Playing the Player, page 19
He just grinned back as we approached the rental car area. He had reserved a truck ahead of time and within minutes we were in it, heading out of the airport.
“I feel like I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to be mad at me,” he said, shifting gears.
I eyed James suspiciously. “Is this where you tell me that you bought me a car? Or you replaced all the clothes in my suitcase with sexy lingerie?”
He laughed. “No. No car and no lingerie, though I wish I had thought of that myself. Damn. Next trip. I’m disappointed in myself for not thinking of that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Before Train and Sydney were together, she asked me to have sex with her and I basically said yes.”
“Basically?” I stared at him, not thrilled with the thought that I had to spend a weekend with someone he’d had sex with, married to someone else or not. “How do you basically have sex? With a latte in your hand?”
He gave a short laugh, then cut himself off, like he’d realized it was the wrong time to laugh at my joke. He didn’t look at me, but kept his eyes on the road. “No, no, we didn’t actually have sex. Nothing happened because at that moment seeing us made Train realize he wasn’t going to let that happen and he hauled her off to his hotel room and knocked her up.”
Interesting. “So you didn’t have sex with her?”
“No. Nothing happened at all. I never even touched her.”
“Okay.” I was a little puzzled why he was sharing this, then.
“Sometimes Train or the guys like to give me shit about it and I didn’t want you caught off guard. Train was pissed at me for awhile, so I wanted to be honest with you. No secrets.”
“I appreciate that.” Then I realized something. Sydney was only five or six months pregnant. “When was this?”
“New Year’s Eve.”
“Ah. After we met.” I had known that he’d probably seen other women after our night together, and he had pretty much admitted that when I had seen my shoe on his dresser, but I didn’t really want details or to think too much about it.
“I was pissed you left without saying goodbye or leaving your number. My head wasn’t really on straight right then.”
“Don’t put that on me,” I said. Not because I was angry, but I didn’t see what I had to do with his decision to sleep with random women.
“I’m not putting it on you. I’m explaining that you had an impact on me when you ran out with one shoe like some Cinderella thief.”
That made me roll my eyes. “So your Prince Charming move was to have sex with other women? In the movie, he sent his minions out to look for her. He wasn’t banging all the single maidens in the land in payback sex.” I wasn’t sure why I was fixating on that. It wasn’t like I hadn’t already known he’d been with other women.
“How did we get here?” he said. “Oh, because I was trying to be honest with you. But anyway, for the record, I did look for you. I told you I found you on social media, but I also stayed at the hotel a few times and ordered lots of extra towels looking for you.”
Now I burst out laughing. “You did what?”
“You heard me.” He sounded grumpy now.
“That’s kind of… different. You could have just reached out to me on social media.”
“I thought you stole my stuff. You wouldn’t have responded. I wanted to catch you off guard.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. “But we met again by accident. Right?”
“Correct.”
“And then with Amelia?”
“Also coincidence. Though I did pay off the kid who tried to take the walk first. I saw your profile on the app.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know how or what I was supposed to feel. “Thanks for being honest.”
“Speaking of Amelia, I miss her,” he said. “Can you put my phone on the kennel? We can see her on video.”
Was that a subject change? I didn’t think so. He really was obsessed with the dog. I picked his phone and held it up to him. “Do you have facial or thumb recognition to unlock it?”
“Just put the code in since I’m driving.” He rattled off his passcode.
I tapped the numbers, a little floored he trusted me with it. “Is the kennel an app?”
“You can just go to the website.” Then he added, “I have a confession to make.”
My gut clenched. What now? “Is this about Amelia or something else? Because if you tell me you have a secret baby, I’m not going to be cool with it.”
“What? No. Of course not. Who has a secret baby? What does that even mean, like the baby is in Europe or something? Hey, did you know Ji-Ho’s hot for Christina? He asked me to get her number.”
I mentally cursed myself for getting him off track. “What do you need to confess? You’re freaking me out.”
“Oh, no, don’t freak out. It’s just I’ve never given my passcode to a woman before. I admit, I hesitated for a split second. But I want you to know I trust you.”
I was relieved and touched. He clearly didn’t think I was responsible for stealing his wallet or ring. “That means a lot to me. And I’ll give you my passcode too, if you want it.”
“Only if you want to give it to me.”
“You called me your girlfriend in front of that fan.”
He glanced over at me. “Yes. That’s what you are. Right?”
“Does that mean we’re… exclusive?” I thought we were. I just needed him to say it. For all I knew, he’d bought three other women houses this month.
“Yes. We are. I am not, nor do I want to be, seeing any other women. And given your schedule, I’m pretty sure you don’t have any time for a side piece.”
That made me laugh. “I barely have time for you.”
“Trust me, I know.”
I put my hand on his thigh. “I want to squeeze you in whenever I can.”
When he glanced over at me, I realized that had been a poor choice of words. He was grinning. “Don’t,” I said. “Don’t even say it.”
“Say what?” he said.
I shook my head. The innocent act didn’t work on him.
