Slamdunked By Love (One on One #2) (4 page)

Brady resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the nosiness Tilly was doing nothing to hide. “Ryan Tillerson, meet Caitlin Monroe. Caitlin, Tilly, my teammate.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“It’s my pleasure, believe me,” the troublemaking Tilly said in a smooth tone he would undoubtedly categorize as charming. “I wish I could say I’ve heard a lot about you, but that would be a lie.”

Caitlin quickly glanced at Brady. “We haven’t been, umm, dating that long.”

“Good. Then you won’t mind dumping Grumpy Cat and coming to have some fun with me. Look at how he’s scowling.”

Brady knew Tilly was trying to get a rise out of him. He didn’t care. He didn’t know why he didn’t care. He just didn’t. Brady stepped between his teammate and his pretend girlfriend. “Not going to happen, Tillerson. Get your own woman. Oh, wait. Don’t you already have one?”

Tilly’s green eyes laughed at him. “For the night, yes. But you can’t blame a man for noticing a pretty lady. Speaking of my date, she’s beckoning frantically. Must be something good.” Tilly wiggled his eyebrows and disappeared into the crowd.

“He’s funny,” Caitlin said.

Brady grunted.

Her eyebrows lifted. “What was up with that whole ‘get your own woman’ deal? We’re not actually dating, remember?”

Yes, he remembered. “I know this isn’t real, but I also don’t appreciate someone else trying to poach the woman I came with, especially when he has a date.” Brady divested an approaching waiter of two flutes of champagne and handed one to Caitlin before taking a swig of his own drink, the cool liquid doing nothing to calm his ire.

She took a sip of her champagne. “I’m pretty sure he was joking, but okay,” she said over the top of the glass. “Not that it matters. I wouldn’t date him anyway.” She made a dismissive wave with her free hand.

Curious, he lowered his glass and studied her. “Why not? He’s rich, not bad to look at, a good guy.” Why was he extolling the virtues of another man? Because although she was talking about Tilly, it felt like she was talking about him. And he wanted to know why. He might not be interested in dating right now, but rare was the woman who had no desire to date him. Especially one he found…interesting.

She shrugged. “Not my thing, that’s all.”

His head tilted to the side. “Not your thing? What does that mean?”

“You don’t want to get into that. Let’s play blackjack.”

He held up a hand. “No, I want to know.”

She took a deep breath. “Well, since you asked, athletes don’t have the best reputation when it comes to relationships.”

“So you’re just going to lump us all in together?”

Caitlin’s shoulders hunched in. “I have my reasons.”

Like what? Before he could ask, she stepped up to the blackjack table and asked the dealer for some chips. Brady followed and tried to push their conversation out of his mind. This wasn’t real. It was just for the night, so her anti-athlete stance didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking to get involved with anybody anyway.

An hour later, after he’d “donated” all the cash in his wallet to the cause, his date again showing him no mercy, he shifted toward her. “Are you ready to go? The party is slowing down.”

She glanced around the ballroom, which was now only half full, her hands twisting at her waist. “Umm…”

He frowned. “Did you forget something?”

She faced him, biting her lip. “No.”

Okay, but
something
was bothering her. “Are you freaking out because I offered to take you home?”

A faint smile curved her lips. “No, I’m about ninety-seven percent sure you’re not a serial killer.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

She shook her head. “There’s no problem. Let’s get out of here.”

He wasn’t sure he believed her, but he let it go. They weren’t dating, and she didn’t owe him anything. They made their way out of the hotel to the valet stand. He handed his ticket to the attendant, who ran off.

“Quite a night, huh?” she asked, collapsing on the bench next to the stand. She crossed her legs, the slit in her dress giving him a too-tempting glimpse of her thigh.

He loosened his tie, his need for air sudden and desperate. Throughout the night, he’d managed to not think about how much she affected him by concentrating on blackjack and meeting fans. But now they were alone. “You can say that again. Scoot over.”

She looked up at him with a sly smile. “Why? I like having the bench all to myself.”

“I’ve gotten a crook in my neck looking down at you all night. This is too much of a difference for me to take.” He sat next to her, careful not to look at the bared flesh. Careful not to touch.

Indignation settled on her face. “I’m not that short.”

He loved riling her. She made it so easy. Somehow he managed to hold back a grin. “Yeah, compared to a five-year-old.”

She snorted. “You must give lessons on how to flatter a woman.”

“I do. I give other lessons, too.”

“Oh, yeah, like what?” Her lush mouth called to him yet again.

Before he could think about stopping himself, he leaned in and said, “How to treat a woman right. How to make a woman feel better than she ever has before.”

She met his gaze squarely, but her voice came out shaky. “Don’t try that on me. I’m immune.”

“You are?”

“Yep. Sure am.” A jerky nod accompanied the statement.

