The Playbook (a Secret Baby Sports Romance) (8 page)

I ignored the uncomfortable feeling that settled deep within my belly, my heart aching slightly. I dressed quickly and silently before taking one last long look at him in the bed. I was doing the right thing by escaping before the awkwardness of the morning could happen. Honestly, I didn’t know what I would’ve even said to him, other than that we couldn’t do it again. If I stayed, he would give me those eyes, turn up the wattage of his smile, and before I knew it I would be back in his bed again. No, this was the way, to leave without letting him dig his claws back into me… If my father found out, I would be up the creek without the paddle or the boat. He would be so disappointed, and I would lose all credibility with him, not to mention the repercussions that could be coming down the pipe if anyone else found out.

Turning my back to the bed, I grabbed my sandals and padded downstairs as quietly as I could to where my purse was sitting on the kitchen island, right where I’d left it. It was time to get back to reality. I quickly checked my phone, more out of habit than anything, not really expecting a message, but there in the little inbox was a violent flashing number telling me I’d missed several texts and calls… most all from my father.
Oh God, he can’t know already, can he?
With my heart beating frantically, I swiped to read the urgent texts.

I swallowed.
Shit.
I’d completely forgotten today was my dad’s important day. With a quick glance at the time, I saw that I could still make it. But I wouldn’t be able to go home and change. I would be stuck in last night’s outfit that reeked of sex… and Jacob Maddox.

T
he bright sun
and a loud thud greeted me as I woke. The sound of a door closing? As I lazily blinked my eyes, the night before came flooding back. Lucia, riding me on the pool steps. Carrying her over my shoulder up to the bedroom, where we made full use of the standup stone shower in my new bathroom before breaking in the bed in the master bedroom. Hell, I didn’t even know whose bed it was, but damn, I had fucked like a king and slept like a baby in it.

Looking over, I puzzled for a moment as I noted that her side of the bed was empty. Not a surprise, really, but I still felt a twinge of disappointment. She had been a bit skittish at first last night, but she had gradually warmed up, and hell… she was quite a woman when she let her hair down. No doubt she’d switched back to being a timid mouse again and had scarpered before dawn. It was refreshing in a way. Normally any women that I allowed to grace my bed would attempt to stay come morning, clinging to me and the sheets, hoping we’d cuddle or that I’d make breakfast. Desperation wafted from them as they dreamed of a future together… yeah, fuck that. They’d be thrown out as quickly as I could get them dressed. But Lucia, leaving without word? Well, that was different.

Stretching, I climbed out of the bed naked and strode to the balcony, watching as the boats sailed the inter-coastal waterway just outside. This was the house I had wanted, and now it was mine, minus furniture. Maybe Lucia could help me in that regard, as well. Now I wouldn’t be able to even look at the pool without picturing her there, bathed in the moonlight.

The grin still on my face, I walked back into the bedroom and ducked into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once done and toweled dry I picked up my only clothing, which was strewn all about the floor. As I pulled up my pants, a thought hit me. I had actually won the bet. That damn silly bet that I couldn’t bed the most untouchable woman in the playbook. “Hot damn,” I muttered, but the smile had slipped from my face. The bet sounded damn ridiculous now. The doc was sweet and beautiful, and I’d enjoyed every moment of her company—so why was I feeling like such an ass?

My antics weren’t any worse than I’d done before… I was a self-proclaimed womanizer, using and then losing them. And yet a sinking feeling of remorse settled low within me. I thought about Lucia and how her face would fall if she ever found out that she’d been part of a stupid bet.
Shit.

I would’ve still been attracted to her had we not bumped into each other that night at the stadium, though the bet was a reason for me to press the issue just a tad further. I couldn’t let her find out about it. She would think that was the only reason I had slept with her, and hell, I suddenly realized I wanted a repeat performance with her even though I had won. My body craved her.

Shaking my head, I threw my shirt on and walked out of the bedroom. I had to get to the stadium and get through practice first. Then I would sort it all out.

After dressing I quickly locked up the house and climbed into the car, my thoughts still on Lucia. How was she going to react this morning? Would she be embarrassed to see me, regretting our time together last night? Or would all of the naughty things we had done together run through her mind? Would she would struggle to keep her sanity the rest of the day as I would? Either way, I was about to find out.

