Playing for Keeps (7 page)

“You want to get out of here and maybe watch a movie or a game?”

“Sure,” Madison answered much more calmly than she felt. Her hand still tingled from his touch.

A moment later Pete walked over and looked at Madison’s empty glass. “You ready for another one, little lady?”

“May I take a rain check, Pete?”

“Sure thing. You want the rest of those wings boxed up?”

Madison nodded. “If you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll throw in some extra celery and dip too.”

“Thanks,” Madison replied and looked at Jason when he groaned.

“Am I invisible?” Jason complained.

Pete’s laughter was a deep rumble that shook his entire body. “When somebody as sweet and pretty as her is sittin’ there? You betcha.”

Jason arched an eyebrow. “Pretty, I’ll give ya. Sweet . . . mmm, that might be a stretch.”

“I don’t think so,” Pete insisted and then handed the bill to Jason.

“Why, thank you, Pete,” Madison said and realized that she meant it. People in Cricket Creek seemed to speak their mind in an honest way that Madison appreciated.

Pete gave her a wink. “Be right back.”

“Wow.” Jason watched Pete walk away and then turned back to Madison. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wink at anyone, but he’s been winking at you all damned night.”

“I seem to have that effect on men,” Madison joked with a flip of her hair but then rolled her eyes.

“You sure have that effect on me,” he admitted in a voice that suggested to her that he was serious.

“Well, you didn’t bother to wink at me,” she replied in a teasing tone, but she was fishing for a real answer.

“No, but I sure kissed your hand like some big-ass lovesick puppy.”

“Right . . . like you’ve never done that before?”

Jason raised his palms in the air. “Seriously, do I look like that kind of mushy dude?”

“No,” she admitted, with a soft smile. “And I guess that’s what made the gesture so cute,” she told him, but then lowered her gaze as if regretting her own honesty.

“Yeah, cute, that’s me all right. I get that all the time. Sweet too.”

Madison laughed. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

A moment later Pete brought the to-go box over to the table and handed it to Madison. “Here, sugar. Hope to see your pretty face in here again sometime soon.”

“Oh, I’ll be back,” she assured him with a sound nod.

Pete slapped a dish towel over his shoulder. “And if this yahoo gives you an ounce of trouble, you just let me know.”

Jason shook his head and they both stood up. “Pete, you’ve got this all backwards. She’s the troublemaker,” he said, but then he leaned over and kissed her on top of her head—yet another gesture that made Madison’s heart skip a beat. She tried to glance up and give him a scowl, but when she looked into those hazel eyes of his she was lost. She knew that she was falling for Jason Craig. She had been for a while. The trick was not to let him know. She couldn’t let anything interfere with the production of the play. But when he tucked her hand in his she felt a warm rush of happiness that was going to be difficult to resist.

O
livia ducked behind a big oak tree when she spotted Jason and Madison coming out of Sully’s Tavern but then had to peek around the trunk to observe them. “Oh!” She put her palm over her heart and smiled. They were holding hands! “Yes!” she whispered and squeezed her eyes shut. “I knew it!” Now all she had to do was to continue throwing them together to keep the spark alive. She just loved it when a plan came together.

“On the lam?” a deep voice asked, startling Olivia so much that she tripped on the brick pavers circling the tree. She fell forward and grabbed the trunk for support, drawing an equally deep chuckle. “Now, I know you drive a hybrid, but that’s taking tree hugging to a new level.”

Olivia spun around and put her hands on her hips, but since she wobbled off-balance her glare lost some of its punch. “Must you always sneak up on a person?”

“I’m six foot four,” Noah replied. “I can’t exactly sneak. From my vantage point you were the one sneaking, anyway.”

“I was not sneaking,” she insisted hotly.

“Hiding, then? Whom are you hiding from? Or is it ‘who’?” He scratched his dark stubble as if in thought.

“Whom . . . I mean
nobody
,” she replied, but then felt heat creep into her cheeks. “Nobody at all.”

“You really suck at lying. And your Southern drawl comes to life when you try. You need to work on that,” he teased. “Or maybe not. I kinda like it.”

