Catch (8 page)
Authors: Michelle Congdon
“What’s up?” asked my manager after picking up my call on the first ring. When it came to
me
, Philip Taylor never bothered with ‘hello’. He assumed whenever
I
was the one to call, it was always because I needed a favor of some kind. And he had every right to assume that. Phil had been my manager for five years and counting. He was excellent at his job and even better at dealing with the nonsense I often dragged him into, which was why I’d kept him around. We had a love/hate relationship. I loved pestering him constantly, and he hated me for doing so.
“Phil, I need to ask a favor.”
“Of course you do,” he muttered.
“It’s a serious matter. I need you to call the Montgomery house and ask for Evangeline Montgomery’s phone number.”
“How is that possibly a serious matter, Fox?”
“Because if you don’t do it, you won’t have a job anymore.”
“Are you threatening my job for a girl’s number?”
I smiled even though he couldn’t see. “I don’t want to, but you’re making it difficult,” I teased. He knew I’d never fire him if he said no, but he could only put up with my nagging for so long.
I heard him sigh on the other end, which amused me further. “I’m cursed. Out of all the athletes in the Majors, I get stuck with the worst.”
I smiled again, knowing he’d given in. That was a lot easier than the last time I’d asked him for a favor. “Now, now, Colin isn’t so bad. Not the brightest, but hey, he’s a good guy. Helluva batter.”
“
I wasn’t talking about Colin!
”
“Thanks again, Phil. I owe you one,” I added before the guy had a heart attack.
“You owe me plenty!”
“Hey, I give you plenty!” I teased.
“And I’d gladly trade back all the money I’ve ever received from you to switch clients.”
“You don’t mean that. I think you’d miss me. No, you’d
definitely
miss me.”
I heard him mutter something inaudible before saying, “Is that it? You just need this girl’s number?”
“Yep, I’ll handle the rest.”
“Do I need to prepare myself for harassment claims against you?”
“Have you ever?”
“Keep it that way.”
“Phil, you don’t understand—”
He hung up. I pulled the cell away from my ear and looked at it with a smirk. Oh, did I mention Phil was never one for goodbyes, either?
With the cell still in my hand, I ripped off my shirt, throwing it over the sofa chair, and proceeded to make my way down the hall toward the kitchen when I bumped into my housekeeper, Rose.
“Mr. Fox.”
“Rosie!” I replied with a huge grin on my face.
“Did something good happen this morning at training?” she asked, throwing me a suspicious smile while she continued wiping the bench top.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, but something will soon.” I hoped, anyway. Leaning against the counter, I lifted a glass vase so Rose could clean underneath it. “Rose, can I asked you something?”
“Anything, Mr. Fox.”
“Did you always know your husband was
the one
?”
She immediately stopped what she was doing and turned to face me. After a moment of studying me closely, she said, “Not at first. But he seemed to think so and didn’t let me forget it.”
I found myself smiling as I thought about Evangeline and the way she looked so angelic that morning while she was sleeping. “You think the girl from last night could be the one?” Rose’s voice filtered through and snapped me back into the moment.
I looked at her, not knowing how to answer her question, when thankfully my cell rang. I looked down at the screen.
Perfect timing, Phil.
“Sorry, Rosie. I need to get this. Thanks for the chat.” I waved her goodbye and made my way out of the kitchen, but not before I caught the giant grin on her face.
I jotted down Evangeline’s number using the nearest pen and paper I could find and thanked Phil. I was rewarded with another abrupt hang-up and a stern warning to make sure I didn’t ruin his career.
I dialed the number as soon as I ended the call with Phil. To say I was excited would be a slight understatement. I couldn’t help it, but if any of the boys saw me right then, I would never hear the end of it and would’ve been the root of all jokes for the rest of the season.
My premature excitement quickly died down when the call rang out, and I was just about to end it when I heard the sweet voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
One word was all it took before I was grinning like a teenage boy who’d just received a compliment from his favorite female teacher crush.
Cool it, Fox; don’t fuck this up.
“So, I rush home rather excitedly, ready to start my exploration, and I find that my apartment is empty.”
“How’d you get my number?” she replied warily.
“I have my ways,” I answered dismissively, even though I knew this wasn’t going to sit well with her. “So, couldn’t handle the wait?”
“Ryan, I mean it. How did you get my number?”
Bingo.
“Calm down. I used your phone to call mine when you were still asleep this morning,” I lied. She definitely didn’t need to know how far I went to get it, and Phil’s warning was still fresh in my mind. “I had a sneaky suspicion you weren’t going to give me your number if I’d asked.”
