The Set Piece (7 page)

Diego fell back on the couch. They were back home hanging out in the den after a full day. Tammy and Tom had retired for the evening so they had the house to themselves. The atmosphere seemed lighter with the Winters’ absence. Soft music played in the background, and Dulce lay cuddled between them.

“Thank you. I’ve never had so much fun on a PR day,” Diego said, idly stroking the dog’s silky ears.

“I’ve never had a PR day,” Amy said. She was slumped beside him. “They’re exhausting.”

“Well, trust me they’re usually a lot more tedious. Thank you for playing with me and the kids at the park. You were really good.”

“It was my pleasure. I’d forgotten how much fun a kick-around is.”

Amy ran the events of the afternoon through her mind. Diego had returned to his childhood soccer field, no more than a dirt-and-weed pitch at a local park sandwiched between run-down apartment buildings. Knight and Lucy Lewitt had carefully handpicked the local kids for the shoot months ago. It all looked so coincidental. Diego sauntered up and stopped an out of bounds ball, then asked, “Hey, guys, can I play?”

The kids screamed and piled onto Diego for a group hug. The TV cameras ate up everything. When Knight was sure the cameras were pointed at Amy he gave her a little shove.

“Go play with them.”

“I don’t have any shoes.” She looked down to her slip-on flats.

“Casey? Could you please get Amy some shoes?” He gave the inevitable command.

Soft, expensive turf shoes appeared like magic, and just as if she were Cinderella, fit perfectly. Amy trotted onto the field as if she had worn them all her life.

“Girls against boys!” she called. The girls ran to her side of the makeshift pitch, and the game was on.

The ball was at her feet, she slid it between the legs of one of the older boys who had thought himself above playing against girls.

“Oye, chamaco! Mira la pelota, no a la chica! They’re too good.” Diego nudged the boy out of his embarrassment, before he took off down the field.

“That’s right!” The lanky girl goalie at the back of the field called out. Amy caught her eye and they shared a nod.

Amy was sure that Diego had somehow engineered the girls’ victory. But it was good for everyone on the field and even better for the cameras on the sideline.

“You know I thought it was kinda silly.” Amy settled back into the couch in the den. “Who would actually buy that you would just show up at a field with more rocks than grass and play with a bunch of kids on your day off? The whole thing was nothing more than a ridiculous stunt for TV.”

Diego’s smile froze and a guarded look crept across his face. Amy could’ve kicked herself.

“No, no,” she said. “I mean I thought it was silly as a promo stunt. But then I saw the kids actually got something out of it. That goalie on my team was more than good. I talked to her after. You know, she’s only in middle school. So I told her to try out for the high school team next year. And who knows, if she continues to improve, there’s college scholarships and club teams and even Olympic development programs. You know, a good goalie can pretty much write her own ticket and she...”

She looked up to see the guarded look long gone. Diego’s smile was back and in full force. Amy clamped her mouth shut so hard her teeth snapped into each other. What was she thinking? Rambling on and on. Lecturing Diego Torres on soccer.

Diego only laughed. “That’s why I agree to those,” and he air quoted, “ridiculous promo stunts.” He stretched his long legs out across the coffee table and got comfortable. “It’s not for the TV or for spiking my publicity. When I was a kid, much younger than those kids were, my brothers and I were messing around with a ball at that same park. There was this guy who was running laps around the field. He was training as it turned out, but he stopped and watched us for a while. I guess I was doing something that caught his attention, because he told me that I was really good. He played for the local college team, and he told me to keep practicing, because they could really use good players.”

“And that made a difference?”

“All the difference. This guy, who probably forgot about me as soon as he got home, planted a seed. College. No one in my family had ever gone to college. We lived in a tiny apartment above the self-storage facility my dad managed. Soccer was just a way for my mom to get me and my brothers out of her hair. But I started really practicing from that moment on.” He shrugged. “You never know what makes a difference to a kid.”

“You were really good with them,” he continued. “And I’m not just talking about your moves, although you do have a wicked first touch. They liked you. We should get Paul on it. Create more opportunities for you to do some real good in all these bogus situations.”

