The Playbook

  Walking into the lobby, Aubrey looked up and gasped. “This place is amazing! I can’t believe I’m standing in the same spot as James Dean!”

  I looked at the floor. “How do you know he stood in this spot?”

  Looking at me with a dumbfounded look, she asked, “What?”

  Damn it was so easy getting her riled up. “I don’t know that he stood in this exact spot, but I’m sure he walked over it. He walked all over this hotel. Oh! I wonder what room he stayed in.”

  Snarling my lip, I asked, “Why?”

  “I want to see it!”

  “Again, why?”

  An older lady walked up to us with a huge grin on her face. “Are you here visiting the hotel?”

  Before I knew it, Aubrey launched into a whole thing about James Dean.

  “Yes! I want to see everywhere James Dean was. Even the room he stayed in. If it’s not booked.” Spinning around to face me, her face lit up like a two-year-old in a toy store. “Can we book the room if isn’t booked?”

  My dick jumped. “For?”

  Her eyes lit up then turned dark. “Just to sneak a peek. That’s all.”

  Fuck that. If I was renting a room at this place, I planned on getting more out of it than a sneak peek.

  “Sure, why not.”

  Before I knew it we were touring the hotel I had been in a million times. And I had booked a room. According to Aubrey, it wasn’t just any room. It was the room.

  The older lady’s name turned out to be Liz, who was a little girl when James Dean and the whole crew were here. She was currently taking Aubrey, who had gone temporarily insane in the last thirty minutes, out to the fountain to show her exactly where James Dean sat.

  “Brett, sit there.”

  I glanced to where Liz was pointing.

  “Why?”

  Aubrey jutted out her lip. “Please. I want to see you sit where James Dean sat.”

  Yet again, I found myself staring at Aubrey. I’d never felt my chest feel so light. Although the woman was crazy insane at the moment, I found myself loving every single second of it. Today had to be the best day of my life.

  Little did I know, by me sitting on that ledge, I was about to change everything.

  LIZ AND I both held our breath as Brett sat on the very spot James Dean sat.

  “He’s so much more handsome than James Dean,” Liz whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.

  Brett furrowed his brow as he looked between Liz and me. “Do I need to say a quote from the film or something?”

  My heart melted on the spot. I’d never had a man do something for me simply to make me happy. Brett actually booked the room so I could see it, and he sat in the exact spot as James Dean with no arguing. Most guys would think it was stupid, but not Brett. He had a way of surprising me at every turn.

  I laughed, “No, I never even saw the movie!”

  “Well, we happen to have it if you’d like to watch in the room tonight.”

  My head turned back to Brett. “Well, I’m not sure we’ll be keeping the room all night, but it might be kind of fun to watch it in the same room he stayed in.”

  Standing, Brett walked up to me and put his arm around my waist. Warmth radiated through my body. “Let’s go see this famous room shall we, Liz?”

  Liz smiled at Brett. “Well, come on!”

  Making our way up to the historical room, my phone buzzed in my purse. Pulling it out, I saw it was a text from Michelle.

  Michelle: Call me ASAP

  I worried my lower lip because I knew it had to be about Emily. Peeking over to Brett, he wore a huge smile as Liz told him all about when they were filming the movie Giant here. I couldn’t tell if he was just appeasing her, or if he was really interested.

  “Here’s your room. Is there anything I can show you or help with?” Liz asked while handing the DVD to Brett.

  The way he looked at me made my heart skip a beat. He almost seemed nervous about going into the room alone with me. I couldn’t help it; I smiled and winked at him, causing him to blush.

  Brett Owens blushed.

  “I think we’re good for now. Do we need to make dinner reservations?” I inquired.

  Liz grinned. “Oh, I can arrange for you to sit at the same table Jimmy sat at!”

  “Oh, yay,” Brett said, opening the door and rolling his eyes. I couldn’t help but giggle.

  Turning back to Liz, I replied, “That would be amazing. You wouldn’t mind?”

