"Fine," I grumble, sighing heavily when I feel her slide off me.
"Do you need a minute?" she asks as I just lie there, defeated, not even removing the tie from my eyes.
I hear her scurrying around, turning down the music playing in the background and clinking our now empty glasses of sparkling cider together, getting ready to take them to the kitchen. This was all about celebrating our engagement and the ring I just placed on her finger, but not anymore. The rustle of her robe brings me out of my lust-filled daze.
"You're not answering the door like that, are you?" I take in her appearance, my tie now dangling below my chin, and I curse when my dick twitches because all I can see are her tanned legs and a suggestive hint of cleavage above the sash. I don't want anyone else to see her like this but me.
"Well, if you can drag yourself outta bed, they won't have to." She gives me a playful wink, tossing me my boxers when the fourth ring of the doorbell is followed by a sharp and persistent knock.
I hop to my feet, hiking up my waistband, not even bothering to put a shirt on because whoever it is isn't staying. When I march past Hailey, she slaps me on the ass, making me want to turn around and take her hard and fast against the wall.
"Keep going," she laughs when I stop halfway down the hallway.
"Stay outta sight," I growl back, listening to her chuckle behind me.
I take a deep breath when I feel her hands on my back right when I open the door and see Scott Harper standing there, looking totally freaked out.
"Dude, you gotta help me. It's everywhere. Everywhere!" Scott runs his hands through his hair, not making any sense.
"What is?" I snap at him even though I've never seen him this self-conscious.
"My dick!" he screams in my face.
"Bruce, let him in," Hailey urges. "Something's not right."
"You can say that again," I mutter, moving aside so he can enter.
"Scott, what's wrong?" Hailey questions, looking concerned. "What happened?"
She guides him over to the couch, and I know something's up when he doesn't even check her out even though she's wearing next to nothing. He slumps down, moaning, his head in his hands.
I sigh, leaning up against the wall. This is going to be a long night, one I'd rather spend alone with Hailey, but it looks like that's not happening now. I shift against the bulge in my shorts, trying to calm down and hear him out.
"Scott, whatever it is," Hailey soothes him, "just tell us. It's probably not as bad as you think."
"That my junk is all over the Internet?" He raises his head, panic-stricken. "It doesn't get any worse than that."
"What?" I blurt out.
"Somebody hacked into my phone and downloaded all of my naked photos." He looks at me beseechingly, like I somehow have the power to make it all go away.
"What? I thought you were proud of your body?" I can't resist throwing that out there, knowing how shamelessly he struts around the locker room. "So I don't get it. What's the big deal?"
"Because it's not just naked pics of me, dumbass," he cries out. "It's me with an Academy Award-winning actress. It's me with the world's hottest swimsuit model. It's me with—"
"Okay, we get it," Hailey says, halting him midstream. "You and every beautiful woman on the planet…in the buff."
"Exactly," Scott groans. "But not only that, I'm a baseball player. I face angry crowds for a living, one hundred and sixty-two games a year. Can you imagine the shit I'm gonna get from fans for this?"
"You've got a point there," I admit, trying not to watch as Hailey crosses her legs, having no idea how sexy she looks.
"And not only that, what A-list chick is gonna wanna be with me now?" Scott lets his head fall back against the couch. "I can't go back to dating nines when I'm used to banging tens."
"Oh, please," Hailey says, exasperated.
"You don't understand what it's like for a guy like me. The rep I gotta maintain. It's who I am—my whole identity," Scott goes on, bemoaning his fate. "It's not like I'm Jilly or Brooks. I'm not a one-woman kinda guy. I don't operate like that. I'm not part of the Kings' baby-making machine."
"Well, maybe it's time you were," I admonish him. "You can't go on playing the field forever, dude. Do you really wanna be dating a twenty-one-year-old when you're forty?"
"Hell yeah!" Scott exclaims, his head snapping up to look at me.
"That's sad, man. Really sad," I grumble, disappointed once again in the questionable choices he so willingly makes.
"I'm not about finding my one true love. I don't believe in all that bullshit. I never did," he protests. "I just wanna a hot piece of ass around whenever I need to get laid without all the baggage that comes along with it."
Hailey clears her throat, clearly not liking what he's saying.
