Текст книги "The Heat of the Moment"
Автор книги: Katie Rose
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“We suck,” he said, and Jessica broke into much-needed laughter. “The only good thing is the Yankees do too.”
–
Gavin made it to the bar even though he knew he shouldn’t. He was tired, discouraged, and his knee was on fire. In retrospect, he was glad Jessica hadn’t been there during his swim; she would have been pissed to realize he’d done this to himself and would have let him know it in no uncertain terms.
He’d been almost home when at the last minute he turned into the parking lot of the tavern. He saw Jake’s car there, and Chase’s convertible. Gavin was still driving a rental, something he had yet to address. It was almost as if he didn’t want to acknowledge the permanence of this move, and buying a sizable asset would force him to do that.
But as he walked toward the building, he knew he had to accept what had happened, all of it. Kristin was gone, and he was one of the Sonics. And instead of dwelling on what he’d left behind, he needed to look ahead, embrace change, and start forging new friendships. He had to make a life here, for however long it lasted.
The Sonics took up half the place. There were more members of the team present at the watering hole than at their morning meeting. His amused glance took in Chase and Jake, Brian, Cody, Shaun, Roger…practically all of them. The only one missing was Pete, and Gavin wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him show up at any moment.
“Hey, here’s the surfer dude!” Shaun called out, pouring him a beer from a pitcher and thrusting it into his hand. “What’s happening?”
“Whatever it is, it looks like it’s here.” Gavin accepted the drink with a grin. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his knee, he sipped the beer, finding it surprisingly good.
“It’s local,” Chase said in response to his unasked question. “They have a microbrewery here, and make a line of craft beers.”
“I like it a lot,” Gavin said appreciatively. “I was expecting the usual light-beer happy-hour special.”
“That’s frog piss,” Brian said with a snort. “We take our beer very seriously here.”
But not the game, Gavin couldn’t help thinking. Even now, Brian was riding Shaun about missing a catch that day, Jake was doing a dead-on imitation of Pete that had everyone laughing, while Chase threw out a couple of dazzling one-liners.
The Sonics were a lot of fun, he had to admit. And he had been around long enough to know that sometimes it was better to laugh and think about other things and give the brain a rest.
It felt good to relax after the day he’d had. This was the right decision. If he had gone home alone to his townhouse, to sit and ache and brood over his breakup, it would have made everything worse, and tomorrow he’d have an even bigger mountain to climb. Now he felt the tension leaving as Jake passed him a basket of fries, and Brian slapped his back upon telling him an off-color joke.
“So how are things going with the redhead?” It was Roger who asked, and Gavin realized that he had more than a passing interest in Jessica.
“Okay.” He shrugged cautiously. “Doing a lot of walking, swimming, and those PT exercises.”
“She knows what she’s doing,” Chase said as he downed his beer. “I worked with Phil season before last. He’s excellent, and I hear she’s even better.”
“What I’d like to know is what she’s like in bed,” Roger said, giving him a knowing smirk. “You know what they say about gingers.”
“What?” Shaun asked dreamily, and Gavin noticed a suspicious cloud of aromatic smoke around him.
“They are really wild,” the ballplayer continued. “She had me doing some leg raises earlier today, and I thought I’d like to raise her legs, get them high over her head while I…”
“I don’t think it’s cool to talk about her like that,” Gavin said, putting down his beer. He knew what he was risking speaking up; he was the new guy, but he felt he had no choice. “After all,” he continued, “she is a professional, and is trying to help us get healthy.”
Roger’s eyes darkened and he started to rise, but Jake stepped deftly between them and put his hand on his shoulder. “You’re both right. Jess is a great girl, and we all think she’s hot. But we do owe her some respect for what she does for us. Besides,” he added, shooting Gavin a knowing grin, “how the hell is California Boy supposed to work out with her every day if he’s thinking like that?”
Chase broke up, and the other players joined in the laughter, slapping Gavin on the back and offering their advice and condolences for being teamed up with the sexy redheaded therapist. Only Roger didn’t laugh. His eyes met Gavin’s, and there he saw the glitter of anger as well as a threat.
