The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (181 page)

S
unlight is spilling over my face as I wake and look around the room.  I’m in bed alone again, but something is different.  I can hear the water running in the bathroom. 

Adam finishes his shower before I manage to crawl out of bed. He stalks out of the bathroom in all his nude glory and into our bedroom smelling clean and delectable. His seriously addictive body is now draped in a singular wet towel hanging loosely on his hips.  A second towel rests atop his wet head and he is completely unaware of my wanting stare as he scrubs away the water from his hair.  The play of muscles beneath his skin and the inherent gracefulness in the way he moves send a delicious sense of contentment sliding through me. 

He takes one look at me and sweeps me up into his arms. He grins down at me and kisses me hard and fast. “I’ve been waiting all morning for you to wake up. You were so tired, I wanted to let you sleep in.”  Gently, he places me back onto the bed and finishes drying off.

“Well, I’m up now,” I chortle as I watch him parade around our room.

Adam drops the damp towel and pulls on a pair of boxers; the light hairs on his stomach peeking through the elastic band.  I have a fleeting debate on which profile I prefer – completely nude or barely naked.  I quickly decide it’s a toss up.

“I’m going to start making breakfast.  Any requests?” Adam asks as he pulls on jeans and a T-shirt that fits him like a glove.  The sleeves are short enough to show off the defined muscles of his biceps, which I can’t stop staring at.  I love the feel of those strong arms around me and I especially adore the way they flex and stretch when I run into his waiting arms.

I went to sleep annoyed, aggravated, and confused.  This morning, I feel like I’ve woken up with a clear head and an open heart.  Hopefully I will get the answers I’m looking for over a warm hearty breakfast.

“I dunno – pancakes, maybe,” I tell him.

“Your wish is my command.”  He gives me a chaste kiss on my forehead before heading out to the kitchen.  “Take a shower and by the time you get out, your breakfast will be ready.”

I take an extra long shower today, allowing the pounding pressure of the hot water to soothe my aching body.  These lower back pains of pregnancy are really taking a toll on me. 

I’m no stranger to being sore thanks to the hard-hitting and often violent assault from roller derby.  Bumps and bruises are something I’ve grown quite accustomed to.  Usually they go away after a day or two. 

These constant dull aches have been coming and going for over a month now.  The doctor says it’s normal, but it does have an effect on my spirit.  Perhaps it’s one of the reasons why I went to such a dark place yesterday.

As I dry off and get dressed, I smell the sweet scent of warming maple syrup.  After brushing my hair, I toss it up into a loose, wet bun and hurry out to see what Adam has prepared.  He’s not a gourmet cook, but he’s very good at the basics.  I’m one lucky girl.

When I finally make it into the kitchen, I find Adam standing over the stove flipping my pancakes in the frying pan.  He’s got music blaring from his phone and the current selection is the Phil Collins’ classic, “In the Air Tonight.”  He’s so damn adorable as he performs the mandatory air drum solo.  I could stand here and stare at him shaking his ass all day long.

I sit down at the table where there’s a glass of orange juice waiting for me.  Adam spots me and grabs a plate from the cabinet.  “Hungry?”

“Starved,” I admit.

“Good.  Give me a minute to fix your plate.”

When Adam presents me with my breakfast, a dizzying happiness spreads over me as I stare at his creation.  He has arranged two pancakes to lie on the plate side-by-side covered with a thin layer of whipped cream and blueberries on top.  He carefully arranged the blueberries to spell a very special message – MARRY ME.

I jump up from my seat and launch myself into his arms.  “Oh, Adam – I love you so much!”

“I love you, too.”  He breathes, his breath skimming gently across my lips.  Then he tilts his head down and seals his mouth over mine.  When we break apart, he asks again, “Marry me.”

“Adam Cooke, nothing in this world would make me happier.  But I am not going to change my mind.  If we make it through this pregnancy and your new job in one piece, then we’ll know. But until then, I can’t say ‘yes’.”

“I know.”  He places me back down on solid ground and smiles.  “So does that mean I should stop asking?”

Without hesitation, I answer him, “I didn’t say
that
.”

I look up at Adam to gauge his reaction.  The very last thing I want to do is to push him away.  When he shrugs his shoulders and joins me at the table for breakfast, I know that everything’s going to be okay.

“I’ve missed you,” I tell him as I take the first taste of his creation.  “You really know how to take good care of me.”

“It’s my job to take care of you, baby.”

“I wish you did more of this over the last couple of days,” I confess.

“You miss my cooking?” he asks. 

“No, silly, I miss
you
!  I feel like you’ve been so far away,” I explain between bites.  “I hear you have a private office and a secretary named Margie.”

“I do, and she’s great, too.  She’s been with the Red Hawks for over twenty years and it’s been incredibly helpful to have her close by.”

“That’s great, Sparky, but why did I have to hear about it from Evan?  It should have been you.”

He puts his fork down and gives me his full, undivided attention.  “You’re right,” he concedes.  “I let this new job completely consume me.”

“How did Evan get your attention?  Why him and not me?”

“He showed up out of the blue.  He knows that if he called ahead of time, I would have ignored him or made excuses.  You didn’t know me in college, but I was the exact same way.  If it wasn’t for Evan coming to my room and dragging me out, I might never have seen the light of day.  During finals of my senior year, my mother was convinced I had been kidnapped or something because she didn’t hear from me for weeks.”

“You better not be telling me that I won’t be hearing from you for weeks, Adam.”

“Of course not.  I knew we would have some time today to catch up and I fully intended to fill you in on every small detail.  Please don’t be mad. Finish eating and I’ll tell you everything.”

