shorts, he looked no less immortal. As she watched him chat with a couple of kids, she couldnât think of anything else besides just how full-on gorgeous he was.
And how absolutely sweaty and gross she was.
Maya immediately dropped to a crouch behind the whirring ball machine before he could see her. When he didnât walk on right away, she desperately grabbed her cell from her pocket and called Cleo.
âHello?â Cleo answered.
âHeâs here,â Maya said, trying to keep her stage whisper from becoming a roller-coaster scream.
âWho?â
âTravis,â Maya said urgently, ready for Cleo to freak out with her.
Cleo was unimpressed. âSo?â
âSo?â Maya couldnât believe her ears. âIâm talking about Travis Reed, Nails Reedâs son? I told you, I met him yesterday.Iâm even grosser than I was then. What if he sees me?â Maya sneaked a look around the ball machine. He was still there, chatting away.
âWould he even remember you?â Maya wasnât sure if Cleo was simply thoughtless or if she was actually trying to punch Maya in the gut.
âWell,â Maya said, ignoring her wounded pride, âif he didnât remember me, he would now.â Maya scanned the area for quick exits, but the only way off the court was past Travis.
âMaya, come on,â Cleo said. âHow gross could you possibly be?â
Maya couldnât even begin to describe which breed of wet dog she most resembled. She pointed her cell phone at herself, took a picture, then sent it to Cleo.
âWow,â Cleo said finally. âYou are gross.â
Before Maya could be truly offended, she saw something that knocked every single thought out of her head.
Travis Reed took off his shirt.
Maya wasnât a boy-crazy gawker, but this guyâs body was ridiculous. He wasnât a hulk (quarterbacks rarely were), but he had muscles, and they were so defined they looked painted on. By God.
âMaya?â Cleo asked. âMaya, I asked you a question.â
Maya snapped back to reality. How long had she been gone?
âHe just ⦠shirt. Off. Body. Wow.â Mayaâs grasp of the English language was slipping by the second.
âDid you just get out of prison?â Cleo asked, laughing. âDonât they have boys in the cornfields where you grew up?â
âOf course they have boys,â she said. âAnd they werenât cornfields. I just â¦â
âThat good, huh?â Cleo asked, intrigued. âIâd much rather see a picture of that than your unfortunate sweat stains.â
âOkay.â Maya raised herself just enough to get a clear shot, then covertly aimed her phone at Travis. She steadied it and focused on ⦠Travis looking over at her.
Panicked, she dropped the phone without a secondâs hesitation. Into the whirring ball machine .
Please , Maya thought, please donât let him have seen that.
He looked away, oblivious. Maya wasnât particularly religious, but in that moment, she knew there was a higher power, and it was watching over her.
Suddenly, the ball machine clanked. Maya shifted just in time to see her cell phone launch like a rocket. It bulleted past her, through the trees, and into the nearby parking lot, where it connected with something with a loud bang .
Forgetting Travis, Maya raced to the parking lot. She saw her mangled phone on the ground ⦠beside a car with a large dent in its side. It was an Aston Martin One-77.
And, Nicole was at the outdoor café fifty feet away from it. Nicoleâs walk was steady and purposeful as she made her way through the gathering crowd to inspect the damage.
âWhose is this?â Nicole asked as she picked up what was left of the phone. âI said, whose is this?â
Maya went pale. There was no way out of this. She fought her urge to run away screaming, unstuck her hair from her sweaty face, then stepped