The Player Next Door (23 page)

“It doesn’t matter. It’s love—”

“Forget that.” Her face took on that stubborn edge he adored. “I love you, too, but here’s how it’s going to work. You’ve got to prove that love makes you better.”

She loved him. She loved him! Jesus—

“Wait—” said Edward. “You love him? Is he the guy from the summer?”

Tori rolled her eyes. “I told you on the plane I was still hung up on my summer guy.”

Then she grabbed Mike’s face, not to kiss him but to glare into his eyes. “Now listen to me. You’re going to do five three-pointers and win the game. Do you hear me? And then I’ll marry you.”

He blinked at her. “What? I’m…what?”

She kissed him hard on the lips. “We’ll work things out, but only if you make five three-pointers. Got it?”

The sweat was burning his eyes, and his mind was racing. “There’s only three minutes left in the game.” Then he gestured at the TV camera. “And you’ve just told everyone what I want to do.”

“Three minutes and twelve seconds. Go get ’em.”

He clenched his hands. Now was not the time for pie-in-the-sky plans. “Tori, no one could do that!”

“Then if you do, you’ll know that our love is stronger than any damned system.”

Behind him, the whistle blew. Shit, he was out of time. Five three-point shots? In three minutes and twelve seconds? No way. And yet…

She was standing there, love shining in her eyes.

“Do it for us,” she said. “I love you.”

She loved him. For her
—
for love
—
he could do anything.

So he ran to his place and played. He played as if his life depended on it, and in this case, it very well might. Because if he didn’t pull this out of the crapper, she wouldn’t marry him and he’d be fired to boot.

In-bound pass. Foul. Crap. But at least this time the penalty was on Toronto, not him. Fine. In the background, the fans were going wild and the coach was screaming at him. His teammates looked grim, and a couple shook their heads. But thank God for Cole. The Knicks’ greatest rebounder gave him a thumbs up.

“I’m going to do this,” he said to no one in particular. Or perhaps to everyone.

And then he took control.

First three-pointer rimmed and flew out. Fuck.

But Cole grabbed it out of the air and instead of going for the easy lay-up, he passed it back out to Mike. That was a true friend.

Mike shot and the ball went swish. First three-pointer down.

Toronto had the ball, but it was like Mike’s feet had wings. He was faster than he’d ever been in his life, and he stole the ball right out from them. He started dribbling back to the basket and suddenly he was surrounded by Raptors. Well, they hadn’t taken long to decide to triple-team him.

He was considering his options when he heard her voice. Hadn’t a clue how he could zero in on her over all the noise, but he heard Tori cheering. And in his head, her screams translated to: I love you. Do this for us.

So he did. He faked left, then leaped up and shot.

It wasn’t pretty. It banged on the backboard too hard, but somehow it dropped in.

Second three-pointer
—
check.

He didn’t have the time to look directly at Tori, but his peripheral vision was enough. She was climbing over the wall with help from his teammates. At least some of the guys were smiling at her.

And then he saw only the ball.

The Raptors shot their own three-pointer and scored. Fuck. The Knicks would need every one of his baskets to win. That’s probably why Coach hadn’t benched him.

They had the ball, but the Raptors were sitting on him now. No way could he make the shot. But that left the others wide open.

Under two minutes.

He loved Tori, but he couldn’t be completely selfish or stupid. So he leaped up and didn’t shoot. Instead, he passed the ball to Cole. Two points, but it didn’t help him win the girl.

Diving forward fast enough to steal the ball did. Especially since as soon as he got it, he pivoted and shot with his bad arm. Swish.

Number three
—
check.

Now Toronto was slowing things down. They weren’t letting him close and they weren’t going to shoot the ball. They could drain the clock.

Fuck that. He was winning Tori.

He made some stupid lunges. Desperate attempts to steal the ball. Ugly play, but it worked.

He failed miserably to get the ball, but there was Cole faster than any guy his size ought to be. A quick pass to Mike and he shot.

Number four
—
done.

Thirty seconds left on the clock. Score tied.

