by Lexy Parker
I laughed. “I’ll help you.”
“I think it’ll keep until morning. Neither of us is in any condition to move off this bed.”
He groaned. “You’re right. Thank you for what we did eat of dinner.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And thank you for what you said earlier. I appreciate you offering to help me out. I need to call my coach and talk things over with him.”
I smiled and rolled against his chest. “You’re welcome and don’t worry about your coach or anything else right now. You need to sleep.”
I leaned down and grabbed the blanket neatly folded at the end of the bed, covering both of us. He’d locked the front door, but I didn’t want to risk his mother coming inside and finding us naked and sprawled out in his bed.
I could hear him softly snoring and knew he had fallen asleep already. He’d worn himself out. I couldn’t stop smiling when I was with him. I knew Mallory had her reservations and I understood why, but she didn’t know him like I did. She didn’t see how vulnerable he truly was. The façade he put on was to hide his insecurities. Dayton wasn’t a shallow man. He felt everything on a far deeper level than most men I had met. The fact he could hide who he really was from the world was pretty amazing. I liked that he saved that little piece of himself for me, his family and those that truly knew him.
If Mallory ever got the chance to meet him and spend time with him, I just knew she’d feel the same way. Dayton was a man I wanted to spend more time with. I didn’t want him to leave, but at the same time, I wanted him to be able to leave to do the thing he loved most in the world. I thought about a life in California and wondered if I could adapt to his lifestyle. He couldn’t change for me, but maybe I could change for him. I could visit my mom often, text and call her every hour and find a job in the city.
My mind was a jumbled mess, keeping me from falling right to sleep, despite my satiated body. I was exhausted, but my brain didn’t get the memo. I rolled to my side and stroked his cheek before softly kissing his lips. “Good night,” I whispered before settling into my usual position with my cheek on his chest, his heartbeat better than any sleeping pill as it lulled me into sleep.
Chapter 31
Dayton
It had been a long week and despite doing nothing, it hadn’t been bad. Evie had stayed over every night. We had dinner with my parents on Wednesday and I made her dinner last night. I would have preferred to have been able to do something, to feel productive during the day, but at least I had Evie to brighten things up.
I parked the rental SUV out front of the flower shop where Kale worked, if one could call what he did working. I knew it was a risk to visit, but figured what the hell, why not. I saw a couple of cars parked up and down the street, but it didn’t look like the place was overly busy. I opened the door and was immediately cocooned in things. I wasn’t sure if that was his father’s intention, to overwhelm the senses, or if it was because they had too much inventory because they weren’t selling. Whatever the case, it was a wild experience.
“Kale?” I called out when I saw his large form squatted down in front of a stack of wooden baskets.
He turned to look at me. “What the hell are you doing here?” he muttered, standing up.
I shrugged. “I was bored, thought I’d come by and see if you were actually working.”
Kale smirked. “I am—for now. My dad’s threatening to close up shop. Says we can’t compete with that Cupid’s Arrow.”
“Oh no, really? Then what would you do?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Is your dad going to try opening another business?”
There were a couple of older women, browsing the many decorative offerings. They weren’t paying any attention to us and certainly didn’t recognize me.
“I don’t know. What people don’t understand is Cupid’s Arrow gouges their customers! They order from China! The flowers are imported!” he said in a loud voice.
The women looked at Kale, who smiled back at them. Clearly, he was trying to start rumors. I wasn’t even sure how it would be possible to get fresh flowers from China, but I knew nothing about flowers or the wars between flower shops.
“Sounds pretty vicious. Will the warring flower shops throw flowers at each other?” I asked with a grin.
Kale scoffed. “Only the ones with roses. I don’t know. My dad’s gotta come up with a new shtick. That woman is going to put him out of business. He can’t retire at this age. He’ll drive me up the damn wall! I might actually have to get a real job and go to work to get away from him.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Or you could move out?”
“Blasphemy!” he said with exaggerated horror. “What’s up with you? I thought maybe you’d gone back to Cali by now.”