  Waving me off, she answered, “Heck no. You two have been fun. What time?”

  Brett was already inside the room looking around. I glanced at him and then back to Liz. “I’m guessing I’ll hog tie him to the bed and make him watch the movie, so maybe around seven-thirty?”

  “You’ve got it! I’ll see you both then. I’m here until eight.”

  With a huge grin, I hugged her. “Thank you, Liz, for showing us around and sharing all the fun facts.”

  “My pleasure. See you in a few hours.”

  Waving, I watched her walk down the hall. The second I shut the door, I was spun around and pinned to it.

  My chest heaved as I looked into smoldering blue eyes. Oh … maybe coming up to the room gave Brett the wrong idea. A part of me hoped it had.

  “Hog tie me to the bed huh?”

  My mouth parted. “Um, I thought … well, I mean … we don’t have to watch the movie if you don’t want to.”

  “I kind of liked the idea of you getting a little ‘fifty shades’ on me.”

  My brow lifted. “Tell me you didn’t read that book?”

  Leaning in closer, he brushed his lips softly across my cheek. “Do you really think I need to read a book like that? I already know how to use my cock and make a woman come harder than she’s ever come before.”

  My eyes closed and I asked in a breathy voice, “Brett, why do you talk that way?”

  He placed a kiss on my neck. “Because I know deep down you like it.”

  I do. Lord knows I do.

  My phone rang as I was about to admit I did like it.

  I pulled it out of my purse and saw Michelle’s name. “Oh shit! I forgot she sent me a text.”

  “Who?” Brett asked, pushing away from the door and walking over to the bed.

  “Michelle,” I said swiping my screen.

  “Hello?”

  “I wasn’t sure if you got my text.”

  Glancing over at Brett, he seemed cool as a cucumber while I instantly started sweating. He was reading the back of the movie. I walked up and sat next to him.

  “Sorry, I just got it. Did you find something out already?”

  “Yes, I did. Are you sitting down?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “Emily Clarington is from Austin, Texas. Twenty-six years old and the daughter of Mike and Ana Clarington.”

  “Okay.”

  “I sent you a picture of her. She matches your description, and get this, her daddy is a huge supporter of Senator Ryan Dryer. Looks like she has volunteered at many of his events and, at one time, she listed him as an employer. She graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in business management.”

  My breath caught and I jumped up. Holy shit. Ryan? It all made sense. Everything hit me all at once.

  “Do you have any pictures of her with the senator?”

  Brett’s head jerked up.

  “Yeah, I mean if you google her and his name together she’s in a number of the photos. There’s also one where they appear to be leaving a hotel together. I guess it was in a gossip magazine not too long ago.”

  I jumped and pumped my fist. “Michelle, I love you and the awesome private detective you have. Let me know what I owe him.”

  “Nah, he said this was easy. No charge. Did you get what you needed?”

  Brett stood and looked at me. “Oh, I got more than I needed.”

  “What’s this for anyway? Work?”

  With a huge grin, I held up my finger to motion for Brett to hold on. I knew he was
anxious to hear what Michelle’s guy found out. Especially with me mentioning Ryan.

  “No, this one was personal. Thanks so much babe, I’ve got to run.”

  “Okay, let me know if you need anything else.”

  My cheeks were hurting from smiling so big. I had to admit I was relieved with this information. Knowing Emily was tied to Ryan, I was assuming he had set the whole thing up. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was the one who got her pregnant.

  “Will you do me a favor and email me a couple of the photos with her and Dryer? Especially the one with them leaving the hotel.

  Brett scrubbed his hands down his face. I could see the anger starting to build. He was piecing it together.

  “Got to run, talk soon.”

  I hit End before she could respond.

  “That motherfucker,” Brett said.

  Inhaling a deep breath, I took Brett’s hand in mine and led him over to the bed. Sitting, I pulled him next to me. My email dinged and I opened the attachment Michelle had sent. The second I saw her picture, I let out the breath I was holding in.

