Sweet Spot (Summer Rush #1) (3 page)

Her brother. Good, it was safe to breathe again. “Nice to meet you,” Rowan said, extending his hand.

“You too, man. I have to admit I didn’t believe Tenley when she told me you called her last night.”

“May have been the best mistake of my life.” Rowan bit his lip as his eyes trailed over her body. Then he remembered her brother was standing right there. If some guy looked at his little sister the way he was looking at Tenley, he’d have knocked him out. “So you’re into baseball?” he asked Walker.

“Yeah. I used to play some ball in college too. Thought about getting back into it, you know, in a men’s league, but this place keeps me pretty busy.”

“I can imagine.” The place was packed, and since it was a Thursday night, Rowan could only imagine what a Friday or Saturday would be like. “Nice place.” It wasn’t like some of the dives his buddies dragged him to. Walker had to have dumped a lot of money into his place.

“Thanks, man. I like it.” He laughed. “I used to blow my whole paycheck in places like this, so I figured I’d try being the guy on the other side for a change, collecting the money instead of handing it over.”

“Smart. You mind if I steal your sister away for a few minutes?”

He glanced at Tenley, probably trying to get a read on whether she wanted to go. “No problem. I’ll cover for her.”

Rowan looked over his shoulder for his brother, who already had a blonde sitting on his lap and a beer in front of him. Not that he was surprised. Reese had a way of getting everything he wanted in record time.

“Thanks.” Rowan shook Walker’s hand again. Something told him he’d want to make an ally of this man if he wanted to date his gorgeous sister. “Nice meeting you. Anytime you want tickets to a home game, let me know. I’ll hook you up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

Rowan slid a card with his number across the counter. “Call any time.”

“Cool, thanks.” Walker pocketed the card. “Take your time, Tenley. You haven’t had a break since you got here.”

She smiled before nodding, and reached for Rowan’s hand as she led him outside. “Well played. My brother likes you already.”

Mission accomplished
. “Where are we going?” he asked, tugging on the small hand tucked firmly in his.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I came straight here after a class, and I didn’t have time to eat.” She pointed at a diner down the street. “You wanna walk or hitch a ride with me?”

His jaw dropped when she pointed at a Harley. “That is not your ride.”

“Uh, yeah, it is.”

Imagining her riding that thing was hotter than hell, but Rowan couldn’t help fearing for her safety. He’d been riding since he was sixteen, thanks to his old man, but he’d never dated a girl who rode. He didn’t know how he felt about it.

“Let’s just walk.” His Hummer was parked a few spots away, and the idea of getting her alone in a dark, enclosed space appealed to him, but as much as he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to talk to her first, get to know her better, so she wouldn’t think he was only after one thing.

“Sure.”

“Your brother seems like a nice guy.” By comparison, his seemed like a jerk, and he was glad she didn’t have to meet Reese yet. Especially since he knew, despite his warnings, Reese would make a play for her.

“He’s the best,” she said, smiling up at him.

She was wearing four-inch heels and just grazed his nose.
Good thing we’ll be spending a lot of time horizontal.
“You guys are close then?”

“Yeah.”

“He your only sibling?”

“Nope. I’ve got two older brothers and no old man. Believe me, dating wasn’t easy when I was a teenager.”

“What happened to your father?” They stopped at a red light, waiting to cross the street, and he could see the play of emotions cross her face. Whatever had happened, she clearly still held a grudge against him.

“He bailed on us,” she said, shrugging. “Said he wasn’t cut out to be a family man. Too bad it took him three kids before he realized that, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Tenley.” His mom died of cancer when they were young. He didn’t know what they would have done without their dad. He was their rock. “What about your mom?”

She rolled her eyes, a bitter laugh slipping through her lips. “What about her?”

“She still in your life?”

“When it’s convenient for her, which is code for when she wants something.”

He heard a world of hurt in those few words, and for the first time in a long time, he felt his protective instincts kick in. “That sucks.”

“It is what it is. I don’t waste time feeling sorry for myself. I’ve got it better than a lot of people.”

