table next to the bowl of fruit that was to be their muse for the evening. Magnolia smiled her brilliant, evil, challenge winning smile.
Game on.
The Girl With Diamonds (Midtown Brotherhood Book 2) Page 6