I slowed the car as I approached the stadium, frowning slightly as I noted the vast number of reporters crowded around the main gate. What had happened? Surely not another high-profile player grab.

As I rounded the gate and slowed to a crawl, I saw that a large platform had been set up. The owner of my new home team stood behind a podium facing a swarm of reporters. I recognized the PR rep to his right, and there was a tall, striking blonde woman—late forties or early fifties I would’ve guessed—in a tight dress next to him, a winning smile on her face as she looked up at him.

From what I’d heard, David Cortes was a real go-getter who didn’t take any bullshit. He had taken the team and turned it into a very successful franchise. The players respected him, but he didn’t coddle anyone. As I sat in traffic waiting to turn into the gate, I did a double-take as I spotted Lucia on the other side of Mr. Cortes, an apprehensive smile on her face. She looked drop-dead gorgeous, but were those the clothes she was wearing last night? The moment she’d taken off that dress I lost all memory of it, preferring to memorize the curves and sways of her body instead. But the vague recollection of her in yellow, a color that made her skin glow, was starting to come back to me. For hours I had licked and touched her body and watching her stand there, her hair a little bit mussed—far from the sleek bun I’d previously seen her with—she was starting to make my cock twitch. But what on earth was she doing up there? Had she won some award or something? If so, I couldn’t wait to congratulate her in more ways than one.

Rolling down the window, I turned down the radio and listened as Mr. Cortes stepped up to the podium. Besides, traffic was at a standstill.

“Thank you all for coming today. This is a very special day for me and my family as we embark on a new adventure in all of our lives. I have given this very careful thought and feel it is time to put my stamp not only on our professional sports arena, but also on the political one. So, with my wife, Merry, and my daughter, Lucia, by my side, I am formally announcing my run for mayor of the great city of Jupiter.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn’t have heard right.
Daughter?!
The rest of the world faded away, and I didn’t hear anything past the announcement that Lucia was his daughter. Fuck me, I was going to hell in a hand-basket. My life was not going to be worth living… I had slept with the owner’s daughter? For someone who was trying to make his mark and trying to become the starting quarterback again, that was the absolute shittiest thing I could have done.

Anger flared within me, and I gripped the steering wheel. Why hadn’t she told me? Now all of her hesitations made sense—and here I thought she was just being shy. Hell, even her name in that book the other players kept hidden made a whole lot of sense! I was going to kill them. This was so far from hazing that it wasn’t fucking funny. It was my livelihood, for fuck’s sake… and perhaps hers, too, I considered. No wonder she was the untouchable woman. Hell, a man couldn’t compete with her father, especially not one like me who would be staring his boss in the face when he found out that I had slept with his little girl! Dammit.

A horn blew behind me, and I looked away from the press conference, seeing that I was now the one blocking traffic and causing several people to turn and stare. With a growl, I threw the car into drive and gunned it through the gate, confusion and worry now coursing through my veins. I had slept with the damn owner’s daughter. If I wasn’t sacked by the end of the day I would count myself lucky.

It didn’t take me long to park my car and walk into the training room, where some of the guys were already gathered. I eased up to my locker, slowly forcing myself to unclench my fists.

“Dude! Hey, you sick or something? You look like shit.” I looked up to find Terrence next to me, a concerned look on his face.

“I fucked up.”

“Aw, hell,” Terrence said, leaning in. “If you smoked it, I can get you some clean piss for a nominal fee. Wouldn’t be a problem.”

“No, I didn’t do that. Actually, in truth,
you
fucked up,” I said angrily, throwing my bag into the locker, mad at myself, Lucia, and Terrence, who’d gotten me into this mess. Not only that, I was mad at life in general. I had just found an amazing woman, and she was the only one I could never ever go near… again. Not if I valued my career. I couldn’t be more pissed about that. “I won the fucking bet, Terrence.”

Terrence took a step backward, his eyes widening. Clearly he knew who Lucia was. “You what?”

“I said,” I growled, doing everything I could not to slam him into the locker, “I won the damn bet. I slept with X last night. Or should I say, Lucia Cortes.”

“Oh shit,” he replied. “I don’t believe it. Seriously? Shit, don’t you know who she is?”

I wanted to say that I couldn’t believe it, either, but not for the same reasons he was probably thinking. “I do now, you asshole! What the hell am I going to do? This is all your fault, Terrence.”