He reached up and brushed aside a strand of hair blowing against her cheek, his fingers lingering against the soft, fragrant skin. His eyes searched hers.

Her eyes darkened, but to her credit, she didn’t back away. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure you out.”

“I’m just me,” she whispered.

“That’s what I find so intriguing.”

Her lips parted, like she was having trouble drawing in breath. The Texas November night air was still sultry, yes, but that wasn’t why she was having trouble. He wanted, needed to kiss her. Taste those lips that had been taunting him all night. He lowered his head. And touched nothing but air.

“What’s taking the valet so long?” Caitlin asked, looking in the direction of the garage.

Brady blinked, struggling to come out of the trance she’d put him in. “Wh
—
?”

Caitlin’s mouth landed on top of his, cutting off his question. Desire, which he’d managed to keep in check up until now, stormed through his defenses like he did on a breakaway to the basket. She tasted sweet, like champagne and the strawberries she’d nibbled on throughout the night.

All the reasons why he shouldn’t,
couldn’t
start something with her no longer mattered. He couldn’t remember them anyway. Now that he’d had one taste of her, he wanted more. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her closer until she was draped across his chest, her scent, that of peaches, clouding his senses. His tongue teased her bottom lip until she opened up with a moan that fed his desire. He slipped inside, dying to get more of the taste that was driving him out of his mind. Delicious. Sweet. So damned good.

She was right there with him, her talented lips and tongue enticing him to deepen the kiss, pressing her lithe body against him, sending blood rushing to his lap. What was she doing to him? He teetered on the edge of a cliff. Only the sound of an approaching car stopped him from falling over.

Slowly, reluctantly, they drew away from each other. Arousal swirled in the depths of her brown eyes. Arousal that matched his own.

His pulse beating hard in his ears, he gulped for air. Desperate to regain some control, he cleared his throat and asked, “What was that about?”

“Elise was watching.” A wicked smile curled her alluring lips. “That was my last act of goodwill as your girlfriend.”

Chapter Three

S
he’d rendered Brady speechless. Better to concentrate on that rather than on how her lips still tingled. Or how her heart still galloped out of control. Or how his gaze, so completely focused on her, so carnal, made her shiver uncontrollably.

She needed to play it cool. Cool? Yeah, right. She was burning hotter than her favorite jalapeño poppers. Totally unacceptable. Caitlin smoothed a trembling hand across her stomach. “I think it’s time to go home.”

The fire in his eyes sparked brighter. “Good idea.”

He’d misunderstood her, but she didn’t correct him. Not when she now knew how good it felt to have his body pressed against hers. Not when she could easily imagine how good the contact would feel minus clothes.
So
easily.

She stilled when his hand brushed her cheek, the gentle touch sending another shiver through her. Her eyes flew to his. Was he going to kiss her again?

“The car’s here,” he said simply.

Other than the directions she gave him, they didn’t speak on the way to her place. What was there to say? She knew what he wanted. She knew what she wanted. She didn’t know if she’d give in to her baser instincts. The last time she’d done something so reckless, it had cost her dearly.
But isn’t nine years a long time to punish yourself?
a seductive inner voice whispered. Shouldn’t she try to grab some fun with the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on when she had the chance? It didn’t have to mean anything.

“What do we do now?” he asked outside her apartment. Resting his hand against the door, he crowded in. Damn, he smelled good. Looked even better. Kissed even better than that. All her favorite sins wrapped in one glorious package.

What did they do now? There was only one acceptable answer. Heady desire thrumming through her veins, Caitlin rose on her toes and whispered in his ear. “We go inside and finish what we started.”

Chirp, chirp!

Caitlin shot up straight in her bed, slapping a hand over her pounding heart. Unfortunately, her heart was no longer racing because of the best, steamiest dream she’d had in months. Hell, years.

Chirp, chirp!

She glared at the phone on her nightstand. A few months ago, she’d thought it would be funny to make singing birds her alarm clock ringtone. But if the birds didn’t stop soon, she was going to reach inside the phone and wring their nonexistent necks. She silenced the phone mid-chirp, then flopped back on the bed.

Why was her subconscious betraying her by conjuring up something that hadn’t happened? Other than cajoling her to take his phone number in case she changed her mind about helping him out for a longer period of time—“Hey, you never know,” he’d said—Brady had been the perfect gentleman last night, walking her to her door and leaving her there with no propositions or kissing or touching. And she was okay with that. Ecstatic. Besides, it wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again. Which was the way she wanted it to be. He was a complication she did not need. So her subconscious could suck it. She sat up again and after a decisive nod, got out of the bed.

An hour and a half later, she sat in her office at WTLK, where she worked as a radio show producer, Brady the last thing on her mind. She stabbed at the button to disconnect the conference call and made a face at Noelle.

