Not So Snow White (23 page)

Davina returned the serve deep, then, using her quick foot speed, came in closer to the net on Gaby's stab ret
urn and hit a crosscourt winner.

"Oh," Aurora gasped, as the point ended and Gaby once again took her place on the baseline to serve. "That went fast." She patted his arm. "She'll get the next one."

Max was barely listening to Aurora. Davina had game, and a big chunk of it was volleying. One of Gaby's biggest weaknesses was her net game and it was going to haunt her today if that point was any indication. He knew Tess had given her a few pointers on coming in to the net, giving Davina a little taste of her own medicine, but they'd barely had time to put it into practice. Gaby was probably overwhelmed enough with the pomp and circumstance, as well as her opponent, that anything other than relying on the game that had gotten her here was going to be too much to ask.

Her first serve was wide. As she turned to accept another ball from the ball girl, she glanced quickly up at him. He gave her an encouraging smile, but nothing more. Coaching from the box wasn't allowed. But mentally he was sending her everything he had. She turned back, bounced the ball a few times, then lofted it overhead, and put the ball on the outside of the opposite corner of the serving box. Second serves being slower, Davina returned it easily, but this time Gaby was ready. She hit crosscourt, forcing Davina to run. She kept that up, rallying from the baseline, sending Davina all the way right, then all the way left, until she was forced to hit the ball long as Gaby added more and more angle to it. Point to Miss Fontaine.

He let his breath go, only realizing then he'd been holding it. Shit, it was only the second point of the first game. He needed to settle down. And he knew that was all Gaby needed. If she could hold serve here, she'd calm down a little.

But the next three points went Davina's way and she broke Gaby's serve to go one up in the first set.

Aurora continued coddling Max's arm. "She's just nervous. I mean, my goodness, look at all this." She nodded to the packed stands, and the throngs of people milling in between the courts beyond the court wall. Up above were windows lining the side
of the main building that formed two sides of the court. Along with the broadcast booths, players and other industry types had access to that area. The windows were full of observers, even for a lowly first-round match such as this one. The crowds were bigger than anything they had in juniors, even for the championship games. He wondered what it would feel like to be on Centre Court. He returned his attention to the game as Davina prepared to serve, and mentally crossed his fingers that Gaby would have a chance to find out.

The second game went quickly. Too quickly. Davina served two aces to easily hold her service game at love, not giving a single point to Gaby. "Come on,
"
he whispered under his breath. "You can do this." Coming in today, he'd just wanted Gaby to do her best and to come away, if not with a win, then with a match she could be proud of. He knew she'd be disappointed with anything other than a win, but he didn't want her to get bageled, either.

Gaby took the first point on her next serve, playing the same baseline game she'd done before, running Davina from side to side. Her serve for the second point was an ace. Max pumped his fist by his side.
Good
,
good.
Gaby turned then for another ball and didn't even glance up at the players' box. Her face was sheer determination now, as the crowd, the circumstance, everything else began to shrink back a little.
That's the way,
he thought.
Stay
focused, settle into your game. Make her run for the money, dammit.

She continued her punishing baseline game, not letting Davina into the net, and went on to hold serve. It was two—one, Davina, but now Gaby was in it.

In what seemed like a blink, Davina went on a tear, serving several blistering aces and attacking the net like a Rottweiler. And before Gaby could adjust, Davina was serving for the first
set, up five games to two. With her serve on fire, as long as Davina kept her serve and volley game up and Gaby stayed pinned to the baseline, Max didn't see where Gaby was going to be able to work her way back into this. She was lucky to have held her serve twice. She hadn't come close to threatening Davina's.

Gaby made her work in the next game, but Davina ended up taking the first set, six games to two. It wasn't embarrassing by any stretch, but he knew Gaby had a better game than she was showing. And even after everything they'd been through the past couple of weeks leading up to today, he didn't want her experience here to end so abruptly. Certainly not like this. "Give her a match, Gaby," he murmured. "Come on, remember what Tess told you."

There came a voice by his ear. "And here I thought you'd prefer she never even met me."

Max had been so caught up in the match he hadn't heard the murmur that rippled through the crowd as a very well-known face made her way to the players' box. With all eyes and very likely one or two cameras trained their way, he could do little but welcome her.

Aurora went to scoot over, but Max squeezed her arm gently. "That's okay, Tess can sit on your right."

Smile easily in place, Tess squeezed past Max and Aurora, taking her seat just as the first game of the second set began. There was a hush as Davina served.

Max turned his attention back to the match, but his thoughts were scattered. He wanted to demand Tess tell him exactly what she'd said during her little on-air stint and why she'd done it in the first place. Right after he asked how in the hell she'd gotten into the players' box. Davina served an ace, and Max quickly glanced to his right. Tess had a press pass around
her neck. And she'd apparently banked on him not making a scene in the middle of Gaby's match when she'd decided to join them regardless of his request that she stay away.

Davina sent her next serve blistering to the outside, but Gaby was Teady. She stabbed left and kept the ball in play. Max forgot all about Tess as he watched the rally unfold before him. Both players were focused, both were going for every shot.
Come
on
,
Gabs,
he silently rooted.
Make her earn it.

Davina won the point, earning a sigh of disappointment from Aurora, and something muttered from Tess. He tried not to think about it, focus on the play. But Davina went on to easily hold serve and it was Gaby's turn again.

"Has she been pasted to the baseline the whole time?" Tess asked him, leaning slightly in front of Aurora.

"She's doing what she does best," Max replied, not wanting to get into a discussion about this. He'd save all of it for later, when he intended to have a very involved discussion with her.

