I Carry Your Heart (Heart Series Book 1) by C.M. King

had finally been reversed.
    I smiled, enjoying my moment.
    I had waited long enough.
    “Where’s Mike?” I asked, breaking the awkward silence. Joel scanned the room and his eyes eventually came to rest on Mike, who was stood chatting to a group of blonde girls.
    Surprise surprise.
    “I’ll let you get back to them, you’re missing out on precious flirting time.” I waved my hand dismissively and walked past him, as the usual wave of rejection crashed over me.
    He grabbed my elbow and for a few seconds caressed it slowly with his thumb, sending delicious tingles through my body.
    “I’m fine here with you,” he whispered. His soft, warm breath tickled against my ear, almost making me jump.
    Every hair stood on end at his close proximity. I felt the heat radiating from him; the temperature was definitely rising. I turned slowly and looked deep into his eyes and smiled.
    God he was gorgeous.
    I felt the familiar pull, as the air around us turned electric. My heart hammered deep in my chest, as my breathing became more erratic by the second. I needed to calm down and act normal. Well, as normal as I could possibly manage around Joel.
    “So did you enjoy the match today?” I asked casually, trying to disguise every emotion I was feeling being expressed on my face.
    An amused smile crossed his lips. He knew how much I hated football, but I was at a loss for words. My mind always seemed to go blank around him, like my brain forgot how to function. If I wanted to keep him here, then I had to employ under hand tactics to distract him. He and Mike were always off watching their beloved Arsenal, and unfortunately for me it was the only thing that sprang to mind.
    The frosty glares from across the room made me turn, to find Joel’s fan club had followed us inside. Anger radiated in their eyes, they were seriously pissed, which delighted me even more.
    Ha, take that bitches!
    “The match was great thanks, we won, we’re now third in the league.” He grinned, looking overly excited about his team’s performance.
    That meant nothing at all to me. I was out of my league but I nodded my head in feigned interest, blundering on with the conversation.
    “Who were you playing Man United?” The only player I knew was Beckham, who had previously played for Man United. It wasn’t because of his football skills though, just the fact he was hot. Elijah and I had enjoyed perving over his collection of underwear ads. He was simply perfection, but Joel didn’t need to know that.
    Joel laughed, looking slightly amused. “No Tottenham.”
    One thing I did know a derby match was a big deal to the fans. The rivalry went through the roof with the supporters, like winning was life or death.
    “Ahh, so you’ll be happy then, winning a derby match.” I smiled, feeling smug I knew that. I might just make it through this conversation unscathed after all.
    He raised his eyebrows in surprise and grinned, nodding his head in delight. “Yeah, can’t stand Tottenham, it was so good to see them lose heavily today.” He carried on staring intently into my eyes and I became lost. I knew I needed to say something fast, but his beautiful eyes were far too hypnotic for me to even care. He cleared his throat and I flinched, I’d practically zoned out right in front of him.
    Huh?
    Shit!
    What the hell were we talking about again?
    “What was the score?” I asked, feeling my face flush. I was hoping he’d failed to notice my drop in concentration. Who cared about football? I just wanted to continue gazing into those magnificent eyes.
    “7-2.” His eyes remained locked on mine.
    “Wow.” I pretended to look shocked. “Must have been quite a match, no wonder you’re out celebrating.”
    “Yeah.” He took another sip of beer and the air around us shifted, becoming slightly awkward. As the uncomfortable silence between us grew ever larger.
    A loud groan left my lips, when I noticed a certain someone catch my eye. To my dismay Ryan was walking