“You were spot-on.”
Even though she sounded unenthused to be speaking to me, she didn’t hang up, not even when I eventually convinced her to go on a date with me.
“Does anyone ever say no to you, Mr. Fox?”
My cheeks burned from the pain of the wide grin plastered on my face. “Not very often, Ms. Montgomery. But there is no way I’m taking no for an answer from you.”
The phone went silent for a moment. I wasn’t one to allow something like that to go for long because it gave a girl enough time to think of an excuse to back out. On the other hand, it also gave
me
ample time to think up another clever comeback, one she wouldn’t be able to refuse. “Okay, just this one date,” she finally replied.
Yes!
I made sure I ended the call before I fist-pumped the air and accidentally blurted out something embarrassing. I wasn’t one to care for that either, but something about her made me that way. It mattered what I said to her, what I did around her and in front of her. I didn’t want to take any chances with Evangeline; too afraid to lose her if I tried the same things I did with other women.
Immediately after the phone call to Evangeline, I planned ideas for our ‘date’. If I wanted her to remember me, I needed to do something different from the obvious. She was a rich and beautiful girl, so I knew men would try to please her by splashing out all their money to impress her. To me, she didn’t seem the type to enjoy that. Considering she was shy and didn’t wave around the “I’m a Montgomery” flag backed up my theory. I mean, I could’ve always taken her to an exclusive restaurant, but she was probably used to it all. No, I needed something unique.
Suddenly, Rose walked past carrying a few sculptures which belonged in the library, and an idea popped into my head. “Rosie!” I called out, rushing after her.
“Yes, Mr. Fox?”
I fell in step with her and followed her toward the library. “What are you doing today?”
“Tidying up after my messy employer?” she replied with a hint of sarcasm, to which I shook my head. I wasn’t a messy person; she knew that and would often mock me by saying I was.
“Oh, Rosie, if only you weren’t married.”
“And didn’t have sons the same age as you?”
I grinned. “You got it. We’d be a match made in Heaven otherwise.”
“No offense, Mr. Fox, but you’re not my type.”
“What are you talking about? I’m everybody’s type.” I mustered a faux shocked face just as we turned into the library.
Rose stopped and turned to face me. “I like my men rounder, balder and—how do I say this—committed to me and only me.” There was a grin on her face which made me roll my eyes. There was nothing I could reply to that, nothing Rose wouldn’t pick up on that was a lie. She knew me all too well. “So, this girl, what are you planning for her? And what do you need me to do?”
My eyes widened.
How did she know?
“Don’t look so surprised. I knew something was up the moment you came in asking me questions about my Harry.”
“Oh.”
“And you’ve been acting rather peculiar all morning.”
I had to admit I felt my cheeks blush, something I wasn’t used to but had been doing often since a certain first encounter.
After getting past the odd feeling, Rose and I went through the plans for the evening. I was going to make the night impossible for Evangeline to hate.
Courtside tickets to the New York Knicks were only the first plan for the evening. I was a big fan of the Knicks, especially my good friend, player Dwayne Jones, and went to watch him play whenever I had a chance. Of course, I had courtside seats. It was the best spot in the house to watch all the action.
I initially thought Evangeline was going to hate the idea and we were going to have to leave midway through the game, but she enjoyed it much more than I did. Her eyes were glued to the court.
And just when I thought I couldn’t fall for the girl any harder, she springs this on me.
Knowing that excited me, and I struggled to control my wandering hands. I didn’t care for public displays of affection; instead, I did things in public my mother would be ashamed of if she ever found out, or if Annabelle ever forgot to check the papers first thing before letting her read them. However, the Evangeline situation was different. It wasn’t some wild action; it was intimacy. I was new to all of it and had no idea what I was doing, but at the same time had no control over it.
After a joyful ride back to mine, knowing I’d made an impression, it was time for round two. I’d organized for Rose to stay a little longer so she could help prepare an elegant dinner. While cooking was not in Rose’s job description, occasionally she’d request to stay back and surprise me with a meal. Rose was a fantastic cook, so I knew whatever she’d planned would be outta this world. And I was not wrong. Not only had she prepared the meal, Rose had gone all out and set up the private room to look like a ‘romantic’ candlelit restaurant for two. I nearly had a heart attack, thinking Evangeline would turn around and run as soon as she saw it; it was too much too soon, and I looked desperate. But when I saw her eyes light up and a smile form, I suddenly became smug and acted as though it had all been planned out.