I shook my head. “No, not yet. Still trying to get things situated,” I told him, not wanting to get into the prospect of surgery and me losing my career.
“What about you and Evie? You still chasing her?” he asked.
I nodded. “I guess you could say that. We’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“I warned you about her. She’s a good woman. I don’t want to see her get hurt. I will kick your ass or break your other arm if I find out you are just messing around with her,” he warned.
“It’s not like that,” I assured him.
He eyed me carefully. “You sure about that? I mean, when you’re all healed up, you’re going back, right?”
I nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“Then you and she are over and done.”
I winced. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that’s the case at all. She doesn’t want to leave Hope.”
“And you don’t want to stay,” he stated.
I shook my head. “Not really, but I’m only committed to about six months out of the year to be with the team.”
He laughed. “Your plan is to be bi-coastal? Spend six months with her and then six months out there?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Other athletes do it all the time. I can fly home on breaks, and she can fly out to see me. I think if we want to make it work between us, there’s going to have to be some give and take.”
He nodded. “I see. Is this something you’re actually serious about?”
I let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it. At first, it wasn’t anything serious, but we’ve been spending a lot of time together and I don’t think I’m ready for that to end. I’m not sure what she’s thinking, but I get the idea she likes where things are headed as well.”
Kale laughed. “You’ve been surrounded by California girls and it takes coming home to Tennessee for you to find a good woman. That’s only a little funny.”
I laughed with him. “I certainly wasn’t planning on it and even when things were starting up with us, I didn’t think it was anything more than just a fun romance when I was home. I was thinking she’d be the girl I could call and come home to see when things were in a lull. I never thought she’d be the only girl I wanted to see or talk to and that I wouldn’t want to leave.”
“Uh-oh,” Kale said in a high voice.
“Uh-oh what?”
“Someone got bit by the lovebug,” he said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes. The guy looked like he belonged in the NFL, but he was the cheesiest dude I had ever met. “Whatever.”
“I need some coffee,” he said out of the blue.
I looked at my watch and decided I could go for a little boost. “Do I dare go to that coffee shop down the block?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “I’ll run interference if anyone thinks they recognize you. It’s not exactly a hopping place now that they put in that fancy chain place a few blocks over. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“All right.”
“Dad!” Kale shouted, earning a scowl from the browsing ladies.
I turned my back to them. Kale had a way of attracting a lot of attention. I
didn’t want any part of that.
“Dad!” he shouted again.
“Kale, just go back there and tell him,” I hissed.
“Dad! I’m going to get a coffee!” Kale shouted again.
I slapped my hand to my face. The guy wondered why there was a lack of customers. He was the proverbial bull in a china shop. He was loud, big and boisterous. I wasn’t the kind of person who spent a lot of time in flower shops, but the few I had visited had all been very quiet. Some even had nature sounds playing in the background to create a serene, relaxing environment. That was not the experience at Kale’s place.
“What have I told you about yelling?” his father shouted at Kale as he appeared behind the counter.
They were both loud and boisterous. “I’m going to get coffee,” Kale said, pulling off his apron and tossing it on the counter.
His father glared at him but didn’t say anything more, thankfully. I walked to the door, anxious to escape the claustrophobic shop that felt so much smaller with the two men shouting at one another. I pushed my sunglasses on and looked up and down the street again. It was one of the slower parts of town, older and lacking all the new, trendy shops that were going in on the opposite side. I had a feeling the dying commercial business was also hurting the flower shop’s sales.
We strolled down the sidewalk, littered with cracks and fresh spring weeds growing up in them. I was looking forward to the time when I could walk along the streets of my hometown without worrying about someone recognizing me. I wanted to see what all had changed and revisit some of my favorite hangouts from when I was a teen. I wanted to go to O’Hanleys and have a drink. I had heard they’d done some remodeling in the place and was anxious to see the changes. I couldn’t do any of that until the team gave me the all clear.