“What are we going to do?” Noelle asked. “Ugh. I can’t believe he dropped out.”

“It wasn’t good for his brand. Yeah, okay.” She shook her head in annoyance. Noelle’s radio talk show,
Noelle Knows
, was about to go into syndication, and Caitlin had locked down the perfect guest, Peter Carey, for the launch of the show. Or so she’d thought until five minutes ago when she’d received a phone call from his manager.

Noelle rolled her eyes. “He’s a celebrity chef. How was doing the show going to harm him?”

“Radio is beneath him, didn’t you hear? Never mind that people, you know the same people who go to his restaurants and spend money, listen to the radio. Dumbo.” Caitlin did not like having her plans thwarted. She’d done a lot of research, narrowing down the candidate pool and then settling on Chef Boy. Obviously a mistake. There wasn’t much time to find a replacement, but she would. She waved her hand. “Forget about him. I’ll look through my contacts again. I’ll find somebody. Somebody better.”

“I’ll look, too,” Noelle said.

“Okay, but it’s my job to procure talent, and I will.” Going into syndication was the biggest professional challenge of her career, and she wanted to conquer it more than she’d wanted anything else in a long while. This was her chance to prove, once and for all, that she’d finally left old mistakes behind.

“I know you will, too, but remember, we’re in this together.” Noelle’s lips pressed together in worry.

Frankly, Caitlin was worried, too. This close to launch date… This was her fault. She should’ve had a backup plan in place. It was part of a producer’s job—anticipating all the curveballs thrown her way and hitting them out of the park. But she’d figure it out. She always did. “I’ve got this, and before you drive yourself crazy thinking about this
minor
setback, let’s talk about something else.”

Noelle’s anxious expression didn’t abate. “Like what?”

A logical question, except she hadn’t gotten that far yet. “Umm, got any juicy gossip to share?”

To Caitlin’s surprise, a sly look spread across Noelle’s face. “As a matter of fact I do. Very juicy.” She hesitated. “You might think otherwise.”

“Why?” Caitlin asked, studying her friend.

Noelle leaned forward. “I suggest you go to the society page on the
Dallas Times
website, but while you do that, I’ll tell you what you’ll find. Something about Brady Hudson having a new lady friend and a photo of someone who looked remarkably like you kissing the daylights out of him.”

“What?”
Caitlin’s fingers flew across the keyboard. When the website loaded, she stared at the screen in horror. “Oh God.”

The kiss she’d initiated in order to convince Elise to back off had been captured for posterity. Their mouths were fused together. Brady’s hands possessively cupped her butt, while her body was plastered against his. She clutched his shoulders like he was her anchor in the storm of lust. The most amazing kiss of her life.

“So you have a boyfriend,” Noelle said, interrupting her trip down sensual memory lane. “Not that I heard that from you, of course, but I’m sure that’s asking too much. After all, who tells their best friend they have a new boy toy? That went out with the Stone Ages.”

Caitlin laughed, a welcome temporary distraction from the mortification sweeping through her body. She was thankful every day that she and Noelle had grown as close as sisters over the past year and a half while working on the show together. “I detect some sarcasm.”

“Sarcasm yes, hurt no. Okay, I’ll admit after the shock came the hurt for a second. But only a second. Wanna know why? Because my common sense returned. There is no way you’d be getting down and dirty with him without telling your best friend. I mean look at him.”

“Hey! You have your own man.”

A besotted smile spread across Noelle’s face. “I do, and what a man he is. Tate is everything I could want and more.” She held up a hand. “Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate another fine example of the male species.”

“Hmmph.” Caitlin returned her gaze to the computer. Not her first choice to have the kiss spread across the blogosphere. Or her second or third. Still, no need to panic. She hoped. People, even famous people like Brady, kissed all the time, and really, no one cared about her. And they hadn’t used her last name. The article was mostly about Brady and how he hadn’t wasted any time becoming familiar with Dallas women. She was only a placeholder, barely acknowledged, while they talked about him. Good. Maybe the story wouldn’t hit the national gossip sites. Maybe. That would be her own personal nightmare.

Oh God. Blood froze in her veins. What if her mother found out? Caitlin drew in a breath. No, her mother wasn’t interested in celebrity news, so hopefully she wouldn’t see the story. Hopefully.

“We’ve gotten off topic,” Noelle said. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, so I can feel superior in my deductive reasoning skills?” She fixed her I’m-a-psychologist-and-you-can-tell-me-anything look on Caitlin.

Caitlin sighed. Not that she hadn’t planned on telling Noelle the truth, she just hadn’t expected the news to travel so fast and wide. She stood and circled the desk to sit next to her friend. After glancing at the door to make sure it was 100 percent closed, she said, “Where do I start?”

