Chris kept his eye on the other man until he was out of sight. Exhaling a heavy sigh, he realized he still had a long way to go in proving he was serious about his intentions. But that was fine. Adversity was nothing new to him. He knew how to get what he wanted and without a doubt, he wanted Oakley.
Chapter Thirty
She’d never seen anything like it. But that wasn’t surprising since she’d never known any professional athletes before. She was quickly learning these men were a force to be reckoned with when they worked together. And it wasn’t all work, they’d been laughing and joking around and teasing each other since the moment they arrived… all twenty of them. And that wasn’t even including Rafe, Cam, and Chris’s brother, Carter.
Oooh, Carter. Oakley spied the two brother’s working together on the deck in the backyard. Since there were so many people to help, Chris had decided to go ahead and see how far he could get on the deck. He’d latched onto Carter’s elbow and didn’t let go until he’d gotten a hammer in his brother’s hand. Carter, wearing brand new jeans, work boots, and a t-shirt with a designer label, stared at the thing like he’d never seen one before. For all Oakley knew, he hadn’t.
Just on appearances alone, the two were undeniably related. In fact, if she didn’t already know Chris was older than his brother, she might have assumed they were twins. But after two hours of keeping tabs on the pair, it was just as undeniable how different they were. It was true, Chris was a bit of an introvert, but when he had to be around other people, he was friendly, down-to-earth. Carter, on the other hand, was a people person who seemingly thrived on social interactions. However, there was nothing down-to-earth about Carter. Not that he wasn’t kind, he was. He was even nice. There was just something so…snooty about him Oakley couldn’t seem to get past.
Of course, Chris teased Carter relentlessly. It started as soon as Carter pulled into the cul-de-sac driving a Porsche and got out looking like he’d just left a boutique for men’s workwear, if such a thing existed. Chris immediately tackled his brother and rolled him in the dirt a little, declaring him fit for work once he had a grass stain or two.
Thankfully, Carter was a good sport about taking his brother’s teasing and Oakley got the sense Carter teased Chris the same way when he showed up in his jacked up truck wearing Armani.
Needless to say, they were entertaining.
Carter also seemed to be familiar with the guys from the Thunder who’d shown up just after him. He greeted each man like an old friend and talked football like a true fan. Oakley knew Chris and Carter spent time together, but she hadn’t realized how much. The best part, though, might have been the moment she’d caught Carter discussing cars with her brother over plates piled high with sandwiches and potato chips. There was something special about witnessing her brother bonding with Chris’s brother that had her thinking they might actually be able to pull this off, this being them.
“Miss Annie Oakley!”
Oakley spun around, grinning as she came face to face with Terrance, Chris’s friend from the team and her customer from Saint Ivory’s. He’d arrived later than the other guys from the team due to a prior commitment, but he’d promised Chris he’d come and so here he was.
“Terrance! Good to see you again.” Oakley held out her hand but Terrance scoffed at it, opting instead to pull her into a bear hug that threatened to break her in two.
“Can’t. Breathe,” she grunted only exaggerating a little. Terrance laughed, but he did put her back on her feet and released his vice like grip on her entire upper body.
“Aw, come on. You’re made of sterner stuff than that. Any girlfriend of Chris’s would have to be.”
Feeling inexplicably comfortable around this man who chewed up offensive lineman for a job, Oakley jabbed his shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Terrance shot her a look that made her feel a little off, like he knew something she didn’t about Chris and she didn’t like it. But that was silly. This man had been friends with Chris for a long time and while Oakley and Chris had grown close and shared a lot of things with each other, she knew there was plenty she didn’t know about the man she’d been falling in love with for the last few weeks.
“Nothing, sweet thing, I’m just messing with you. Now, show me what you need me to do.” He rubbed his hands together.
“I think Chris wanted you to help him and Carter on the deck in the back.” Oakley pointed around the side of the house toward the back.
“Thanks, Annie Oakley!” Terrance waved at her over his shoulder as he made his way around to the back where Chris and Carter worked on the deck.