Fortunately, the topic changed from Jessica to women in general. There were only a few females in the bar, but they all got due scrutiny, as did the newscaster on television, celebrities, old girlfriends and crushes. Then they began taunting each other, really ripping into Chase, who had recently become engaged and was planning his marriage.
“It’s all over for you, buddy.” Brian hefted his mug and shook his head sympathetically at the pitcher. “No more new women, blow jobs in the locker room, or naked fans in your bed.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that, Hollywood.” Jake joined right in. “You came home one night and somehow that chick had gotten into your condo and was waiting for you?” He smirked. “He’s right. Those days are done.”
“Look who’s talking,” Chase shot back, obviously amused. “You may as well be married. You and Nikki are inseparable.”
“Yeah, my bachelor days are numbered.” Jake sighed, looking at his watch. “What a waste for the rest of womankind.”
They continued to bust on each other, and Gavin picked up his beer once more. But he noticed that Jake had planted himself at his side and he wondered if the shortstop wanted to ensure there wasn’t a fight.
If that was the case, he was grateful. Although it had bothered him to hear Roger talking about Jessica as if she were nothing more than a sex toy, he also had enough insight to realize Jake was right. He was sexually attracted to her, and didn’t need someone else to verbalize what he was fighting within himself.
As he sipped the beer, his eyes met Jake’s and he smiled a thank you. He had a feeling this wasn’t over with Roger, but Jake had sent a subtle message with his actions that they both understood. The shortstop grinned back, and then bought the next pitcher of beer and insisted on refilling his cup first. Strangely enough, it seemed that his defense of the therapist had brought him up a notch in Jake’s and the other guys’ estimation. Not that it mattered all that much, but it told him something about this crew.
They might be a bunch of jokers, but when push came to shove, the Sonics did the right thing and had each other’s backs. And that, he admitted silently, was worth something.
Chapter 8
He was limping when he got out of the van the next morning.
Jessica pulled up at the same time he did, and noticed it as soon as she saw him. Her eyes narrowed as she got out of her car, and she put her hands in the pockets of her jacket and stepped back to face him.
“What happened?”
“My girlfriend broke up with me,” he admitted, unable to think of another excuse. “I was pissed off, and when I was in the pool last night, I guess I overdid it. Phil put ice on the knee but this morning when I woke up, it was swollen.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, and he could tell she meant it. “Let’s get inside and take a look.” But before she took another step, her head swiveled around and she gave his vehicle a double take.
“What the…”
“Enterprise ran out of cars. I had to drop off the Lexus I was renting this morning. All they had left was a Chrysler Town and Country.”
Her ginger brows arched and her nose crinkled. “Without kids, there is no excuse to be tooling around in a minivan. Why haven’t you bought yourself a car?”
Her eyes locked with his and he couldn’t escape. “I don’t know. I guess…” With those green eyes looking right into his soul, he gave up. “I didn’t want to think this was all permanent. You know, the injury. New Jersey. The Sonics.”
She gazed at him for a moment, and then actually snorted. “Well, that’s ridiculous. Let’s go.”
She started for the ballpark. “Are you coming?” she asked, turning her head when she didn’t hear him behind her.
As he hobbled after her, he hid a grin. The rear view was amazing, and for the first time since his surgery, he had a reason to be glad he couldn’t keep up. She had on jeans today, and no designer dress could look any better on her. Yet she marched forward, clearly oblivious to her own natural charms. Thankfully, the baseball cap was back in place. He didn’t think he could handle her hair and her ass all at once.
And he couldn’t blame her for being pissed. She took pride in her work and wasn’t happy to see it carelessly thrown away. But he found he could deal with that a lot better than coddling. It was honest and real, attributes sorely lacking in the people that had previously surrounded him.
As they entered the PT room, another realization came to him. Gavin knew he was, as Jessica had so delicately put it, easy on the eyes. Girls had always liked him, from the time he was in grammar school when they slipped valentines into his desk, up to last year, with Cosmo naming him one of the sexiest men in baseball. He wasn’t a caveman, “me Tarzan, you Jane” type of guy, ordering women around and acting like the world was created specifically for him. But he enjoyed females, and he liked the effect his lazy smile had on them. Their awe of him not only fed his ego, but had provided a steady stream of dates from high school on.