“The beginning is usually a good place.”

“Thank you, smart-ass.”

Noelle preened. “I try.”

Caitlin chuckled, then straightened her shoulders. “Here’s the deal. You’re right. Brady and I had never met until last night.”

Her friend leaned toward her, her gray eyes gleaming. “What happened last night?”

Caitlin hesitated. She couldn’t tell Noelle the real reason she’d gone to the Stampede event—to meet the biological father who’d left her mother and moved on to incredible success while her mom had been left to raise two kids on her own. Her BFF was a therapist and would start talking about healing. She didn’t need to heal. She needed revenge. “I was on my way to the Stampede charity event when my car broke down.”

Noelle’s eyebrows arched. “You mean the car you should’ve had looked at six months ago?”

She sighed. “Yes.” She continued the story, telling Noelle all about the evening, from Brady stopping to assist her to him asking her to help him fend off the team owner’s daughter. “I agreed to the ruse since he’d helped me out.”

“And y’all ended up engaging in a little exhibitionism.”

“You know you can get out of my office at any time, right?”

Noelle snickered. “Sorry. Please continue.”

“Anyway, she wasn’t put off by my presence. I thought if she saw us kissing, she’d get the message. I didn’t realize someone was out there playing paparazzi.”

“So you aren’t getting down and dirty with him?”

Caitlin laughed at the genuinely disappointed look on her best friend’s face. “No, I just did him a favor. There will be no more kissing. If anyone asks, he can say we broke up or something.”

“Well, that’s no fun.” Noelle peeked at her watch. “I guess gossip time is over. Back to the real world, i.e. going over my notes for the show.”

After Noelle left, Caitlin returned to her desk to finish her own preparations. When she moved the mouse to wake up her computer, her eyes fell on the
Dallas Times
site again. She blinked. Below the story about her and Brady, there was another about the Stampede’s head coach. Her father. Before she could think about it, she clicked the link, which led to a video that had aired on the local news.

“My wife and kids mean the world to me,” Mack said. “I wouldn’t be the man I am today or have accomplished all that I have without them.” The camera shot widened to show Mack, his wife, and two kids posing for the perfect family portrait.

Fury tightened Caitlin’s skin as memories swamped her. Her mother struggling to raise two small kids by herself. Struggling to make something of her own life. Doing so. She’d never complained, but Caitlin had heard her worrying about money and how she would juggle everything more than once over the years.

Her hand balled into a tight fist. Why had she lost her nerve last night? Brady or no Brady, she should have laid into the rat bastard. He deserved the whole speech she’d planned—right in front of all the journalists and cameras there to cover the event.

Her office phone rang. Her eyes still on the shot of Mack and his family, she picked it up. “Hello,” she said absently.

“Caitlin Monroe?”

“Yes?”

“Hi, I’m Zach Brantley.”

Caitlin dropped her head into her hand. Could her day get any worse?

Zach Brantley fancied himself as Dallas’ own Harvey Levin, TMZ’s founder. His website, zachsfacts.com, reported all the latest gossip about Dallas celebrities and made the
Dallas Times
society page look like child’s play.

“How can I help you, Zach?” Her tone was as dry as a bone.

Not that Zach seemed to notice or care. His voice came out bright and chipper. “Word on the street is that you were running around last night telling everyone you were Brady Hudson’s girlfriend. If I’d known that, I would have attended. Usually, those events are so boring. But not that photo! Hot stuff. Of course, those rank amateurs didn’t catch your full name, but I am a pro and know everyone there is to know in Dallas, so I recognized you right off. Do you have a response?”

She made a murmuring sound, neither confirming nor denying his assertion. She would not panic.

“You’re going to have to do better than that if you don’t want me to publish my version of events.”

She rolled her eyes at the phone before bringing it back to her ear. “Give me a break. You’re going to publish it whether I comment or not.” Much to her chagrin.

“True, but the story would be so much better if you gave me a quote.”

Her gaze again landed on her computer, where Mack stared back at her with his perfect smile. All those times when she’d wanted braces, wanted to go to a summer camp that cost a little too much, but had never had the courage to ask for them, flashed through her mind. Her mom somehow knowing anyway and finding a way. She’d known her mother was amazing, but after finding that letter in her mom’s closet last weekend when she’d been gathering clothes to donate to Goodwill, amazing seemed like such an inadequate word. An idea buzzed in her head. “Go ahead and publish your story if you want, but I have a much juicier one. If you’re interested.”

“You know I am,” Zach replied, his giddiness practically reaching through the phone.

“I’ll write an exclusive story for your site.” She’d failed to get the retribution her mother deserved at casino night. She wouldn’t fail again. To bring an asshole who’d conned everyone down—it would be glorious. And so well-deserved. And Mack and his misdeeds would be the focus, not her.