Oakley shook off the weird vibe she’d gotten from her interaction with Terrance and went back into the house where she and Cam were working on painting the trim in each of the rooms while a large crew of football players rolled paint onto the larger portions of wall. Cam was in flirtation heaven and had especially latched onto Tyler Miller, another one of the players who’d come to Saint Ivory’s with Terrance. Oakley hoped Cam wasn’t getting truly attached because while Tyler laughed and flirted, she could tell he was being more playful than serious.
“Okay, Tyler. Give it to us. All the dirt on Chris. We need to know. Is he one of the good ones or is he just putting on a good show?” Cam, queen of no inhibitions, asked while holding her paintbrush like a switchblade close to Tyler’s neck.
“Whoa! Don’t go all gangsta on me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Tyler held his hands up in total surrender.
“Cam! Knock it off!” Oakley turned to Tyler with an apologetic smile. “Don’t pay attention to her, she was gone the day they handed out tact.”
Cam elbowed Oakley’s side with a frown. “I was not!” She turned to Tyler with saucy grin. “I just don’t have time for tact. Chris could walk in any second. Now spill!”
Tyler sputtered a laugh and Rafe, who’d remained quiet as he rolled paint on a wall across the room spoke up. “Don’t let these girls bully you, man. They’ve got the whole good cop/bad cop thing down. Cam comes at you like a pit bull while Oakley turns up the sweet, innocent thing she’s so good at. Next thing you know, you’re spilling your guts, confessing every sin you’ve ever committed from pulling your sister’s hair to setting your dad’s shed on fire with homemade fireworks.”
Cam narrowed her eyes at Rafe. “Don’t listen to him, Tyler, he’s just mad because we told on him about the fireworks.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Of course, I’m mad. You two were the ones who dared me to do it in the first place.” He pointed a finger at Cam. “If I remember right, you’re the one who lit the match.”
Brandishing her wet paintbrush, Cam took a threatening step toward Rafe. “Where’s your proof, delinquent!”
Oakley stepped between them. “Okay, okay, enough! You two are going to be the death of me, I swear!” She pointed to Cam. “You, get back on your own side,” she said before turning to her brother. “And you, stop provoking her.”
Rafe’s eyes widened. “Me?” He shook his head. “You always take her side, Oakley.”
“That’s right! Now get back to work!”
Tyler, who’d been watching the whole exchange with rapt attention, finally cracked and started laughing. Cam and Oakley were quick to follow, but Rafe remained stoic.
“You guys suck.” He was pouting which only made them laugh harder.
“Oh, stop, you big baby.” Oakley pushed at his shoulder.
“Wow, that escalated quickly,” Tyler chuckled. “I don’t think I have anything on Chris that comes close to blowing up a shed.”
Rafe shook his head and mumbled under his breath. “Set on fire. We didn’t blow it up.”
“You didn’t blow it up. Oakley and I will neither confirm nor deny our involvement in said pyro activity.”
“Alright!” Oakley shouted when it seemed Rafe might actually go for Cam’s neck. “Stop. We’re here to help Chris finish the house, not gossip about what might or might not have happened eigh
t years ago.”
“You guys are hilarious.” Tyler shook his head and went back to painting. “And Chris is a good guy. I mean, he’s dated his fair share of women. But nothing serious as far as I could tell.”
Cam frowned. “So, he’s afraid of commitment, is that what you’re saying?”
Oakley turned to her friend. “Cam!” She didn’t appreciate Cam digging like she was, but admitted she was just as interested in Tyler’s reply. Fact was, everything Tyler said played into her deepest fears about Chris, that he was afraid of commitment and would soon move on, leaving her heartbroken and alone.
Cam whirled to face her. “What? Don’t you want to know?”
Sure she did, but she didn’t want to dig answers to awkward questions out of Chris’s friends. That wasn’t fair to anybody.