So it was different for him to be around a girl who acted as if he were just one of the boys. She had a breezy, tomboyish manner about her that was at odds with her feminine attributes. He would have thought that would be a turnoff, but instead, he found it a challenge.
How would any guy get close to Jessica Hart?
As she bent down to unwrap his knee, he found that puzzle a pleasant diversion from his injury.
“This looks awful,” Jessica said, her disgust evident. She finally looked up with a frown. “You did this swimming? What did you do, take a Louisville Slugger to your leg as soon as you got out?”
“No,” he said in annoyance. “I guess I just pushed myself too hard. Like old times. It wasn’t until later that it became inflamed. I guess I was exercising my disappointment with everything, maybe a little too much.”
She stared at him, eyes narrowing. Measuring, reading him. Without communicating a word, he knew she understood. She seemed to get his frustration, and his anger. Yet she didn’t appear to be holding it against him.
“What am I going to do with you?” she said softly, almost to herself. After a moment, she just sighed and put her hands on her hips.
“Okay, Rocky, I guess we’re going to have to shake up the schedule. Instead of our walk, let’s go to Plan B.”
“What’s that?”
“Since we can’t do our program, we are going to switch to an interval workout.” She gazed at him, and those green eyes lit up with a devilish smile.
“We are going car shopping.”
–
The plan worked better than she had hoped. Jessica hauled Gavin from one dealership to another, weighing the benefits of the Mustang convertible versus the luxury of a Mercedes-Benz S class. She had always loved looking at cars, even though she could afford only a Honda Civic on her budget.
So she thoroughly enjoyed taking a test ride in the aggressive Ford ragtop that reminded her irresistibly of high school, comparing it to the upscale opulence of the Mercedes. The Route 1 traffic was a nightmare as always, so they went down the back roads, admiring the scenery on the chilly spring day. In the process, she was able to keep Gavin moving, but not with the steady aerobic exercise of a walk or the structured movements of a PT program.
Instead, they were in and out of the cars, the showrooms, and the sales offices. The activity she had chosen was perfect. Not only did it send Gavin a clear message to get over himself, he wasn’t in California anymore, it also gave her an opportunity to observe how his body reacted to the start-and-stop motion. To her satisfaction, he seemed to be doing much better, especially when distracted with the idea of making a purchase.
It occurred to her that she was taking a day out of her own life for this man, a day she could be using for herself. Her own car needed the thirty-K maintenance, she had been wanting to get lighter curtains and bedding for the spring, and she needed to go food shopping. But she knew he needed to move forward and accept what had happened so that his body could heal.
She was totally surprised when he passed on the Mustang and Mercedes, and instead as they approached a Jeep dealership, gestured to the driveway.
“Pull over. Let’s go look at them.”
She wouldn’t have pegged him as a Jeep kind of guy, but on second thought, it made total sense. California. Sunshine. Warm weather and no rain. A Jeep was a natural fit. In New Jersey, not so much, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Apparently, when she saw his expression getting out of the car, this was his dream.
“Love it.” He stopped in front of a firecracker-red Wrangler. “Doesn’t it look like fun?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah, let’s go for a test ride.”
He gazed at her for a moment, an odd expression on his face. Jessica didn’t have the slightest idea what he was thinking, but for some reason, his scrutiny made her feel ridiculously nervous.
The salesman eagerly tossed him the keys, and then looked at him curiously. “Don’t I know you? Aren’t you a baseball player or something?”
Gavin shot a look at Jessica, and she had to hide a grin. “Sort of. I’ll just take it around the block if that’s okay. I don’t need your help—I’d rather take my…friend with me for a little drive.”
“No problem,” the man said, looking at Jessica with a knowing grin. Evidently he had decided she was the latest of Gavin’s conquests. Sensing a sale to an affluent buyer, he seemed more than willing to accommodate the young couple.
“Friend?” Jessica asked teasingly when they got into the vehicle.
Gavin gave her a look that warmed her from her toes to her carrot top. “I didn’t think you would want me to explain our relationship,” he said with a grin. “I thought ‘friend’ was more appropriate. And honestly, that’s what I consider you. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” She felt her face flush and had to look out the window. Never get too close to a client. She remembered the advice from college, and she usually managed to keep a professional distance between herself and her patients. But in this case, it was different. Gavin was acclimating himself to a new area, a new team, new people. He needed friends, and it was a compliment that he saw her in that light.
