End Zone: Texas Titans 2 (2 page)

“Would you like to see my driver’s
license?” he asked.

She did want to see some evidence, but that
would be ridiculous. He had no reason to lie to her about who he was. “That
won’t be necessary, Matt.” She smiled to ease the awkwardness. “Please, have a
seat and tell me why you’re here. I know you didn’t just decide to look me up
after all this time.”

“You’re right, I’m here for a reason.”

“Let’s hear it.” She pointed to the chair
across from her. She tried to quash her disappointment that he had an ulterior
motive for stopping by. Of course he did. Men didn’t look up their high school
crushes after fifteen years, especially men who’d morphed into sex gods.

He walked toward the guest chair and
unbuttoned his black blazer before sitting. “Have you heard of High Rollers?”

Kristen caught herself staring at the black
hair peeking out from the top of his white button-down shirt and prayed he
hadn’t caught her gawking. “Of course, who hasn’t?” Trying to appear
professional to hide her completely inappropriate reaction to him, she laced
her fingers on the desk top and offered a cool smile.

“I’m part owner. My partners and I are
celebrating—” He paused, chuckling when her mouth dropped open.

Recognizing her faux pas, she quickly
snapped her mouth shut. “I’m sorry, did you just say you’re a partner in High
Rollers?” She knew the popular chain was owned by six friends, but the only one
she knew of was a professional baseball player whose name escaped her.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m not the first
geek to do big things after high school.”

“I didn’t mean… I mean, I just never
thought…” She was usually so calm and collected. What was it about Matt that
turned her into a bumbling idiot? “I’m sorry, you were telling me about High
Rollers. Please go on.”
Before I crawl under the desk and hide until you’re
forced to leave or call fire and rescue to drag me out.

“We’re celebrating our ten-year anniversary
next month, and I was hoping you could help us plan the party to end all
parties.”

She leaned in, trying to figure out whether
he’d had cosmetic surgery. A man couldn’t go from painfully awkward to
model-perfect in less than two decades without a little help from a skilled
surgeon.

“You look like you want to ask me
something,” he said, casually crossing one leg over the other. “Don’t be shy.”

Why did he look so collected while she felt
as though someone had plucked her from her orderly world and dropped her on
another planet? “No… uh, I mean yes.” She should ask him
something
if
only to draw attention away from the fact that she was staring at him as if
he’d sprouted a third head. “Tell me what kind of party you had in mind.” She
couldn’t take on the assignment though, not since Shell had left her high and
dry.
Damn her.
Kristen had to admit she wouldn’t mind working alongside
Matt Hudson.

“Well, High Rollers is a sports bar, but
it’s not a typical beer-and-wings place. We’ll want a classier party since we
attract a more upscale crowd: athletes, businessmen who can afford season
tickets, retired players, coaches, that kind of thing. Some of the guys just
love to come in and waste the day away talking about their glory days with
people who appreciate the fact they once had the talent to go all the way to
the big leagues.”

Kristen frowned. “That sounds kind of sad.
Why don’t they move on and do something productive instead of sitting in a bar
all day moping ‘cause they’re not twenty-one anymore?”

Matt laughed. “Hey, those guys are my bread
and butter.”

“You said guys. Your patrons are mostly
men, I take it? What’s the split? 80/20?”

“I’d say that’s about right,” he said,
nodding. “We get a few women who are true sports fans, but the majority are
just hoping to score with the professional athletes who hang out there.”

Kristen raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you
have a high opinion of the opposite sex.”

“Can you blame me?” he asked, matching her
challenge. “I’ve seen enough women chasing dates to know that they want a man
with good looks and money. I may have acquired both, but I’m still the same guy
I was in high school. Most women don’t care to find out who that man is.”

The note of sadness in his voice made her
want to comfort him, though she couldn’t say why. She wasn’t the nurturing
type. That was her mother’s role. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”

“Do you know what I remember most about
you?” His eyes settled on her full lips before meeting her gaze again. “It’s
not that you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid eyes on, though you
were and still are…” He smiled. “It’s the fact that you talked to me. You
listened. You laughed at my jokes and asked me about my day. No one else ever
did that.” He shrugged as though it didn’t matter, but she could tell thinking
about how lonely he’d been back then still hurt him. “I had a few friends, but
they were all just like me, trying to get through the day without getting beat
up.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what sparked
this transformation? It’s incredible, to say the least.”

