Too Hot to Handle: A Boys of Summer Novel (19 page)

When his body finally relaxed, he put his arms on the wall on either side of her and leaned down to kiss her. The water hit his back and then cascaded around them as his mouth took hers. When he finally leaned back, he looked at her in awe.

“What did I do to deserve this? You?”

Nikki smiled. “Nothing and everything.”

Pete walked into Nikki’s office the next day, just as Darcy was getting up to leave. The event had been a huge success. They were just going through the receipts, tallying up the money they had made for the hospital. Besides the ticket sales for the event itself, they’d raked in an enormous pile from the baskets and chances for prizes.

“Ladies,” Pete said, still chomping away on his gum. “Glad I caught you both. You did a hell of a good job last night. Saw some of the press this morning. Already, the papers seem to be taking a different view of the team.”

“We have a lot more planned,” Nikki said, feeling the color rush to her cheeks. Was it her imagination, or was there more of a twinkle in Pete’s eyes? She was afraid of this, that there would now be awkwardness with everyone aware of her relationship with Jake. But Darcy had been perfectly natural, as if none of it was a surprise. And Pete seemed equally nonchalant, though privately amused.

“The team is taking a group of boys from the inner city to the ballpark for a day,” she continued, consulting her notes. “And Chase and Jake both made the All-Stars, so we are doing a feature story on that.”

“Sounds good.” Pete nodded. “What else? We’re going to need a ton of ammunition after that brawl.”

“The next road trip is to St. Louis, where Brian is from. We want to do some interviews with his family, allowing the fans to see the players as real human beings, just like them. Then we have a hospital visit, events at the ballpark that include autographs, free hot dogs. Anything to create the feeling that this is an All-American team.”

“I like it,” Pete said, chomping his gum just as the door opened and John Palmer walked in, a fistful of papers in his hand. He looked about to explode, and immediately, the air filled with tension.

Darcy was about to leave, but when she saw the communications director, she hesitated and pretended to shuffle through her folders. Even Pete had been on his way out, but now he settled into a chair, making it plain he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Who gave you the authority to do all that?” He tossed a copy of their event calendar on Nikki’s desk, his expression outraged.

“John,” Nikki said. “I invited you to the planning meeting, but you didn’t respond. I’ve also copied you on all of the emails. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to engage.”

She thought her calm demeanor would settle him down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. His face got red, and his eyes blazed at her.

“
I
am in charge here. Nothing gets planned without my approval, no matter who you are sleeping with. This shit stops now.”

He stormed out of her office, and Nikki glanced at Pete in embarrassment. In the past, she’d never understood why someone would be so foolish as to get involved in a romantic entanglement in the workplace. Now she did completely. She realized she couldn’t walk away from her relationship with Jake for any amount of money or position, despite the repercussions. The emotional pull and sexual attraction had been so strong right from the beginning, it was like being caught in an undertow and sucked under the waves.

Now, she was deep in the ocean. And had no regrets.

Yet she felt as though she owed Pete an explanation. Her actions had created this, and she knew they would make some people uncomfortable. Pete deserved better. She took a deep breath.

“Pete, about last night…”

But he held up his hand, forestalling her words. The twinkle was gone from his eye, and anger emanated from him as he got to his feet. “Your private business is just that. Private. But I tell you what, I don’t like what he just said and I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

With that, Pete walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Nikki looked at Darcy with concern.

“I think the shit’s about to hit the fan.”

Darcy nodded. “But he’s had it coming for a long time now. I’ll work on the hot-dog day. Are you going to set up the St. Louis interviews with Brian?”

“Yes,” Nikki said, putting the director out of her mind. “I’ll take care of it this morning.”

When Jake entered the locker room, Jimmy spotted him first and began to applaud. Cody grinned and followed suit, as did Brian and Derek. They all rose to their feet and gave him the equivalent of a standing ovation, followed by wolf whistles, backslapping, and exclamations of “My man!”

Only Ryan seemed less than thrilled. He wagged his massive head back and forth in disgust as the local hero made his way through the appreciative crowd to his locker.

“Okay, knock it off,” Jake said and grinned, shaking his head and waving at them dismissively. Ryan heaved a sigh and walked slowly through the benches to where his enormous locker stood. Slowly and ritualisti
cally, he opened the door and began methodically emptying its contents.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked when the clapping finally died down.

“You won, man,” Ryan said simply. “The bet. Remember, my locker or your jersey?” He looked pointedly at the number 11 jangling in Jake’s hand.

“Oh, come on,” Jake drawled. “I forgot all that a long time ago.”

“I didn’t,” Ryan said simply, heaving a huge sigh as he stared at the cavernous interior of his locker. Inside, the doors were papered with pictures of bikini-clad girls and rock stars. And, without missing a beat, there was a blown-up photograph of the first baseman with his wife and children.

The locker was neatly organized, towels on the first shelf, folded underwear and socks on the second, extra uniforms on the third. There was a leather case with personal toiletries, and a manicure set beside it. Lastly, spikes and sneakers stood side-by-side in a row on the bottom.

Ryan began to take out the towels as the players exchanged money, collecting on private wagers. Only Brian appeared dismayed as he gazed longingly at Jake’s jersey.

“Ryan, really, you don’t have to do this,” Jake said firmly. “You’ve had that locker forever.”

