Game On (25 page)

Troy tried to gulp in some air. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering. “Consuelo would live with us?”

“Yeah, except I do the cooking when I’m home. She’ll be retired, after all.”

Troy hurled himself at his brother. Shane caught him as Beckett jumped at them, nearly forcing them both into the surf.

“You really want me to live with you?” Troy cried into Shane’s shoulder.

“Only if that’s what you really want to do. I have it on good authority I can be a butthead sometimes.”

Shane lowered him back down to the sand as Beckett danced between them.

“We’ve got to call Carly,” Troy said. “She can come home now. We can all live together. Like at the cabin.”

“Whoa,” Shane said. “I think for right now, we should just keep it us guys and maybe Consuelo, okay?”

He should have known it wouldn’t last. His brother was turning back into a big butthead again.

“But I saw you. You always looked at her funny when she wasn’t looking. And you kissed. I know you feel something for her,” Troy argued.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Shane looked out into the ocean.

“Yeah, but
something
isn’t always enough. Not for a woman like Carly. She deserves . . . everything.”

“But she’ll go to Italy.” Troy’s lip quivered.

Wrapping an arm around Troy’s shoulders, Shane guided him back toward the beach house. “She’ll come back. Her family is here. And you’re here.”

They walked in silence for a while, Beckett darting in and out of the water in front of them.

“What made you change your mind?” Troy finally asked.

“I guess it was the things you said about your dad,” Shane replied.

“He was your dad, too!” Troy pulled out from under Shane’s arm, shoving his glasses against his nose to hide the tears that were forming again.

“Yeah, he was. But not in the same way he was a dad to you. I don’t blame him for that anymore, though. He couldn’t help some of the things that happened in his life. He was young and he made some mistakes.”

“He loved you,” Troy sobbed.

“I’m gonna have to take your word for it, kid,” Shane said, putting a hand on Troy’s shoulder and squeezing. “It’s too late now to go back and change things. I never got the chance to make it work with Bruce, but that doesn’t mean you and I can’t be a family.”

Troy wiped his nose on the hem of his T-shirt.

“I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to tell you not to do that, but I’m going to ease into this big-brother parenting thing slowly.”

With a laugh, Troy fell into step beside Shane, Beckett jogging ahead.

“I’m not all lubed up with sunscreen and I’m starting to fry,” Shane said. “Walk a little faster, will you?”

Twenty-two

“I’m glad you chickened out about Italy,” Asia
said, stirring sugar into her iced tea.

“I didn’t
chicken out
,” Carly answered a little too defensively as she pushed a pickle around her plate.

She and Asia were sitting in a small sandwich shop on the Upper West Side of New York City. The Blaze were in town for their final preseason game against the Giants that night. Asia had arrived before the team to ward off any last-minute media glitches, and Carly was glad to have an hour or two to catch up with her friend before the frenzy of the game later.

“It’s just that Troy wasn’t going to Switzerland, so I really didn’t need an excuse to go to Italy any longer.”
Thank goodness!
The relief she felt at the thought of not having to brave the European paparazzi was palpable. She was glad things had worked out the way they had.

Carly texted or video-chatted with Troy daily. The pain of losing both parents still lingered, but he was excited about his new life with his brother. It wasn’t hard to be happy for him—and Shane, who’d finally been able to commit to another person. She would be petty to resent that Shane’s commitment wasn’t to her. But her heart still ached. Carly missed the Devlin brothers. Both of them.

“Lisa tells me you’re working with her foundation now,” Asia said. “You know, you can do that from Baltimore. You don’t have to stay here in New York.”

Carly smiled at her friend. No doubt her family and Troy had put Asia up to this. Working with Lisa’s foundation had been a natural transition after spending a few weeks with Troy. Months ago, the idea of setting up places where kids could go to talk, play, or just hang out with other kids who’d lost a loved one seemed like just one of Lisa’s pipe dreams—a reaction to her own brush with cancer. But reliving her own experiences with childhood grief through the eyes of Troy awakened something in Carly. Finally, her life had a cause she could rally behind.

Working with her sister was an added bonus. She’d come to New York and convinced Julianne—who’d also lost her mother at a young age—to open up her client list. Together, they’d raised nearly two million dollars over the summer months.

“Hank even said you can work from your old office,” Asia prodded. “We really miss you, Carly.”

“But the big money is here in New York.”

Which was a lie. She could raise funds from just about anywhere. But until her heart mended, she needed to put some distance between herself and Baltimore. Even if it meant not seeing her family or Troy as often as she’d like. “Besides, I’m only a three-hour train ride away. Lisa and Emma were up last weekend shopping. And I’ll see the rest of my family tonight.”

“Don’t forget your Blaze family.”

If Donovan had shared any details of her fling with Shane, Asia wasn’t saying. But the look she gave Carly said she knew a lot. “Troy hasn’t stopped talking about seeing you again.”

Carly couldn’t hold back her grin. It had been four weeks since she’d left him at the beach house. She couldn’t wait to see Troy, either. His brother, not so much. Hopefully he’d be too wrapped up with chasing his father’s records to even notice she was there.