"And losing," Tess retorted.

"She'll turn it around." From the corner of his eye, Max saw Aurora settle back a little, allowing them more room to talk in front of her, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth. Otherwise, she was all innocence, simply watching a tennis match as if nothing was going on.

Which begged the question, just what was going on? She had to have known Tess was in the announcers' booth earlier. Which, he supposed, made it clear which side she was on in this little power struggle. Not that this came as a huge surprise.

"Yes!" Tess announced, accentuating the comment with a little fist pump.

Max's attention flew back to the game. Dammit, he'd missed Gaby's serve. Her second ace of the match, too. Which he neatly blamed on Tess. If she'd just kept
her
nose out of this like
he'd asked, he wouldn't have been distracted. Hell, he didn't
care if she stayed on a
i
r all day or watched every single match. Except this one. He and Gaby had worked a long time toward moments like this and he wanted to focus on it, dammit. Enjoy it. Live every second of it. Revel in it.

"Come in," Tess whispered fiercely. "Short-court her."

Max watched Gaby serve again. Davina got it back.

"Short, Short balls," Tess urged, her voice barely reaching past Aurora to his own ears.

He was so finely tuned in to her, he couldn't block her voice out. Of course, she was right on the money, which didn't make it any easie
r
. She was only saying exactly what he was thinking.

Gaby went on to win the game, but only because he
r
serve got her some free points. It was one game to one, second set, best of three.

"She's doing quite well now," Aurora piped up, as the serve went back to Davina.

"She needs to pressure Davina on this serve, make her think a little bit out there," Tess said, never taking her eyes from the court. "She's making this too easy on her."

At that moment, Gaby turned to take a towel from a ball girl, so she could wipe her face as the afternoon air grew decidedly humid. She glanced up to the box, and apparently spied Tess for the first time. She gave the briefest of smiles, then tugged on her earring. A signal, maybe? From the corner of his eye, he saw Tess grin. Since when did they have signals? "Be careful," he said, "or they'll think you're coaching from the stands."

"I'm not her coach," Tess shot back, not even bothering to look at him. "Make her play, dammit!" Tess said an instant later, as Davina ripped her serve right down the tee and Gaby returned it neatly at her opponent's feet.

"Right," Max said, grinning, and knowing it wasn't entirely in response to Gaby being up a point on Davina's serve for the first time. "For someone who spends a lot of time denying she's
a coach, you sure think, talk, and act like one." The words were out before he realized he'd spoken his thoughts out loud.

"Well, you of all people should know looks can be deceiving. Yes!" she exclaimed a second later, pumping both fists, then grinning broadly, as Gaby finally came into the net on a second short serve from Davina and made her pay in short, brutal fashion. "Break her, baby, break her," Tess intoned softly under he
r
breath.

And yet Max heard every word. "Bloodthirsty," he found himself murmuring back, just as quietly.

"Damn
betcha," he heard in return, while keeping his eyes riveted to the court. He was almost hyperaware of the woman seated two down to his right, who was apparently just as wired into him at the moment, despite her focus being so intently on the court below. Appearances deceiving, indeed. And he was liking it a damn sight more than he had any right to.

Two points later, all three of them were on their feet, shouting approval as Gaby broke Davina at love. Tess threw her arm around Aurora's shoulder in a quick squeeze, but as they took their seats to ready for the next point, she glanced over the older woman's head and made full, direct eye contact with Max for the first time since her arrival.

Her bright green eyes were shining and her smile was wide and beckoning. He didn't know quite what to do with that beckoning part, nor the fact that he wasn't all that averse to being beckoned.

He sat back down, smiling absently at Aurora as she squeezed his knee in excitement, and blamed it all on the rush of adrenaline. Just as soon as they were off this court, she'd be getting a piece of his mind
…
and nothing else. Right now, it was all about Gaby, who was up two games to one, now on her serve and on the brink of going up three to one.

Aurora clapped her hands. "Come on, Gabrielle. You can do this."

With the help of two well-placed serves, Gaby took the game quickly.

"Now take it to her," Tess muttered. "Don't stand around back there and give h
er the whole court to work with.
"

Davina's first serve was an ace.

Aurora sighed, but Tess nudged her "She's fine. She'll hold up."

Max heard the whirring of cameras and looked down to see the field of photographers—the heretofore very small field, given the relative lack of importance of this match—had grown slightly. Tess's appearance, most likely, he thought.

Gaby returned well on the second point, forcing the error from Davina.

"That's my girl," Tess said, nodding in approval.

My
girl,
Max thought. Gaby was
his
girl. Sister, anyway.

Davina tried to pull Gaby out wide on the next point, but on the first short ball, Gaby came in toward the net with a vengeance.

"Yes!" Tess shouted, leaning forward.

Max was on the edge of his seat, too, as the two players traded several fierce volleys at the net before Gaby lobbed her for the winner.

Gaby's fist pump as she turned back to the baseline matched Tess's exactly. As did the grin the two of them briefly shared before Gaby once again took up her stance, awaiting the next serve.

Spooked by the teenager's surge of confidence, or perhaps just tightening up a little as it looked like the set was slipping away from her, Davina choked and double-faulted on the next point, giving the game to Gaby, who was now up four—one, with only two more games needed to take the second set.

The crowd was getting into it now, clearly rooting for Gaby, because she was the underdog, or because she had a famous face in her players' box, or a little of both. Max had no idea. But he knew never to underestimate the power of having the crowd behind you
…
or against you. He was just thankful they were rooting for her. He glanced around the court and noticed the stands had filled in almost completely. Had word gone around so quickly that Tess Hamilton was in the stands?