“I don’t welsh on my bets,” the first baseman said as he laid the towels on the bench, stroking the soft Egyptian cotton lovingly. When he straightened, he put his hand on Jake’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

“We had a wager. If you could win over Nikki Case, make her fall for you. You won. And your prize was my locker.” Ryan shrugged philosophi
cally. “I’ve got to hand it to you, man. I knew you had gotten somewhere with Miss Frosty, just by the way she looked at you, and the way you two acted when you were together.”

“Yeah, I’ll say.” Derek laughed, slapping Jake on the back. “Sometimes it got so hot I thought the place would combust.”

Jake shrugged, a lazy grin on his face. “So?”

“So I didn’t think you’d have a hard time getting to third, or even home. But I didn’t think you had it in you to make that girl fall for you. You know, the real deal? Because after last night, there’s no question that Nikki Case is in love with you, Jake Baldwin.”

The clapping started again, and Ryan removed the socks and underwear from his locker. “And I like how you orchestrated all that.”

When Jake looked at him in confusion, Ryan gave him an eye roll. “You know, at the dinner last night? The whole dramatic deal—you sweeping our PR rep literally off her feet and into your arms while her dinner date just stood there, his mouth hanging open.

“So, a deal is a deal. If you lost, we’d sure as hell make sure Brian was wearing your jersey today. But as it stands, you won fair and square. The locker is yours.”

They all laughed and began congratulating Jake.

Nikki stood outside the locker room, tears stinging her eyes. She had been on her way to meet Brian before batting practice when she overheard Ryan talking.

It couldn’t be. Jake couldn’t have used her in such an ugly way. But she’d heard it herself. She was nothing but a trophy, the grand prize in a wager between the ballplayers. Inside the locker room she heard the men cheering, winners gloating, losers complaining. It all became crystal clear.

Jake had seduced her on a bet. Pain coursed through her as her mind ran through the previous months. The way he had aggressively pursued her. The romantic dinner on the beach. The roses. The charm. All of it delivered by a master of seduction, a serial dater who knew women inside and out and what it took to win.

Even her.

Devastated, she walked away from the locker room, wanting to be anywhere but here. She needed to cry this out, rid herself of the crushing disappointment that fell heavily on her. She felt as if there were a hole in her heart that would never heal, and her stomach was twisted in knots as the tears fell faster now.

“Are you okay?” Nikki glanced up and saw Chase approaching. Apparently, he had missed the party in the locker room.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m just suddenly starting to realize what a fool I was to think I meant anything to any of you.”

“Hey now—” Chase tried to reach for her, but Nikki wrenched herself away and continued toward the parking lot. She couldn’t let anyone, especially a ballplayer, touch her right now. The thought actually made her ill. She had to escape, had to get away from the reality of her foolishness. She couldn’t look at any of them and see those knowing smirks that stupid little Nikki had fallen for their ruse. The agony inside her was so intense she could think of only one thing: to be with the single person in the world she knew truly loved her.

Natalie.

When the laughter and clapping died down, Jake stood next to Ryan. “Look, you’ve all had your fun, but it’s time to true up. You were right. In the beginning, I pursued Nikki because of the bet. At least I used that as my excuse. But truthfully, from the get-go, I was into her.”

The players looked at each other with startled expressions as Jake continued. “And the more I got to know her, the more I cared about her. She really is an incredible woman. She’s talented, passionate about her work, and I don’t know why, but she cares deeply about all of us. Not only how we look in the papers, but us as people.” His gaze fell on Antonio. “I don’t know how many of you know this, but she’s helping one of your teammates with language lessons.” The men glanced at each other, murmuring in surprise as the reliever nodded. “And a lot of the other things that she’s done have gone unnoticed. The chiropractor, the doctor, improving the quality of food. All of that has been to help us become healthier and better players.”

His gaze shifted from Brian to the first baseman, and slowly, he unbuttoned his jersey and tossed it to the outfielder just as Chase walked in. “So in all fairness, Brian, welcome to number eleven. And Ryan,” Jake said as he lifted the pile of towels and placed them back into the locker, “you stay here, buddy. I lost. And I’m happy as hell as a result.”

The room stood silent, and Brian stared incredulously at the jersey in his hands. The Sonics were astonished. The only one who wasn’t at all surprised was Ryan. He exchanged a glance with Chase, and a slow grin appeared on his face. To Jake’s confusion, he stepped forward and shook his hand.

“Well, it’s about fucking time. I thought I’d get old waiting for this.”

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked, staring at the huge hand that enveloped his.

“Jake Baldwin has a girlfriend, and an honest-to-God real relationship. All with a woman who is worth her weight in gold. I’m just saying it’s about time you realized it.”

Reality sank in, and grumbling, the money exchange began in reverse as the winners reluctantly gave up their earnings. Ryan gave Jake a broad grin, which was returned when the shortstop finally realized he’d been set up.

“You son of a bitch,” Jake said in admiration as he gazed at Ryan. “You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?” He glanced toward Chase, who had an odd expression on his face. “You were in on this too, weren’t you?”

Chase shrugged, but he didn’t seem to share Ryan’s satisfaction. Instead, he looked concerned as he approached.

“How long have you guys been talking about this?”

Ryan glanced to Jake, and then to the men. “I don’t know, maybe ten or fifteen minutes? Why?”

“I just passed Nikki outside.” He looked at Jake, anything but pleased. “She was in tears.”