“I’d really like that.” A little laugh escaped her lips. Helping kids would certainly make her feel she’d earned her paycheck. “How about an after school homework and soccer club? There’s lots of ways to get to college, and I’ve always wanted to work with kids in some way.”

“We’ll text Paul tomorrow.”

“That’d be great.” She patted his arm. She was touched he would do this for her.

She imagined the facility they might create. A colorful room full of posters and supplies. She could tutor in English and history and help out with writing in any subject. On breaks they could go out and kick a ball around on a grassy field right outside the door. It was a simple idea, but with Diego’s name and money behind it, who knew what could come out of it.

They both noticed almost simultaneously her hand still resting on his arm. Her fingers curled idly around his forearm. She yanked her hand away. Shit. She didn’t want Diego to think she had designs on him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Sorry,” she said, and her cheeks flushed.

“Nothing to apologize for.” But Diego slid his feet off the coffee table and stood up. He went over to the large fireplace and casually examined the photographs grouped on the mantelpiece. Suddenly, the whole thing felt a lot like a real relationship. Amy had overstepped, and Diego was now pushing back to regain the space between them.

“Well, I got a big day tomorrow.” Diego idly fingered a picture of him kissing an older Latina woman on the cheek. “It’s a fitness day. I’m hitting the gym early with my trainer and then down to the stadium. The guys and I will probably go out to eat afterwards. I take the rookies out once a week. You know their salaries are shit.” Diego slid the picture back and forth across the mantelpiece. “Just the guys usually. You could join us, I guess, if you wanted?”

Amy studied him for a moment. Was this a command appearance? Was the boss setting up a meeting or was he just being nice? Diego continued to fidget.

“Oh, thanks. But I’m good.” She took a shot in the dark.

Diego smiled and moved toward the hallway. Amy relaxed; she’d made the right move.

“You’ll be okay, all by yourself for the whole day?” he asked.

“I will.” She smiled to let him know she was really fine with it.

“Good. Hang out by the pool. Relax while you can. I have Friday off, and we’ve a command performance at my parents’ house. They all want to meet my fiancée, you know.” He said it lightly, as if meeting his entire family were no big deal.

Amy’s heart started to pound. “Really?”

“Don’t worry. My mother says she understands why I kept you a secret. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay.” Amy wasn’t convinced. She’d known this was coming, but she sure wasn’t ready for it. Diego had more on the line here. How could he be so okay with it? Should she call him on it? For starting out so well, the day was disintegrating fast.

“Can I walk you to your room?” Diego brought the evening to a close.

“No. I’m good.”

“Great. Goodnight, then.” He blew her a kiss goodnight, his go-to move at intimacy between them, and called Dulce to him. The mutt looked back and forth between Amy and Diego and sat down on her haunches.

Diego laughed as he left. “Traitor,” he softly scolded the little dog.

Amy sat on in the den. The room seemed so much bigger now Diego had gone; his presence was like that. She looked at the various photos on the mantelpiece. Most were of his family, in some he stood with his teammates, and there was one of him standing on white sand in front of a beautiful ocean. He looked larger than life.

Dulce whined, and Amy picked her up. The little dog was her only ally in this new game. She buried her face in the soft fur. Dulce smelled of dog shampoo and something else, something wonderfully earthy and natural. The dog snuggled into her arms with a contented groan.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs, sweet one.”

In the kitchenette her phone beeped. She shoved her cocoa mug into the microwave and reached for it. For a second, she hoped Simon had finally answered her texts.

“OMG. I just saw a promo of U and D on TV. UR FAMOUS! Let’s get together!”

Not Simon, then. It was Blythe, the assistant store manager at her Starbucks. Blythe hadn’t given her the time of day when she worked there, and now a text? Knight had warned her about this kind of thing.

“People will come out of the woodwork when they see you with Diego,” he had told her. “They’ll all want a piece of you. Stay away from them.”