He loved her attitude. She wasn’t looking to throw herself a pity party even though life had clearly dealt her a few hard blows.

“So how’d you get into kickboxing?” he asked as they crossed the street.

“Walker. He said I couldn’t date until I learned to defend myself.” She smiled at the memory. “Turned out most boys weren’t all that interested in dating a girl who could kick their ass, so I still didn’t get many dates. I suspect my brother knew that would happen.”

He laughed, thinking he’d gone to some crazy lengths to protect his little sister too. “Well, I doubt you can kick my ass, so how’re you gonna scare me away?”

She seemed to consider her options before she said, “The jury’s still out on whether I want to scare you away. If I do, trust me, it won’t be a problem.”

Her warning sounded cryptic, making him wonder what kind of secrets were lurking behind those gorgeous blue eyes.

He opened the door of the diner for her, not at all surprised when the few guys tucked into a corner booth turned her way. Fortunately for them, they noticed Rowan soon after and looked away.

“What’ll you have?” she asked, scanning the overhead menu. “They make a great meatball sandwich. They melt this smoked mozzarella on it.” She licked her lips. “Mmm, it’s making my mouth water just thinking about it.”

Watching her lick those plump lips was making his mouth water… and his mind wander.
I bet she could do amazing things with that mouth.

When he realized she was waiting for a response, he tore his eyes from her face and glanced at the board. “I’m not all that hungry. I had pizza before we got here.”

She laid her hand across his stomach and grinned when she pulled it away. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t getting soft. You’ve got to be on your game come spring training. There’s a lot riding on this season. High expectations for you guys.”

He smiled back, appreciating that she felt comfortable enough to tease him. He was so used to women who pretended to be what they thought he wanted in order to impress him, he’d forgotten what it was like to be with a real woman who was comfortable in her own skin and didn’t feel the need to sell herself.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m back at it soon. When training starts again, the diet will have to be tight too.”

She nodded before gesturing to the board. “You have to eat something, or I’ll feel like a pig eating in front of you.”

He was glad she wasn’t the type to order a salad and call it a meal. She was an active woman with a healthy appetite. He liked that, especially since he ate thousands of calories a day when he was training. “The chicken wrap looks good.”

“It is.” She walked up to the counter, smiling at the older woman wearing an ugly beige-and-brown uniform. “Long day, Rosa?”

“You know it, girl. Tiffany called in sick again, so I had to do a double.”

“I don’t know why Donald doesn’t just fire her ass.”

“Probably ’cause he’s—” She glanced at me, blushing. “Never mind.”

Something told me old Donald was giving Tiffany preferential treatment for a reason.

“Rosa, this is my friend Rowan.”

He didn’t know how he felt about Tenley referring to him as her friend. He had no right to expect more since they’d just met, but he definitely didn’t intend to get stuck in the dreaded friend zone with this girl.

“Nice to meet you, Rosa,” he said, offering her his hand.

“You too.” Rosa winked at Tenley. “So what can I get you two tonight?”

“I’m going to have the meatball sandwich, and Rowan will have the chicken wrap.”

He wasn’t used to women ordering for him, but something told him this girl was used to taking care of herself and everyone else too.

“Anything to drink?” Rosa asked.

“Just a bottled water for me.” Tenley looked up at him. “You?”

“Same.”

“You got it,” Rosa said, ringing up our order.

Tenley reached into the pocket of her jeans and grabbed a few bills before he stilled her hand with his.

“I got this,” he said, frowning at her.

He didn’t know what kind of guys she’d been out with—ones who’d let her pay for her own food and left her unsatisfied in bed, apparently—but that wasn’t happening when she was out with him.

Rowan paid the bill, then slid a ten across the counter to Rosa and stuck another ten in the plastic container for some children’s hospital.

Tenley smiled at the gesture. “You do a lot for charity, don’t you?”

He attended a lot of events when he felt it would help the cause and volunteered at a children’s hospital. He knew how blessed he was to be making a good living doing what he loved, and he never forgot it.

He shrugged before turning toward the front door when a couple of loud guys walked in. “I do what I can.”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the sexiest little barkeep I know,” one of the guys said with a lecherous grin as he stumbled toward Tenley.

