Play Date (Play Makers Book 3) (7 page)

Had she honestly fantasized about being a guy magnet like Erica? She would never survive it! Better to be ignored.

She still wanted to soak in a hot bubble bath, but the tub in her tiny bathroom wasn’t nearly as inviting as the one in her suite at the Ashton Hotel. Plus, she needed to keep busy despite her headache, so she ran errands, did laundry, and finished her latest school-related project: a slide show of photos from a recent visit to the petting zoo. The children would love seeing it after show-and-tell tomorrow, and she would email copies to the parents thereafter.

Sean left two voice mail messages, both of which she ignored. Beth sent one apologetic, Bam-bashing text, but didn’t follow up, probably because of post-wedding family gatherings. Rachel didn’t answer
her
either, but knew she’d eventually forgive her. Maybe someday they could even laugh about it. Not that she’d tell Beth about the sex part. Unless of course a humongous bundle of joy showed up in nine months.

Wouldn’t that be just your luck?

Morbid curiosity made her pick up the TV remote and scroll through the saved programs on her DVR until she found the Super Bowl. This would make her third encounter with this game. The first time, she had been curious about her ex–blind date and intrigued to hear Johnny’s proposal. The second viewing had occurred because she had agreed to let Sean substitute for Johnny, and had fast-forwarded through the actual game, stopping only when they showed the sexy kicker doing his thing. The announcers had provided tons of information about the guy, and Rachel had even learned a little football jargon in the process. She had also learned about the Triple Threat, but had had no interest in the third member of the triumvirate until now.

Cruising through the footage, she paused to see Johnny again as he first took the field with his team. He looked amazing, but to her delight, he now seemed like Erica McCall’s husband. That was a nice development. Then she watched some coverage of Johnny’s rival quarterback, the deadly accurate Wyatt Bourne, whom everyone referred to as the Surgeon. He was a gorgeous hunk of man—dark hair, dark eyes, towering body—but she knew he was also the enemy so she barely allowed herself a short, guilty peek before she continued searching for her one-night stand.

When they finally flashed on a photo of Bannerman without his helmet, she had to smile. Apparently she hadn’t imagined it. He had the face of a medieval warrior—high cheekbones, barbarian grin, rapacious appetite, killer eyes. And his body seemed almost mythic—taller than Johnny, which was saying a lot. Long arms, huge hands, broad shoulders, lean and athletic.

The announcer agreed with her, insisting that many experts, including Johnny Spurling and his father, Coach Aaron Spurling, had proclaimed Bannerman the finest athlete on the Lancers squad. So Rachel sat back and watched him for a few minutes, pleased in spite of herself. Covered in dirt by the second play of the game, he continued that way throughout, running and jumping and catching and colliding, having a great time with his buddies.

Everyone called him Bam, but at least she now knew his real name was Vince, thanks to the information that flashed under his picture. It was a good name, she decided. If she survived the birth of his gigantic baby, she’d have to consider calling it that.

Vince Gillette.

It was the name of a federal agent or a Navy SEAL.

Or maybe it would be a girl, which momentarily stymied her. She didn’t know the female equivalent of “Vince,” and while she knew her tall, athletic daughter could also be a federal agent or a Navy SEAL, she would want her to skip such mundane accomplishments and become the first modern-day Amazon warrior woman.

And then she could kick Sean Decker’s ass.

The kicker becomes the kickee,
she decided gleefully as she finished her dinner. All she wanted now was to leave the dishes in the sink and climb back into bed. Mondays were tough enough for a kindergarten teacher, and she needed to rest up.

When the phone rang, she took a dismissive glance at the screen, then smiled ruefully at the sight of Bannerman’s name. Probably calling to apologize, which would be so unnecessary but still so sweet. So she answered right away.

“Hello?”

“Hey, teach. How was the bath?”

She laughed lightly. “Hi, Vince.”

“Vince? I liked it better when you called me Sheriff Bannerman.”

“I never called you that,” she reminded him, reluctantly enjoying the banter. “It was sweet of you to call, but not really necessary. No regrets, right?”

“I didn’t call to check on you. I want to schedule a re-bang. Hopefully for next weekend. We can go anywhere you want. Hawaii, Cabo, you name it.”

