More Than A Game (The Kings of Kroydon Hills Book 2)

by Bella Matthews

  I think I’ve heard too much wedding talk lately if I know what this shit is. Seriously, ladderback chairs? What the hell’s the difference?

  People are milling around everywhere, and waiters dressed in tails are walking around with trays of hors d’oeuvres. “See that man over there?” Brina discreetly points to a tall man, around her father’s age, holding court in the far corner of the room. “That’s David Martin. He sits on at least three different boards that I know of. He owns the largest beer distribution center in the state and is arguably the most powerful person in this room. If you don’t have David Martin’s backing, you can’t get elected in the state of Pennsylvania.”

  Sabrina dazzles me with her smile and her endless knowledge until a waiter stops by and offers us two glasses of champagne.

  Declan appears next to us, takes the glasses from the tray and offers one to Annabelle, shocking the waiter. “These two aren’t twenty-one. You want to get them some soda?”

  I may or may not quietly call him a dick, and he may or may not calmly answer me with asshole. But, in our world, they’re terms of endearment.

  “Don’t let anyone catch you grabbing a drink, Murph. You’re not twenty-one, and you can’t be photographed like that.”

  “I’m not that stupid, Dec.”

  Declan lifts his brows in question.

  Sabrina and Annabelle are completely ignoring us. Belle looks pretty tonight in a sparkly nude colored, flowy dress that has a square neckline and thin straps. Then she turns, and I can see the back is completely open. Wrapping my arm around Sabrina’s waist, I butt into their conversation, “Belle, you look smokin’.”

  She laughs at me. “Thanks, Murph. You’re looking pretty fine yourself.”

  If I’m not mistaken, Declan’s trying to incinerate me with his eyes. What the hell’s that about?

  Crazy to think this time next year, he’ll be my brother.

  A guy walks over, underdressed, in a mismatched sports coat and dress slacks, smelling like whiskey. “Sabrina. How are you, kid?” He grabs her hand and kisses it. I tighten my hold on her waist. Who does this fucker think he is?

  “Pat.” She pulls her hand away and places it in her pocket. Who puts pockets in ball gowns?

  “It’s so nice to see you. Is your wife here too?”

  “No, she’s home with the kids. They offered me an extra ticket at the last minute, but I didn’t realize the dress code. This jacket’s one of the extras they keep on hand for guys like me.” He smiles a little too big and a little too hammered. The scent of whiskey is wafting off him. “Anyway, just wanted to say hello. Have a nice night, Miss Cabot.”

  I wait for him to get out of earshot. “Who was that?”

  Brina looks at me, giggling. She’s not really making any attempt to conceal how funny she thinks this moment is. “Aiden Murphy, you’re not seriously jealous of Pat Donovan, are you? He’s a harmless ward leader from South Philly. Nice guy, but he’s got to be forty years old, and he’s only being sweet because of my dad.”

  Annabelle smirks. “Aww, Murphy. Are you jealous? Who knew you could be so cute?”

  “I am not cute, Belles.” I purposely puff up my chest. “I’m manly.”

  “Never good when you have to announce that you’re manly, Murphy.” Of course, Coach Sinclair had to join us just then. And with his arm wrapped around my mother, no less. It’s funny seeing Coach and Declan both dressed in tuxes next to each other. They’ve got the exact same build, but that’s where the similarities end. Nat and Coop look like Coach, with light hair and blue eyes. Declan looks like his mom, with olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes.

  My momma looks beautiful in a pretty red gown with a slit up the leg I’d rather not see.

  “Be nice, Joe,” my mother scolds Coach. Then turns to me. “You are so very manly, sweetie.” She leans in and kisses my cheek.

  Snickering can be heard throughout our small group. Declan laughs loudest. “You might want to lick your thumb to get the lipstick off of his cheek now, Katherine.”

  My mom smiles.

  “You all suck,” I grumble.

  Sabrina links her fingers through mine, just as Coach clears his throat. “Sabrina, Annabelle, you both look lovely tonight. Is Nattie watching Tommy for you, Annabelle?

