The Player's Game

by Alice Gaines

  He’d told her he’d do endorsements. That and all the money he’d saved over the years would provide plenty of income. But he needed something in his life to replace football. Maybe he’d found that with this charity, whatever it was. She shouldn’t worry about him, but she couldn’t help it. Why on earth would he keep it a secret from her?

  “You get back to your work,” he said. “I’m going to take a little nap.”

  As he rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes, she pulled out her tablet.

  For a minute, she let the sweet reality of victory set in. She’d done something creative, and it had dazzled a difficult judge. That, in turn, had excited Jim, and now she’d be working with Charles Grey on a truly important case. Grant would be fine. They both had satisfying futures ahead of them. Just not together.

  …

  A throng of reporters were waiting for them when they got to New Jersey. Grant had had plenty of experience with cameras and microphones stuck in his face, but Katy hadn’t, so he gave her a brief rundown of what to expect.

  “No matter what, remain pleasant,” he said. “And don’t call any of their questions stupid, even if they are.”

  “I know how to do PR,” she said as they approached the clutch of reporters. “I work in a law firm.”

  “When in doubt, follow my lead.” He took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers so she’d have a hard time pulling away.

  “Grant,” one of the reporters called. “How are you liking Jersey?”

  The man put the microphone under Grant’s nose, not Katy’s, thank heaven. “We just got here.”

  That won him some laughter.

  Katy glanced around. “We’re near the beach, aren’t we?”

  As if the gulls flying overhead and the cool breeze off the ocean weren’t clue enough. Grant squeezed her hand. “My ex-wife is kidding. We both love the New Jersey coast.”

  She glanced up at him. They’d never visited the shore, what with the football season taking up most of the summer. But she had enough sense to keep her mouth shut.

  “One of the most beautiful in the world,” Harrington chipped in from where he’d taken up a place on Grant’s other side.

  “Jimmy,” another reporter said. “Is it true you’ll be starting the first game in the preseason?”

  Harrington managed to blush. He could play gosh-golly little-old-me better than anyone else Grant had ever seen, but he could blush on cue? Damn, the kid was good at slinging bull.

  “Coach has talked about it,” Harrington answered. “We’ll see.”

  “What’s it like to play behind one of the greats?” the reporter asked. “Great” meaning Grant. The kid wasn’t going to like that.

  “Grant’s been a mentor to me,” Harrington said. “I’ve been truly blessed to have him on my side.”

  Katy coughed, and Grant squeezed her fingers a little harder. She’d come along on this trip to advance herself at work. So she needed to stick with the script.

  “The kid’s a fast study and a great athlete.” Grant grasped Harrington’s shoulder with his free hand and dug the tips of his fingers into Harrington’s flesh. “He’s going to be a real asset to the team.”

  Someday. Just not now.

  “Are you enjoying travelling with the team, Mrs. Howard?” another reporter—a woman—asked.

  “Ms. McCord,” Grant said. “Esquire.”

  A second or two of silence followed as the assembled group waited for Katy’s answer. Grant gave her finger a little more pressure, and she stared up at him for a heartbeat.

  “It’s been interesting,” she said.

  Grant cleared his throat.

  “I’ve been impressed how all these athletes truly care about the kids they meet,” she said. “This kind of work means a lot to them.”

  “That video,” the first reporter said. “Was that really you?”

  Katy’s cheeks colored. It was a sincere blush as opposed to Harrington’s. Grant slid his arm around her.

  “That wasn’t the best day of my life,” Katy said.

  It ranked up with some of the better ones of Grant’s. He’d had her back in his bed, and he’d relearned how powerful sex felt with her. He was still enjoying it and would again tonight, as soon as he got her to their private cabin on the beach. He wouldn’t think about what it cost him when he had to say goodbye to her again.

  “Can you give us the story behind the video?” another reporter called.

  She looked up at Grant, clearly asking for his help this time.

  “Give us a break here,” he said. “This event is supposed to be about the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs.”

  “People want to know,” the woman reporter said.

  “Well.” Damn, it’d be helpful if he could blush on cue. Maybe Harrington could give him lessons. “I think we’ve all done things we’d rather not have recorded. Can we leave it at that?”

  “Are the two of you getting back together?” the woman reporter again.

  “Well…” Harrington said.

  Grant stared at the twerp, giving him a death stare. The jerk could tell everyone he and Katy had disappeared the night before. Although that wouldn’t do any real damage, it wasn’t anyone’s damned business.

  “Well, are you?” Harrington said. He’d had enough good sense to back off.

  Grant eased Katy closer and smiled for the cameras. “We’re exploring possibilities.”

  “And your law firm doesn’t mind losing you for a week or so?” another reporter asked.

  “The Brandenburg firm supports good work in the community,” Katy said.

  “They’re a great couple, aren’t they?” Harrington said. “I’m sure the fans would like to see them back together.”

  Murmured agreement went up in the crowd. Bull. The fans cared about games won or lost. A little sensationalism thrown into the mix gave them something to talk about. Good marriages were boring.