“Oh, really now? Well, you . . .” Olivia took a step toward him, which was a mistake, since the cool breeze carried the scent of his cologne her way, muddling her train of thought. “You . . . suck at—” she began but couldn’t think of anything that he sucked at and felt foolish attempting to come back with something.

“Let me fill in the blank for you. I suck at acting.” He threaded his fingers through his windblown hair and then sighed. “I went through the motions on the soap, but I really need acting lessons, especially for a live performance. Will you work with me, Livie?”

Olivia felt a hot little thrill at him calling her Livie, even though she pretended to hate it. It sounded like an endearment, but then she became annoyed that he could get to her so easily, just like back in high school. Noah was a natural-born charmer and she wasn’t going to fall into his trap again. “We tried this once before, remember?” she asked tightly.

“I know.” He put one hand against the tree bark and leaned forward. She could feel the heat of his body, and when the wind blew a lock of her hair across her face, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear. “But I told you that I’m serious, and I meant it,” he added, with what appeared to be a sincere smile.

“I—” Olivia wanted to answer, but she was reeling from the feel of his fingertips brushing across her cheeks, and words failed her. She had to fight the urge to tilt her cheek into the palm of his hand and so she stepped away from him.

“Okay.” His smile faded when she failed to respond, and he jammed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Look, I know you think I’m an arrogant ass, but do you think you could set your personal feelings aside and do this? You said yourself how much this means to the town. I would compensate you for your time.”

“I don’t want your money,” she stated vehemently.

Noah raised his hands up to the sky. “Now, how in the world did I manage to offend you this time?”

“I don’t know. It just felt . . . wrong.”

“Are you always this unreasonable?”

“Never.”

“Then why with me?” he asked and then smiled slowly. “Ah . . .”

“Ah, what?” She was getting that urge to smack him and kiss him at the same time again. It sent her off-balance and yet felt oddly exhilarating. “I’m not certain that I like your tone.”

“You’re attracted to me.”

“Pffft . . . right! That explosive chemistry stuff that Madison tossed around was pure nonsense.”

He rocked back on the heels of his boots. “You think so, huh?”

She poked a finger in his chest again. “I know so.”

“Really, now?”

“Absolutely.” She pulled her finger back and looked at it as if it were a smoking gun. She really needed to stop poking him.

“Oh, Livie, I’m right and you know it. You’re attracted to me but you don’t want to be, and it ticks you off.”

“I’m not!” she insisted hotly and backed away but came up against the tree trunk. “That’s just pure . . . poppycock.”

“Poppycock?” He grinned. “Really?”

Oh, why did that silly word come out of her mouth? The man could fluster her no end.

“Nonsense!”

“You don’t think so?”

“Yes! Wait! I mean no!” Dear God, she was so confused.

“Really?” Noah took a step closer to her and tilted her chin up. “Then kiss me.”

“What? You’ve got to be joking,” she sputtered, but her heart was beating out of her chest. “Why in the world would I kiss you? I can’t believe you just asked me to do that.”

He shrugged. “Me neither, really, but I did. So go ahead. Prove that I’m right.”

“You mean
wrong
.”

“Fine,” he replied with a bit of a challenge and a taunting shrug. “Even more reason to do it.”

“We’re in a public place!” She put the emphasis on the
p
’s, sounding a little like Daffy Duck.

Noah looked left and then right and then braced his hand against the tree. “No one is around or watching, Livie. And it’s getting dark out.”

“This is just plain crazy. I won’t do it. I’m a schoolteacher. I have a reputation to protect,” she argued, but the breeze blew her hair across her face and reminded her that this was the night to let go and to take a chance, to jump without a net. And hadn’t she always dreamed about what it would feel like to kiss Noah Falcon? Maybe it would be a big disappointment. If it was, she could put her imagination to rest. She blinked up at him. Should she really do this?

“Wow, do you have to think about everything this hard? That has to be exhausting. Just do it.”