Oakley gave her friend a look that said to stand down. “Tyler, don’t listen to her. She’s being a stinker.”
Rafe snorted. “Something like that.”
Tyler held up his hands. “I don’t know what all this is about, but I’ll tell you this. Chris Bragg is a great guy and teammate. Do women flock to him in droves? Yes. But that doesn’t mean he does anything about it. And that’s all I’m gonna say.”
Tyler went back to rolling paint as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb more damaging than Rafe’s stupid fireworks.
And it wasn’t even as if Oakley didn’t already know women were attracted to Chris. If she hadn’t, all it would have taken was spending a day at the beach with him running around without his shirt, or even with it for that matter. Not one pair of female eyes had been able to resist watching him. Several had even been so bold as to flirt with him right in front of her.
Still, the thought of it settled heavy in her belly. How did she feel, knowing Chris received so much attention from other women? If they continued dating, or if someday in the future they got married, would she be able to over look it when it happened in front of her? Would she be able to trust him not to give into temptation when she wasn’t around?
That doesn’t mean he does anything about it, Tyler had said.
But it didn’t mean he didn’t, either.
Chapter Thirty-One
Oakley woke the next morning in her own bed but she had no memory of getting there. The last thing she remembered was Chris driving her to her mom and dad’s to pick up Kaden and renting a movie to watch until he fell asleep. They must have both fallen asleep on the couch.
And Chris put them to bed.
Oakley buried her face in her pillow, cheeks burning. Chris had carried her to bed? She didn’t know which was worse, the fact that he’d done it or that she couldn’t remember! Maybe she’d ask him to do it again sometime before she fell asleep. Or not! It would be too difficult to let him leave if she was awake.
A part of her wanted to go find him right then, but she remembered he was gone. He told her the night before he’d be leaving early this morning to fly to LA for meetings. She wanted to ask him what the meetings were about, but figured if he wanted her to know, he would have offered the information himself. In fact, he had told her about a lunch meeting with his agent, Eric. But then he said he wouldn’t be returning until late and she shouldn’t wait up for him if she was tired. Seriously, how long could a lunch meeting run?
Which meant he had another meeting in the evening, one he hadn’t told her about. Not that he had to tell her anything! But it made her feel all kinds of insecure. She was still coming to terms with the man who held her in his arms each evening. She tried not to think of him any differently now that she knew who he really was, but it wasn’t easy. Him jetting off to LA at a moment’s notice wasn’t helping.
Her bedroom door swung open. Kaden rubbed his eyes as he ran to the edge of her bed. Oakley reached down to catch him, hauling him up beside her. He immediately snuggled into her under the blanket.
“Good morning.” She wrapped her arms around his little body that wasn’t as little as it used to be.
“Snuggle me, Mommy.” His voice sounded sleepy as his arms came up to wrap around her neck.
“Hmm. I love snuggles.” Kaden knew it, too. It had taken her a long time to break him of coming in her room and sleeping with her all night. Morning snuggles were their compromise. He almost always woke up the same time she did and came into her room for hugs.
As was becoming habit, Oakley wondered what Chris would think of morning snuggles with little kids. If their relationship progressed and they got married, would he be annoyed to have Kaden come into their room and snuggle with her, or both of them? Would he want more kids if they got married? Even though he was seven years older than her, he was still a young man. Surely, he wanted children of his own.
“Can we play in the pool today?” Kaden asked. He was wide awake and would only want to cuddle for a few more seconds before he asked her for breakfast. Reaching out, she smoothed his hair and breathed deep of his little boy scent. She would miss this as he got older.
“Sure, buddy. We can play in the pool. How about we make some cookies, too, and take them to Grandma and Grandpa’s house later?”
Kaden scrambled from her arms and out from under the blankets to bounce up and down on the bed. “Yay! Make cookies! Can I help, too?”
Oakley scooted up to sit on the bed, catching her little boy under his arms. “Of course, you can help, you little silly.” She tickled him under his arms.
