Down the Line (Sports Romance)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Noon?” He looked at his phone as he grabbed his head. “Damn. I can’t remember the last time I slept ‘til noon.”

  “Do what you need to do,” she said, pointing toward his washroom. “I’ll make a pot of coffee, and maybe pour you a bowl of cereal if you’re lucky. But then I want to hear every detail about what happened with Grace.”

  “Why didn’t you just ask her?” He took a swig from the water bottle his sister had threatened him with. “I thought you girls tell each other everything?”

  “Except where you’re concerned,” she said, pouting. “She’s always been tight-lipped about you. She thinks it would be weird ‘cause you’re my brother. But I keep telling her nobody knows what a screw-up you are better than I do.”

  “Thanks, sis. Now get out before I flash you.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You’re disgusting.”

  “On the count of three,” he said, threatening to throw back the covers. “One, two…” He laughed as she scrambled to get out of the room. “Too easy, Bell,” he muttered, grinning.

  His smile died as he sat up and Gracie’s words from the previous night came back to him. You told me you loved me, that we’d get married someday. You said we’d have kids. He recalled saying every one of those things to her. Numerous times. They’d had big plans. Someday… someday… but their someday had never come. And it still killed him to think of the pain he’d caused her.

  By the time he’d taken care of business and staggered out to the kitchen, Bella had made good on her promise. A bowl of Corn Flakes, coffee, and slightly burnt toast.

  “This is the best you could do?” he asked, picking up a slice of toasted bread. “I can see you haven’t been taking cooking lessons from Mom.”

  Their mom was an amazing cook. Ethan could hardly wait ‘til his parents got back from their vacation so she could spoil him with care packages again. That was one of his favorite things about the off-season—being able to eat whatever he wanted. Within reason.

  “Shut up and eat,” she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “But first tell me about Grace.” She sat across from him at the breakfast bar as he added milk to the cereal.

  “Well, it started out okay,” he said, replaying the night in his mind. “But it took a turn for the worst when we started talking about our breakup.”

  “Well, duh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Why would you bring that up? You had to know it’d still be a sore subject. No girl likes to talk about getting dumped by the love of her life.”

  “You really think I was?” he asked, pausing with the spoon halfway to his mouth. “The love of her life?” He didn’t think she’d been with anyone else, other than him and Joel, but ten years was a long time and he didn’t know what she’d been up to for the past couple of years.

  “I know it.” She jumped off the stool and opened the fridge, scanning the contents before withdrawing a juice container. She checked the expiration date before reaching into the cupboard for a glass. “Hey, you haven’t been drinking out of the carton again, have you?”

  “What am I, ten?”

  “No, but you are a pig.”

  He shook his head as he watched her polish off a small glass of juice. “Did she talk about me much after we… uh… I ended it?”

  “Not really.” She put the container back in the fridge. “Like I said, she didn’t like to talk to me about you. I always tried pumping her for information, but she’d tell me she’d rather keep me out of it ‘cause she didn’t want me to have to choose sides.”

  “If you did have to choose sides, you’d have chosen me, right?” He took a bite of the cold toast and made a face, pushing it aside to focus on the cereal. Both were cold, but at least the cereal wasn’t burnt.

  “No, I would have taken her side.”

  “Excuse me? We’re family. You have to take my side.”

  “No, I don’t. You were in the wrong, not her. Why would I support your stupidity?”

  “You’re such a brat.”

  “But you know I’m right.” She smiled. “You were wrong to break up with her. Dead wrong.” She tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear and rolled forward on her toes. “Question is, what are you going to do about it? How’re you going to get her back?”

  “Get her back?” He cleared his throat. “You do realize we broke up ten years ago, not ten minutes ago, right? You don’t just go back to being boyfriend/girlfriend after that many years apart.”

  “But you still do care about her, right?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “Of course, I do. She’s a sweetheart, but—”

  “At least you’re willing to admit that now. That’s progress.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Every time I mentioned her name before, you were so hateful and bitter.”

  “That’s because she was engaged to Dr. D-bag then,” he said, topping up his cereal bowl. “Now she’s not, so I can afford to be magnanimous.”

  “Oh,” she said, waving. “Look who’s showing off that fancy college degree, using big words. And before you finished your first cup of coffee too.”

  “God, I hate you.”

  She laughed before pouring herself a cup of coffee. “No, you don’t. You love me.”

  He did, of course, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of admitting it. “Since you’re such an expert—” He pretended to choke on his cereal while containing a laugh. “Which really is laughable, since I can’t remember the last time you had a boyfriend. What do you think I should do to fix things with Gracie?”

  “You could start with flowers.”

  “That’s so common.”

  “So are you.”

  He shook his head, trying to hold back his smile. She always had a smartass answer for everything. “You really think I should send her flowers?”

  “Yeah, a huge bouquet. To her work. Where Dr. D-bag will see them.”

  He could get on board with that idea. “Okay.” He gestured to her purse on the counter. “Grab your phone. Find the number for the flower shop. She still likes yellow roses, right?” Before Bella could answer, he said, “Three dozen.” Her state of mind when he left last night, prompted him to add, “Uh, better make it five.”