Terrence shook his head, pulling down his cleats from the shelf. “I know, fuck. I’m sorry, dude. We never thought you’d be
successful!
Damn, I wouldn’t want to be you if Cortes ever finds out. You will be on his shit list forever and never get any playing time. He might even trade you over this. Fathers are protective over their little girls, you know? I hope to hell you gave it to her good so she doesn’t have a reason to complain about you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I sighed and leaned against the locker, finding it hard to believe that just a few hours ago everything was going so damn well. “There’s no way I can go to those therapy or performance sessions or whatever they are fucking called now.” I couldn’t face her until I had all of this figured out. I didn’t know what to say to Lucia or how to even approach this news I had just learned. It could potentially mess with my career, and that was the one thing I couldn’t afford to go south.

“Just tell Coach,” Terrence answered as the buzzer sounded, indicating that it was time to go out to the practice field. “He hates all that mumbo jumbo getting in the way, hates that it interferes with his schedule. He doesn’t like his players going. He’ll get you out of it. If you want to skip it, he’s your man.”

I nodded. It was a start. But I promised her: one date in exchange for going to the sessions. She was going to be pissed. But maybe a proper clean break, with no contact ever again was going to be the best way forward and out of this mess.

My lips in a thin line, I grabbed the rest of my stuff and jogged out with Terrence, finding Coach on the sideline. “Hey, Coach, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, Jacob,” he replied, a friendly smile on his face. The man was a pure genius, a coach that I enjoyed working with. I couldn’t wait to run his plays for real and not just in practice. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to catch you, but reception told me they couldn’t get hold of you—apparently you have a shit-load of messages at the desk.”

“Ah, okay. I changed my number, you see.”

He bobbed his head. “Well, just remember I’m not your messenger, so make sure you update the staff.”

“Will do, Coach.”

“So what did you want to talk to me about?”

I swallowed hard, hating that I was going to do this right now, but hell, I didn’t know what else to do. I had to get my shit together and fast, especially now with the hole I’d dug for myself with my actions. “I can’t go to that therapist anymore. She’s messing with my head.” I hoped that would be enough; I truly didn’t want to have to go into detail or lie any more than I already had. That was my business.

“I fucking knew this would happen,” Coach swore, catching me by surprise before clasping me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I will take care of this, Jacob. Thank you for coming to me.”

I nodded and jogged off, my entire existence in turmoil. I’d hoped there would be a wave of relief after telling the coach, and yet there wasn’t even a fucking smidgen. Why did I feel like I had screwed Lucia over, and not in the way that I wanted to?

“
I
’ve had enough
of you!”

I looked up from my papers to see Greg storm into my office, his face red with exertion. “Excuse me?”

“You,” he said, wagging his finger in my face angrily. “You are screwing with my players’ heads and I won’t have it. Dammit, Lucia, I put up with a lot of shit from your father, but you are messing with the team and their money making potential, and I won’t let you do that.”

I folded my hands together and looked him square in the face, tired of his opinions of my work. After my night and rush to work this morning—getting the cold shoulder from my father—the last thing I wanted to do was deal with Greg as well. “I am doing my job, Greg. It’s part of their contract.”

“Well, not anymore,” he exclaimed, his words giving me pause. I was the owner’s daughter, but this man ran my father’s team. If he pushed hard enough, I would be gone. There was no way my father was going to choose my side or my job over his coach’s wishes, not this close to the start of the season. Blood was blood, but money and success talked in this organization, and while Greg was an asshole, he was making my father a bucketful of the green stuff. “I’m pulling all of the quarterbacks from this immediately. Don’t make me go to your father about this, Lucia. You keep on and I will have the entire team pulled, and you will be out on your ass, you hear me?”

I took a sharp breath and bit my lip, as I picked up on the fact he had specifically mentioned quarterbacks. That would mean Jacob was included. Had Jacob said something to cause this sudden embargo? Had last night not been as spectacular as I thought it had? He wouldn’t do this, would he?

Unanswerable questions whirled around in my head, enough to make me dizzy. But when I truly thought about it, I didn’t really know him at all, did I? One night full of sex and barely any talk was not the way you got to know a person. And perhaps this was his way of telling me he didn’t want to see me, that he was embarrassed he had slept with me?