Even if he had pulled a bonehead move in the pool last night.
He started the Jeep and pulled out of the parking lot onto a major highway. It was his left knee that was injured, so he was fully able to drive. Jessica was surprised at how comfortable the leather seats were. The vehicle had a solid, sturdy feel, and she had to admit it was much more appealing to her than the stuffy, expensive luxury sedans. When he whipped around the corner, causing her breath to catch, she burst into appreciative laughter.
“You know how to drive this thing!”
“I sure do. I had one in high school. Not a model like this,” he said, indicating the luxury interior. “But a secondhand, beat-up wreck. I loved it—it was so much fun. Especially in the summer, with the windows down, the air smelling like salt water and flowers when you drove along the beach.” He glanced out the window at the tree-lined streets. “I guess I won’t get that here.”
“Actually, you can,” she said, hanging onto the door. “The Jersey shore is fantastic. There are hundreds of little seaside towns, and state parks. I’m sure there are a few where you could take this little beauty on the beach.”
“Perfect. That’s what Jeeps are built for.”
He slowed down, experiencing the ride. Settling back into the seat, Jessica relaxed as he switched on the radio, filling the air with the sounds of Led Zeppelin. Gavin hadn’t changed into his workout clothes, so he was dressed in jeans with a button-down chambray shirt that showed off his torso and looked great with his dark hair and eyes.
It was all so perfect: the handsome guy, a fun car, good tunes. For a moment she could imagine that they were a couple, the way the salesman had suggested. She could envision coming home to him, being wrapped in his embrace, unbuttoning that shirt to feel his pecs, and then sliding her hands around his slender waist…
She couldn’t go there, wouldn’t allow herself to imagine what it would be like to be kissed by him, but her eyes traced his profile, settling on his gorgeous, sexy mouth.
A kiss from Gavin would be something she’d never forget…
The seat warmer was heating her in places that didn’t help her mental state, and her body was very aware of him, inches away. Oddly she wondered what he would do if she made the move, if she pulled him into her arms and planted one soundly on him…
Jessica barked out a laugh. He would probably die of shock.
He glanced at her curiously, seeing the smirk on her face.
“Um, do you mind turning down the heat?” she managed, keeping the amusement out of her voice.
“Getting hot?”
Buddy, you don’t have a clue, she thought. She was on dangerous ground, and she knew it.
“A little,” she managed. “I think we should be getting back before they come looking for us. But ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is always incredible.”
Chapter 9
As Gavin headed back toward the dealership, Jessica glanced at the window and focused on the sticker.
“So? Are you going to buy it?” Relieved that her voice sounded normal, not a squeak like that of some lovesick teenager after her romantic musings, she looked at him in question.
He grinned, those dark eyes shining with excitement. “I think so.”
Immediately, she whipped out her phone and began entering data.
“What you doing?”
“Looking it up in Kelley Blue Book.” She glanced at him impatiently, as if she’d just explained the sky was blue. “Just because you can afford retail doesn’t mean you pay that. Let’s see, this is a 2015, right?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, but looked at the sticker for confirmation. “Okay, let’s go with the unlimited edition. We’ll add a few extras, maybe the hardtop, chrome finishes. And of course, I’ll upgrade the radio.” She shot him a grin. “Now that I know you like classic rock, we have to make sure you have Sirius.”
“You can find all that?”
“Of course. Here it is. Fair market price would be about thirty-one grand. And the sticker is…”
“Thirty-five nine,” he said, looking at her in surprise. “How did you—”
Jessica grinned, pleased with herself. “I have five brothers, remember? This is all I heard growing up, besides sports. Now you know where you need to be pricewise.” Her eyes twinkled as she surveyed her phone. “I’d be happy to negotiate for you if you want.”
“I think I can handle it, now that I have the info. But did anyone ever tell you that you are incredible?”
Her laughter was rich and deep, even in her own ears. This was something she was much more comfortable with, being admired for her brains and ability. It was those sexy perusals and the chemistry between them that was her undoing.