  She laughed. “That bad, huh?”

  “Just order the damn flowers.”

  She slid the phone across the counter. “What do I look like? Your assistant? Order them yourself.”

  He shook his head as he reached for the phone. “At least if you were my assistant, I could fire your ass. This way, I’m stuck with you.” He sighed dramatically. “For life.”

  Chapter Four

  “Oh, please tell me he didn’t.” Grace groaned, flattening her palm against her forehead as the delivery man brought in a massive bouquet of yellow roses in a crystal vase.

  “What the hell?” Ash demanded. “Where are you gonna put those? They’ll take up the whole desk.”

  “Thanks,” Grace said, smiling at the older man who looked happy to be setting his delivery down. When he left, she extracted the card and sank into her swivel chair. “I told Joel not to…” She read and reread the few lines.

  I know I don’t deserve it, but how about a do-over? E

  Ash peered over her shoulder at the card. “Huh, so they’re from Ethan. Nice.”

  “No, it’s not nice.” She scowled at the flowers. “He doesn’t get to come back to town and pretend like nothing ever happened—sending me flowers, asking me out to dinner.” She threw the card on the desk. “Asking for a do-over? What the hell does that even mean, ‘a do-over’?” Did he want an opportunity to make up for last night or for dumping her all those years ago?

  “I’d say he wants a second chance,” Ash said, scrolling his phone as he sat down in the swivel chair across from her.

  “Have you talked to him? About me?” Ash was one of her best friends, but she understood guy code meant he’d be unlikely to tell her anything if Ethan had sworn him to secrecy.

 
“What makes you think we talk about you? We’ve got better things to talk about. Like what trades might be happening over the off-season, who’ll get more money next season, and what they’re going to do to deepen their bullpen now that—”

  “Enough about baseball,” she said, nudging his calf with the toe of her bright pink Nikes. “Baseball’s the reason I’m…” Not living the life he promised me. Not that she didn’t love the sport. She did. But she was bitter too, bitter that in the end, it meant more to him than she did.

  “Where the hell did those come from?” Joel asked, walking out of the locker room.

  Ash grinned, winking at Grace. “Her new boyfriend sent them to her. To thank her.” His tongue was firmly planted in cheek when he added, “For an amazing night. Or should I say another amazing night? They have a lot of history.” He looked at Grace. “There must have been plenty of memorable nights with E over the years, huh?”

  He had no idea. But she didn’t appreciate him feeding Joel a lie about her relationship with Ethan. She wanted Joel to get the message that their relationship was over, but she wasn’t in favor of resorting to deceit.

  Ethan walked in, a smile spreading across his ridiculously handsome face when he spotted the scene at the desk. “Good, you got my flowers.”

  “Yeah, about those…” She was aware Joel was watching her. So was Ash, clearly trying to send her a telepathic message to play along with his setup. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

  “My pleasure.” Ethan looked relieved that she’d softened since last night. “And for the record, you’re beautiful.” He looked at the fragrant blooms, each in the perfect state of budding. “The flowers are okay.”

  She smiled in spite of herself. He could be cheesy, but he somehow made even an over-used line sound sexy. “We need to talk.”

  “Agreed.” He gestured down the narrow hallway where she and Ash each had an office. “How about in there?”

  Since she didn’t want an audience for this conversation and couldn’t leave the gym on Saturday, their busiest day of the week, she nodded. Getting up, she reached for the vase, but Ethan rounded the desk and grabbed them before she could.

  “I got these,” he said, smiling at her. “You just lead the way.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Joel muttered.

  Grace waited until they were in her office with the door closed and Ethan had found a home for the flowers on her desk before she said, “About last night. I’m sorry if I overreacted. I just—”

  He backed her against the wall, placing his index finger over her lips. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who needs to apologize.”

  She would have argued, but that was hard to do with his finger practically in her mouth.

  He brushed his fingertip over her lips as his eyes followed its trail and his perfect teeth bit his own lower lip. “For every damn thing I ever did to hurt you.”

  She could barely breathe with him standing so close to her, touching her in a way he hadn’t in years. He’d always told her how much he loved her lips. He’d said they were full and soft and perfect for kissing…

  She swallowed when he removed his hand and brushed his lips over hers, softly, tentatively, as though he expected her to smack him or at the very least push him away. But she did neither. She was frozen, rooted to the spot, waiting for him to make his next move as she tried to remember how the hell to breathe.

  He nipped her bottom lip, and she sucked in a breath as her arms instinctively closed around his waist. She didn’t want to touch him, but she couldn’t help herself. He made her want him in ways she’d never wanted another man.

  “I want to kiss you.”

  That much was obvious, but for some reason, he wasn’t acting on the impulse.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked.

  “You.”

  She closed her eyes in invitation and he responded immediately, thrusting his hands into her long hair as he tilted her head at the perfect angle to accept his kiss. He was a lot taller than her, but after years of practice, they’d perfected it.