Kaden laughed as he struggled to get away from her tickles. “Can we take some to Chris, too?”
Oakley paused. She shouldn’t be surprised. Chris had been spending a lot of time with them. Of course, her sweet little son wanted to share their treat with the man who’d been playing with him and making him feel special.
“Sure, bud. We can take some to Chris, too.”
But as they got up and ready for the day, Oakley couldn’t help but wonder if her relationship with Chris had the potential to do more harm than good. What if things didn’t work out between them? Kaden was attached, as evidenced by his desire to give Chris cookies. How much damage would it cause if things didn’t work out the way Oakley was beginning to hope it might?
But she already knew the answer to that question. They would be heartbroken. Both of them.
After playing in the pool and making cookies, Oakley had to get ready for work. Chris texted when his plane landed in California and again after his meeting with Eric. He didn’t elaborate on his plans for the rest of the evening but reiterated that he wouldn’t be home until late. He said he would text when he was on his way from the airport to see if she was still awake and wanted to see him.
Of course, she wanted to see him! Being with Chris was the best part of her day. It had been less than twenty-four hours and already she missed him more than she wanted to admit.
“Kade! Where are your shoes? We have to go!” If seeing Chris was the best part of her day, searching for Kaden’s missing shoes was the worst! Why were they never where they were supposed to be?
Oakley double checked the bag to take to her mom’s house for a clean pair of pajamas. “Kade!”
“I can’t find my shoes!” he called back from his room.
Gritting her teeth, Oakley stomped to his room. As usual, he was playing and not looking for his shoes. “Bud, we have to go. Put your toys away and help me look for your shoes.”
The look he sent her was mutinous. “I wanna play.”
Taking a breath and trying not to get angry, she went with a diplomatic approach. “We can take your toys to Grandma’s, but we have to go now. Where are your shoes?”
She should have known it wouldn’t work. Kaden threw a rare temper tantrum laced with a healthy dose of stubbornness. For over twenty minutes, she looked for his shoes everywhere from under his bed to the linen closet. She searched her yard, Chris’s yard, her car, and she even went through the trash. Still, no shoes.
“Whatever,” she mumbled under her breath as she carried her purse and Kaden’s bag out to the car. He was still whining in his be
droom about heaven only knew what, which meant she would have to wrestle him out to the car and into his buckle. And since it was over ninety degrees outside, she started the car and cranked up the air conditioning before going back inside to get her son. Between the heat outside and her frustration with not finding the shoes, she was already sweating off her makeup.
“Kade, let’s go. Don’t you want to see Grandpa and Aunt Lucy?” Kaden loved going to her parent’s house. This had nothing to do with not wanting to go, he was just being a typical three-year-old who didn’t know how to express his own feelings. Oakley would have loved to cuddle the sass right out of him, but she was already pushing it. She’d have to leave as soon as he was safely in her mother’s care and push the speed limits to get to work on time.
“No!” Kaden folded his arms over his little chest, his bottom lip protruding ridiculously far beneath the top.
With a sigh and a prayer for patience with her young son, Oakley picked him up under his arms and held him at arms length to avoid getting kicked by his thrashing legs.
“I don’t want to go! I don’t wanna!” He kicked again, catching her thigh. Oakley wrapped one arm around his legs while he bucked against her. She accidentally bumped his head against the doorframe while stepping through it trying not to drop him which only added to the screams and howls. After yanking the door closed with more force than it required, she threw him over her shoulder in an attempt to keep him from kicking her again. He was usually such a good little boy, but man, when he was on one, he was on one!
Kaden thrashed and bucked on the way out to the car. Oakley brought him back in front of her and knelt in the back seat. She set him in his carseat and struggled to do up the buckles as he arched his back. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself not to take her frustrations out on a three-year-old, but boy, was it tempting! A meme from social media about how strong toddlers can be when they don’t want to get buckled into their carseats came to mind. Seriously, her son had abs of pure steal.
Marrying the Football Billionaire Page 20