Amy deleted the text and dropped the phone back on the counter. She didn’t like a world where Paul Knight knew how it all fit together better than she did.

“Come on, Dulce. Let’s go to bed.”

CHAPTER 5

“You’re done studying,” Darla said
softly.

“I have a paper due,” Amy protested, but she knew it was futile.

“Well I have something else due. Or someone else to do, should I say.”

Amy’s chest fizzed with excitement. Darla moved to her side. She dropped her hand on Amy’s shoulder and slid it down her bare arm until their fingers entwined. A soft tug. The book slid from her grasp. Another soft tug. She was up and out of her chair.

“Come on.”

“Where we going?”

“Places you’ve only dreamed of.” Darla smiled. Her grip on Amy’s hand tightened. Then they were moving through the library. Tall stacks towering above them and the passageway growing narrower and darker.

Darla’s amber eyes sparked with desire. She cupped Amy’s cheek then delicately traced a fingertip along her jaw and pushed a strand of hair away from her neck. The gesture was so simple but so intimate. Slowly, she pushed her back against the wall.

“You smell like books and grass and sun.”

“That’s all I do.” Amy’s response was little more than a breath.

Darla kissed her neck. “But I taste something else. Do you know what it is?” She dropped to her knees. Her hands drifted along the back of Amy’s thighs, up under her dress.

Amy was shaking. Her legs trembled so much they could barely support her.

“Can you tell me?” Her voice was soft and seductive. Her hands moved like silk over Amy’s behind and rested there.

“No.” Amy dropped her gaze to Darla’s face. It transfixed her. Her skin glowed like polished mahogany in the dim light.

Darla slid her hands inside Amy’s panties. The heat from Darla’s palms was intense on the cool skin of her backside.

“Should I show you?”

“Please,” Amy whispered. She tipped her head back against the concrete wall and let its coolness seep into her back. She was burning up. Heat pulsed in waves through her body. Darla’s fingers grazed her damp sex. Amy shuddered with pleasure.

“I taste desire.” Darla spread her legs wider. “And you.” Slowly, excruciatingly she moved toward her center.

“Please.” Amy breathed.

Darla moaned in response and slid a finger deep into Amy. She shuddered, ripples of sensation coursed through her. She tightened around Darla’s strokes, the friction building a delicious tension throughout her body. All that existed was this space between her legs and the exquisite touch of her first lover. The girl who had taught her who she really was. Darla stroked slowly, sensually, in and out, adding another finger when she sensed Amy was ready.

“Look at me.”

Amy slid down the wall, sinking onto Darla’s hand, moving into her rhythm, wanting more, building, building—

“Look at me.”

Amy opened her eyes and stared at Darla. Her amber eyes were light and sparkling, not dark at all. And then they turned blue. They burned through her with longing, and the blue was like a horizon that seemed to go on forever.

“Casey?” Amy struggled to speak.

“We both know I’m the one you really want.” Casey was holding her against the wall. Casey was pushing into her body, priming it, making her explode. Casey was—

Metal slammed against metal.

Amy’s eyes flew open.

The stacks. Casey. Her building orgasm. All gone. Slipping away from her and back into the land of dreams.

What the hell was that noise?

Now that her mind was clearing, it only took a second to realize that it came from Diego’s home gym. The weight machines were right under her apartment. She took a deep breath, trying to orient herself. Dulce began yipping to be let out. Amy pulled herself out of bed and opened the door a crack. The dog shot out like a bullet. The clanking echoed louder in the hallway.
Shit, for the amount of money this place cost can’t Diego afford better soundproofing?

She headed for the bathroom, hoping a hot shower would improve her mood. In the shower stall, she inadvertently leaned against one of the buttons and steam tinged with the fresh scent of eucalyptus enveloped her. Another one of the luxurious treats living at casa Diego brought. Any other day, Amy would have adored the aromatherapy treatment but this morning being transported to an eucalyptus forest took her further away from Casey and her sexy dream. She dropped her hand between her thighs, hoping to recapture the magic. Nope. The sparkle had definitely gone. With a sigh she reached for the shampoo.