  “Yes. He’s supposed to be spending the night there tonight. He and Brady concocted the idea. I’m expecting a call around bedtime because he’s never slept anywhere else before.” She laughs nervously and sips her champagne.

  My mom moves closer to Belle. “Annabelle, if you ever need a break, I’d be happy to have Tommy spend time with me. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him, and I think he may have a bit of a crush on Carys.”

  “Thanks so much, Katherine. I appreciate it. I don’t really have much time for a break.” She looks to Declan, then back to my mom. “Wow, when I say that out loud, I realize how sad it sounds.”

  “Nonsense. You have to make some time for yourself. Carys and I should be moving in with Joe next week. Tommy already knows that house well. I’m sure we can make sure he is comfy and happy, and you could get a little alone time.” My mother looks between Annabelle and Declan, and I know exactly what she’s thinking.

  Oh well, the two of them can deal with her.

  Sabrina’s father joins our growing corner of the ballroom. “Katherine.” He hugs my mother. “Joe.” He offers Coach his hand. “It’s so good to see you. Congratulations on the engagement. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

  “Thank you, Harrison. We’re very excited. Where is Elizabeth?”

  Sabrina’s father looks around. “I’m not sure.”

  “I saw Mom walk out into the hallway with the senate majority leader.” All eyes turn to Sabrina, and a beautiful blush starts at the top of her dress and goes straight up her face.

  “Thank you, Sabrina. I’m going to go find your mother before she starts hammering Senator DeFelice about his vote on my last bill.”

  My mother pulls Coach’s arm. “Have fun tonight, kids. We’re going to go find our table.”

  Coach shoots Declan a look. I don’t know what it means, but I definitely saw something there.

  Sabrina turns to face me. “Would you mind if we speak with a few more people before we sit for dinner? I have to make the rounds. A few of the people in this room will be getting my application for internships next summer, and I want to make a good impression.”

  “You take the lead tonight, Princess.”

  I’d follow this girl anywhere.

  32

  Murphy

  Two hours later, I’m leaning against a high-top table off to the side of the dance floor, watching Sabrina dance with her father on the ballroom floor. She glides along as if her feet aren’t touching the ground. Her emerald green gown is swooshing around her, and that smile I would protect with my life hasn’t left her face.

  Damn.

  She’s incredible.

  She greeted everyone tonight by name, never missing a beat, always with a kind word or an interest in whatever was going on in their lives or campaigns. She knew something about everyone and enjoyed bringing me into her world, so I wasn’t just a stranger on the outside looking in.

  The strategies I heard her discuss . . . the knowledge she possesses . . . Seeing her light up when her father used a few of her lines in his speech . . . It was really something to see.

  Some people are born to play football. They’re born with a God-given talent, and I’ve seen that a few times in my life. Brady is one of those people. I know what that looks like.

  This is what Sabrina was born to do. This is her football.

  I understand why she gave up soccer when she came to college. It makes sense now. You can’t split yourself between two things and expect to be able to give everything to both. Bash has been trying, and I’ve watched it eat at him. This, right here, is what she was meant to do.

  I’m not paying attention when I feel an arm link through mine. My mother’s perfume ann
ounces her before I see her. She leans her head on my shoulder. “She’s beautiful, Aiden.”

  “She really is, Mom. She’s smart, too. She’s funny, and her heart is huge.”

  “I don’t need you to list all the reasons you love her, Aiden. I just need you to be happy . . . and careful.” She lifts her head and fixes my bow tie.

  Looking at my mother, something settles in my heart.

  “I do love her. How could I not?” Not sure why I fought it for so long.

  My mother takes my cheek in her palm. “Oh, my son. Tell her, not me. And no grandbabies. Not yet.”

  I kiss my mom on the cheek and walk away. I need to get out of this crowd for a moment. I need to breathe. Shouldn’t I be upset at the idea of being in love? The thought of that would have had me freaking out a few months ago, but now, it puts me at ease.

