Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (23 page)

“I’ve met her and you’re right. She’s
awe-inspiring. But she doesn’t do advertising so let’s stick with
her famous son, shall we?”

• • •

After checking into her hotel, Tess used
Murf’s car service to transport her to Alexi Romanov’s
mini-mansion, where the handsome young superstar dazzled her while
promising not to hit on her because “Darcie would kill me. And so
would Murf, obviously.”

Apparently, Darcie took top honors with the
guy.

Tess had met quite a few star players, first
from the Seattle teams and more recently Johnny Spurling—an actual
super
star. But Alexi was famous on a different level as an
international celebrity, first in soccer then football, and
overarching both, as an unrepentant Romeo on several continents.
She knew she should have been nervous about this, and credited Noah
Cunningham for distracting her from more immediate worries.

Two hours into the interview, she had more
material than she could ever use. Unfortunately it had all been
said before. Could she put a fresh spin on it? Maybe. But a fresh
angle? Probably not.

So she tried luring him out of his comfort
zone by recounting Coach Aaron Spurling’s objections to athletes
doing product endorsements.

“If he were standing here now,” she asked,
“how would you respond?”

Alexi didn’t even blink. “That guy’s a
legend. So I’d take it seriously. Explain to him that I like the
attention. The fame. It pumps me up. Makes me a better footballer.
So it doesn’t detract from my game. I’m a great role model for
fans—especially kids—so that’s not an issue. And I bring glory to
the sport.” He grinned, showing world-class dimples. “Coach
Spurling wouldn’t buy it, but it’s true. And he can’t really
complain, can he? Since his own son broke the sacred vow.”

It was a good response. She might even use it
as a way to circle back to the article’s main premise. The only
nagging problem was the gruff voice of another
father—Sean’s—telling his son how wrong it was to exploit
impressionable children with high-priced shoes and other products
when reasonably priced substitutes were just as good.

Maybe even better.

So she asked Alexi carefully, “What would you
say to a struggling young man who just got his first job at minimum
wage and has no savings in the bank but who desperately wants to be
like you? So he takes out an exorbitant loan to buy a Porsche and
ends up getting it repossessed, tanking his credit history, and not
getting the girl?”

He actually looked amazed at the question.
“Why the hell would he do that?”

“To be like you. His hero.”

It made his eyes twinkle again. “You need to
re-watch my commercials. Any dude with half a brain knows what I’m
telling him. Get the best car you can afford. The best clothes, the
best babe. The works. Then enjoy yourself because we only go around
once. Right?”

Before Tess could react, he continued
passionately. “For the dude in your example? He might end up making
payments on a Mustang. Maybe used but still sharp. Black with some
serious chrome. Then wash it religiously every week and drive it
like a Porsche. I guarantee he’ll score, assuming he gets some
decent clothes and lays on the charm. That’s what
I’d
do if
I didn’t have money. And believe me, I’d do fine.”

“I believe it,” she told him reverently. “I’m
not sure that message comes across in your ads, though.”

“That’s because you’re a babe.” He eyed her
appreciatively. “When
you
watch those spots, all you see is
me. But dudes get the message.”

“Wow.” She knew she was blushing, but he had
earned it. So all she said was, “This was a great interview, Alexi.
I’ll just call Murf’s car service and get out of your hair.”

He arched a seductive eyebrow. “Too bad
Darcie put the brakes on us. We could’ve had fun.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” she said,
pretending to sigh. “But you satisfied my journalistic needs, so at
least there’s that.”

He laughed appreciatively. “No need for the
car service. Not when there are three Porsches in my garage. The
question is, who’s going to drive?”

Chapter
Seven

Tess had never driven a finely tuned sports
car before, and while it was fun, her nerves were shattered by the
time they pulled up to her hotel. Dashing to her room to free
herself from the too-tight waist of Jill’s suit, she traded it for
a flowery sundress. She would have preferred jammies, but Murf had
arranged for Darcie to pick her up at six sharp.

She had known about this dinner with the
Murphys and had purchased toys for the three kids and some
embroidered dish towels for the hostess. But without Murf to do the
honors, it felt like an imposition on a young wife with three small
children, so she tried to wriggle out of it, first with Murf
himself, then with Darcie, who pooh-poohed the effort when they
made their acquaintance in the hotel lobby.

