Stealing His Heart (The Kingston Heat Series) by Ella Jade Page A

shirt over his head. “Now.”
    “Whatever you say, cowboy.”
    * * * *
    “Will you hurry the hell up,” Kenny shouted from the bottom of the staircase. “What’s taking you so long?”
    “I’m coming.” Pax hurried down the steps.
    “Why are you running so late?”
    “My morning run went longer than expected.” Pax smirked when he thought about what he’d been doing the last few hours. He found it difficult to leave Sophia. “If we leave now, we’ll make it. No worries.”
    “What’s gotten in to you? Or should I say who have you gotten into?”
    “Don’t go there.” Pax checked himself in the mirror before pushing the alarm code on the key pad. “Let’s go.”
    Kenny followed him out and down the steps. “I want to hear about the school teacher.”
    Pax stopped before opening the door to Kenny’s new BMW. Pax paid his friend well. Kenny always had a new car to flaunt every two years whether he needed one or not. “How did you know Sophia was a teacher? I never told you anything about her.”
    “No, you didn’t.”
    Pax wasn’t sure where Kenny’s confrontational attitude came from. They never discussed those kinds of things with each other because they never had serious relationships to talk about.
    “Don’t you trust me with your finances?” he asked as he slipped into his car.
    “Yeah.” Pax got in and buckled his seat belt. “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “I saw the check you wrote for the private school. I wanted to make sure it was all on the up-and-up, so I did some investigating and figured out you made a donation to help fund a new music department. You even got some of your teammates to contribute.”
    “You could have just asked me. You didn’t have to investigate anything.”
    “When?” He started the engine. “You’re never around.”
    “What the hell are you talking about? I’m always with you.”
    “Right.” He kept his eyes on the road as he pulled out of the driveway. “They were some pretty expensive panties to get into, weren’t they?”
    “Shut up.” Pax hadn’t told Sophia about the donation yet because the owner of the Crushers had promised he’d make sure that was what the school was going to do with the money. He was going to surprise her as soon as he found out if the music department was a go. “I wanted to give back to the community.”
    “Yeah, and the jersey you gave her? What was that for?”
    “Why is that such a big deal?” Kenny hadn’t liked that Pax had given Soph that jersey, but he didn’t understand why.
    “Only the wives and girlfriends of the players wear those jerseys.”
    “So?”
    “If every player gave them out to the piece of ass he was screwing that particular night then they wouldn’t be so special.”
    Pax gripped the armrest and tried not to freak out. Kenny had been his best friend his whole life. They had been through so much together. He had been there for Pax from the beginning of his career. “She’s not just any girl.”
    “Obviously.”
    “I like her,” Pax admitted. “I know it’s out of character for me.”
    “I’ll say.” Kenny’s tone was clipped. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
    “It all happened kind of fast. I didn’t plan on her.” That was the truth. When Pax had arranged their collision on the trails he hadn’t expected her to be anything more than his next conquest. “This is all new to me.”
    “Yeah, well, I guess if she makes you happy then all’s good, right?”
    “Hey, man, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t think you’d care.”
    “What is this high school? Are we a couple of chicks now?”
    “No, I just meant that I wasn’t keeping anything from you.”
    “I didn’t say you were. I was just surprised when I saw the check you wrote, is all.” He pulled into the dealership lot. “Maybe they’ll give you a new car.”
    “Maybe.” Pax laughed. “You sure you’re okay?”
    “Dude, have I ever been interested in your sex life