  “That’s enough questions for now,” the tour manager finally said after letting all that BS go on longer than it needed to. “Let’s go on into the facility.”

  He led the reporters and video guys off. Only Harrington hung back.

  “You two do make a great couple,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Grant said. Now get lost.

  Harrington fulfilled Grant’s silent request by following after the others. He’d have his face in front of the camera before Grant and Katy got inside. It was just as well. Grant had had enough, and Katy looked thoroughly irked.

  “Do you have to put up with that kind of crap often?” she said.

  “After every game. It doesn’t usually involve my private life, though.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  “Katy, Katy, Katy, the video thing hurt you more than it hurt me.”

  “I know. And I appreciate you helping me to clean up the mess I made.”

  He almost choked at that. Did she have no clue how much he was getting out of this arrangement? Most guys would give a week’s pay for oral sex of any kind. She’d given him the ultimate and followed it by even better lovemaking. But if she wanted to think she owed him, who was he to stop her?

  “What do you think Harrington’s up to?” she asked.

  “Who knows?” Grant shrugged. “He likes to act as if he has the part of my successor down. And he really enjoys getting under my skin.”

  “He does a good job of getting under mine,” she said. “Maybe we’d better catch up with the others before he makes up some more stories about us.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He put his hand at the small of her back and guided her inside.

  …

  Katy loved the cottage as much as Grant had hoped she would. As he watched her go from room to room and then out onto their private deck only steps away from the ocean, he couldn
’t help smiling.

  She threw her arms out. “It’s gorgeous. I’ll be able to hear the waves as we go to sleep.”

  She’d had a machine in the bedroom that made different, soothing sounds, and the breakers had always been her favorite. She’d have the real thing tonight.

  “We have a full kitchen, so we can cook or order food in from the main lodge,” he said. He wouldn’t have to endure any meals with Harrington in the vicinity.

  “That’s really great, Grant. I’ll get a lot more work done that way.” She turned and went back into the cottage.

  He followed her. “Work? I thought you were on vacation.”

  “Technically, yes. But I have to get up to speed on the new case. The rest of the team has already been on it for months.” She got her laptop from where it sat with their luggage and took it to the dining room table to set it up. “If I sit here, I can hear the ocean while I read the files.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn’t rented this place so she’d have pleasant surroundings while she worked. Then she went about putting together a makeshift office at the table where they’d be eating their meals. Laptop, phone, tablet computer. She even got a pad of lined yellow paper out of her laptop carrier.

  It was just like during their marriage. He’d have to compete with her work to get a good morning out of her.

  “Look, Katy,” he said. “Jim’s happy with you. That means our mission is accomplished—”

  “That’s exactly why I have to get back to work.”

  “I meant to say, we should celebrate,” he said.

  She looked as if the idea hadn’t occurred to her. She shrugged. “Sure. Let’s go for a swim.”

  It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind, but it was better than citing precedent and filing motions. Then his phone went off. It was Beth, his little sister—the one he’d married off months before.

  He connected to the call. “What’s up?”

  “Hey, big brother, we saw you on the news,” Beth said.

  Huh? Way down in South Carolina? “What’s this about?”

  “You and Katy in New Jersey,” Beth said. “Is it true?”

  “Is what true?”

  “That you and Katy are together in New Jersey,” Beth said.

  “We are indeed,” he said. “At the shore.”

  “Yeah, but are you together?” Beth said.

  Oh, boy, there it was. His mother and sister had loved Katy. They’d both visited in Manhattan at one point or another, and Katy had taken it upon herself to make sure his family saw all the museums. Grant had thrown in plenty of money for them to spend in the shops. His mom and Beth had been in heaven.

  “Look,” he said. “Don’t believe everything you see on TV.”

  “Mom’s so excited,” Beth said.

  Ah, crap. “How did you see that interview?”

  “The local news picked it up as a special interest story. You’re a hometown hero, you know.”

  Katy chose that minute to walk up to him and run her arms around his waist. “Something wrong?”

  “Is Katy there right now?” Beth asked.

  “You might say that.”

  “Let me talk to her,” Beth said.

  He held the phone out to Katy. “Beth.”

  Katy hesitated for a few seconds. “She wants to talk to me?”

  He nodded and handed her the phone. Katy took it and eased herself away from him. “Hi, Beth.”

  A string of words came from the phone, too faint for Grant to get their meaning. The tone came through, though. Beth was excited. Katy looked much less so. “We kind of bumped into each other at a resort called Savvy.”

  Katy listened a bit more. “So, that big event at Savvy was Adam’s wedding? Sure. I remember him.”

  Katy glanced up at him. “Adam got married?”

  “It happens.”

  “You had a wedding, too, Beth? I didn’t even know you’d gotten married. Congratulations.” Katy covered the phone with her hand, hurt clear in her eyes. “You didn’t tell me.”

  He shrugged. He had no good answer. He just knew he couldn’t have coped with having to see Katy at a family wedding.