“I got tired of everyone thinking they were
better than me just because of how I looked. I didn’t change for them.” His jaw
hardened with determination. “I did it for me because I knew the reflection I
saw in the mirror wasn’t the real me.”

Kristen tried to imagine what he must have
gone through in high school. While she’d never been one to engage in bullying
or name-calling, she had been friends with the “popular crowd” that shunned
Matt and his friends. With the benefit of years and life experience, she was
ashamed to have associated with people who made other people feel bad about
themselves. But that was high school.

“The reunion,” she said, thinking about the
embossed invitation in her drawer. “Are you going?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled. “I would think you’d have been
the first one to R.S.V.P. Given where you are now, don’t you want to rub their
noses in it just a little?”

Matt chuckled. “I can’t say the thought
hasn’t crossed my mind, but honestly, I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore.
I had to leave all of that behind me when I decided to reshape my life and
figure out who I am, not who everyone thinks I should be.”

Kristen couldn’t remember the last time
she’d met a man as confident as the
new
Matt Hudson, and it was
undeniably appealing. “Tell me about who you are now. I know you’re a partner
in High Rollers. What else do I need to know about you?” She cringed when she
realized she sounded like an interrogator. He didn’t owe her any explanations,
not that she wouldn’t love to know everything about the man hiding beneath the
designer suit. “I’m sorry, I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to since
high school, but only if you feel like sharing.”

“What can I tell you?” he asked, spreading
his hands. “I’m divorced—”

“You are?” She didn’t know why her gut
clenched. “What was your wife like?”

“She was a model.”

“I see.” There was no logical reason why
that should make her feel inferior. Matt had come to ask her about a job, not a
date. He wasn’t comparing her to his ex. “What happened?” She wanted to clamp
her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that. Forget I
asked.”

“I don’t mind.” He shrugged as though he
was talking about poor weather ruining his tropical vacation instead of the end
of his marriage. “We got married for all the wrong reasons.”

She was dying to ask him to elaborate, but
that would be in poor taste. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you.”

“I’m not. It was a learning experience. Now
I know what I’m looking for and what I’m not looking for in a partner.”

“So you would get married again?”

“Sure. Why not? I’m not going to let one
bad experience shape my life.”

She admired his tenacity. After her
experience with her ex-fiancé, she’d subconsciously sworn off men. “Good for
you.” Her cell phone buzzed, alerting her to a text from one of her clients.
For the first time in a long time, she didn’t even consider dropping everything
to respond right away. She could deal with her client later. She was having fun
getting to know Matt Hudson all over again.

“How about you?” he asked, lacing his hands
over his flat stomach. “Married? Kids?”

“No and no.”

He flashed that heart-stopping grin, and
she had to pinch her thighs together. “I guess I’m supposed to say that’s too
bad, but I’d be lying.”

Kristen smiled. She was used to men who
played games and said everything except what they were thinking. “I was engaged
once.” She didn’t want him to think no one had wanted her. “But it didn’t work
out.”

“I guess we’re both losers in love.” He
smirked. “Welcome to the club.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“So, about this anniversary party. Can you
help me out?”

“I wish I could.” Kristen cursed her
assistant. She’d never wanted to accept a job more. “But I can’t. My assistant
just left for an extended vacation, and I’m swamped through February.”

“That’s too bad.”

He looked genuinely disappointed, and she
wished she could rearrange her schedule to accommodate him. Short of cloning
herself, there was no way it would happen. “Yeah, it is.”

He got to his feet and buttoned his blazer
before offering his hand. “I’m still glad I stopped by. It was great to see you
again, Kristen.”

“You too.” That was an understatement. She
suspected she would fall asleep thinking about their meeting.

“Are you going to the reunion?”

“Um…” She wasn’t planning on it, but the
idea of not seeing him again left her with a bitter taste in her mouth. “I’m
not sure.”

