“Good. Call me before you go to bed and we can make plans. You can tell me a naughty bedtime story while you’re at it.” The line went dead.
Amanda hung up and took several breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. Oh, God. She was so falling for Brad Rogers. She didn’t just lust after him. She actually liked him. But what future could they have? If anyone found out, it would really affect her professional image with the team. She should tell Brad no when they talked later that night. Better yet, she shouldn’t call him.
But she knew she was going to call him. And she knew she was going to see him. She couldn’t seem to help herself.
“I GOT THE ÉCLAIRS. Now talk.” Amanda fixed Reggie with a challenging stare as she set the box on her desk. “What other news do you have?”
He reached for an éclair but she pulled the box out of reach. “No eating until you start talking.”
He sighed. “Has anyone ever told you you’re very demanding?”
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “Reggie.”
“Okay. Okay. Kevin arranged for us to travel with the team on their private jet. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how rare that is. Not even Jack Ass flies in the team jet. This should really get his panties in a wad.”
“Really? I can’t believe it.”
“Yep. And that’s not all.”
“More? What more could there possibly be?”
“Kevin mentioned another piece of news while I was in his office. Are you familiar with L.A. Woman?”
“Remotely. I think it’s a lot like Dallas Woman in Texas.”
“I don’t know about that. But I do know L.A. Woman is big here. Apparently one of the editors reads your columns and is intrigued by your take on things. She wants to book an interview. Kevin seemed quite pleased. Well, as pleased as Kevin can ever seem.”
Amanda’s mind was racing, her excitement hard to contain. “When? What kind of interview?”
“That’s all I know. You’ll have to see Kevin.”
“I need to just back up and calm down. I don’t want to get too excited. Maybe it’s not that big a deal.”
“It is a big deal. But before you go getting all happy, I took a call from Becker you need to deal with. He’s pissed.”
“Any specifics on why?”
“The garter thing seemed to be the focus of his rambling.”
She pursed her lips as she thought of her conversation with Brad. “I didn’t say he wore garters. I said he didn’t.”
“Funny how some guys can get so sensitive,” Reggie said.
Amanda gave him the evil eye, then she claimed the box of éclairs. She needed a sugar fix and at least two cups of coffee before she called Casey.
Sucking up took lots of energy.
17
TWO GLASSES OF WINE in his hands, Brad watched Amanda finish a lap in the pool, knowing she had two more to go. He’d watched her swim every night for a week, loving every minute of being in the water.
He sat at the edge of the pool, setting the glasses on the pavement beside him. He was content to sit here and enjoy the night. The temperature was reported at ninety-plus, but his pool overlooked the ocean, and the evening breeze swept in from the water, delivering soothing coolness.
He wasn’t sure what Amanda was doing to him. All he knew was he couldn’t get enough of her. Thankfully the team had had a string of home games and off days that kept him in L.A. These past two weeks with Amanda ranked among the best he’d lived in a long time. He told himself this was just about great sex. That she kept his mind off his injury. But truthfully it was more than sex. He’d talked to her more than he had any other woman.
A voice deep inside whispered a warning. He was getting too close to her. Too involved. He wanted another five years on the mound before he could even think about settling down.
Reaching for his wine, he took a sip, reminding himself Amanda had a career to think about, too. She couldn’t afford to be seriously involved with him any more than he could with her.
She swam his way, stopping in front of him. She settled her hands on his knees, sending heat through his veins. Amazing how one touch could set him on fire.
He stared at her, searching for what it was about her that got to him. The answer seemed everything. Water clung to her long dark lashes and her hair was slicked back from her beautiful features, accenting her huge green eyes.
“Hey,” she said, smiling.
He set his glass down again and slid into the pool, pulling her close. “Hey, yourself.” His mouth brushed hers, absorbing the droplets of water still clinging to her lush lips. “Hungry?”
She nodded. “Starved.”
His gaze dropped to her pebbled nipples pressing against her light-blue bikini top. Brad slid his hands up from her waist, framing her breasts with his hands, before running his thumbs over the stiff peaks. “Me, too.” He shoved aside the material and rolled her nipple, pleased when she sucked in a breath.
She reached up and covered herself. “Not until you feed me. I’m weak. You wouldn’t want me to pass out on you, would you?”
He contemplated pressing her against the wall and taking her right here and now. He’d do all the work and she wouldn’t have to do anything but enjoy.
“Oh, no,” she scolded. “I know that look in your eyes. No means no. Feed me!”
Damn, she read him well. Caving to her demands, he released her and pushed up on the side of the pool, offering her his good hand in assistance. Once she sat beside him, he reached for the towels behind him and wrapped one around her shoulders.
“So what are we going to eat?”
“Pizza?” he suggested.
“Not chicken?”
He grinned. “Actually, I know this healthy place that makes fantastic pizza.”
She rolled her eyes. “I should have guessed. So far everything you’ve said would be good has been, so I’ll trust you.”
Brad reached behind him again and grabbed the cordless phone. Once their food was ordered, they sat in comfortable silence, as they had on several occasions.
“Are you excited to be traveling with the team?”