Dressed and ready for the day Amy headed downstairs. She took a quick look in the gym to see Diego pumping weights at a chest press machine. A very handsome man with slick blond hair stood over him counting down the reps. “You can do it, man. Come on!”

Amy pulled back quickly before either of them turned to see her at the door. She had the distinct feeling that she was watching a private moment. Not really knowing where to go, she aimlessly wandered into the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hit her as soon as she walked in. Tammy sat at the oversized table, reading the newspaper and drinking from a steaming cup.

“Morning, Tammy.”

“Morning,” she answered, without looking up.

“Is there any more coffee.”

“In the pot. And there’s eggs and toast as well.”

“You really didn’t have to make me breakfast.”

“Oh, I didn’t, sweetie.” She made sweetie sound cold. “I fixed it for Diego, but there’s some leftover.”

“Well then, how can I say no?”

“It’s in the steamer.”

Amy glanced around the kitchen looking for something that could be a steamer. She opened the dishwasher, a refrigeration drawer filled with energy drinks, and finally the warming drawer. Nestled inside was a perfectly portioned breakfast of fluffy eggs and buttered toast. She reached out to grab the plate, and then jerked her hand back. It was scorching hot.

“Careful, the plate’s hot,” Tammy said from behind her paper.

Amy had the distinct feeling that Tammy was grinning ear to ear. She grabbed a dish towel and brought the plate to the table, sitting down on the other side, staking out her own territory.

Tammy folded her paper. “So what are you going to do today?”

“I don’t know. Diego will be at the stadium. I gather that’s for the whole day.” Time stretched out in front of her. What was she going to do all day? She was pretty sure that Tammy wasn’t going to sit around and throw ice cubes with her the way Simon had. “Maybe I’ll—”

“Today is a big cleaning day for me. You’ll need to stay out of my way.”

“Okay,” she said, not letting Tammy push her buttons. “You got any suggestions about what I could do?”

“
I
do. I’ve been thinking about it.” Diego sauntered into the kitchen with a towel hung around his neck. He was flushed and glowed with sweat and good health. His trainer followed close on his heels but stopped short when he saw Amy.

Tammy slapped down the paper and jumped to her feet. “Antioxidant smoothie?” she offered.

“Yes, please,” Diego said, turning to face Amy. “I have an idea for you. I’m sending Casey out to this crazy place in Oxnard. It’s a golf course where you kick a soccer ball instead of hitting a golf ball. Do you want to go?”

Tammy turned on the blender so Amy had to almost shout her response. “Really? That’s a thing?” The trainer moved closer to Diego, and Amy wondered for split second what it was like for Diego to have Tammy and this handsome man orbit him as if he were the sun.

“Oh,” Diego said, suddenly remembering the introductions. “Rob, this is Amy, my fiancée. Amy, this is Rob, my trainer.”

“Good to meet you, Rob,” Amy said.

Rob raised a hand in a halfhearted greeting. “Hi, Amy.” But he had already dismissed her even as he said her name. He swung back toward Diego. “I gotta get going, man.”

“Cool. See you Thursday.” Diego took a glass of something very green out of Tammy’s outstretched hand.

Rob let himself out, and Amy watched as Diego’s gaze followed him all the way down the path and around the corner. Diego was zeroing in on his ass. Amy bit her lip and frowned. Diego couldn’t afford slip-ups like this if their deception was going to work.

Tammy was staring at her from across the kitchen. Their gazes locked before Tammy quickly looked away.

Amy’s stomach lurched. What had Tammy seen?

“I’m going to take a shower, then head down to the stadium.” Diego downed the last of his smoothie. He smiled at both women, oblivious to the atmosphere in the room. “I’ll call you later, babe,” he called over his shoulder to Amy.

“Can’t wait.”

Amy sagged back in her seat, grateful that Diego had forgotten about Oxnard. She silently thanked Rob for having such a cute ass. So cute that Diego’s plans for her and Casey had slipped his mind.