"Yeah, and it really worked for Chase all those years, didn't it?" I cross my arms in front of my chest, knowing he's not going to win this argument.
"Are you kidding me, Jilly? Chase loved being that guy." Scott stretches out, tossing a casual arm behind Hailey's shoulders.
"Until he didn't anymore." I shift uneasily, not liking how close Scott's fingers are to Hailey's robe.
"Because deep down, he wanted some woman to reel him in. See, that's the difference between us. I don't." Scott's thumb absently finds Hailey's arm and she flinches.
"Get your fucking hand off my girl, Harper," I seethe, my voice deadly.
"Oops. Sorry, man. Just a reflex," he says, sliding himself away from Hailey. "Don't you see? I'm an addict. There's no stopping me."
"Yeah. Just keeping talking about me like I'm not even here." Hailey looks up at the ceiling, extremely pissed.
"My apologies, darlin', but your man over there is sporting a pretty hefty boner for ya, and he just got all bent out of shape, protecting what's his." Scott gives me a wicked grin. "Ain't that right, big guy? I can't believe you're gettin' some today and I'm not. Where's the justice in that?"
"Scott, concentrate." Hailey claps her hands in front of his face. "Did you talk to Gayle about all this?"
"No," he laughs. "Why would I? I'm not into cougars. Not even hot ones like Gayle."
"Can you please stop thinking about sex for one second and listen to me?" Hailey grabs his chin, turning it toward her. "She's aware of a privacy breach with the team that's been going on for quite some time. I think she might be able to help you find out who did this."
"You mean…it's happened before?" Scott's jaw drops, coming out of the self-centered universe he usually inhabits.
"The Kings wanna know everything there is to know about their players. Sometimes, too much." Hailey shoots me a sympathetic glance, thankful that we survived the hell we went through once her identity was leaked.
"You're saying that Terry's behind this?" Scott asks, flabbergasted.
"He might be," I respond, tempering his emotions.
"Most likely," Hailey counters, adding fuel to the fire.
"Then he's about to get his ass handed to him!" Scott jumps up, hustling toward the door until I step forward, blocking his path. "C'mon, Jilly. Get outta the way! I'm serious. I'm not letting him get away with this. I have a date with Miss Universe this weekend and I'm not letting her bail on me."
"Like Hailey said, talk to Gayle before you do anything stupid," I warn, waiting for him to cool down. "She's putting together a case against him, so don't go blowing it now. She found out Terry was the one who hired Hailey's super to break into her apartment and steal her laptop. She also told us that he has in his possession a video of Grey that Chase never wants to see the light of day. He's known for playing these kinds of games. He's a master at it."
"Fuck," Scott groans, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is bad."
"Very bad," Hailey agrees. "But he crossed a line here, and maybe what he did to you will wind up bringing him down. I'm sure Gayle will be able to track the hacker back to him, and then it's all over. Maybe she'll finally be able to get rid of him for good."
"Yo
ur naked ass might save the whole team," I rib him, glad to see him smile back at me.
"Hey, I never said I was ashamed of my body," Scott snickers. "I'm just mad that the surprise factor is gone for all those lovely ladies who haven't yet seen it in person."
"Oh dear God. Get the hell outta here!" Hailey yells. "And go talk to Gayle."
I hold the door open for him. "Good luck, man."
He bumps my fist. "Thanks, dude. Now go take care of that," he jokes, pointing at my groin area with his chin. "'Cause shit, man. That looks painful."
I glare at him, and he laughs, jogging toward his Audi before peeling out of my driveway.
"I wonder how many pictures are out there?" Hailey ponders, drumming her fingertips on my shoulder.
"Who cares?" I reply, grabbing her unawares. "Let's go take some of our own."
She clings to me as I carry her back into the bedroom, feeling the vibration of her laughter against my chest the whole way, realizing how lucky I am to have her. Scott doesn't know what he's missing.
Because being a one-woman guy is where it's at.
Bonus Content
Read two flashback chapters from Hailey and Jilly on the night of their high school graduation.
Read them on Goodreads at:
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/7156415
About the Author
Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball's biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette's impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.
Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she's not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers.
She is the author of NIGHT GAMES, GAME CHANGER and GAME ON.
Email her at [email protected].
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CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Epilogue
About the Author
Game On Page 25