“I am,” Amanda said. “And I can’t wait to see Jack’s face when he realizes I’m invited on the team jet.”
“You and Jack. You’re like two dogs fighting over the same bone. Let him have it and make your own path. Otherwise this one-upmanship will eat you alive.”
“I know. I’m trying. Right now, the pressure is from my boss, not Jack. He has me chasing a big story to get it before Jack does.”
Brad’s jaw tightened. There wasn’t a ballplayer alive who liked the subject they were headed toward. “If you mean the way he’s been sniffing out a steroid story, so is every other reporter alive. It’s the hot topic everyone wants a piece of.”
“Yeah,” Amanda said. “That’s what I meant. I figured Tony told you I was asking questions.”
“I knew Jack was.” Brad thought of Jack’s accusations about Tony and prayed they were false. “He questioned me about some of the players and I told him to stick it.”
“I’d have loved to have heard that.” She kicked at the water, her expression thoughtful. “I’m not enjoying this part of my job. At first, when Kevin pressed me to go after this story, I didn’t hesitate. I wanted to beat Jack. But now I realize Jack’s agenda can’t be the same as mine. There’s no way to break this kind of story on your home team and still be allowed in the locker room later.”
“You got that right.”
“So why would my boss push me to get this story?” Amanda frowned. “Unless…unless that’s his plan. Maybe he knows he’ll have to replace me, so he’ll get the goods first.”
He ran his hand down her back, noting the worry in her face. “Your readership is growing. I’m sure that’s not the case. He probably wants the story so much, he’s not seeing beyond that objective. It happens. Besides, if someone is juicing—which I don’t think is the case—it needs to be dealt with behind closed door
s. Kids need heroes. What example does it set when they find out their hero is doing drugs?”
Amanda stared at him, her eyes lingering on his face, softness in her eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“I like you, Brad.”
He laughed. “You like me? Good thing considering you get freaky with me.”
“Oh, I don’t have to like you to be in lust with you, but I do like you. You’re a nice guy. Arrogant as hell, but still a good guy.”
Brad kissed her. “Well, I like you, too, Amanda Wright. And I still want your body.”
“You can prove it after you feed me. Hey, how was your second acupuncture appointment?”
Brad flexed his hand. “Good. I can’t believe how much it’s helped. That sister of yours has already won me over.”
Amanda sipped her wine. “She usually does. My ex was a sports medicine doctor, too. He became obsessed with outshining Kelli but he never could.”
Her ex had come up once before but the subject had been quickly changed. “That must have been tough on you.”
She shrugged. “I guess it was. I feel like such a different person now. It’s like the woman who married him and lived that life wasn’t me. Hard to believe I was with him. Now there was a man with a God complex.”
“God complex? Explain.”
“According to Kelli, all doctors, pilots and athletes have massive egos and think the world revolves around them.”
He snorted. “Correct me if I’m wrong. She fits that list.”
“She says she doesn’t count.”
“Of course not. Funny how that works in her favor.” He studied her a moment. “You think I have a God complex?”
“No, but I don’t know if I’d recognize it. I didn’t with my ex.”
“Not really liking that comparison.”
She grinned. “Sorry. Casey fits the God complex. Tony certainly does. Kurt…I haven’t talked to him enough to decide.”
“Not Kurt. He’s completely untouched by the spotlight. I respect the guy a lot.”
“And Tony?” she asked. “You seem to be pals.”
“Tony’s entertaining. He has to come back to earth before I decide if I truly respect him. He’s good and he knows it.”
“He’s cocky and arrogant.”
“Exactly. But sometimes you have to be. The pressure is intense. The talk around you messes with your head. Sometimes you have to pump yourself up so they can’t bring you down. And other times they’re building you so big you can’t even see reality.”
“Sounds like experience talking,” she said.
“You and I both know I took a public beating over that bar fight. I had to find my zone to overcome it. That meant believing I was better than everyone else. And it worked until I got hurt.”
“What happened that night?”
Oddly enough, Brad didn’t feel the need to dodge the question. He shrugged. “I was stupid. This U.T. pitcher started talking trash and I had a couple beers in me. The combination wasn’t good.”
“I don’t get it, Brad. You were at the top of your game. What could the guy have said that set you off so bad?”
Brad ground his teeth. He hadn’t told anyone what had really gone down between him and that guy. Figured it didn’t matter. The end result was the same, no matter what.
“I knew him,” Brad said, not sure why he was telling Amanda what he’d told no one else. “His older brother had played ball for my father.”
“Oh, no.” Amanda’s words came out a low whisper. “Tell me he didn’t trash-talk your dad.”
Brad’s chest tightened. The way Amanda knew things before he even said them amazed him.
“Yeah,” he said, after several seconds of silence. Talking about this was helping in a way he hadn’t known needed to be helped. “It was the anniversary of his death. I was feeling kinda edgy. My mom had been on the phone to me earlier that day and I heard how bad she was hurting. The timing, the alcohol…I let it get to me.”
“And then he sued because you punched him.”
“Right.”
“You never told anyone this part of the story, did you?”