Fuck, I could kiss the shit outta Rose.
She really knew how to make me look good.
During our delicious meal and bottle of fine red, we spoke a little about ourselves and joked about how I’d tried to claim Rose’s great culinary skills. The entire evening ran smoothly and I reveled at how easy Evangeline was to talk to. She was a breath of fresh air, challenging me in not only conversation but also my feelings. But there was something sitting in the back of my mind which bugged me. I wanted to know more about her, more about her past, but I knew it was dangerous ground. If one wrong word slipped from my mouth, I’d have ruined the entire night.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked, as I stood behind Evangeline, pressing kisses along her shoulder to her neck. “But you have to promise not to get mad.”
“This is so wonderful. If it’s something you know is going to make me angry or upset, please don’t ask it. Not yet. I don’t want to ruin this moment.”
“Okay.” She had a fair point.
I decided the answers to my questions could wait and chose to savor the rest of the evening we had instead. And savor I did.
I pressed myself against her backside to prove just how much I wanted her. Slowly, I let my fingers wander up and under her shirt before cupping both her breasts, lifting them from her bra and then kneading them expertly with my hands.
It didn’t take long until the little guy was up and ready for action, but I had other things on my mind first.
“Turn around.”
“Are we going to do it in here?”
“Yes, why not?” I asked softly, tweaking her over-stimulated nipples.
“Because the wall is made of glass; anyone can see right through.”
“Afraid to give them something good to watch?”
Her only response was a soft cry as I tweaked her nipples harder.
I was only teasing. I’d have sex with her in a completely dark room, blindfolded, if that’s how she wanted it, but it was interesting to get a sense of whether she’d give the open window thing a go next time, because there was
definitely
going to be a next time.
Without stopping what I was doing, I took a few steps to the side and reached for the remote which controlled the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. I pressed the button and the glass instantly frosted over, hindering the view of the great city.
It was time to work my magic. As soon as our clothes were off, I spun Evangeline around and got straight to business, dropping to my knees.
I’d made a promise earlier to make the night one Evangeline was never going to forget. One which was going to make me stand above the rest of the men she’d dated. And it was one promise I intended to keep.
****
I lost count of how much time I was spending with Evie. It was starting to feel natural, except when the boys on the team hounded me with questions during training. I tried dodging as many as possible, but it was getting more difficult as each day passed. I knew it seemed I’d gotten in completely over my head, but every minute I spent with her felt right. I was in awe of her when she gathered the courage to tell me about her demons and the reason behind why she hated the name ‘Evie’. It was the guilt she had over the accident. She actually believed it was
her
fault. I tried to convince her it wasn’t; I just hoped she believed me.
The day after our ‘date’, we decided to go dress shopping. Well, I’d insisted after inviting her to one of our team’s charity balls. In fact, I didn’t give her much of a choice. I wasn’t ready to let her leave and to be honest, I wanted to spend more time around her. She filled me with a strange type of happiness. One which enlightened me, encouraged me to do what she had so bravely done…share her demons.
We drove to Fifth Avenue and casually strolled into each of the lavish designer dress stores Evangeline liked—well, more like I followed her around like an eager puppy dog. I sat on the sofa drinking the refreshments they offered while Evangeline tried on and paraded the gowns, waiting for my verdict. It was damn hard to control myself each time she left those dressing rooms and came strutting up to me with each elegant gown. She looked beautiful, of course, but she also looked so good it took everything not to run in after her and fuck her right in the change room. I smirked at myself thinking of the conversation I’d had earlier that morning with Evangeline, telling her there’d better be refreshments as they would be my only distraction from going in after her and taking her down.
During a lunch outing that same afternoon, things took a turn. We were sitting in a local sushi bar and I slowly opened up about my past. Not my darkest secret—I wasn’t going to share that with
anyone
—but I shared with Evangeline what no one but my family knew about: my abusive, alcoholic father. I hated to talk, let alone think, about him. He was the sole reason I was fucked up, why my mother was too scared to love another man, and why my older sister, Gabriella, spent months recovering from broken bones. I was glad he was dead; he couldn’t hurt anyone again. It was
how
he died that I struggled daily with.
Evangeline took it well. She didn’t pity me, she didn’t smother me with silly words, and she didn’t turn her nose up knowing the kind of household I grew up in. That meant more to me than I’d ever admit to her. That night, while I tightened my arms around a sleeping Evangeline, I wondered to myself how I’d gotten so lucky.