Out of Her League (19 page)

Joe winced.
“
I frowned on it myself.
”

“
I realize it
’
s none of my business. No one
’
s business. But your image isn
’
t that of a responsible public figure. Will you stick if things get tough?
”

Joe sighed. He should have considered all those years ago what effect the press would have on his future. But he
’
d been too busy being Iceman—the Wildman—Scalotta. Now he wanted to change. He
had
changed, but no one believed him. So he would have to make people believe him by being what he had always wanted to be—a man just like his father.

“
I hear you, Steve. But times have changed. I plan to put down roots here and be a pillar in this community. When things get tough, I
’
m going to be your man.
”

“
Great.
”
Steve
’s voice was too cheerful, down
right hearty, annoyingly fake. He didn
’
t believe Joe, either. And he didn
’
t care... as long as Joe did his job—which was bringing people back to football at OGCC. Well, he
’
d do that job by being the best darn coach they
’
d ever had, by making the team all that it could be. That didn
’
t necessarily mean winning, either—something he was learning by coaching the little ones in T-ball. But he wasn
’
t going to share his philosophy with old Steve.

The outside door opened, then shut. T
oni ap
peared in the entryway of the living room with a dreamy look on her face that made Joe
’
s teeth grind.

“
Thanks for calling, Steve. I
’
ll be in touch.
”
With his eyes on his daughter, Joe hung up on Steve
’
s continued assurances that Joe Scalotta was the best thing to h
it Oak Grove since cable televi
sion.

His main wor
ry was Toni. Not OGCC, not foot
ball, not baseball, not even his own stupid mistakes. Just Toni. Joe was going to do everything in his power to guarantee
Toni did not make the same mis
takes he had.

Which meant Joe wasn
’
t going to make any more mistakes, either. What had happened between him and Coach Mom tonight would not be repeated. He
’
d screwed up by following the pull of his body and ignoring what was sensible, responsible and right.

He had come to Oak Grove to start a new life: raise Toni, get married, create a family. He was not
going to get i
nvolved with a woman who was ev
erything he did not want in a wife.

No matter how good she tasted. No matter how easily she fit in his arms. No matter how much he wanted her back there.

Because if he did that he
’
d be just the kind of guy everyone thought he was. The kind of guy he
’d al
ways been.

The kind of guy he
’
d determined never to be again.

Evie
lay
in
her
solitary bed and thought solitary thoughts. The twins were gone, and Adam had long since come home, shouted good-night and shut his door. She might
want
to call him in and quiz him on his relationship with Toni, but she wouldn
’
t. She couldn
’
t. If she didn
’
t trust him the first time trust was called for, he
’
d never trust
her
again.

Whatever you teach them during the first ten years lays the groundwork for the rest of their lives.
That was the motto of Evie
’
s father, and he was a very wise man, not to mention an excellent small-town cop. Of course, Dad had never been able to explain those kids who had horrible childhoods but turned out fine and dandy, or the kids who became serial killers whil
e their parents frowned and mum
bled,
“
He was such a nice boy.
”

For the most part, Evie believed what her father had preached, which only made her more nervous where Adam was concerned. Because Adam had been eleven when Ray died, and Ray had been one
big disaster—as a man, a husband, and particularly as a father. Still, if Adam were going to follow in Ray
’
s idiot footsteps, Evie figured she
’
d have seen some indication of it before now.

Sighing, she turned over and stared at the ceiling. She could still hear Adam moving around in his room, but the sounds were comforting. She was not completely alone in the house, yet the near quiet was bliss.

Instead of lying here, not sleeping, she should probably be doing some of the things she could not do when the twins were around: like reading a book that would rot her mind instead of improve it—though she rarely had time to read improving books, either—or paint her toenails, or take a bubble bath.

But in her present state she would not be able to read; she
’
d only stare at the book and think of ice-blue eyes heavy with desire. She
’
d paint her ankle, not her toenails, while she thought of moonlit nights. In the bathtub she would imagine big hands sliding over wet skin, lips following the trail, bodies naked, writhing, warm, wet and
--

“
Doggone it!
”
Evie sat up and put her head be
tween her knees.

Didn
’
t help. Her brain still swam with lust. How was she going to face Joe at the ballpark? How was she going to sleep with visions of him in her head? How was she going to live without another kiss like that?

“
Get over it, Evie. It was only a kiss,
” she mut
tered.