Desperate to get the ball, he fouled a Raptor shot.

Oh shit. He’d forgotten that was his fourth. One more and he would foul out of the game. Those were the rules.

Twenty-two seconds left in the game.

The Raptors scored on their free throws. Of course they did. Bad guys up by two.

Then he got the ball, shot and—

Missed. By a mile.

He was too anxious. Too needy for that last shot. He had to be smart. Basketball wasn’t just about focus, it was about planning. About skills. And it was about finding a way no matter what
—
without being stupid.

But the clock was ticking down.

The Raptors weren’t going to give up the ball easily.

He glanced at Tori, an apology in his eyes. He wasn’t going to make it. There just wasn’t enough time. She was standing on top of the bench. No other way to see or be seen. And when he looked at her, she thrust out her jaw in the most stubborn expression he’d ever seen. Then she dropped her hands on her hips.

The message was clear: Do it or else.

Fine.

He loved her. She loved him.

And he was a badass NBA basketball star. He was going to find a way. But the Raptors were too smart. They didn’t let anyone get the ball.

Eleven seconds.

Eight seconds.

And then a stupidity happened. He’d seen it before, but not since high school. Players got so caught up in watching the other guys on the court
—
not to mention the fans, the coaches, the media, and the love drama playing out before them
—
that they forgot their own feet.

The Toronto point guard stumbled.

Cole and Mike both lunged for the ball.

The Raptor danced away, but not before tripping himself up. Not bad, but that was the opening they needed.

JR got the ball and started flying down the court. He was a good player and could have done it. He had a solid three-pointer himself. But in a move that surprised everyone, he bounced the ball backward to Mike who had just recovered from his lunge.

Two seconds.

Mike grabbed the ball.

Took two steps.

And shot…

Chapter Twenty

Go in.

Tori held her breath
—
as did everyone else in the stadium.

Go in.

Mike’s shot had to make it. Sure she wanted to marry him either way, but this was about proving to him that he could do it. That he was stronger in love than out of it.

Go in.

Buzzer!
The game was over, but not the shot. If it went in, then they won. Mike won.

Please go in the fucking basket.

Swish.

It was so perfect it took her a second to process it.

He scored! The fifth three-point shot and the game.

Holy shit, he did it!

People swarmed the court, but Tori had eyes for only one man and he apparently for her.

She didn’t know if he shouldered everyone aside or if they parted for him. Either way, two seconds after the buzzer, he was lifting her up in his arms.

A split second later, they were kissing.

And kissing.

And drenched in something wet.

They both came up sputtering. Someone had dumped the water tub on them. But she didn’t care.

He’d done it.

“Say it again, Tori. God, say it—”

“I love you. I want to marry you. You’re done with your stupid system. Now we’re doing mine.”

He lifted his head, blinking the water out of his eyes. “Anything. Just marry me.”

Coach came over, an evil grin on the man’s face. “From now on, Giamaria, she’s giving you incentive. And I’m going to tell her what it is.”

He reared back. “Hell no, Coach. Her incentive is between us.”

“Not that shit,” Coach answered. “I’m giving you the goal. She handles the reward.”

He could do that. He could… “So I’m not fired?”

Coach shrugged. “There might be a fine. Up to the boss. But if you two play the media right, you’ll boost ticket sales. And that’s always good.”

Mike looked back at her. “That okay with you?”

“Okay? It was my idea.”

That same media was even now pushing forward, cameras trained on them, questions drowning out everyone else.

He looked at her. “Answer with the truth, Tori, because it’s going out to the whole world. You’ll marry me?”

She grinned at him. “Yes, I will.”

“What about the rest? Your job? Your house? Your life? I don’t know that I can get traded to the Bulls.”

She blinked. “Oh. Didn’t I tell you? I stayed last night with a friend who teaches at Columbia. He says there’s an opening in the religious studies department coming up next year.”

“You’re a shoo-in.”

She laughed. “Call it my goal.” Then she arched her brows. “So what’s my incentive?”

