Terrance leaned into Chris, who almost choked on his steak when his friend said Oakley’s name, and said, “This girl is out of this world, and as sweet as she can be. I should have requested to be seated in her area, but I went for more privacy instead.”
“Dude, don’t you have a girlfriend?” Chris knew he did and he also knew Lisa would knock Terrance into next Tuesday if she knew he was checking out other woman. And that was if the guy was still breathing once Chris got done with him for talking about his girl.
Terrance just grinned and turned to Tinsley so she could answer his question.
“Oakley’s working a private party tonight in one of our conference rooms. I’ll let her know you asked her to stop by. I’m sure she will if she has a moment.” Tinsley walked away.
Chris felt sick. Every muscle in his body strained to run after the server and beg her not to say anything to Oakley about visiting their table. But he couldn’t do that. Not without raising a bunch of questions he didn’t want to answer.
Sweat dripped down his spine. He picked up his now full glass of ice water and drained it.
“Man, seriously, what is with you tonight? You haven’t been yourself since you walked in the door.”
Terrance was wrong. Chris had felt just fine on the drive over to Carter’s apartment, where he’d showered and changed. Even the drive through heavy traffic hadn’t bothered him. He’d just kissed the most amazing woman he’d ever met, nothing could have gotten him down- except his two worlds unexpectedly colliding.
He should get up. He should just leave. Terrance wouldn’t understand, but he could explain later. His friend would forgive him once he understood what was at stake. Or maybe Chris was overreacting. It wasn’t like he was hiding a secret wife or dead bodies in his basement. What were a few zeros at the end of his bank account? Who cared that he’d played eight seasons of professional football? Hardly anybody anymore.
Still, this wasn’t how he planned to come clean about his identity. He would leave and ask for forgiveness from his friends later.
Chris moved to stand, but it was too late.
Chapter Nineteen
“Oakley, you’re with the catered event in the conference room,” Stan, Saint Ivory’s manager, told her as soon as she walked into work.
“Thanks, Stan.” Of course, the event was one of Cam’s so she’d already known she’d be working it. Cam always requested her when she used the restaurant for one of her parties. This one was an awards dinner for a new tech company in Denver.
“Cam is already back there bossing everyone around.” Stan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Everyone loved Cam. Even when they hated her. It was something Oakley understood perfectly after almost a lifetime of friendship.
“Thanks for the warning.” Oakley waved over her shoulder as she made her way to the large room at the back of the restaurant where they hosted catered dinners and events. It wasn’t a huge space, but it easily accommodated a hundred people. It was good for bringing in new people and was one of the reasons Saint Ivory’s had grown so much in the last year or so.
The room was already decorated and tables set up when she arrived. She was sure Cam had been there for hours making sure everything was exactly how she wanted it.
“Hey, how’s everything going? What can I do to help?”
Cam faced her with a smile and a hug. “Hey! It’s good to see you. How’s everything going?”
“It’s good to see you, too.” Oakley hugged her back. “It looks amazing in here.”
Cam always decorated with her own supplies according to the event’s theme. “It was Star Wars or Dungeons and Dragons. I was really glad they went with Star Wars. All those summer afternoons watching Return of the Jedi with Rafe finally paid off.”
Oakley couldn’t help but agree, Cam had done an outstanding job turning the room into a tasteful, yet authentic, looking replica of Jabba’s Palace using large printed sheets. Each place setting had swag bags, which she knew the company paid handsomely for, containing light sabers, keychain replicas of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, as well as action figures from the movies.
“But enough talk about me. What’s going on with you? You look amazing.” Cam circled Oakley, picking at her clothes and hair. “What did you do? Change your hair?”
Oakley’s hair was pulled into its usual bun. She batted Cam’s hands away. “Stop it. What are you doing?”
“You’re glowing! Did you change your makeup?” Cam stopped in front of Oakley and narrowed her eyes.
“No, I didn’t change my makeup. I didn’t do anything.” Except kiss a man. And not just any man, Chris! But how could Cam know? Did she look that different? Her cheeks started to blush.
Cam’s expression cleared as she gasped. “Something happened. With Chris?” She grabbed Oakley’s hands and jumped up and down. “What? Did he kiss you? Ohmigosh, please tell me you kissed that man.”
Oakley pulled her hands back and put them up to her cheeks. “Shh. Stop it, will you? What is wrong with you?”
Cam smiled so hard her face was going to crack. “I told you! I told you, you were going to marry him!”
“Marry him? We just kissed today. I’m not going to marry him,” Oakley denied.
“Ha!” Cam pointed a finger at Oakley. “You did kiss him! I knew it!”
Oakley buried her face in her hands. How had she fallen into that one? “You are the worst best friend ever.”
“No, I’m the best! Didn’t I tell you! It was meant to be, Oak.” Cam stopped bouncing around long enough to grab Oakley’s hands and pull them away from her cheeks. “You look beautiful! You look happy. He makes you happy. I’m so excited for you!” Cam threw her arms around Oakley and squeezed.