“I’ll make you a deal. If you go, I’ll go.
If I can suffer through it, you can too.”

He wasn’t asking her to go as his date.
Why? Not that she was interested in dating him. Much. She didn’t want to appear
too eager, even though she knew that was the only Friday she had free that
month. “I might be able to swing it.”

“Cool.” He reached into his pocket. He
handed her a gold embossed business card. “My cell number is on there. You can
text or email me if you think you’ll be able to make it.”

She wanted to ask if he’d already asked a
date and that was why he wasn’t inviting her to escort him. “I guess it could
be fun.” Only if he saved every dance for her.

“For you maybe,” he said, smiling. “For me,
it’ll be a trip back to hell. But I’m willing to hold my feet to the fire just
to see the look on their faces when I walk in looking so different from the
skinny little kid they remember.”

Kristen wanted to suggest he may get the
full effect only if she walked in on his arm, but she wasn’t presumptuous
enough to assume he was still interested in her. Her eyes roamed his body. What
she wouldn’t give to find out what lay beneath that well-cut suit.

“Take care, Kristen. I hope to see you at
the reunion.”

She could pretty much guarantee he would.
She just had to find some time to shop for the sexiest dress and shoes she could
find. The next time she saw Matt, he would be the one catching flies with his
open mouth.

Matt knew inviting Kristen to be his
date to the reunion would have been the polite thing to do, but he’d spent four
years with a painfully obvious crush on her. He intended to play his cards a
little closer to the vest.

He’d taken a limo to the reunion so he
could indulge in a few drinks, not for the effect of pulling up with a
uniformed driver. He wanted to believe he was too mature to be so petty, but
the kid who begged to be home-schooled was still buried deep inside of him,
demanding he exact revenge on everyone who’d ever wronged him. He laughed as an
image from the movie
Carrie
popped into his head. He really needed to
put those years behind him once and for all.

As the car pulled to a stop at the curb, he
resisted the urge to jump out. He waited patiently for Lawrence to open his
door so he could make a distinguished exit. He often used Lawrence’s services
when he was attending an important event, but he’d always had a beautiful woman
on his arm. As nice as it would have been to have a companion, someone to
remind him of how far he’d come, he wouldn’t risk being seen with another woman
while he still believed the night could end with Kristen in his arms.

The attraction between them was obviously
mutual, but she seemed hesitant to get involved. She mentioned an ex-fiancé,
and he wondered if he might have to do with the reason she was gun-shy. He
could understand that. He’d needed time before he was ready to date again after
his divorce, but he’d be damned if he’d let Kristen paint him with the same
brush as the guy who’d broken her heart. He wasn’t proud of the way he’d
treated all the women he took to bed, but he’d always treated Kristen with
admiration and respect. He intended to remind her of that.

“Have a good evening, sir,” Lawrence said,
tipping his hat. “Just call or text when you’re ready.”

Looking up at the hotel hosting the event,
Matt grimaced. Why did he feel the need to prove himself to a bunch of people
who’d made it their mission to make his life miserable? “I have a feeling it’ll
be an early night.”

“No problem,” he said, grinning. “I brought
my iPad. Thought I’d park nearby in case you wanted to bail early.”

Matt had known Lawrence a long time. When
he’d called to book him for the night, he confided that he wasn’t looking
forward to attending his high school reunion. “Thanks, man.” Matt slapped
Lawrence on the back as he stepped up on the curb. “I appreciate that.”

Matt entered the imposing old hotel,
begrudgingly admitting the planning committee had chosen the perfect place to
host the festivities. Although he’d grown up going to more benefits and galas
than he could count, he still hated walking into a social gathering alone. It
made him feel alone and vulnerable. He wore his designer suit and diamond
jewelry as a shield, making the world believe he was comfortable enough to draw
attention to himself instead of sinking into the background, but nights like
this brought his life full circle.

The woman sitting at the registration table
looked up to greet him. Her eyes raked over him from head to toe, and he had a
sense of how beautiful women must feel when sleazy men ogle them.