“Oh.” She paused to convey the appropriate mix of affection, offense and rejection. Then she assured him, “Last night was a one-time thing for me. I’ll never forget it, but it’s not something I’d repeat. Not with anyone. It’s just not my style.”

“You seemed to like it.”

“I’m flattered,” she told him, her tone now icy. “But just take ‘no’ for an answer, please.”

“You know what my favorite part was?”

She knew she should just hang up, but what if he said something charming? Like he would always remember their tender good-bye kiss. Wouldn’t that be a nicer way to end this crazy mistake? “Okay, what was it?”

“When you said I had a huge cock.”

“I did
not
say that.” She caught her temper and assured him, “I know you’re just teasing, but it’s crude. And a little sad. So I’m hanging up. Have a nice life, okay?”

She ended the call, then rubbed her eyes, her headache returning in full force. Again she reminded herself this wasn’t his fault. She had laughed at those ridiculous jokes last night, encouraging him to be himself. She had even found them arousing, and he knew it.

The phone rang again, and again his name flashed across the screen. And because she honestly didn’t want to end on a sour note, she answered with a tentative, “Hello?”

“Hey, teach. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not. But you have to stop calling. Please?”

“We need to get together. You’ve got something of mine, and I’ve got something of yours. We need to give them back.”

She knew she should resist, but had to ask, “What do I have of yours?”

“My heart.”

“Oh.” She exhaled, reluctantly charmed. “That’s sweet.”

“And I’ve got your panties.”

“Vince!”

“Come on, Rachel. You know you want to do it again.”

“I do not!” She exhaled angrily. “I’m hanging up. Don’t call me again—
ever
—or I’ll tell Sean. And then I’ll call the police.”

“Except
I’m
the sheriff, remember?”

“Grrrr!” She hung up and blocked his number furiously. Then without missing a beat, she opened her contact list and searched for Sean Decker.

• • •

Sean watched as a very naked, very amorous Kerrie Cosner returned from the minibar of their motel room with two candy bars and a soda for them to split. She was an amazing sight—pale blonde hair in damp ringlets around her face, huge breasts and a tiny waist, and the cutest belly button he had ever seen.

Plus, she was a dynamo in bed, servicing him in so many ways he had lost count. Her heart might be innocent, and her soul was definitely pure, but she had an obscene imagination on all other fronts.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” she cooed as she stretched out next to him.

“Yeah, me too. But we came here to talk, remember? I mean . . .” He smiled fondly. “I don’t regret a minute of this, but you’re still a married woman. Let’s figure out how to undo that, okay?”

“You’re always so serious,” she complained with a pretty pout. “Oh!” She stared at his phone, which had started vibrating on the nightstand. “Don’t take it.”

“Don’t worry.” He picked it up, intending to turn it off, but the name flashing across the screen changed his mind.

Rachel?

“I have to take this, Kerrie. It’s my date from the wedding, and she was pretty steamed.”

“I don’t blame her. Put her on speaker.”

“Huh?” He grimaced, completely confused by the etiquette of the situation. “You’re just going to listen, right? No talking?”

“I promise.”

After a deep breath, he answered. “Hey, Rachel. Thanks for calling. This is kind of a bad time—”

“Oh,
really
, Sean? A bad time? I’ll
tell
you what’s a bad time. Flying all the way to Portland for nothing. Getting ignored and insulted. And then getting stalked by your idiot friend.”

Sean glanced at Kerrie, who mouthed the word “Woah” with a teasing laugh.

Shaking his head in warning, he said to Rachel, “What idiot friend? Do you mean Bam?”

“Yes, Sean. I mean
Bam.
He keeps calling me. Make it stop.”

“No problem.” He silently cursed the halfback, but said soothingly, “He’s just joking around, honey. You shouldn’t have kissed him—”

“
What
did you just say?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll talk to him. But trust me, he’ll move on to the next babe by midnight.”

“Did you just refer to me as a babe?” she asked indignantly. “That’s priceless, since you didn’t even notice I was
female
until now.”

“Geezus, Rachel—”

“Just get it done, Decker. Or I’ll tell Beth Spurling. I
swear
it.”

He paused, hoping silence would work better than platitudes. Then he assured her, “I’ll talk to him. And maybe you should try blocking his number—”

“Really, Einstein?”