They pulled into the dealership and saw the salesman anxiously pacing the front lot. He seemed relieved when he saw the brand-new Jeep return to its proper space. When Jessica and Gavin got out of the car, he approached them with an extended hand.
“I was getting ready to call out the National Guard,” he said jokingly as he exchanged handshakes with Gavin. “So did you like it?”
Gavin glanced at Jessica, who gave him a discreet shake of her head. “It was okay,” he said, shrugging as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other.
“Let’s step inside and see if we can put together a price that gets you into this car today,” the salesman said, leading them through the glass doors of the showroom. “By the way, I’m Tom Sutton. And you are?”
“Gavin and Jessica,” the ballplayer said, taking a seat with her behind the desk.
“Right. Gavin King.” At his surprised glance, the salesman grinned. “I Googled you right after you left. I knew I recognized you. Tough break with that injury.”
Jessica could have smacked the man. She saw Gavin’s jaw tighten as the salesman continued. “Something similar happened to me a few years ago. I played for the Red Sox, summer of 2007.”
“No shit!” Gavin’s brows lifted in interest.
“Yeah. I was a reliever. I came up from the minors, and blew out my knee at the end of the season. I did the cortisone shots, the surgery, all of that. But I wasn’t able to make it back.”
Sensing the sickening fear arise in Gavin’s belly, Jessica put her hand over his and squeezed reassuringly. “So how have you been doing?”
To her surprise, the salesman laughed. “Pretty good. I’ve been the rep of the year here for the last five, make decent money, and the pressure is gone. That’s not to say I didn’t wish it hadn’t happened; it took me a while to get over it. But once I did I found out there was life outside of baseball.”
“That’s great to hear,” Gavin said, looking at the man before him in admiration. “Not everyone would have seen things that way.”
“Didn’t have much of a choice.” He shrugged cheerfully. “I can either crawl under a rock somewhere and give up, or move on. Now I have a wife and kids, a family. It wasn’t a bad trade.” He picked up a contract and slid it in front of Gavin.
“So what kind of price are we talking about?” Jessica indicated the sticker price. She wasn’t sure what effect this conversation was having on Gavin, but decided it was better to get back to business.
“We are featuring a special manufacturer rebate,” Tom said, the salesman back. “Here it is. There is a five-hundred-dollar incentive running this month. We can apply that if we can close the deal today.” He looked up at Gavin questioningly. “We would have to run some numbers, do a quick credit check. But I assume that won’t be a problem?”
“Nope,” Gavin said, and then leaned forward on the desk. “But the price is a bit of an issue. Taking off five hundred bucks doesn’t get me anywhere near the figure I had in mind.”
“What were you thinking?”
“We did our homework and know the Blue Book numbers. But I understand you need to make a living, so I think thirty-three is more than fair.”
The salesman looked from Gavin to Jessica. She gave a shrug, as if she were the little woman without a clue. When he realized he was getting no help there, he rose from behind his desk.
“I’m going to have to get my manager to approve that.”
“We have all the time in the world,” Gavin said, giving her hand a squeeze.
Tom nodded, and then disappeared into an interior office. Jessica looked at him and grinned with excitement. “I get the first ride.”
He smiled back at her. “Of course you do. What do you say as soon as this god-awful weather breaks, we take it out to that beach you talked about?”
“That would be a blast!” She couldn’t hide her enthusiasm.
“You’re on.”
She refused to think of the hand holding hers, and whether or not it was wise to go joyriding with him on the beach. Yet she was conscious of the warmth of his palm, his fingers cupping hers, and the sandpaper texture of his skin, rough against her knuckles.
The salesman came back with another man, who was looking at the numbers woefully. “This is a really tough situation,” he said, shaking Gavin’s hand and then glancing back at the paperwork. “Maybe we could work something out with a trade?”
“No trade.” Gavin shrugged. “I’m new in town, and driving a rental. I also don’t need dealer financing, extended warranties, any of that. This is a cash deal, clean and simple. It’s up to you.”
Jessica looked at him in admiration. In addition to his utter hotness, the man was a quick study. “I’m getting hungry,” she whined.
The manager quickly realized he would lose them as buyers, so he signed the agreement and then extended his hand once more to Gavin. “Congratulations. You just bought yourself a car.”