“Nothing. And I’ll give you Christina’s number but you need to warn Ji-Ho she has a child.”
“He knows that. The kid was with her.”
“I’m just saying that she’s not skilled at casual dating and having a child involved could be messy.”
James made a noncommittal sound.
“What?” I asked.
He gave me a smile. “You’re such a mom, you know that? You’re a beautiful person, Mia.”
My heart squeezed. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I whispered.
Chapter Seventeen
JJ
“You didn’t tell anyone I was coming?” Mia asked, the second we were alone in one of Cash’s guest rooms. She reached out and smacked my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Ow,” I said, rubbing my arm, even though it didn’t hurt in the slightest. It was like getting punched by a feather.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You get knocked on your ass by grown men twice my size. That did not hurt. Now answer the question.”
I put her suitcase on the dresser and unzipped it. I almost had a heart attack when I opened it. She packed like a toddler. “What the hell is this? Did Kadin pack for you?” Everything was just shoved in with no rhyme or reason.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I told them I was bringing my girlfriend. I think I just assumed they would know that I meant you.”
That might be a lie. Sort of. I had thought they would think of Mia, but mostly I hadn’t wanted to hear any of the guys’ opinions on dating her. I regretted I’d ever told them about her alleged thievery.
But when we’d walked into Cash’s house, they’d had no choice but to be polite. And they had been. They might have been surprised, but no one seemed particularly upset.
“That was embarrassing. Sydney didn’t even remember my name.”
“That’s because you met her on her wedding day. She was distracted.” I started pulling her clothes out and folding them, before placing them in a drawer. I was trying to be as honest as possible with Mia, but I didn’t think she needed to know why I hadn’t been totally forthcoming with my friends.
“Stop folding my clothes.” She jerked a sundress out of my hand and threw it back in the suitcase.
“They’re getting wrinkled.”
“I like them wrinkled,” she said, sounding completely irritated with me.
I stopped what I was doing and turned to her. I cupped her cheeks with my hands. “Mia.”
“James,” she said, begrudgingly.
“It doesn’t matter. My friends are fine. Let’s have fun.” I kissed her softly.
She sighed. “Don’t fold my clothes.”
“Fine. I won’t fold your clothes. I won’t even iron them while you’re asleep.” I gave her a smile.
That made her laugh. “Oh, God, if you do that, I’m going to be very disturbed.”
“It already crossed my mind.”
“That’s not normal.”
“You’re stuck with me, so get used to it.” I wholeheartedly meant that.
“Leave the clothes and show me this ranch. I’m dying to see the horses.”
As if I’d ever say no to Mia. I flipped the suitcase closed again. “Let’s go.”
* * *
I leaned on the fence, my boot on the bottom rail, and watched Mia inside the ring. She had asked if she could ride, so she and Cash were out there, him holding the horse’s lead, Mia gently talking to the mare.
She looked good seated. Hell, she always looked good. But even though she hadn’t ridden in years, she looked at home on a horse.
Train and Sydney had stayed in the house, because Train was a city boy who wouldn’t go near a horse, but Eloise and Dak were taking a stroll on the property not far from where we were. Miles didn’t have any interest in riding, so he was standing next to me, watching.
“So… Mia, huh?” Miles asked me.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said.
The sun was fading and I was feeling really damn content. I had missed the country, the fresh air, the green lushness of Cash’s ranch. I just wanted to breathe deep, relax, and have a good time with Mia, not deal with any opinions or bullshit.
“Hear what? I just think it’s messed up you didn’t tell anyone you were bringing her.”
I watched Mia laughing at something Cash said. Just seeing her enjoying herself gave me a ridiculous amount of fucking pleasure. “Just drop it, Williams. I told Cash I was bringing a girl.”
“No problem.”
I glanced over at him. “What’s going on in your life, by the way?” Miles lived twenty minutes from Cash, but like most of us, he was approaching free agency in his career and had some decisions to make.
“I’m staying one more year with the league, then I’m retiring,” he said.
That surprised me. “Seriously? You’re only twenty-seven.” I couldn’t even imagine retiring yet. I hadn’t gotten everything out of the game that I wanted to yet. I wanted to stick around another decade if I could.
“Twenty-six. I graduated high school a year early, remember?” He shrugged. “I don’t want to fuck my head up. I’ve already had two concussions and I want to apply to graduate school at Vanderbilt to get my PhD. Can’t do that with scrambled brains.”
“Damn. That’s impressive. I think that’s fantastic.” I did. It wasn’t for me. Football had been my life since I was five years old. I was leaving the sport kicking and screaming. Not to mention I’d never been the world’s greatest student. I’d never had to be and I hadn’t put much effort into it.
“I’m going to miss some things about football, but I’m ready for the next chapter in my life, you know what I’m saying?”
I watched Mia walking the horse across the ring. “Yeah. I definitely understand that.”
“Subject change but have you ever had a stalker?” Miles asked.
That got my attention. I turned to him. “What? Like a crazy fan?”