  As Beth continued speaking, Katy’s expression went from hurt to concerned, her eyebrows crunching together. “No, please. Tell Vera not to get her hopes up. We’re not together. Really.”

  Grant held his hand out for the phone and put it to his ear. “Did Mom see us on the news, too?”

  “She called me to tell me you were going to be on after the commercial,” Beth said.

  This really sucked. Beth and his mom had been pretty broken-up about the divorce. Mom, especially, had sworn she knew he and Katy would get back together. She even had everyone in her church praying for it. Now, she’d get her hopes up again. Local news about him and Katy together was fine for the folks in her firm to see. But word of them “exploring possibilities” shouldn’t have made it all the way to South Carolina.

  “Everything Katy and I said was for the benefit of the camera,” he said. “You have to convince Mom.”

  “I don’t know how I’m going to do that, Grant,” Beth said.

  “Try. For my sake, okay?” Shit.

  “I will, but I make no guarantees,” Beth said. “In the meantime, have a little fun while you can.”

  “We will. Say, how’s the marriage thing going? Is he being good to you?”

  Beth laughed. “I’m grown up. You can stop being my big brother now.”

  “Never.”

  “It’s wonderful, Grant. I wish you’d find the same happiness.”

  “Stay happy, and I’ll talk to you again soon,” he said.

  “Love you,” Beth said.

  “Love you back.” He ended the call and put his phone in his back pocket.

  “Beth got married?” Katy said.

  “Yeah. A few months before Adam did.”

  “You might have let me know. I would have sent a present.”

  “She wanted to invite you to the wedding. I couldn’t handle it.” Man, that hurt to say out loud, that his emotions had gotten the better of him.

  Katy stared at him for a second. “Why didn’t Beth tell me? She could have called or emailed.”

  “I asked her not to.” This was going to be even harder. He made a lame-assed gesture with his hands. “I didn’t want you to feel left out because you didn’t get an invitation.”

  Her face screwed up. “I can’t even know what’s going on with your family?”

  “Katy, forgive me. I’m not good with this divorce stuff.” He held out his hand toward her. “Come on. Let’s go sit on the deck and look at the ocean.”

  She took his hand and let him lead her onto the deck. Outside, the sun shone down on them as the breakers made soft sounds against the shore. A few gulls circled over the waves. They sat down in two chairs, but Grant didn’t let go of her hand.

  “Our divorce…hell,” he said. “The only way I could deal with it was to let you go completely.”

  She didn’t say anything but stared out over the water. Funny how he’d talked about his divorce with his two friends, but he’d never discussed it with Katy. Oh, they’d talked about who got what and who was going to live where, much of that discussion with lawyers in the room. But they’d never talked to each other about what splitting up would mean and how they’d each deal with it. He and Katy had been more than lovers. They’d been friends, sharing their ambitions and their fears—both of them worried about playing in the big leagues. Then, when they’d gotten married, they’d decided together where they’d live and how they’d furnish the condo. They’d never set any ground rules for how they’d deal with each other…or not…after their marriage had come to an end.

  “I had to go cold turkey, or…” He didn’t add that he’d end up here, holding her han
d, sharing her bed—not knowing how he’d keep himself together when he had to say goodbye to her again. “I spend half my time in Manhattan staying out of places where I think you might be.”

  “Oh, Grant.” That was all she said. Not “I’ve missed you,” or “My life has been half empty without you.” Just his name.

  “When Beth’s wedding came up, I knew I should invite you. Beth wanted to. Mom did, too. But I couldn’t face you again—especially at a wedding.”

  She continued staring straight ahead, but her gaze didn’t seem to focus on anything. “You didn’t see the bedroom in the condo.”

  It was just as well he hadn’t. He really didn’t need to be reminded of everything they’d done in there.

  “I re-did it all,” she said. “Gave the bed away to charity. New paint, new curtains. I changed the carpet.”

  “I would have done the same thing.”

  She dropped his hand and rose. Then she did the damnedest thing. She crawled into his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. What else could he do but wrap his arms around her and kiss the top of her head? “Katy, Katy, Katy.”

  She didn’t talk or make any move to caress him. She just sat there like a warm lump while the breakers rolled in and crashed against the shore. He’d arranged for this cottage so they could continue their explorations of uninhibited sex. He’d reserved it because she’d love the luxury and because she could walk right up to the water from here. He hadn’t meant for them to get into confessions or deep discussions. He hadn’t expected cuddling. That sure hadn’t been any part of his sex life since the divorce.

  “I still sometimes wake up and expect to find you next to me,” she said.

  All right, this had to stop. If he sat here long enough with her in his lap like a lost puppy, he’d start hoping for things that weren’t going to happen. He’d go back to thinking everything could work out, if only he tried hard enough. He’d want to protect her from anything that could harm her, including loving him.

  But he could show her how much her missing him meant. He could do it without rehashing their entire relationship, including the pain of separation. He could enjoy the present she’d given him and make sure she enjoyed it, too. They could cuddle some more afterward without any of the sadness.