But it hadn
’
t been
only a kiss
. For her, anyway. She did not go around kissing strange men. That made her laugh out loud, a sound she quickly stifled against the bedclothes before Adam heard and thought she
’
d lost her mind for good. She didn
’
t go around kissing strange men because there were no strange men in Oak Grove. Okay, she didn
’
t go around kissing anyone—except family, and that didn
’
t count.

The only reason she could still feel Joe
’
s mouth on hers was that she hadn
’
t kissed a man in ... Evie raised her head and tried to remember.

It seemed like forever and a day. No wonder she
’
d wanted to put her hand under that silky shirt, spread her palms over his very nice chest, put her lips to the tanned hollow of his throat and yank him down on the cool sand beneath the swing set.

Evie groaned and let her head fall back between her knees. As the twins would say, she was in deep doo-doo.

What was she going to do about it? Let nature take its course?
Very bad idea, no matter how ap
pealing.

Ignore him? Scalotta? Impossible.

Avoid him? Childish and impractical. Not only was she his de fac
to boss in the Little League de
partment, but he was the twins
’
coach. And their teenagers looked to be gearing up for a summer of the age-old favorite game
“
attached at the hip.
”
She wasn
’
t even going to think about the bet they
’
d made and the consequences thereof.

“
Well, you know what you
’
re not going to do, Evelyn Ann,
”
she said in her best mommy voice.
“
What are you
going
to do?
”

The quiet was broken when the phone rang, shrill and stunning. She gasped, heart thundering, and grabbed the receiver before it could ring a second time. Visions of the twins in the emergency room had her levering her feet over the edge of the bed, toes searching for her shoes. The voice on the other end of the line made her freeze.

“
Evie?
”

Having Joe
’
s voice whisper in her ear so soon after thinking of him in so intimate a manner, in the dark, in her bed, caused Evie
’
s breath to hitch in shock.

“
I hope I didn
’
t wake you.
”

How could his
voice sound so sexy? Was it be
cause she couldn
’
t see him, so she imagined him, instead? Was he sitting in his own bed—stark naked and aroused? She was aroused, but at least she was clothed—in a very old, faded, asexual button-down shirt.

“
Evie, you there?
”

She was dizzy, hot, and she couldn
’
t breathe. Maybe because she was holding her breath. Letting the air out in a rush, then filling her lungs once more made the dizziness recede, at least a little.

“
Yes, I
’
m here. Is something wrong?
”

It was his turn to be silent, but she could still hear him breathing. In and out, slow and easy. Her skin tingled as she thought of his mouth near the phone,
the phone near her ear. She could almost feel his breath, warm upon her neck. A caress like the wind stirring her hair.

“
I wanted to apologize for tonight.
”

Evie blinked as her fantasy dissolved, and she groped for the meaning in his words.
“
Apologize?
”

“
For kissing you.
”

“
You said you weren
’
t going to apologize.
”

The words he
’
d uttered only hours before drifted through her mind;
Because I want to do it again. Right now.

“
I was wrong to kiss you. It won
’
t happen again.
”

“
All right.
”
She knew she sounded as confused as she felt.

“
I don
’
t want you to get the wrong idea.
”

Annoyance beat a rhythm along her spine as she started to catch on to his problem.
“
And what would the wrong idea be?
”

“
That there cou
ld be anything serious or perma
nent between us.
”

Bingo
. Just like a guy—kiss a woman and then panic because she might think you meant to marry her. Well, Evie wasn
’
t going to let him off that easy.

“
And there couldn
’t be anything permanent be
tween us because...?
”

“
Well, we might have a kind of chemistry.
”

“
Chemistry? You think so?
” She put enough sur
prise into her voice to make him hesitate. Luckily, he couldn
’
t see her smirk.

“
Uh, yeah. Physical chemistry, but we wouldn
’
t
be a good match. I figured I should put a stop to any thoughts in that direction.
”

Her amusement
turned to amazement, then blis
tered into outright anger. The nerve of the man! He really did believe
she was already planning the re
ception.

“
Hey, Wildman, I know your type. It was a kiss. Nothing more, nothing less. Don
’
t flatter yourself into thinking it was special. You
’
re good, I
’
ll give you that. But I
’
ve had better.
”
That ought to hurt. Men like him did not like to hear they weren
’
t the best thing in pants.

“
You don
’
t need to get mad. I just don
’
t want any hard feelings. I
’
m ready for
a serious relationship. I
’
d like to start dating again, but—
”