Rowan stepped in front of her, putting his hand out to stop the guy from falling into his chest. “Hey, back up, buddy.”

Tenley curled her hand around Rowan’s bicep. “It’s okay, Row. They’re regulars.”

He didn’t care who they were. If they didn’t stop looking at her as if they were gauging how long it would take to get her out of her clothes, he was gonna knock them both out.

“Hey,” the guy with long hair said, peering around his friend’s shoulder. “This your boyfriend, Tenley? He’s some big-ass dude.”

Tenley chuckled. “No, he’s not my boyfriend, Chuck. Just a friend.”

There was that word again. Rowan was beginning to hate that goddamn word.

Rosa pointed the two men toward a table. “Sit down before you fall down, boys. I’ll be there to take your order in a minute.”

The fact that Rosa didn’t seem appalled by their inebriated state told Rowan she dealt with a lot of drunks after hours.

“How late is this place open?” he asked Rosa.

“We close at two.” Rosa rolled her eyes. “We get the worst of them after midnight.”

“You’re not here alone, are you?” Rowan asked.

“No, the cook’s in the back.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “But poor old Barry’s not much good. He’s got a bum leg and a bad ticker. He really should retire, but he needs the money.”

Rowan knew what that was like. His father had been an outboard marine mechanic all of his life and still wouldn’t have been able to retire if Rowan hadn’t paid off his house and bought him a new car a few years back.

“You ever need backup and you don’t want to call the police,” he said, passing her one of the non-descript cards he’d given Walker, “you call me.” Even if he was out of town, he had a lot of friends he could call to restore order.

She held the card between her fingertips. “What kind of business are you in? Security?”

Tenley laughed. “No, he’s a ball player.”

“That’s where I know you from,” buddy with the long hair said, snapping his fingers. “Nixon, right?”

“Right.” Rowan rolled his eyes when they started snapping pictures of him with their phones. “Just give me a call when our food’s ready, Rosa. We’re gonna snag a table.”

He grabbed Tenley’s hand and led her to the back of the restaurant, then he slid into a booth across from her. “You have to deal with tools like that all the time?” he asked, gesturing to the two men.

“Comes with the territory,” she said, sounding too nonchalant for his liking.

He knew she could handle herself, but he didn’t want her to let her guard down, especially with guys like that. In his opinion, the ones women underestimated could be the most dangerous.

“Let’s talk about something else. Like why you’re here,” she said.

He appreciated her directness but wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Before he could, his phone beeped. Reese.
WTF, man? Where r u?
Rowan was surprised he’d even noticed he was gone.
Took Tenley to get a bite. Be back soon.

“Sorry about that,” he said, setting the phone on the table.

“Hook-up later?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she stole a glance at the phone.

Some dumbass must have burned her bad. “Would I be here with you if I was hookin’ up with someone else later?”

“I don’t know,” she said, folding her arms on the tabletop. “Would you?”

Before he could defend himself, Rosa appeared with a plastic tray containing their food.

“You didn’t have to bring it to us,” he told her, reaching for it. “I told you I’d come and get it.”

Rosa put her hand on Rowan’s shoulder, smiling at Rowan. “This one’s a keeper, honey. Not like that last loser you were going out with.”

Rowan was torn between asking about the last loser and not wanting to think about her with another man. Finally, curiosity got the better of him as he set her plate on the table. “Is that the guy you mentioned on the phone last night?”

“Yup.” She unscrewed the top of her water before taking a long pull.

“What happened?” He knew he shouldn’t pry, but he needed to know what he was up against. If this guy was going to make it hard for her to trust again, he wanted to know the whole story.

She took the foil off her sandwich before digging in. “Same old, same old. I didn’t have enough time to spend with him. He said he was getting lonely—code for horny as hell—so he found someone else. Only he didn’t bother breaking up with me first.”

“Sorry, baby. That sucks.” As his brother’s warning rang in Rowan’s ears, he watched her closely for any sign that she was still hung up on her ex. He really hated himself for letting Reese mess with his head.