Playing with Fire - A Sports Romance by Lydia De Luca Read Free Book Online Page A

before a single one of them can make a move, the piercing blue eyes of the woman fall upon someone and a gorgeous smile spreads across her face.
    “Ah! There you are.” Striding across the room in five-inch black stilettos, she has the eye of everyone in the bar. The bottom of her dress skims her thighs and her breasts tease at the fabric holding them in place. She stops in front of me and grasps my shoulders. “Frankie, my dear, it’s been too long!”
    Before I can say a word, she kisses both my cheeks, then pulls me in for a hug.
    “Viv, I'm so glad you're here.” I pull back and take her in. “How was your flight?”
    She slides onto a barstool next to me and grasps my hands. “Oh, you know. First class is no private jet, but it’s better than coach. I miss flying private. I ordered a Bloody Mary and I’m pretty sure it was just watered-down V8 with a splash of vodka on top.”
    I’m so wrapped up in listening to Vivian that I don't realize someone is behind me until warm hands slide across my hips. Vivian raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me as Mitch nuzzles his face into my neck.
    “You going to introduce me to your friend, darlin’?”
    “Yes, please introduce us,” Vivian says as she leans forward on the stool, giving him an eyeful of her chest.
    I give Mitch a smirk and pull him to my side. “Vivian, this is Mitch. Mitch, my cousin, Vivian.”
    He reaches forward and takes Vivian's hand, then raises it to his lips for a gentle, lingering kiss. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mitch says in a low, sexy voice.
    “Mmm, the pleasure is all mine.”
    My cousin is used to men falling all over themselves to be close to her. Mitch, though clearly smitten, handles himself better than most I've seen. In fact, once he releases Viv’s hand, he takes a step back and puts his arm around my shoulder.
    “Can I get you two a drink?” Mitch asks, his eyes on me. “Maybe a good Bloody Mary?”
    “That’d be lovely,” Vivian says. The gorgeous smile on her face is replaced with a slight frown as Mitch leaves my side and goes behind the bar to make our drinks. When his back is turned, she scoots close to me and asks, “A bartender, Frankie?”
    “Let it go, Viv,” I tell her, narrowing my eyes at her. She purses her lips as she straightens up. I know that look too well. She’ll be quiet for now, but it won't be long before she’s hounding me for the details about my friend.

    * * *
    “ S o , darlin ’,” Vivian says, a slow drawl meant to imitate Mitch. “You going to tell me about your sexy boyfriend?”
    I suppress the urge to act like a teenager and roll my eyes at her. Instead, I flip a page in my magazine and continue to pretend to read the article about the benefits of having multiple orgasms. “Mitch isn't my boyfriend,” I tell her for the third time.
    “Well, why the hell not?” Vivian asks. “Frankie, the man is gorgeous. And you clearly enjoyed yourself on the dance floor last night.”
    I can't hide the smile tugging at my lips. “I enjoy myself every night on the dance floor.”
    “With Mitch?” she asks as the salon tech lifts my foot off the edge of the sparkly pink tub and sinks it back in the swirling stream of water. My cousin’s eyes are wide as she fans her newly manicured fingers out across her chest. As the tech rinses the exfoliating scrub from my foot and calf, Vivian tosses her magazine to the vacant, cushy black chair beside her.
    “With Mitch,” I confirm, turning another page.
    I knew, despite my warning for her to drop the subject last night, that Vivian would grill me until she got the goods. Even our relaxing spa day couldn't postpone this conversation. I opted for the two-hour hot stone massage and a one-hour facial, hoping my absence from her would diminish her desire to pry. But now, stuck next to each other for our pedicures, there was no more escaping it.
    “And you know very well why he’s not my boyfriend.”
    “You don't seriously think he’d