“Just do it?” His comment made her think of sweating, determined athletes in a Nike commercial. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should just do it. Wasn’t that sort of supposed to be her new motto? Well, her first motto? Olivia tilted her head to the side. She kind of liked having a motto. It certainly made decisions easier. “Oh, all right.” She tried to grumble, but it came out breathless. “Let’s put your silly theory to rest once and for all.”

Before she could chicken out, she pulled Noah’s head down for a quick get-it-over-with kiss, but the moment her lips touched his she was lost in sweet, sultry sensation that tingled at her mouth and oh, so slowly sank to her toes. When he threaded his fingers through her hair and lightly licked her bottom lip, she sighed and opened her mouth for more . . .

 

Noah knew he was a good kisser, but with Livie he forgot all about the mechanics and simply dived into the experience. There was such a sweet honesty about her reaction to his touch that it made having her in his arms all the more satisfying. He didn’t think about what to do next but simply felt his way through. She didn’t have a motive or an agenda . . . didn’t care that he was Noah Falcon baseball player or television star, and that made the kiss feel real, organic, and amazingly right even given the crazy circumstances. Oh, and her full mouth was so sweet, so supple—he suddenly wished they weren’t standing on a street corner but were somewhere private where he could explore every single inch of her body.

Noah pulled her closer against his frame, letting her know just what she was doing to him. Her hair felt soft and he wondered what it would be like to have the silky tresses trail down his bare skin. She gasped but didn’t push away. Instead, she slipped her hands up his biceps and to his shoulders as if needing to hold on. Noah felt a hot rush of excitement and would have moved his mouth to her neck, but a car passing by reminded them both that they were standing behind a tree but still basically out in the open on Main Street.

When Olivia stepped back and put a hand to her mouth, Noah thought she was mortified, but she chuckled softly and said, “I’m not a science teacher, but I’m thinking your hypothesis has some merit after all.”

Noah tipped his head back and laughed at her unexpected reaction. “So there
is
some explosive chemistry between us?”

Olivia tilted her head to the side and said, “Mmmm, a tiny bit, perhaps. Then again, we might need more research before coming to a decisive conclusion.”

Noah laughed again at her unexpected candor. “I’m a willing participant.” He took a step closer and tipped her chin up. “Are you, Livie?”

She blushed, but then looked at him with serious eyes. “Flirting is fun, Noah, but I am completely committed to the success of this play. I hope you will remain committed as well.”

He was disappointed that she thought he was merely flirting and wondered if she and everyone else would ever think of him as anything more than baseball and beefcake. Of course, he hadn’t helped matters with his recent weeks of excessive partying and spending money like crazy. He needed to get his life back on solid ground—another reason he had taken on this role. “You already have my word. No matter what your opinion is of me, I can assure you that I will do my best,” he replied a bit tightly.

Olivia frowned. “It wasn’t my intention to insult you, Noah.”

He shook it off just like he always did and put a grin back in place. “I know. So you’re going to tutor me, I hope?”

“Yes,” Olivia replied. “We need to rehearse together anyway. It will be tough for me while school is still in session, but my evenings and weekends are free, and by the time we’re ready for full rehearsals school will be out for the summer.”

“So when do you want to start?”

“Tomorrow? Construction will begin on the sets or I would suggest the community center, so I suppose my place is the best choice. My house is just a few blocks away.” She pointed down the street.

“Sounds good.”

Olivia smiled. “Super. See you tomorrow around seven,” she replied.

“Okay,” Noah replied, but when she turned to walk away he felt a sense of loss. He wanted to be in her company for a while longer and so he scrambled for something to say. “Let me drive you home.”

Olivia hesitated. “That’s not necessary.”

“It’s getting dark.

“I’ll be perfectly safe.”

“I need to know where you live, and I would feel better driving you home.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “My car is over there.”

Olivia fell in step beside him. “Like I could miss your flashy red Corvette.”

“I’ve never been one to be subtle,” he admitted and had an urge to reach over and grab her hand. Odd—although they had a past, he barely knew her and yet already he felt possessive. He refrained, since he didn’t want to appear too forward, but after that knock-yoursocks-off kiss, holding hands seemed pretty tame. The thought made him chuckle.