When I had left that morning, my body had ached deliciously, and my heart was doing its best to convince my brain that it wouldn’t be all that bad if I were to date a football player after all. Our night together had been way more than I had imagined, his playfulness making me feel like someone special for the first time ever, like a woman who was truly coming into her own. I felt more confident and slightly more brazen when I was with him—it reminded me of my former, much younger self.
My true self?
Me at the age of fourteen, when I barely concentrated on schoolwork and my life was filled with fun and laughter. Being with Jacob, and even only for one night, had caused a huge crack to form in the rigid life I’d built for myself… and shining through now were the possibilities of what could be, if only I widened the break instead of spackling over it.

But now Greg was threatening my job once again, and I hated it. I felt my hackles rise in defense; I wanted to go to war with him instead of backing down. I hated him, and I wanted him out of my office before I threw something at his balding head and definitely got myself fired.

“Fine,” I finally said, gritting my teeth as anger and frustration welled up inside. “I won’t see the quarterbacks.” Giving him this little victory was probably going to come back and bite me in the ass, but for now I had to give in. Besides, perhaps not seeing the quarterbacks—Jacob—would make it easier to see him again socially, I thought with a teenage-like pang. God, I couldn’t get him out of my head. Yes, with him no longer my patient it could work… I would figure out the rest later. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

“Damn right you won’t,” Greg said as he started to walk out. “Don’t forget, if I find out that you are messing with anyone else’s heads, I will pull them, as well. Don’t push me on this, Lucia. Stay the fuck away from my team. You have no jurisdiction here, just another woman whose daddy is handing her a career.”

He then stormed out, leaving me sitting there behind my desk, tears threatening my eyes. I would not cry over this, I would not allow him to goad me into thinking I wasn’t making a difference! My dad had not given me this job. I had earned it, rightly. The diplomas on the wall gave me the right to do this. But, if it came down to me and Greg, my father would side with Greg all day long—especially after this morning’s debacle.

Turning up late, and in last night’s clothing, to boot (which Merry and Dad had both noticed, though Merry was discreet enough not to say anything) hadn’t won me any brownie points with my dad. I’d seen the disappointment on his face, and I never wanted to see that look ever again. I would make it up to him somehow, be the perfect daughter for his mayoral campaign efforts and not give him any grief. Because now not only did he have a team to worry about, he also had an election to win, as well, and if word got out that his daughter was a hussy, sleeping around with the players while ‘pretending’ to be a therapist, my entire family would be sunk. My father would be pissed off, and I would be in a world of trouble. My reputation, professional and personal, would be shattered. Once a floozy always a floozy in many people’s eyes.

Standing, I shut the door to my office and pulled out my cell phone, locating Jacob’s number. I needed to talk to him, to find out one way or another what he was thinking and if he’d said anything that would give any kind of indication that we were sleeping together. If he didn’t want to see me again, fine, but I wanted to hear it from him and him only.

The phone rang a few times and the voicemail came on, but I wasn’t sure exactly what to say.

“Um hey,” I finally decided upon, feeling foolish. “This is Lucia. Give me a call back when you get this. We kinda need to talk.” Hanging up, I sat the phone back on my desk and forced myself to calm down. Greg hadn’t alluded to the fact that he knew about my little date with Jacob—surely if he had, he would’ve used that as a fool-proof piece of ammunition to get me fired. And so far no one had come in to spread the gossip. My secret was apparently safe for the moment, and I hoped it would stay that way, but something told me that I should enjoy the slight relief because a storm was coming.

* * *

I
walked past
the locker room, feeling drained from the day’s events. I’d hoped to run into Jacob at some point during the day, but so far he had eluded me and not returned my phone call. The door opened and the object of my thoughts walked out, surrounded by three other guys from the team. Our eyes locked, and I felt the heat of desire rise into my cheeks, the memories of what we had done just hours ago still fresh in my mind.

“Hey, Doc,” he said, his grin now cocky as I stood there at a loss for words. “Like what you see? Or perhaps you are here for my autograph?”

“Oh shit,” another player murmured. “He did not just say that to
her
.”

I heard the remark and knew I had to respond just like I normally would but it was hard not to take his nonchalance as a slight. Had last night meant nothing to him?