“Hi,” he said, trying to hide his disdain.
“Matt Hudson.” He glanced at the clipboard in her hand, trying to remember
whether he’d asked his assistant to RSVP on his behalf. He hoped so. Otherwise
the event would be even more embarrassing than he’d feared.

Her shrill laughter ran out over the low
din of voices. “I remember Matt Hudson, and you’re definitely not him!”

“Would you like to see my driver’s
license?” He patted the breast pocket of his Armani suit. He had a feeling he’d
have to produce proof of his identity more than once.

“I had the same reaction when I saw him,”
Kristen said, walking up behind him and slipping her arm through Matt’s as
though they belonged together. “But I can assure you, it’s him.”

Matt’s gaze traveled over Kristen, and he
swallowed to coat his dry throat. Her tight black strapless dress looked as
though it was made for her. No other woman could do it justice.

“Glad you could make it,” he murmured,
admiring the sapphire pendant nestled between her full breasts. “The evening
wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without you.”

The woman at the table, who Matt recognized
as one of the girls from Kristen’s cheerleading squad, looked back and forth
between them. “You guys are a couple? Since when?” She frowned at Kristen.
“Last I heard you were engaged to—”

Kristen’s hand curled around Matt’s bicep
as she flashed a quick smile. “You know how it is, Molly. It takes some of us a
while to realize we’re wasting our time with the wrong guy.”

Matt could tell how much it cost Kristen to
pretend her broken engagement meant nothing. He was anxious to extricate her
from the awkward conversation. “It was nice to see you again, Molly.”

As he steered Kristen away from the table,
Molly said, “Wait, you forgot your name tags.”

Matt would have preferred to go incognito,
but that would be tough with the most popular girl in their graduating class on
his arm. Of course everyone would want to catch up with Kristen.

After they’d secured their nametags,
Kristen muttered, “Well, that was awkward, wasn’t it?”

“Does it bother you, having to explain
about your ex?” He grabbed two champagne flutes from a passing waiter’s tray.

“Probably more than it should.” She
accepted the glass with a grateful smile as she scanned the crowded room. “I
hate to admit failure, and that relationship was the definition of the word.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you think all men
are the same,” he said, his hand sliding to the small of her back when a rowdy
foursome got a little too close. Matt scowled at them. “Isn’t it a little too
early to be that trashed?”

Kristen laughed, looking uneasy. “I thought
about knocking back a few before I came.”

He noticed how nervous she seemed, though
he couldn’t imagine why. It wasn’t as if she was trying to forget classmates
who made her life miserable for four long years. “Are you okay? You seem a
little uptight.”

“Damn,” she whispered, turning her back to
the band onstage. “I thought he would have the good sense to take my advice.”

“Who?”

“My ex is here.”

Matt scanned the crowd, looking for someone
whose attention might be fixed on Kristen. It didn’t take him long to find the
man in question. He stood next to a girl Matt recognized from their senior
class, sipping a beer. “Is that him with…” He couldn’t think of the girl’s
name, but she was definitely part of Kristen’s group of friends.

“Gale? Yeah, that’s him.”

“What’s he doing here?”

She sighed before sneaking a peek over her
shoulder. Her eyes locked with her former fiancé’s before she turned around.
“Gale’s the one who introduced us. I was selling my condo, and I needed a
lawyer to handle the transaction. She suggested Robert. The rest, as they say,
is history.”

He wanted to ask her to elaborate, but she
would tell him when and if she was ready. It always angered him when people he
barely knew asked him why he wasn’t married, didn’t have kids, or what had
happened to end his marriage. “If you want to bail…” He didn’t need her to ask
twice. He was already regretting attending, especially since Kristen’s ex would
be watching their every move.

“No.” She closed her eyes as she took
another sip of champagne. “I’m not going to let him think he chased me away.”

“Did you know he would be here?”

“He mentioned something about it when we
got stuck in the elevator together.”

“Excuse me?” Matt asked, gripping his
glass.

“We work in the same office building.”
Kristen made a face that reminded him of the one and only time he’d tasted
octopus. “Across the hall, in fact.”

“Seriously? That must be awkward.” If Matt
and Kristen became seriously involved, he would hate that set up.