“Cam. Stop. It was nothing. Just a kiss.” It wasn’t just a kiss. It was the kiss. Chris had kissed her and all the world fell away except for the two of them. It was exciting and gave her butterflies that didn’t stop at her stomach. Instead they fluttered fiercely from her head to her toes and back up again. She’d never felt anything like it. All of her willpower, it had taken all of her willpower to drive away from him when all she wanted to do was stay right there in his arms forever.
Cam frowned. “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t believe that for one second. This is it. Don’t you see? This is your second chance!” Cam gripped her arms and shook. “You love him. I can hear it every time you talk about him. I can see it in your eyes. He’s the one.”
That wasn’t what she was worried about. Oakley could see it already, the years spread out before her. Years spent with Chris.
But did he see that? Because Oakley came as a package deal. She had Kaden. Kaden who’d already interrupted them twice. Once the night before when they almost kissed and again this afternoon when Chris finally kissed her for the first time. Kaden wasn’t going away. He was her son and she loved him with all that she had in her. Chris was kind and patient and seemed to like Kaden well enough, but did he like him enough to want him to be a part of his life? Permanently?
Oakley shook her head. “No. You’re wrong. He’s really great. I like him a lot, but it isn’t like that. It won’t be like that.”
“Cam!” One of Cam’s full-time employees called to her from the entrance to the conference room, waving her over once he got her attention.
Cam nodded to him, but then turned back to Oakley. “I’ve got to go. But this conversation is not over!”
Too bad Oakley knew the truth. She could never hold the attention of a man like Chris, especially not with a kid in tow. Good grief, hadn’t she learned her lesson from Wes? Kaden was Wes’s own son and that hadn’t been enough to keep him with them.
The happy bubble she’d been floating around in since Chris kissed her burst. What had she been thinking? Moonlit nights in her back yard? She knew better than that! Falling in love was a mistake. And what about Kaden? Her son had already grown attached to the amazing man who’d dropped into their lives when he moved in next door. She should end this�
�whatever this was. Now. Tonight. Chris wanted to talk anyway. She’d just tell him it wasn’t going to work out. They were friends and that was all they could be. She’d talk to him.
Before she fell any further.
“Those football players are back. They asked about you. You should stop by and say ‘hello’.” Tinsley scooped some ice into a glass before filling it with water and adding it to a tray on the too small counter in the beverage station.
The party for the tech company was winding down. Oakley would be off in a few minutes and Cam’s crew and the bussing staff at the restaurant would take care of the rest. She was just filling a few last drink orders before she’d clock out and head to her parents to pick up Kaden. Tonight was a shorter shift than she was used to working, but she was glad. Although, now that she’d made up her mind about things, she was anxious about talking to Chris.
“Oh, that’s sweet. They left me a huge tip. I should go thank them. I’m almost done in the back. I’ll swing by on my way out.”
“There’s another guy with them tonight. He doesn’t play for the team anymore because he got injured, but he must still be friends with everyone.” Tinsley grinned, fanning her hand in front of her face. “And boy, is he hot.”
Oakley frowned. “What’s his name?” She’d immediately thought it could be the player who’d been injured last winter, the one she’d asked her brother about awhile ago, Chris Bragg. There was something about that night, watching him laying on the field, she hadn’t been able to forget. It was silly, really. Lots of players got injured. Still, she couldn’t shake this feeling she had about the whole thing.
“Chris Bragg. I remember looking him up after he got hurt. You can’t always tell how good looking players are. They never seem to put up flattering pictures of them on game day. But, goodness, he is smoking.” Tinsley lifted her tray one handed and held it out to the side. “And if the internet can be trusted, filthy, stinking rich.”
“I heard that, actually. My brother said he’s a billionaire or something.” Billionaire. She couldn’t even comprehend the concept of having that kind of money.
“Rich and gorgeous?” Tinsley’s smile turned mischievous. “Maybe don’t go out there. You already made an impression on those guys. Give a girl a chance over here.”
Oakley rolled her eyes. “Right, because rich athletes fall all over waitresses when they could be with supermodels.”
Tinsley struck a pose. “Are you saying I couldn’t be a super model?”
Oakley giggled. Tinsley was five feet nothing and liked her food a little too much to be a candidate for the runway. Not that she was over weight, she just had curves. Lots of them. “Sorry, Tin. I don’t think they’re looking for girls like us for the next cover of Vogue.”
Tinsley made a face. “Jeez, why don’t you shoot down all my hopes and dreams? Wanna kill my cat, too?”
“No, but I do want to deliver these drinks so I can clock out. Maybe I can pick up Kaden early enough he won’t fall asleep on the way home.”
“Aw, he’s such a cutie. You need to bring him in again.”
“I will.” Oakley hefted the loaded tray and headed back to the conference room to refresh drinks and bus some dishes before saying goodnight to Cam.
“See you later, girl. You pulled off another amazing party.” Oakley hugged Cam on her way out to the main dining room to see if she could catch the guys from the other night. It was good to build a rapport with guests. Hopefully, they would become returning guests and Oakley could use some regulars with deep pockets. Plus, they’d been funny and kind.
“Thanks for your help. You’re such a great waitress. I’ll call you later.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at Oakley. “I still want to hear more about that kiss.”