Once I clean off every drop off my plate, I bring it to the sink, rinse it off, and stack it in the dishwasher.  I glance around at the big, giant mess Adam has left behind.  I love when he cooks for me, but the downside is having to clean up after him.  Eggshells, empty bags and boxes, dirty utensils, pots and pans fill the counter.  I think there’s more trash than actual food.  How is that even possible?

Adam comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his chin on my shoulder.  “Don’t worry about it.  I’ve got this.  Let’s go sit down and talk.  The mess can wait.”

He leads me into the living room where we sit on the couch together.  He pulls my legs onto his lap and begins to run his thumb up and down the arch of my foot.  “You’re so good at that,” I sigh.

“I told you, it’s my job to take care of you.”  He continues to rub my feet while we talk.  “I know you’ve been feeling neglected lately, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up to you.  You’re on your feet all day behind the bar while I’m sitting behind a desk in a comfy chair. 
This
is the least I can do for you and for Bean.”

Another one of the many reasons why I love this man with all my heart.

“So, do you like it there?  Are the people nice?”

“They are,” he readily acknowledges.  “Right now, they have me working on scouting reports.  They want a proposal on their desk right away.  I’ve been working closely with the team’s Operations Assistant, Alex Davenport.  Alex has a degree from MIT and is an expert in sabermetrics.”

“What the heck is that?” I ask.  I knew I was
out of my league
with baseball, but I never even
heard
of this word.  “Is that seriously a real word?”

“It’s just a special kind of statistical analysis they use in baseball to predict player performance.  You know, like they did in the movie Moneyball.”

“That Brad Pitt movie?” I ask.

“Exactly.  Alex is kind of like the Jonah Hill character.  With an undergraduate degree in statistics and a graduate degree in engineering, Alex is someone everyone looks to for direction.”

“Ooh – does that make you Brad Pitt?” I tease.

“I wish.  Brad played the team’s General Manager.  Maybe if I play my cards right, I can work my way to the top.  But for now, I’m just one of a dozen directors in the front office.  Alex has years of seniority and respect.  I’m learning so much.”

“So what do you do all day?  How come I don’t see you until late at night?”

“I have to present my first proposal and I want it to be perfect.  They’re giving me five spots to fill for Spring Training camp.  I have to look at all the minor league players, high school kids, and unsigned veteran players.  Do you have any idea how many prospects we’re talking about?”

I shake my head.

“Hundreds,” he tells me.  “First, I have to look at the players we have, find our weaknesses, and find the best players to fill those positions.  And I don’t have a lot of time to do that.  I’m meeting with as many scouts as I can who have actually seen these guys play.”

“You want to be good at your job, I get it.”

“I don’t want to be good, Emmy – I want to be the best.  Just being good’s not good enough in professional sports.  Do you know how many
good
men there are?  They’re a dime a dozen.  I intend to learn all I can and prove that they cannot be successful without me on their team.”

He looks at his watch.  I know what that means.  Our time together is nearly up.

“As a matter of fact, I have to start cleaning up soon.  I have a meeting with one of my scouts from the farm league at eleven, and then I have another meeting with Alex after that.”

“Will you be home for dinner tonight?”

Adam shrugs.  “Depends.”

“On what?”

“Alex.  I’m handing in my preliminary recommendations and if Alex finds any discrepancies, that means it’s back to the drawing board.”

I pull my feet away and crawl over to him, depositing myself on his lap.  I wrap my arms around his neck and hold tight.  He wraps his arms around my middle and I feel his chest rise as he takes in a long, deep breath.

“Sparky, I want you to do well and I know you need to keep focused on what you’re doing, but will you make me one small promise?” I ask.

“Anything.  Just name it.” 

“Call me, text me, or have your secretary get a hold of me, but somehow let me know two things:  what your dinner plans are and what time you’ll be home.  I don’t care if you’re stuck working late and you miss dinner every night for the next month.  I just need to know what’s going on.  I can be an adult about this whole situation, but you’ve got to meet me halfway.”

“I promise,” he assures me.  “And as soon as I get to work, I’m going to text you Margie’s direct phone number.  If you ever need to get a hold of me, you can call her and she will find me.  I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

D
EREK HANDS ME
my phone saying, “Here you go, Emmy.  Your phone just lit up with a message.  I think it’s from Adam.”

“What makes you think that?” I ask as I retrieve the phone from Derek’s grasp.

“It says so right there,” he explains very matter-of-factly.

“Oh, really?” I ask.  “Should I bother reading it or do you want to tell me what he said?”

“You can read it if you want.”  Derek pauses to pour a beer.  “But I’ll save you the trouble and tell you he’s on his way and should get here within an hour.”

I’m so glad to hear Adam’s on his way that I immediately forgive Derek for being so nosy.  I could never be really mad at him, anyway.  He knows almost all my secrets and I think I know most of his, too.

Before long, Adam comes ambling through the front door well before my shift ends.  I am so happy and relieved to see him that I race out from behind the bar and propel myself into his waiting arms.  He lifts me effortlessly off my feet so I can wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.  I pepper his handsome face with kisses and as usual, he lets me.

He leads us back to the bar, walking effortlessly with me in his firm grasp.  Being petite has limited rewards, and I enjoy taking advantages of one of the few perks it offers.

Adam gently places my bottom on a barstool and smiles, flashing a perfect set of white teeth.  “Hey there, sexy.  Looks like someone had a good day.”

“No, it was just an average day up until now.  You’re done early.  Does that mean Alex liked your suggestions?”

He nods.  “It sure does.  It took me a few hours to get Alex onboard, but eventually, I got my point across.  Let’s celebrate.  I’m buying dinner.  No cooking or cleaning for my girl tonight.”

“My shift doesn’t end for another hour and a half.  Do you mind waiting?” I ask.

“No problem.  Do they still serve cold beer in this joint?” he asks Derek.