  Finding that person . . .

  The one who gets you.

  The one you want to be with.

  Jerry Maguire might have been a tool, but he got one thing right. Finding that person who completes you is a powerful thing.

  I make my way into what Sabrina told me earlier was the cigar lounge. This room is a smaller, more intimate room with leather armchairs and a velvet couch. The fireplace is lit, and a small bar is set up in the corner, serving absinthe. There are only a few older men in here smoking cigars. The heavy scent clinging to the air reminds me of my grandfather.

  The floor-to-ceiling windows are covered by heavy golden drapes and a soft, white, sheer puffy-looking curtain thing. I’m sure Sabrina would know what it’s called. As I stare out at the city below, I wonder if this is what she wants with her life. Does she want to be part of a private club? Does she want to work in politics in DC or locally?

  If I get drafted, would she be willing to go with me if her goal is DC? If she wants to be in DC and I get drafted somewhere else, could we make it work? Is it too soon to think like this? I don’t think it is. I think when you know, you just know, and now that I know, there’s no denying it. That girl is my future. I don’t know when it happened, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

  I guess Jamie had it right. He’s gonna gloat about this for sure.

  A million thoughts run through my head at once when I hear a throat clear.

  Mrs. Cabot is standing next to me, having just placed a Manhattan and her purse on the high-top table to my right. The smile she has on her face is as fake now as it’s been all night. So different from her daughter’s. She makes my Spidey senses go on high alert.

  Something about her doesn’t sit right with me. But she’s my girlfriend’s mother, so I’m determined to make her like me. Moms like me, and I’ve gotta believe I can charm her too.

  For Sabrina’s sake, I’m determined to do this.

  “Mr. Murphy, I am glad we finally have a few minutes to speak. Let us speak bluntly. I’m not sure why exactly you think you are good enough for my daughter, but I am here to put an end to that.”

  And there go my plans for making her like me.

  “Sabrina has been groomed her entire life for great things, Mr. Murphy. She is her father’s daughter, and her political future is endless.” She looks around the room before bringing her attention back to me. “Her father will sit in the White House one day, and Sabrina will be right there by his side. Who knows how far she will be able to go when it’s her turn? What I do know is that you will only drag her down.”

  She crinkles her nose as if she smells something offensive, then continues, “You can’t actually think that her father and I would be supportive of you dating our daughter. Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Murphy, and it is not a good one. Quite frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself. Your poor mother has had to raise you alone because your worthless father left town as soon as he could. And what do you do to repay her? You give her a son with a reputation as the joke of the town. My sources tell me football is the only thing you’ve ever been serious about, and thank God you are good at that, or you would have no future. I’ve also been told that you do not have serious relationships and prefer instead to date multiple girls at once.”

  Who the hell are her sources? The FBI?

  “I will not have my daughter be made a fool of and then tossed away once you get bored, only for her to have to defend having dated you in the first place when she goes into politics later.” She lifts her glass but stops before she drinks. “Or, worse yet, have you string her along and then leave like your father did.”

  Talk about a direct hit. Grinding my teeth, I answer, “I am not my father, Mrs. Cabot.”

  “No, you are not going to be given the chance to destroy my daughter’s life the way he destroyed your mother’s.”

  “Mother!”

  Mrs. Cabot’s calculating smile disappears from her face when she turns around and sees Sabrina standing behind her next to Declan.

  “Sabrina, darling.” She attempts to grab Sabrina’s arm, but my girl pulls away.

  “You are so lucky Declan saw Murphy in here, because if you’d gotten the chance to do any damage to my relationship with this little conversation you’re having with the man I love, I swear to God, Mother, I would destroy you.” It’s a tone I didn’t know Sabrina had in her, and I hope to never hear again.

  Her mother begins to speak, but Brina puts her hand up, halting her. “Aiden Murphy is an incredible man. He’s caring and protective, and he thinks about other people before he thinks of himself, something you know nothing about. He makes me feel safe and like I’m enough, by myself, without having to prove my worth over and over. I’m not surprised you’re too blind to see it because none of that benefits you. It only benefits me. And why would you care if he was good to me? Good for me? You’ve never cared about me further than how I could help you and your political aspirations for Daddy.”