Diego popped his head back around the doorpost almost on cue. “I know it sounds ridiculous, Amy, but that course wants my endorsement. They’re part of an actual league. Will you check it out with Casey? Paul thinks Nike may even sign on as sponsor and this may be our way in with them.”

A full day with Casey. Not a good idea. “I don’t want to cramp her style.” Even to her ears she sounded lame.

“You won’t. I’m sure she’d really like the company. And it will be a hell of lot cooler up by the beach. Actually, I’d really like for you to go and give me your true opinion. Play a round and tell me what you think. Is this something I should get involved in?”

Now the outing was an official request. No wiggle room. “Sure. I’d love to. I’m always up for something new.” Amy hoped she had hit the right, light note.

“That’s my girl,” Diego said, and came back in to give her a quick kiss on the lips. “Sorry, I’m a little sweaty. Here. Don’t move.” He playfully patted her mouth with the towel. Tammy and Amy watched him head off for his shower.

“I guess I’m going to Oxnard.” Amy fixed Tammy with a cool stare to see if she could read anything in the older woman’s face.

“I think Casey’s already out in the office. You better go tell her.” Tammy looked disinterested.

Amy rose to take her empty plate to the sink.

“I’ll get that,” Tammy said. “You better skedaddle. You wouldn’t want her to leave without you.”

“Okay. Thanks for breakfast.”

“Whenever Diego’s in town, I’ll put a plate in the warmer for when you don’t get to eat together.”

“Don’t go to any trouble.”

“I’m cooking anyways. It’s no trouble.”

Amy suspected Tammy had hit on an ingenious way to keep tabs on when she and Diego ate together, like any newly engaged couple would. And, more importantly, when they didn’t. It was the thin end of a wedge that could throw up other discrepancies in their routines.

The nagging feeling that Tammy might be a snake followed her out of the house and across the flagstone patio towards the office. Through the glass doors Amy could see Casey on her knees before a bookshelf. Her fingers tapped across the three-ring binders until she found the one she wanted. Everything fell out of focus. Casey on her knees. The shelf of books. The resonance of her dream echoed through her as if it had been some kind of premonition.

Then the glass doors slid open and Casey said, “Yes?”

Her voice seemed to come from far away, and was distorted, as if she were under water. This is ridiculous. Amy struggled to get a hold of herself. This is the problem with lies. The truth had to fight dirty to get out.

Casey waited for a response. “Can I help you?” she asked impatiently.

Amy blushed. “Um, Diego wants me to go with you to the soccer golf thing.”

“Oh.” Casey pursed her lips. “I…I was going to take my niece. Let me call her and tell her another time.”

“No.” Amy stopped Casey from picking up the phone. “I told Diego you probably had plans but he insisted.” She stepped inside the office. “Bring her along. Please.”

“She’s ten and she never stops talking.”

“I love kids.” A chatty ten-year-old was the perfect way to keep her day around Casey intact.

“You sure?” Casey set the phone back down.

“Definitely. Let’s do this.”

An hour later Amy and Casey were racing down the 101 Highway with a jubilant ten-year-old in the backseat. Mia bounced to the pop tunes blaring from the radio. The second she had gotten into the car the mood transformed. All the tension building between them dissipated like it had never existed.

“Oh. Turn that up, Aunt Casey.”

“It’s pretty loud already.”

“But this is my favorite song.” Mia drew the sentence out with a perfected pre-teen whine.

“You said the last one was your favorite song.”

“It was until I heard this one.”

Casey spun the dial on the radio the tiniest bit and chuckled. The laugh was one of the happiest, most genuine sounds Amy had heard in a while. She stole a glance at the woman beside her. Hands lightly gripped the steering wheel and her head slightly bobbing to the up-tempo beat. This Casey was as different from the woman of the last two days as day was from night. This was the real Casey.

“Sing, Mia. I know you know the words.”

A second set of lyrics burst forth from the backseat, deeply out of tune, but full of so much joy that it didn’t matter.

Casey turned toward Amy and with a broad smile and mouthed, “Sorry.”