  Handing the phone to Brett, I waited for him to respond.

  “He’s setting me up.” Slowly shaking his head, he looked at me. “Would he actually go that far to try and take me down like that?”

  “Do you really need me to answer that?”

  Brett stood and started pacing the room. I sat there and let him have a few minutes to soak all of it in. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling right now. With the way his fists were balled, I was thankful we were five hours away from Ryan or I’d be afraid Brett would go after him.

  Stopping, he looked at me. “Can you determine the paternity before the baby is born?”

  Pulling up Google on my phone, I typed it in. After visiting a few different websites, I looked up at him.

  “Yes. They have a non-invasive test they can do.”

  Walking up to me, Brett reached down and pulled me up. “I have an idea.” He cupped my face within his hands and kissed me. Pulling back, he smiled and my breath was stolen. “I think tonight we will be doing some serious celebrating.”

  AUBREY SEARCHED MY face.

  “What’s your idea?” she asked breathlessly. Damn if her kisses didn’t leave me feeling the same way.

  “I’m calling Emily.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “Tell me everything Michelle said about her.”

  After Aubrey filled me in on what Michelle told her, I pulled my phone out and hit Emily’s number.

  My heart was racing and I had a feeling I knew how this call would turn out. At least I was hoping like hell I knew.

  Aubrey chewed on her thumb nail as I waited for Emily to answer.

  “Hey, miss me, Daddy?”

  I wanted to gag.

  “Emily, I’ve just gotten off the phone with my lawyer. We are going to arrange to have a doctor perform a paternity test now. He can schedule for Tuesday of next week. It’s non-invasive, but it will be able to tell us if I’m the father of your baby.”

  The silence over the phone was a clear sign she was most likely freaking out right about now.

  “Emily? Are you there?”

  She cleared her throat. “You want me to let them stick a needle in me while I’m pregnant? Are you crazy? I already told you I haven’t slept with anyone else.”

  “Not even Ryan Dryer? Because I have a picture of the two of you entering and leaving a hotel just a couple of months back.”

  Aubrey’s eyes widened. I shrugged and covered the phone. “It’s worth a try.”

  “How … how did you find out?”

  My heart dropped. Holy shit. Could it really be that easy?

  “It wasn’t hard, Ms. Clarington. Funny thing is, my lawyer also found it interesting that you previously worked for the good senator and you’ve been in a relationship with him, which we both know is why you resigned from your position.”

  “I don’t … I mean, I—”

  “Will be charged with trying to extort money from me.”

  “What? No, wait. Please.” She broke down crying on the phone. “He told me you would run scared. That once you found out I was pregnant, you’d offer me money to disappear. I wasn’t supposed to ask for money, but I thought if I threw it out there you’d bite and offer to pay me off. He wanted you to lose your job.”

  I noted the recorder Aubrey was holding to my phone. “Who did?”

  “Ryan! Ryan Dryer. It’s his baby. I’m almost three months pregnant. He told me the night you and I first met that he needed me to sleep with you. It was only supposed to be that night. Something about wanting to take photos and say I was a student. He said you tried to frame him for your wife cheating on you and accused him of sleeping with her, and how he almost lost everything because of it. This was his way of getting back at you. He paid someone off at the university to put me into the system as a student. The photographer couldn’t get any photos of us the first time we were together, so Ryan wanted me to make sure we hooked up again.”

  My head was spinning. “The pregnancy? Why come up with that story?”

  “Because the photographer couldn’t get any photos of us together the second time either. He was supposed to get a damaging photo and sell it, saying that you were sleeping with female students. When that didn’t work and I found out I was pregnant, he came up with this plan. He thought for sure you’d never put your beloved university in harm’s way. He promised it would be over quickly because you’d just step down, offer to pay me off, and that would it. But then you started talking about me moving in the same building as you and heading off to tell your parents about the baby. I panicked. I never wanted to do this, you have to believe me.”