“Maybe. But more like just a crazy female sending you gifts and notes.”
That seemed more standard issue than a nutjob harassing him. “Sure. I’ve gotten lots of shit from women designed to grab my attention. Nude pics, you know, the usual.”
Miles didn’t say anything.
I studied him. He looked pensive. I tried to make light of it. “It’s not a guy pissed that you dropped that pass in the red zone week fifteen last season?”
“Fuck you, no. It’s a woman.”
“Are they texts?”
“A couple of texts from an unknown number. Plus actual handwritten notes that show up on my car and at the gym and random places like that.”
“So she must have met you personally then if she has your number. Trace her number. Has she threatened you? Like do you think she’s crazy, crazy?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. She sounds off. But I think mostly it’s frustrating me that I can’t figure out who she is. I just want to know who she is and why she would be basically harassing me.”
“Maybe hire a private investigator or one of those IT people who can trace stuff online.” It didn’t sound like anything more than a woman obsessed with him. That could happen to anyone at any time. “Or just ignore her and hope she gets bored.”
“I might have answered one of her notes.”
I gave him a look. “Are you insane? You don’t engage with a stalker.”
“Says the man who brought the woman who robbed him to a friends’ weekend. Your judgement isn’t all that, Beckett.”
That pissed me off. “She did not rob me. Fuck you.”
Miles gave me a dirty look. “Fuck you.”
Historically, I wouldn’t have thought much of an exchange between us like that, because Miles was my ride or die best friend and we gave each other shit, but I was genuinely pissed. I didn’t like his attitude toward Mia, so I knew I needed to walk away before I took a swing at him.
Without a word to Williams, I just went over the fence and over to Cash. “How’s Mia doing?”
“She’s a natural,” he said. “She has a way with horses.”
She had a way with me.
That damn luggage needed to show up because I had something in it I wanted to give Mia to show my appreciation for her.
I checked my phone. Nothing.
For now I was optimistic and content to watch Mia enjoying herself.
“You’re staying with Tennessee, right?” I asked Cash.
“If I can, for sure. I love living here, like the coach, our QB. I’m happy here.” Cash eyed me. “You looking for a change?”
“I have one more season on my contract, you know that.” I watched Mia taking a turn around the ring, leaning down to murmur to the horse. “Just debating options.”
There was a hell of a lot to consider now.
I was in love with a couple of redheads and I needed to think about both Amelia and Mia when I made life-altering decisions.
The dog would be cool with going wherever I wanted to.
Mia was more of a wildcard.
I loved everything about her and I wanted to lock it in.
The question was whether or not she would agree to it.
* * *
Mia
* * *
“Are you sure I can’t do anything to help?” I asked Cash for the fourth time. It was an uncomfortable feeling for me to just be sitting around.
I had gravitated toward Cash in particular because he seemed easygoing and friendly. He’d told me he’d grown up poor in the bayou and his disposition reflected that to me. He felt the most humble of the group of guys, the most down-to-earth. He took their ribbing good naturedly, and while his acreage of land was impressive, his house wasn’t over-the-top. It was a very nice modern farmhouse, but it wasn’t massive or filled with extra features. It was a very solid house with lots of masculine decor.
The guest room that me and James had been assigned had a literal wagon wheel hung on the wall. It made me more at ease.
Frankly, I was more at home here than in James’ sterile apartment. He had no reflection of himself in that place, whereas Cash seemed to have infused his personality into his house.
“Nah, I’m good,” Cash said, flipping burgers on the grill. “Though I don’t suppose you know how to build a fire in the pit, do you? I thought a fire after dinner would be nice.”
“I one hundred percent can do that.” I felt an almost irrational relief that he was entrusting me with a task. I couldn’t sit still anymore. There was some weird tension between James and Miles and I felt awkward around Sydney, though I wasn’t sure why exactly, because she was being super friendly to me. Eloise was being the same, but I still felt like odd man out. They were both in serious relationships with Dak and Train and they were cousins to boot.
Hanging out with Cash felt like being around my own cousin, Seth. We’d grown up together running through the woods.
“Thanks, Mia.” Cash gave me a smile. “Wood is on the side of the house.”
“Got it.” I set my glass of wine down and went in search of the woodpile. Grabbing an armful and making my way to the firepit, I saw James glance over at me. I smiled at him. He was sitting in an Adirondack chair with a beer in his hand talking to his friends. His eyebrows shot up.
He set his beer down. Damn it. He was coming over to me.
I set the pile down and went on my knees so I could assemble my structure of tinder and kindling.
“What are you doing?” James asked. “You should be relaxing for once.”
“I think I’m broken,” I told him. “I’m not sure how to sit still. It’s making me antsy.”
“Jesus, Mia.”
“In all seriousness, I find this relaxing. I really do miss living where there’s so much green space.” I stacked the tinder at a thirty degree angle, making a tent with the wood.
“Where would you live if you could live anywhere?” James squatted down beside me.
That was a no-brainer. “In the house you bought me. Hand me that wood.” I pointed.