“Courtside seats for the rest of my career?”

“Hmmm. I don’t know. I just renovated this house in Chicago.”

He grinned. “As much hot sex as you can stand?”

She shook her head. “Baby, I’ve been in charge of my own—”

“Right.” No need to force the networks to bleep out her words. “How about this? I swear to love you, to honor you, and to cherish you until death do us part.”

Her face lit up, and damn he was once again caught by the beauty of her whole being. “I do.”

Epilogue

“Mike, look at this.” She’d nabbed a book off a nearby kiosk in the bookstore café. It was placed strategically so that anyone at the nearest tables could grab straight off the shelf.

Her husband of two months looked up from his latte and a book on successful kids’ after-school programs. “What?”

She held up a book on mountain climbing complete with a very happy couple on the side of a mountain. The woman even had a toddler strapped to her back.

Mike frowned as he studied the title. “What am I looking at? The colors? The people? The sexy climbing boots?”

She laughed, the sound unrestrained. “I was thinking about the kid, actually. Would you take a child mountain climbing with you?”

He winced. “That young? I don’t know.”

“But they look so happy.”

“Because they’re getting paid to look pretty.” Then he lifted the book out of her hand. “If you want to try mountain climbing, I’ll give it a go. But if I fall and break something, you’ll have to tell Coach.”

She shuddered. She’d learned over the past year just how much of a hard-ass the Knicks coach was. Turned out the owner was much more of a pussy cat. At least as long as Tori stayed within the guidelines of what her media training had emphasized and Mike’s play continued to dazzle everyone. Fortunately, he was having no trouble with that part.

“Actually,” she said as she took the book back. “I was thinking about the kid.”

“He looks happy, too.”

She laughed. “Yeah, he does.” Her gaze lifted to Mike’s. And right then her life changed. The words spilled out without thought, but once said, she didn’t regret it. “So you want to try it?”

He stilled. Then he spoke quietly and carefully. “Try having a baby? Tori, are you telling me you’re pregnant?”

She shook her head. “Definitely not. At least I don’t think so, but I want to be.” With her job at Columbia locked down, everything in her life was on track. And even more surprising, she found she didn’t have to pretend to be a ditz anymore. If she wanted to be left alone, she just said it and then a security guard made sure it happened. That was one advantage to living in the media spotlight. There was usually security around to make sure she had privacy when she needed it. Plus having a huge superstar husband helped in that area, too. Mike made sure she had the space she needed to do whatever her heart desired.

Which meant she had room in her life for a baby. She had room for a whole parcel of Mike’s babies. “So…do you?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“A thousand times yes!”

She nodded, her mind already making plans. He’d made a convert of her on that score. “Fine. Coach says you need to steal the ball six times tomorrow, and then we can start trying.”

He blinked at her. “You talked to Coach about kids? Before me?”

“God, no.” Hell, she hadn’t thought of it in such concrete terms until just this moment. But that didn’t lessen how much she really, really wanted this. “He just said you have to steal the ball. That you’re getting a little slow on your feet.”

“The hell I am!” But he smiled as he said it. Lately, he’d been much more accepting of the idea that he was aging. And though he’d never played better, she had good hopes that when the time came, he could step away from the spotlight without too much trauma. Especially if they had something else to occupy his time. Like a wife who wanted to spend more time with him. And a child or three…

“Okay,” she said with a smirk. “He didn’t say you were getting slow. I added that part. But if we’re going to have a baby, you’ve got to keep bringing in the money.”

He snorted. “Tori, we’ve got plenty.”

“Not if you’re going to single-handedly revitalize urban ghettos.” Then she leaned forward and kissed him slow and sweet on his lips. She’d meant to tantalize him, but found herself completely revved and wondering how long it would take to get back to their penthouse apartment.

“We need to get home, right now,” he growled.

She’d like that, too. A lot. “Six steals.”

“If I make seven you’re going to let me cuff you to an office chair.”

She grinned. “Deal.”

And then they said it together, because they were always that in sync.