  Anger raced through my veins. “Then why did you?”

  The line was silent for a few moments. “Because I love him. I’d do anything for him.”

  My heart actually hurt for her. “I really feel sorry for you, Emily.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you and your child are going to have to deal with a Ryan Dryer from now on. God help you both.”

  Hitting End, I dropped my hands to my knees.

  “Holy shit.” I sucked in a deep breath in and held it for a few seconds before exhaling.

  “Ryan?”

  My head snapped up. Aubrey was on the phone. What in the hell was she doing?

  “I have two words for you. Emily Clarington.”

  Her gaze snapped over to mine.

  “She’s already confessed, and I have it all on tape. Now, let me make something very clear to you, and I need you to listen good. Your position means nothing. You see, I have a mother who is a senator and knows a hell of a lot more people than you. And my father, he’s the best lawyer in Connecticut and as already gotten Brett in touch with a lawyer in Austin who is ready to take you down.”

  I stood up and stared at her. Who was this girl? Where did this Aubrey come from? Damn if she wasn’t fucking hot as hell.

  “You’re going to tell me who you paid off at the university. Then you and your little pregnant momma are going to never speak to, or even look in the direction of, Brett Owens again.”

  Aubrey laughed. “Ryan, I’m not even the least bit scared of you. With one phone call to CNN, I can play this tape.”

  Aubrey hit play and let it go for about ten seconds.

  With a huge grin, she said, “That would be the best thing for everyone don’t you think?”

  Aubrey rushed over to the desk and grabbed the pen and wrote down a name. “And you’ll get that fixed as soon as we hang up? Perfect. No, Brett wants nothing from you but to let him be and he’ll let you be.”

  “After I beat his ass,” I mumbled.

  Aubrey glared at me and held up her finger to quiet me.

  “Okay, but I think we’ll be hanging on to the tape, and you have my word, it won’t get out unless you double cross us.”

  I stood there staring at this amazing woman. I’d never been so turned on in my
life.

  “Fine. Oh, one more thing, congratulations on the baby.”

  She tapped her phone and dropped it on the bed. Both hands came up to her mouth.

  “I can’t believe I did that!” she exclaimed jumping. “It was like I was a real investigative reporter! I could go after the mob now!”

  “Let’s slow down there, Jane Mayer.”

  Aubrey giggled and then calmed herself down.

  “What did he say? What happened? He gave up without a fight?” I asked. Still trying to let it sink in I wasn’t going to be a father.

  Dropping her arms to her side, she said, “Apparently, Senator Dryer really likes being a senator. He gave me the name of the lady he got to add Emily into the system. He wanted the tape, but I told him no!”

  Excitement danced in Aubrey’s eyes. “Oh my gosh! That was the coolest thing ever! It was like a movie and I was a bad ass investigative reporter who just busted the bad guy!”

  I laughed and pulled her into my arms. “You do realize you saved my ass.”

  With a huge grin, she replied, “I did, didn’t I? Do you know what I want from you now?”

  “Sex?” I asked as I wiggled my eyebrows.

  “No.”

  The DVD of Giant appeared before my face. “After a celebration dance, we watch this.”

  “A celebration dance?”

  She nodded. “Yep. I noticed they have an iPod station!”

  Rushing over to her purse, she took her iPod out and plugged it into the docking station.

  She hit play and spun around. “Baby One More Time” started and I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s too small to dance in here.”

  Shaking her head, Aubrey grabbed my hands and started singing.

  “I’m not dancing to Britney. Sorry, Bree.”

  Her lower lip jutted out as she danced around me. “Come on, it was me, after all, who solved the mystery!”

  Damn this girl. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and show her how I felt about her. I tried hard not to laugh, but she brought out a side of me I kept hidden. She could make my worse day feel like it was the best day of my life.

  “You know you want to! I see your hips moving!”

  In that moment, I knew there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Aubrey Cain. I’d do anything to see that smile.