“That wouldn’t have done anything but spread it all over the papers and upset my mom. And for what? In the end, I punched the guy. I was stupid and it bit me in the ass.”
“I can’t believe you kept this quiet.”
“Becker reminds me of that damn kid. So much so that sometimes I want to punch him, too.”
She surprised him by laughing. “I never would have guessed.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“Just a little.”
She was beautiful like this—natural, perfect. Brad tugged her close and pressed her hand to his crotch. “I want you.”
“I never would have guessed,” she teased, stroking him with her fingers.
The doorbell rang and he cursed under his breath. “I don’t suppose you’d let me ignore that.”
She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “Not a chance.”
AT 8:00 A.M. THE DAY the team left for Texas, Amanda stood inside the terminal of the private airstrip waiting to board the Rays’ jet. Reggie was off getting her coffee and she loved him for it. She’d stayed up far too late the night before, and her body ached with the demand for sleep.
She wore black from head to toe—pants, cotton blouse, boots. Black traveled well. Amanda didn’t. Flying had never really been her thing. She got nervous over every bump, every sound.
It didn’t help that she was nervous about being in such proximity to Brad, who had yet to show up. Would she be able to hide from the others how she felt about him? Or would they all guess she had fallen hard for their star pitcher?
They’d said goodbye last night agreeing to keep their distance on the road. Once they were back in L.A. they’d probably pick up where they left off. Or would they? They hadn’t actually agreed to that. During this trip Brad could decide he’d had enough of her and never want to see her again.
God, she hated flying. It made her paranoid.
Still, they should stop their affair and use this time as the opportunity to do that. She had a job to think about. At the end of the day she wanted her career, not a longer fling with Brad. Right. That’s exactly what she wanted and if her libido was thinking otherwise, she could ignore it. This wouldn’t be the first time.
Reggie appeared by her side and handed her a cup of coffee. Casual as usual, he wore a Rays’ ball cap over his dreadlocks. “Mocha straight up,” he said. “The choices were limited. I had to get it from a machine.”
“I’ll take anything I can get,” Amanda said.
Around them, players talked to the press and to family, saying farewells. Amanda kept her distance. She had two weeks of living day and night with these guys, so there was no rush to get close.
“What kept you up so late?”
“I didn’t finish tomorrow’s feature on Tony until near two. I was afraid to wait and have some sort of travel delay keep me from making deadline.”
What Amanda didn’t say was that she’d stayed far too late at Brad’s, not going home until the last possible minute.
“My shots were okay, right?” he asked, sipping his coffee.
“They were perfect.”
“And your headline?”
She grinned despite her tiredness. “The Italian Sweet Spot.”
Reggie let out a bark of laughter that drew attention. “Oh, my God, that is too good. It’s perfect. Of course, you mean the sweet spot as in the perfect place on his bat.”
Amanda wiggled her eyebrows. “Guess you’ll have to read my feature to find out.” Of course, he was right about her meaning. Tony had talked quite a bit about the sweet spot on his bat during their interview. She felt his agreeing to talk to her showed she was earning his trust. “Once you get past his ego, he’s a pretty nice guy.”
“Seems Laura still likes him,” Reggie said, moving closer and lowering his voice.
Amanda caught a glimpse of th
e couple. The atmosphere between them seemed strained as Laura spoke to him and Tony responded. Her expression indicated displeasure with his reply. Still, she pushed to her toes, and kissed his cheek.
“I’ve warned him,” Amanda told Reggie. “He won’t listen. You know, she hasn’t called me in days. Not since I told her she should consider dating other guys. I know I shouldn’t have said it, but I had a weak moment. She hung up on me.”
Casey walked past them, and winked at Amanda.
“I swear, that kid is either mad at you or trying to get in your pants,” Reggie muttered.
Amanda elbowed him. “Behave,” she said. “He and Laura would be quite the mature pair, though, wouldn’t they?”
An announcement over the intercom indicated they were ready to board. “Great,” Amanda said, inhaling.
“Flying is safer than driving,” Reggie reminded her for the fifth time since he’d arrived.
She cast him a warning look. “I told you to stop saying that. It doesn’t help. I’m going to the bathroom so I don’t have to get up on the plane.”
“I’ll wait on you.”
Amanda eyed the signs but didn’t see one for the bathroom. She looked left, then right. Right looked, well, right. But after passing several gates, she saw no bathroom. Worse, being a private airport, the customer service seemed limited. She was about to turn back when she heard Jack’s irritating voice ahead. Strange. What was he doing down here? She should have noticed his absence at the gate.
She really didn’t want to see him, nor did she want to eavesdrop. But for some reason, she was frozen in her steps. A woman’s voice filled the air.
“I told you, Jack,” Laura said. “I was mad when I called you. I don’t have a secret to tell.”
“He doesn’t care about you, Laura,” Jack said. “And I can prove it.”
“What are you doing?”
Amanda jumped, surprised to hear Brad behind her. She whirled around, caught eavesdropping. He wore soft Levi’s and a black T-shirt that hugged his muscles.
She cleared her throat. “I was looking for the bathroom.”
“It’s time to go. Use the one on the plane.”