“No,” I swallowed, trying to put on a brave face so that he would not see the hurt. Hurt was a sign of weakness, and I was
not
weak, I thought as I grit my teeth. I really wanted to knee him in the balls, but my father wouldn’t be too happy with that scenario, either, if he heard his daughter was roughing up the players. Plus it would bring about too many questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer. “All I see before me is a boy who wants to be a man and is failing miserably at it.”

Jacob’s eyes flared with surprise as he registered the insult, and I felt a small amount of satisfaction. He had made me think about him all day long, and I was annoyed that he was occupying my thoughts so much. For the longest time I had been on my own and just like that—after a silly night of fun—it had all turned sour. I was back in that vicious cycle of lust, where a member of the opposite sex could have this type of effect on me, wreaking havoc on my life. I hated it. I felt like I needed to make an appointment with myself to have my head examined!

Obviously last night had been a huge mistake… what the hell had I been thinking? Players were all the same, cocky, womanizing playboys, and I was just another notch on Jacob Maddox’ bedpost. I wanted to groan at my stupidity.

“Are you going to let her get away with that?” the player next to him said, his eyes on me. I knew him, and as much as I wanted to say that I knew about his own issues, I couldn’t. I needed to be a professional.

“Well, Doc, I don’t know,” Jacob finally responded, his grin restored. He was back to full confidence. “Would you like to find out? I’m free later if you want your very own
session
with me.”

The bastard!
He’d known—somehow—what it meant to me to go on that date with him in exchange for him turning up for his sessions with me. Now not only was he not going to be coming to them anymore, and he’d obviously said something to the coach, but he was also throwing it in my face! I wanted to yell and let loose the anger that was building, but if I did that I knew something bad and regrettable would tumble out of my uncensored mouth. Instead, I narrowed my eyes to let him know I was not at all happy with him and stormed away, ignoring the laughter that followed behind me. Let them think that Jacob had one-upped me. We had bigger problems than that.

It wasn’t until I was in my car that I felt the first tear escape from my eye, then another, much to my dismay. I hated crying, especially over some guy who was an idiot.
Fucking jocks, they were all the same
. But I had slept with that buffed-up fool and my career, everything I was attempting to do at this facility, was in jeopardy. What was I going to do?

My phone rang, startling me, and for a stupid moment of hope—yes, I was pathetic—I thought it might be Jacob, calling to apologize, wanting to talk, to explain his actions. But Cara’s number was on the display and I sighed, thankful that at least I had someone I could still talk to and rely on. I answered and held the device up to my ear. “Hey, Cara.”

“Hey, babe,” she replied. “What’s wrong? You’ve got that ‘the world has gone to shit’ tone.”

“Oh, it has, but it’s too much to talk about over the phone,” I said, “I sure wish you were a lot closer so I could lay it on you. Needless to say, guys suck!”

“That they do,” she said slowly, “but consider me your fairy godmother ’cause the funny thing is, I
am
here.”

“Here, here?”

She laughed at my eagerness. “Yes, I got in just a little while ago and wanted to see if you want to meet me for drinks.”

“Oh, you have no idea how much I want that,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. A good bestie talk was exactly what I needed, and it totally helped when your bestie was a therapist, too.

“Just tell me where and I will be there,” Cara was saying, her chipper voice making me feel tons better already. I gave her the address of a bar I’d overheard the players recommend one time and then ended the call, turning the key over to start the engine.

* * *

“
O
h my God
.”

I ducked my head and took another sip of my drink. “I know, right? What am I going to do, Cara? I don’t think I can go back to work now. He’ll be around every damn corner, waiting to pounce on me and rub it in. And if he hasn’t already, the rest of the players will know what we did, and God… I don’t think I could stand the whispers and knowing looks.”

Cara shook her head, her short bob swinging with the motion. “Geez, Lucia. You can really get yourself into some messes. What happened to your no-player rule? Though it’s partially my fault, I told you to go for it. But in my defense, I didn’t know he was a player.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t met Jacob,” I sighed, and signaled for another drink. We were in a bar a good ways from the stadium, a hole-in-the-wall place that was apparently known for its margaritas and eclectic atmosphere. The place was starting to fill up, and I just hoped that no one from the team decided to stop in, or I was going to really lose it.

Cara sat back and looked at me, with the same concerned expression she’d had the entire time I was telling her the long, convoluted story of the mess I was in. While I knew she wouldn’t judge me whatsoever, she was going to give her two cents’ worth anyway.