  The first sweep of his tongue against hers stirred something in her that she’d assumed died years ago. That sensual, erotic part of herself that he’d introduced her to. She fisted the back of his T-shirt, sighing with satisfaction when he deepened the kiss and pinned her against the wall with his hips, which drew her attention to his obvious state of arousal.

  On a scale of one to ten, the kiss was off-the-charts hot, making her wonder how she’d survived without his lips on hers for the past decade.

  His breathing was rough when he finally freed her, but his gaze was as hot as his lips had been, scorching her with their heat. “I want you. I’ve never stopped wanting you.”

  Right back atcha, babe. But she couldn’t say that. One of them had to keep their wits about them in the face of this combustible chemistry. “Sex was never our problem. Our problems ran deeper and you know it.”

  “Sex might be a good place to start though,” he said, gripping her hips.

  She was wearing thin yoga pants, which provided no protection from the temptation of his… hardness. “We’d both regret it and you know it.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” His voice was so deep and raspy, so filled with need, that it sent thrill bumps chasing each other all over her skin. “I’ve never regretted a single second I spent making love to you. Hell, those were the best times of my life.” He treated her to a sexy half-smile. “And that’s saying something, ‘cause I’ve had quite a few epic moments.”

  His epic moments had been captured forever by world-class photographers and splashed across TV screens in millions of homes across the continent. Yet, he considered the private moments he’d spent with her to be among the best of his life? His claim, whether true or not, made tears well up in her eyes.

  “Hey,” he said, looking concerned, “what is it? What’d I say?”

  “Nothing.” She sniffled, feeling stupid as she broke eye contact. “You just keep reminding me how much I loved you. Why do you have to do that?”

  “Maybe because I haven’t been able to forget how much I loved you.”

  She shook her head, silently begging him to stop as she tried to rein in her emotions. “Don’t. Please.”

  “We can keep running from it,” he said, softly brushing her cheek. “Or we can face it. See where it goes.”

  “But that’s just it,” she said, feeling frustration well up inside her. “It can’t go anywhere. It won’t go anywhere. So why bother trying?”

  “If we thought that way years ago, think of all we’d have missed out on.”

  “But we’re not kids anymore.”

  When she’d broken up with Joel, it was because she was searching for something bigger, something more, like the all-consuming love she’d known with Ethan. But she’d never expected him to walk back into her life and suggest… what was he suggesting? Right. Sex. Back then, she’d been naïve enough to believe love was enough to see them through anything. Now she was just cynical enough to believe love was never enough.

  She pushed him away, slipping out when he gave her the space. “We’re adults now. With responsibilities. We can’t pretend now, the way we did then.”

  “When did this happen?” he asked, lifting a strand of her hair when she gave him her back. “When did you become the pessimistic one in this relationship?”

  “We don’t have a relationship,” she said, slapping his hand away.

  “That kiss said otherwise.”

  Ignoring him, she added, “And I am not pessimistic. I’m a realist. There’s a big difference.”

  “I hate that you’ve given up hope. I hate even more knowing that I did that to you.”

  “I haven’t given up hope,” she said, turning toward him. “The exact opposite, in fact. I know I’m going to have everything I want. Marriage. Kids. All of it. Which is why I can’t waste any more time with you. I have to find my… forever.” She winced when she realized ho
w cold that sounded. “I’m sorry, I—”

  He raised his hand and backed up a step. “No need to apologize. I heard you loud and clear. I’m a waste of your precious time. Message received.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, feeling herself crumbling in the face of his hurt feelings. “I’ve just wanted so much for so long, and it feels like I’ve been spinning my wheels for years. I thought I’d found what I was looking for with you. Then I thought I’d found it with Joel. Now you’re back, and I have to ask myself, how much longer can I go on this way? Killing time. Not really moving forward with my life.”

  She knew she had time. She wasn’t old. But she’d never been interested in the dating scene. She’d sought long-term, stable relationships with men who weren’t afraid to talk about the future.

  “Why are you in such a big hurry?” he asked, looking confused. “You’re too young to be thinking about forever anyways. You have time to explore, time to figure things out.”

  “But I want stability. I want to know I have someone there for me, someone who loves me. Don’t you ever wish for that?”

  “Sure.” He raked his hands through his hair before linking his hands behind his neck, a sure sign of frustration. “Why do you think I asked Issie to marry me? It sure as hell wasn’t because I thought she was my soul mate.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “Come on, you can’t tell me you thought Joel was your soul mate?”

  “No, I guess I didn’t.”

  She backed up, sitting on the edge of her desk as she turned her head to look at the profusion of perfect blooms. It really was excessive. Just like the man who’d given them to her. Extreme. Too much. Over the top. That summed up Ethan. He was everything she wasn’t. Yet they’d always complemented each other in the most unexpected way. In a moment of clarity, she realized maybe that was the problem with Joel. They were too much alike. She needed someone like Ethan in her life… to balance her.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Just that I always had fun when I was with you. You always made me laugh.” She smiled at him. “You were silly and immature. Like a big kid. But I loved that about you.” Her voice softened. “I really missed that.”