  I watch my Princess eviscerate her mother . . . for me.

  Her mother’s entire face is pinched tight. “Sabrina, lower your voice. You are drawing attention to yourself.”

  “I will not lower my voice, Mother. Aiden and I are leaving, and you’re not going to speak a word of this, or I’ll tell the world what I saw you doing with the senate majority leader earlier.” She leans in close to her mother. “Daddy might already know, but I doubt Senator DeFelice’s wife does.”

  Holy shit.

  Her voice resonates with power. “All it would take is one secret told to the right person, and Daddy’s campaign would be over. Destroyed. By. You. Don’t doubt for a second I wouldn’t do it or I wouldn’t know who to speak to. I’ve been trained by the best.”

  Holy Shit. Who is this girl who’s willing to bring down her own world . . . for me?

  Brina links her fingers with mine and pulls me. “Come on, Aiden. I need to get out of here before I destroy my father’s entire political career with one well-placed whisper.”

  33

  Sabrina

  Murphy and I don’t speak until we make it to the safety of our hotel room. I’m glad he didn’t try to calm me down because I don’t think I could have controlled myself. I may have thrown out the threat of destroying my mother’s life, but it’s a threat I don’t want to have to follow through with. As I storm across the room and try to get my raging emotions under control, I realize I left my purse downstairs.

  Shit.

  Spinning on my heel, I turn to face Murphy. “Can you do me a favor? Can you text Annabelle and ask her to grab my purse off the table and bring it up here before she and Declan leave?”

  Murphy nods and shoots off a text.

  “I cannot seriously believe my mother just did that. I knew she was a raging bitch with serious control issues, but those things she said . . .” I move in front of him and lay my palms flat on his lapels to stop my hands from shaking. “Aiden, I am so sorry. She had no right to speak to you that way.”

  His phone pings, indicating an incoming text. “Belle says they’ll be right up with it.”

  “Thanks.” I sit down on the small, cream leather sofa unde
r the window and cross my legs so I can unbuckle the ankle straps on my heels. My gown won’t stop falling in my way, and my hands are shaking so badly that I can’t manage to unbuckle the tiny little strap. I’m ready to rip it off my body when Murphy sits down next to me and pulls my feet into his lap, the green silk now hiding his legs.

  His fingers wrap around my ankle. “Sabrina, stop. I need you to breathe nice and slow for me.”

  After he unbuckles and removes my shoe, his big hands reach under my gown and massage my calves that are tight from a night spent in three-inch heels, and it feels really nice. My body begins to let go of some of the adrenaline that was coursing through it moments earlier. My hands go to either side of his handsome face, cupping his cheeks, and I look into those gorgeous green eyes.

  Pleadingly, I ask, “Please tell me you know my mother was wrong.”

  Murph’s eyes dart to the side.

  “Aiden, my mother is an uptight bitch who wouldn’t know a good man if he slept in her bed every night. I wasn’t certain she was screwing Senator DeFelice until I saw her react to what I said, but it sure seems like she’s cheating on my dad. Who is she to judge anyone else?”

  Murphy’s hands wrap around my wrists, moving them from his face and holding them in his lap. “Sabrina, I realized something tonight before your mother attacked like a rabid dog.”

  We’re interrupted by a knock at the door. Murphy drops a kiss to my knuckles and stands. “Hold that thought.”

  Feeling slightly less frazzled, I watch Murphy cross the room and crack open the door. I hear murmuring but can’t make out what’s being said. Then he reappears with my purse as the door clicks shut behind him.

  My small crystal bag is handed to me, and I remove my phone and power it down for the night. Then I move to the room phone and activate the Do Not Disturb option. My parents know where I am because I could only get a room here as my father’s guest. I do not want to speak with or run the risk of seeing either of them tonight.