“Em would kill me if I showed up without you.
And you’ll
love
their babies,” Darcie insisted. “And
look
at you. They said you were cute, but wow.”

“‘They’ being Erica?” Tess drawled,
recognizing her friend’s favorite description. Then she admitted,
“They said
you
were gorgeous, and it’s true, dammit.”

“How was Alexi?”

“A perfect gentleman.”

“Good.” Darcie hesitated, then surprised her
with a quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, Tess. And wait till you
meet the Murphys.”

• • •

For the next three hours, Tess was regaled
with origin stories. How Darcie met future best friend Emily. How
Emily met—and fell for—Patrick Murphy. Meanwhile, the children
wowed her. Baby Nell chewed appreciatively on the fabric tag of her
brand-new stuffed giraffe while the darling boys invited Tess’s
help working puzzles in the activity books she had selected for
them.

Children had been her bread-and-butter for so
long, it was second nature. As a waitress in a fancy Hawaiian
resort, she had prided herself on making sure moms on vacation
actually
got
a vacation. So she had kept the children busy,
had changed diapers, taken screaming infants for walks around the
grounds, and done anything else she could to make their experience
positive.

Plus:
tips.
Sometimes huge ones, since
one never knew if a family was on a shoestring budget or had
unlimited funds. Luckily,
all
their children were adorable.
Even the ones with poopy diapers.

On the drive back to the hotel, she and
Darcie chatted about their mutual acquaintances, including the
various Spurlings. No mention of Sean, which was a relief. And no
mention of Noah Cunningham, which felt ominous since the agent
surely knew about the upcoming interview.

She expected Darcie to dump her off in front
of the hotel but instead she pulled up to valet parking and
surrendered the keys to her rented Infiniti Q50, telling Tess
brightly, “Let’s get a drink and
really
talk.”

Tess had to laugh. Either this was about
Sean, or about Darcie’s heartthrob Wyatt Bourne. And even though
she wanted the scoop on the Surgeon, she had a feeling it was about
the kicker.

When they were perched on barstools, sipping
vodka tonics, Darcie finally unleashed the hounds. “Please don’t
take this the wrong way, but I’m so grateful to you for taking care
of Sean.”

Tess arched an eyebrow to signal these were
dangerous waters. Then she insisted, “He’s fine, you know. Happy as
a clam. I’ve only been seeing him because he might fit into one or
both of the articles I’m writing.”

“So there’s nothing romantic about it?”

She hesitated then said ruefully, “Well, it’s
Sean. So . . .”

“That’s so true! He’s hopeless. But you’ve
forced him to stay on task, right? To reexamine how he got himself
into the Kerrie mess. I’m not sure anyone else could have done it,
so thanks.”

Fascinated, Tess blurted out, “You’re all
just so
into
him. It’s not normal, no offense.”

Darcie hesitated, but only for a moment.
“I’ll tell you a secret. Aside from Emily and Murf—and Wyatt,
obviously—Sean’s my favorite person in the whole world.” She smiled
sheepishly. “We were so sure he’d rush into something serious
again. Because apparently that’s been his pattern these last few
months. Starting with Erica, I’m told.” When Tess grimaced, Darcie
laughed. “Not
that
way. What I meant was, Sean saw what
Johnny found with Erica and he wanted it too. A dramatic, whirlwind
romance. But drama isn’t Sean’s style, so when
he
tried it,
he got psycho-sexual
melodrama
with a married head
case.”

“Ouch.”

Darcie shrugged. “I’ve never met her, and
everyone says she’s sweet in her own deluded way. But by the time I
met the poor guy, he was tied up in knots. So that’s my frame of
reference.”

“Mine too,” Tess admitted. “He’s so charming,
it took me a while to see how shaken up he was—horrified,
actually—by almost marrying the wrong woman.”

“But instead . . .” Darcie’s eyes
danced. “He says you two can talk for hours about absolutely
nothing. Which is just what he needed.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “I spend hours sharing
my bartending wisdom with him and he thinks we’re talking about
nothing?
You were right the first time. He’s hopeless.”