Oakley shook her head as she walked away, positive Cam would do just that. Thinking about her kiss with Chris had her pulse thumping. How would she ever be able to walk away from a man like him? A man who made her feel the way Chris did?
Tinsley’s section was in a far corner of the large dining room. Tables were partitioned off from each other to give guests added privacy. They must have made a reservation this time because these tables went quickly. On her way, she picked up a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries from the kitchen. She didn’t want to give the men the wrong impression and the strawberries gave her an excuse to stop by the table that wasn’t purely social. Oakley pulled back her shoulders and put on her professional smile.
“Good evening, gentleman,” she said once she arrived at the table, her gaze shifting from man to man, including each of them in her greeting. “I heard you all had come back to Saint Iv-” she froze.
He was here. Sitting at the table filled with professional football players was Chris. Her Chris. She stared.
Chris rose from the table, his eyes never leaving hers. “Oakley. I can explain-”
“Hey, Annie Oakley!” The big guy, Terrance, rose as well, interrupting Chris. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, but she was just too stunned to turn away from Chris whose face was a mask of regret, guilt, and sorrow.
What was going on here?
“What are you doing here?” she whispered. The muscles in his jaw worked but no words came out.
Terrance settled his beefy hand on her elbow, his touch serving to jolt her out of the trance she’d fallen into. Her gaze flitted around the table, barely registering the other men sitting there until she got to Terrance.
“You know my friend? Chris Bragg’s the best outside linebacker to ever play for Denver.” Terrance’s smile eclipsed the sun. She wondered if he was oblivious or just trying to defuse an awkward situation.
Chris was Chris Bragg?
How could this be?
Oakley lifted a hand to her forehead. She felt faint. She tried to focus on Chris, but the room swam before her eyes.
“Oakley!” Chris attempted to scramble from behind the table but Terrance was closer.
“Hey, are you okay?” Terrance’s hand steadied her. Oakley shook her head to clear it. She didn’t know what to think. She only knew she had to get out of there. Now.
“I’m fine. I have to go.” With one last look at the man who’d stolen her heart and then lied to her, Oakley turned and ran.
Chapter Twenty
“Chris, man, what’s going on?” Terrance had finally caught on that there was something wrong but Chris didn’t have time to explain. The woman he loved was already halfway through the dining room.
Chris sidestepped Terrance, heading after Oakley at a run. “I’ll have to tell you later. Good to see you guys!” he called over his shoulder, not caring whose dinner he interrupted in the fancy restaurant. The food was good, but they could ban him from ever coming again for his behavior, and he wouldn’t care. He just had to get to Oakley.
She was fast and she had a head start. It was a good thing Chris had made his living running through obstacles to reach an objective, only this time instead of a quarterback, he was gunning for the woman who held his heart.
“Excuse me. Excuse me. Coming through.” He plowed through the restaurant. Oakley bypassed the front door, racing toward the back of the restaurant where she burst through a set of double swinging doors.
Chris figured the door was only for employees. He’d ask for forgiveness later, he thought, and moved to follow her.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” A man in a suit jumped in front of Chris, blocking the double doors.
“I need to speak with Oakley!”
The man shook his head, bracing his hands on Chris’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. Employees only beyond this point.”
“Please. I just need to talk to her.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t let you back there.”
Chris tried to push him aside, but the man wasn’t budging without getting physical. As much as he wanted to get to Oakley, spending a night in jail for disorderly conduct wasn’t going to help his cause at all.
He put his hands up
in surrender. “Okay. Okay.”
The man relaxed his grip on Chris’s jacket, his eyes wary.
But Chris wasn’t going to do anything. He’d done enough as it was. Man! Running his hands through his hair, he wondered how it all went sideways. Two hours ago he’d been flying high on cloud nine ready to give up his life of bachelorhood for the most beautiful woman he’d ever known and her adorable three year old son.
Clapping his hand on the man’s shoulder, Chris apologized. He didn’t deserve Chris’s wrath. After straightening his jacket, Chris headed out of the restaurant, using a side door closer to the parking lot. Once inside his truck, he cruised around the building, looking for Oakley’s beat up Honda, but it was gone.
Slamming his hand down on the steering wheel, a word he hadn’t said since retiring from football flew from his mouth.
It did nothing to make him feel better. All he could do now was go home and hope Oakley did the same.
She drove straight to Cam’s. Her friend hadn’t made it home yet, so Oakley made herself at home with a quart of triple chocolate fudge ice cream and waited.
By the time Cam arrived home, Oakley had devised a plan that consisted of paying someone to pack up her belongings and move them to her parents house.
“Well, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in all my life.” Cam put her hands on her hips once Oakley explained her plan.
“Why on earth do you need to move? And why so stealthily?” Cam was the picture of calm reassurance. This was something Oakley had always loved about their friendship. They couldn’t both fly off the handle at the same time. Somehow they always knew when the other had completely lost her mind and stepped to the plate to be the voice of reason. But right then, Cam’s voice of reason was just making her mad.
Marrying the Football Billionaire Page 12