“Shane finally won the starting job,” Asia said with a sly smile, as if reading her thoughts.

Taking a sip of her drink to push down the lump in her throat, Carly shrugged her shoulders. “That’s great. I hope it works out for him and the team.”

Asia laughed. “Girl, you’ve still got it bad for the guy.”

Carly wiped her mouth in a futile attempt to hide her blush.

“If it helps,” Asia said, “he’s been the well-behaved big brother. So far, he hasn’t used the boy to troll for dates. At least, not that I know of.”

Both women laughed as Carly threw her napkin at Asia.

“Changing the subject,” Asia said, her voice now serious as she sat up in her chair. “Do you have to come back for Joel’s trial?”

“Hopefully, he’ll take the plea agreement he’s been offered and I won’t have to.” Carly had tried not to think of Joel these past weeks, but the district attorney wouldn’t let her. Joel’s grandfather had finagled a deal whereby Joel awaited trial at a minimum-security rehab center in Virginia. Maybe he’d get help with his drug habit and be reasonable enough to take the deal the DA was offering. She wasn’t looking forward to facing him in a courtroom.

Carly didn’t have time to dwell on thoughts of Joel because Asia’s cell phone vibrated on the table. “Showtime,” she said. “It’s time you and I headed for the Meadowlands.”

* * *

Shane spied her in the crowd surrounding the
visitor’s locker room as the team was disembarking the bus and heading into the stadium. Hordes of media, Blaze personnel, and hangers-on milled about, but Carly was easy to spot. Looking sexy as hell leaning against a cement pillar, she wore a pair of skinny jeans, sandals, and a white jean jacket. Her hair was shorter, just brushing her shoulders. And her face looked thinner underneath the tan she’d acquired since he’d seen her last.

Moving in to get a closer look, he stood obscured by his own cement pillar. Tension drew her beautiful face tighter than normal, but Shane couldn’t make out her eyes. Her eyes would tell him what she was really feeling. With sweaty palms, he adjusted his garment bag on his shoulder, trying to avoid being jostled by the other players as they entered the locker room. Several of them called out to Carly as they went past. The smile she had pasted on her face suddenly lit up as Molly squealed her name. Shane watched as the young girl threw her arms around her aunt’s neck and Carly buried her face in Molly’s hair. Troy stood behind Molly, and when Carly noticed him, she pulled him in for a tight embrace. That familiar gut clench grabbed Shane as he watched her brush her lips across Troy’s forehead. Curling an arm around each child, Carly beamed, finally giving him a glimpse of her eyes. His heart pounded in his chest as he saw her smile reflected in them.

C.J. materialized from among the frenzy, standing at Carly’s elbow. Shane watched as the boy, hands in his pockets, forced himself not to react to seeing his aunt. Smiling, Shane sympathized with C.J.’s struggle between boyhood and manhood. The boy hung back trying to look cool while still desperately wanting the same effusive greeting his sister and Troy received.
Me too, dude,
Shane wanted to say to him.

Weeks ago, Carly had confided to him about how hurt she was with C.J.’s distance. But Shane could clearly see the boy wasn’t distant at all. His adoration of his aunt was easily recognizable—especially to someone who felt the same way. She didn’t wait for her nephew to come to her. Releasing Troy, she pulled C.J. in for a brief kiss on the cheek, retreating quickly so as not to embarrass him. Once again, Shane’s stomach clenched.
Christ, he was jealous of two boys!

Unaware that his feet were even moving, Shane made his way toward them. The rest of the team was in the locker room, getting ready for the game. He should be there, too. But, as usual, whenever Carly was around, other parts of his body took over.

“I’m so glad you’re not going to Italy,” Molly was saying, twirling herself in and out of Carly’s embrace. “Will you move back to Baltimore?”

“No, sweetie,” Carly said. “I’m going to help your mom out with her foundation. There’s a lot to do here in New York. But I plan on coming to C.J.’s first football game next weekend.”

“Don’t make a special effort on my account,” C.J. said, carrying the cool act a bit too far.

A wisp of her new, shorter hair clung to her chin and Shane’s hand itched to brush it back off her face. But if he touched her, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop with a hand to her face. At last, she noticed him standing there.

Trying not to stand around like an imbecile, Shane forced himself to speak first. “Carly,” was all he could get past his dry mouth.

“Hey,” she said softly, tugging the hair behind her ear.

“Shane, Carly is coming to Baltimore next weekend,” Troy said. “Maybe she can come over for dinner? We are taking a Japanese cooking class and we need someone to practice on,” his brother explained to her proudly.

Arching an eyebrow, she smiled at Troy but managed not to commit to anything. “You don’t say?”

“Yep. And you can come see Beckett, too,” he went on. “I know he misses you a lot.”