“The point is, your relationship—whatever it
is—fills the void between the Kerrie clusterfuck and the next
serious thing. He says it’s zero pressure, which is exactly what he
needed.”

“Zero pressure?” Tess felt a tingle of
appreciation. Wasn’t that true? For whatever reason, neither of
them wanted or needed more. At least, not for the moment.

“That’s the key,” Darcie agreed. “You can
both just enjoy it. Whatever it is.”

“It’s a friendship,” Tess said, but even as
she spoke the words she knew it wasn’t true. Or at least not
exactly.

Tess couldn’t hope to process this on the
fly, so asked sheepishly, “Do you mind if I change the subject?
Just for a minute?”

“Oh, feel free! Is this about Alexi?”

“Actually, it’s Noah Cunningham.”

“Oh, right.” Darcie coughed lightly. “Murf
mentioned you were struggling with that. But I barely know the guy.
He keeps to himself. Not unfriendly, just stoic, if that makes
sense.”

Given the universal reaction to the guy’s
name, Tess could hardly blame him for being unapproachable. Which
made the prospect of making him re-live the ordeal even more
senseless.

So she reminded Darcie, “There’s not an
advertiser on the planet that would touch him. So what’s the point
of dragging him through the mud again? I can make the same point
theoretically by explaining how scandal can kill a player’s chances
of ever getting a lucrative advertising deal.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but Murf works so
hard for our clients. Not just to get them top dollar, but to make
sure their quality of life is amazing. So this really weighs on
him.”

“I feel bad about that. I just don’t see how
I can help. But I’ll definitely try.”

“That’s all you can do,” Darcie sympathized.
Then she said sheepishly, “Don’t tell Sean I called Kerrie a head
case. That’s Johnny’s influence.”

“I won’t say a word.”

“Does he talk about her? Kerrie, I mean?”

“Almost never. Which is so amazingly cool.
Most guys trash their exes after a bad breakup, but not Sean. Of
course,” she added impishly, “he’s too busy talking to
me
about
nothing.”

“Oh, Lord. He’s going to kill me.”

“He’ll think it’s funny,” Tess assured her.
Then she signaled for the check. “I’d better head upstairs. I’m
seeing Noah early so I can get back to Seattle at a decent
hour.”

“Murf wants the agency to pay your expenses,
so let
me
get this, please?” Darcie stood to shake Tess’s
hand. “Good luck tomorrow. If you want to talk afterward, let me
know. Or if you want to talk about anything else. Anything at all.
Feel free to call.”

“You’re as bad as Erica,” she assured her
fondly. “Sean’s lucky to have such great friends. And now .
. .” She faked a huge yawn. “I’d really better go.”

• • •

The interview with Noah Cunningham was such a
total disaster, Tess was still in shock during the flight back to
Seattle. Not only had he shut her out emotionally and
conversationally, he had clearly felt terrible about it. And so she
had tried even harder, making them both feel like failures by the
end.

She knew she should give Murf the bad news
right away, but she had messed up so completely, she couldn’t bring
herself to admit it. She couldn’t even use her original idea of
saying these college players were still kids and shouldn’t be
haunted forever by their infractions, since the one thing Noah
had
said—loud and clear—was not to portray him as a victim
or to make excuses.

Ugh.

She could talk to Johnny, but he valued
integrity above all else, so he might think Noah should live with
the consequences of his actions. Ed—the owner—would take that
stance too, while Ed the editor would be almost
too
sympathetic.

Short of a shrink, the only person who might
be able to help was Sean. Or maybe she just wanted to see him after
this rotten experience, but she honestly saw him as non-judgmental.
He didn’t even judge Kerrie after all the craziness. Surely he
would cut Noah some slack, which meant he could help Tess decide
once and for all if she should just declare defeat.

It was a good plan, so she drove straight to
Portland from the SeaTac airport and was back at the junior suite a
little after four p.m., then phoned Sean right away.

“Hey, are you back in town?” he demanded,
sounding far too cheerful for the problem she wanted to dump on
him. “How did it go?”