“Man, you’re almost as scary as Beth when you’re mad,” he said, laughing out loud even though he knew it would piss her off further. Then he cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry, Rachel. I’ll take care of it, then I’ll call you—”

“Don’t bother, because I’m blocking
you
next. So just get it done.”

She disconnected as threatened, so he turned his phone off then gave Kerrie a sheepish wince.

“I
love
her,” Kerrie said, her smile mischievous.

“She’s usually so sweet.”

“Why should she be? You ignored her all night, even though she’s gorgeous. And you actually let Bam Bannerman get his hands on her? That’s just wrong. I’ve heard stories, Sean. He’s ginormous.”

“You’re making my ears bleed.”

She giggled. “Don’t worry, you’re big too. But it’s different with him because he’s a sex maniac.”

“He’s not that bad,” Sean murmured, trying to be loyal to his friend even though he wanted to rip his throat out. “But yeah, he’s out of her league. Or vice versa. She just kissed him to get back at me.”

“Well, she made a huge mistake. Now he’ll hound her until he gets what he wants.”

“It was a regular kiss,” he insisted, concerned for the first time. “I saw it. Not Bam’s usual style. So I figure he was just clowning around. Trying to tweak me and John because we didn’t pay enough attention to her. But he’ll back off.”

“I hope so.”

“So, listen.” He coughed warily. “We came here to talk, remember? So let’s talk.”

“Okay.” She sat up, attentive and trusting, her erect nipples front and center. “You can say anything to me, Sean.”

“Good, because . . .” He cleared his throat again. “I like you a lot, obviously. But I can’t have a relationship with a married woman.”

“I don’t
feel
married,” she reminded him. “He sleeps with other women. Lots of them. He never makes love to me. It’s like we’re emotionally divorced already.”

Sean struggled against an impulse to rescue her. Because that wasn’t his job, was it? At least not yet.

So all he said was, “That sounds bad, Kerrie. But it doesn’t change the fact that—legally—you’re married. And that’s a problem for me.”

“I have a problem too,” she said with a teasing smile. “I’m in love with you.”

He forced himself to use a stern tone. “You don’t even know me.”

She looked pensive for a moment. Then she said solemnly, “First of all, I
do
know you. I’ve worshipped you from afar for more than two years. Been there for your ups and downs. When you were miserable about breaking Bannerman’s hand, so was I. And I was euphoric—for
you,
not Coz—when you won the Super Bowl. And mostly, I was in awe of you, because you handled both extremes with grace. Because you’re so strong. And so noble.” She tousled his hair with her fingertips. “But even if I didn’t know a thing about you, I’d still love you. Because it was love at first sight. You believe in that, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, seduced by her crazy logic.

“For me, it was that Jacksonville game when you kicked a sixty-yard field goal in the middle of a hurricane. I just sat there. Stunned. Mesmerized. Not just because it was so awesome, but because I felt like you kicked it just for me.”

Sean stared in confusion. Was this true? That was the very game when he had first caught a glimpse of
her
. On the big screen, looking amazing. Then Coz Cosner had sat down beside her and put his arm around her, and Sean had realized who she was.

Love at first sight? Under other circumstances, it might have been something like that. But instead, he had been jolted into unrequited lust, a much safer option. Not that Coz had been his coach back then, but the fix was in so to speak, thanks to Sean’s agent, Patrick Murphy, who planned to move him to the Lancers. To team him up with Johnny Spurling and Vince Bannerman.

To form a triple threat.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Kerrie pleaded. “I need to know.”

“I saw you that day too. You were with Coz. And since I didn’t know what an a-hole he was, and didn’t know he cheated on you, I figured you were happily married. I couldn’t let myself fall for you, Kerrie. Not that way. Plus, I knew he would probably be my coach soon.”

“But you noticed me,” she said with a wistful smile. “Tell me about it.”

“You looked good. I mean, you’re cute as hell, so there’s that. But there was something else that made me notice you. You looked lonely, I guess.”

“Oh, Sean.” She wrapped her arms around his chest. “Of all the things you could have said, that means the most. It’s our destiny, don’t you see? For you to rescue me from my unhappy marriage.”