“He told you that?” she teased, fiddling with the collar of Troy’s shirt. Shane shifted his stance as her innocent gesture led to not-so-innocent thoughts of her fingers on him. His reaction to this woman would never change. He should be in the locker room right now getting his head ready for the game. Not standing in the hallway dreaming of all the things he wanted to do to Carly’s body. And all the things he wanted her to do to him.

“You got Molly, Aunt Carly?” C.J. interrupted Shane’s thoughts. “Dad said I couldn’t leave her without handing her off to you directly. I need to get inside and start checking the gear.”

Yeah, inside the locker room. That’s where Shane needed to be, too. He started backing up in that direction.

“I got her,” Carly said to C.J. “I’ll take her to the family lounge after the game.”

“Shane, can I go with them to get dinner?” Troy asked.

“You just ate at the hotel!” Molly said.

Carly laughed. “Teenage boys have to be fed every twenty minutes, Mols. Or else they get cranky.”

“Someone should tell C.J. that because he’s
always
cranky,” Molly said.

Placing an arm around both kids’ shoulders, Carly smiled up at Shane, her delicate eyebrow lifted in question.

One look at her face and Shane couldn’t remember what the kid wanted. “Huh?” he asked like the idiot he was.

“Can I go with Carly?” Hell, Shane wanted to go with Carly. He wanted to touch her, to kiss her, to bury himself inside of her. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I need to get inside and start warming up.” As if he wasn’t warm enough already.

“Congratulations, by the way,” she said as Shane turned toward the locker room door. “Asia told me you got the starting job. I’m glad it all worked out the way you wanted it to.” She bit her bottom lip gently before giving him one of her fake smiles. The kind that didn’t wipe away the sadness he saw in her eyes. For a moment he stood there staring at her as she walked away with Troy and Molly. “I’ll send Troy back down with one of the coaches from the spotter’s box,” she called over her shoulder. The team’s second bus arrived and players and coaches hustled past him into the locker room. But Shane just stood there, trying to shake off the tightness in his chest.

He didn’t remember finally making his way to his locker. Mechanically undressing, he pulled on his gray gym shorts and sneakers to warm up in, all the while trying to get his mind off Carly. His body burned for her. Not just sexually, though. He ached to feel her body snuggled up next to his. To hear her laughter. To smell her hair. He needed to get his head focused on tonight’s game plan. He’d worked too hard to get the starting job in the first place. Carly was a distraction he couldn’t afford right now.

But that look in her eyes still haunted him. She’d fallen in love with him, he knew that. Not to brag, but so had a lot of other women before her. Only, he hadn’t felt anything when he’d let them down. Not like the feeling of numbness taking over his body right now. Since the moment he’d laid eyes on Carly March, she’d been like an intoxicating drug he couldn’t wean himself from. Groupies threw themselves at him all throughout the past month’s training camp. Just yesterday, at Troy’s new school, a mother of one his classmates propositioned Shane. Yet not a single one stirred his blood like Carly had—and obviously still could.

“Get your head in the game, Devlin,” he muttered to himself, whipping a Blaze T-shirt out of his locker.

“You always talk to yourself before a game?”

As Shane’s head emerged out of the shirt, he looked over at Donovan standing beside him, a wide-eyed grin on his face. Dressed in his corporate security uniform of suit and tie, he looked like a fish out of water in the locker room of half-dressed men, not that he seemed to mind. “Man, I am in an NFL locker room on game day,” he said, his voice laced with a childlike glee. “I still have to pinch myself every game.”

His exuberance was contagious, allowing Shane to finally relax, taking in his surroundings for the first time that evening. “After a while, they all look the same,” he said to his friend. “The real fun is out on the field before the game starts. Come on.” Shane slapped Donovan on the back as they both made their way to the tunnel leading out to the playing field. Before they exited the locker room, however, a breathless C.J. stopped them in their tracks.

“Good. Found you.” He bent at the waist, gasping for air. “Can’t. Find. Carly.”

“She took Molly and Troy to dinner,” Shane said. But something in the boy’s eyes forced a shiver down Shane’s spine. Donovan must have seen it, too, because his demeanor sobered at once.

“No,” C.J. said, shaking his head violently, still trying to force air into his lungs. “Asia said they never came up there. They’re not answering their cell phones, either.”

Shane’s whole body tensed as the boy continued to huff. “C.J., what’s the matter?” he asked quietly.

“Joel Tompkins,” he said. His breath was coming more normally now, but his face was ashen and his hands shook slightly. “I saw him near the tunnel.”

“You sure?” Donovan asked, his tone all business.

“Yeah.” C.J. swallowed. “It was him. He had on that ratty Florida Gator’s ball cap he always wears. He walked away real quickly when he saw I’d spotted him.”

Donovan and Shane didn’t hesitate before heading for the door, C.J. at their heels. “Guys!” C.J. called. “He’s wearing a blue windbreaker. And he’s got a gun. I saw it.” Shane glanced at the boy’s face. It was contorted with a mixture of fear and rage. The three of them charged down the hallway, Donovan shouting orders into a walkie-talkie, as a multitude of nightmares flashed in and out of Shane’s head.