–
When they had finished all the paperwork and finalized the deal, Jessica accompanied Gavin to the lot so that he could take possession of his new vehicle.
“I’ll follow you back, and then we can get Enterprise to pick up the rental…”
But before she could finish the sentence, Gavin grabbed her, pulled her into his arms and spun her around in the air as if she were a little girl.
“What are you doing? Put me down!” she gasped, laughing in astonishment. Yet she was very aware of the heat from his body enveloping hers with a delicious warmth, and that her hands were braced on his broad shoulders as she gazed down into his face. Never had he looked so boyishly handsome, his eyes sparkling, his smile that dazzling flash of white.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He lowered her to the ground, his arms still around her, and their eyes met. His gaze dropped to her lips, and as if unable to help himself, he took her mouth with his and kissed her.
Stunned, she didn’t have time to think, only to react. Yet her arms slid up around his neck, welcoming him, and her body pressed fully against his. Her fingers threaded through his hair on the back of his neck, and dimly she realized it felt just as she’d imagined, silky and soft.
Encouraged by her response, he deepened the kiss, bending her slightly backward to more fully embrace her. His tongue stroked her, testing, questioning, before entering and taking full possession. At the same time, his hands slid down her lower back to press her hips more firmly against his.
The kiss changed from a surprise to something much hotter. It was better than she had dreamed, better than she had fantasized. Blood pulsed through her veins, and every cell in her body throbbed, wanting, needing…
It seemed an eternity before his mouth eased, and he reluctantly let her go. Jessica felt as if her world was spinning. Cold air suddenly replaced the warmth that had surrounded her, and she was staring at him in wonder, aware she’d never been kissed like that in her life.
When she could focus she saw that his expression was a mixture of regret, desire, and frustration. His jaw was tight and he ran his fingers through that amazing black hair before looking at her apologetically.
“Hey, sorry. I guess…I was just caught up in the heat of the moment.”
A crushing sense of disappointment rose within her, even as her logical brain came to her rescue. He was sorry. What did she think he was going to say? I want you, I need you, you’re the one for me? He had just broken up with his girlfriend, for God’s sake! It took her another second or two to get her bearings, but she managed a nod as she stepped backward.
“No worries, I get it.” And she did. This wasn’t premeditated on his part. Sex was different for men; it was not only a physical release, but a way of connecting with women. Whereas with females, and maybe because they were stuck with the consequences, the act became intertwined with emotion.
What she hadn’t expected was her response. While she had imagined how great his kiss might be, the reality was far more mind-blowing than the fantasy.
“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable working with me.” He seemed truly concerned. “It won’t happen again.”
“No, it’s fine.” Recovering quickly, she managed to smack him playfully. “And you’re damn right it won’t happen again. You aren’t all that, you know. I think I can resist you if you try anything else.”
It was the perfect thing to say. She saw the cloud lift, his dark perusal change to a grin, and his shoulders instantly relax.
He started to put his arm around her, and then on second thought let it drop instead as they walked back to the car. When they reached her Honda, he paused and gazed into her eyes. “Thanks.”
“For what?” It was her turn to be surprised.
“Your help, everything. You saved me a couple of grand today. But more than that…” He stared off for a minute, struggling to choose the right words. “You make me feel like…there’s hope. That this will happen. I will get well, fit in here, and make a place for myself. And eventually, be right back to knocking it out of the park.”
She didn’t know why, but her throat got tight, her heart swelled, and she felt the sting of moisture in her eyes. What was wrong with her? She felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster, headed for the next curve.
“You’re welcome,” she said quickly. Getting into her own car, she gave him a little princess wave as he climbed into the Jeep. It was only when he pulled away that she felt the breath whoosh out of her, as if someone had stepped on a balloon. Her lips still tingled, and her body ached for sex, for him.
Glancing into the rearview mirror, she saw that her eyes were wide and questioning, her mouth trembling, and her cheeks the color of brick. She looked like what she was: a woman who had just been thoroughly kissed.
Turning on the radio, she cranked it up to full blast. To her relief, Led Zeppelin wasn’t on. Flipping through the stations, she stopped when she heard Tina Turner singing, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”
Yes, indeed, she thought as she pulled out of the lot. Yes, indeed.