“You have no idea.” She tossed back the
rest of her champagne.

Matt reached for her empty glass and set it
on a nearby table. “Ever think about moving?”

“Only every time I see him.”

“I take it you’re the one who ended the
relationship?” Matt couldn’t imagine a man in his right mind breaking up with
Kristen.

“Yeah, when he gave me no other choice.”

“What does that mean?” He was being pushy,
but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to know if she had any residual
feelings for the man who was clearly still in love with her. The ex had barely
taken his eyes off Kristen.

“I’d rather not get into that tonight,” she
said, touching his arm. “Can we talk about something else?”

The last thing he wanted was to make her
uncomfortable. “Sure. You pick the topic.”

She reached for another glass of champagne,
quietly thanking the waiter. “I don’t usually drink.” She looked into the glass
of bubbly. “It’s too easy for one to lead to another and before you know it…”
She shrugged. “You say or do something you shouldn’t and have to deal with the
consequences.”

Matt had seen alcohol lead to bad decisions
too many times in his line of work, which was the reason he rarely
over-indulged. He sensed Kristen wasn’t talking about mistakes she’d made. More
than anything, he wanted to get to know the girl who’d seemed so out of reach
in high school. He believed the reason he’d never forgotten Kristen after all
these years was because she was one of the first women to teach him some people
could look beneath the surface and get to know him for the man he was on the
inside.

“You look like you’re a million miles
away,” Kristen said, her eyes softening from the champagne.

“I was just thinking about how sweet you
were to me in high school.” He looked at her and saw beneath the fancy dress
and flawless makeup to the fresh-faced teenager whose image kept him awake at
night. “You were my fantasy girl, you know.”

Kristen blushed and dipped her head.
“Funny, I was just thinking you’ve evolved into every woman’s fantasy.” A blush
spread from her chest to her cheeks. “I didn’t just say that out loud, did I?”

He threw his head back and laughed, drawing
attention from people whose names he couldn’t even remember. He once would have
shrunk into a corner so as not to draw attention to himself, but those days
were over. “I love that you think so.” He settled her cheek in his hand,
coaxing her to look him in the eye. Matt saw her chest rising and falling with
every breath. “Have I told you lately that I think you’re stunning?”

“I think it’s been about fifteen years,”
she whispered.

“Then it’s been fifteen years too long.” He
moved in closer, not caring that her ex was a spectator. “You’re stunning.”

Had they been anywhere else, he wouldn’t
have hesitated to kiss her. He didn’t care about onlookers, but Kristen might
abhor public displays of affection. He couldn’t risk alienating her when they’d
barely scratched the surface of their intense attraction.

“I want this to be the night we never had
in high school,” he said, lowering his head and speaking softly so only she
could hear him.

“I want that too.”

***

Kristen couldn’t remember the last time
she’d been out with a man who made her feel the way Matt did. Maybe the
champagne was helping her relax, but she suspected her comfort had more to do with
the company than the alcohol. He was charming and attentive, sexy and funny.
Had she known he was the complete package back in high school, she would have
been the one to ask him to prom.

“What are you thinking about?” he whispered
in her ear.

They’d been slow dancing to nearly every
song, and she loved the way she fit so perfectly in his arms. The rest of the
crowd, including Robert, ceased to exist as she languished in the intimate
bubble they’d created.

“I was thinking this is nice,” she
admitted.

Opening up to a man on a first date was new
to Kristen. Not that that night was really a date. He hadn’t asked her to join
him. They were simply two people attending the same event.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said,
leaning back just enough to look her in the eye. “Maybe we should think about
doing it again sometime.”

He was the perfect mix of interested
without being too eager. He was confident in his own skin, and he knew he
didn’t have to beg a woman to see him again. Probably because he had women
lining up and begging him
to take them out.

Pushing that unsettling thought aside,
Kristen said, “I wish I had more time to date.” For the first time, she wished
she was free every night so she could spend more time getting to know Matt.

“You could always make the most of the time
you do have. With me.”

The way he said that sounded delicious and
naughty, as though he would enjoy doing things to her that she would never
forget. “Is it getting hot in here?” She laughed nervously.