“Do you drink coffee or espresso?” I asked him as we walked inside the very small shop.
“Coffee. I’m not a girl,” Kale snapped.
I laughed. “I’m getting an iced mocha and if you call me a girl, I’m going to punch you.”
“You can’t punch me. You got a broken wing. Maybe you can swat at me like a girl would,” he teased.
“Whatever,” I grumbled, ordering the drink and buying Kale his plain black coffee.
We moved to sit down at a table in the empty shop. I sipped on my drink, pleasantly surprised to find it was actually really good. Kale got up to grab some napkins after spilling coffee on himself. Judging by the stains I could already see littering the light blue shirt he was wearing, it was a regular occurrence.
“Oh shit,” I heard him mumble.
I assumed he’d made another mess and continued to stare out the window, fond memories of my childhood coming to mind. There had been a little ice cream shop across the street. It had closed before I graduated when the elderly owner passed away. I remembered the many times my mom would take me to get an ice cream after school with the promise I couldn’t let it ruin my dinner. Those days had been so simple.
Kale came back and dropped a newspaper on the table. “What’s—” I stopped, looking at a black and white picture from the team roster plastered on the front page.
“Yeah, the cat is out of the bag,” Kale said, sitting down.
I read the headline aloud. “Career-ending injury takes out promising Dayton Black.”
“Keep reading,” Kale advised.
I read the article that included my stats, how the injury happened and where I was rehabbing. I shook my head in disbelief. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
“It wasn’t me. I promise you I did not say a word to anyone,” Kale said.
I nodded, knowing it wouldn’t have been him. Someone had spoken to the reporter, that much was clear. “I don’t understand,” I said, rereading the headline.
“These are secrets that are never meant to be kept. It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. You’ve been out for three weeks,” Kale pointed out.
“I know, but no one knew. Hell, as far as I know, my team doesn’t even know. They got me on the first plane and shipped me out here before anyone could ask questions. This isn’t good. I need to get home. I’ve got to talk to my coach. Son of a bitch, he’s going to be pissed!”
“What does this all mean?” he asked.
I groaned. “I don’t know. My coach didn’t want anyone knowing about how serious the injury was because he was afraid it would undermine the team goals. So much of what we do is based on predictions and selling seats. If the two pitchers are on the bench, it doesn’t sell tickets.”
“You guys could be the underdogs,” he reasoned.
I rolled my eyes. “Being an underdog isn’t as glamorous as being at the top.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“I’ve got to go,” I said, tossing my cup into the trash.
“Good luck,” he called out as I walked out the door.
I rushed back to the car, dreading the coming phone call. If he didn’t know about the headlines yet, I knew he would soon. I heard my phone ring, checked the number and didn’t recognize it. It was already starting. Several beeps, one after the other, came through, indicating I had text messages.
“Fuck!” I growled, slapping my hand against the steering wheel.
I was so fucked.
Chapter 32
Evie
I walked my client out to the lobby, assuring her things were progressing nicely and talked with Terry about when I wanted to see her again. It was an average day, but it was Friday. I was looking forward to spending the weekend with Dayton. I didn’t used to get excited for the weekends, because I never actually did anything but catch up on household duties, grocery shop and hang out with my mom. With Dayton around, that was all very different. I imagined spending the weekend at his house. Maybe we could make dinner together or head out for a drive. I wished like hell I could introduce him to my mother, but that wasn’t an option—not yet.
The door opened behind us. I turned to see who it was, not expecting another client, and saw the Men in Black again. I didn’t like them. There was something about them that put me on edge. My first thought was they were coming to tell us Dayton wouldn’t be back. I knew it was coming and had tried to prepare myself for it, but I was still dreading the moment. The men took off their sunglasses and both of them looked at me. It was hard to miss the disgust and irritation on their faces. That was unexpected. I had done nothing to them.
“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to remain friendly.
“We need to speak with Tom,” one of them said in a gruff voice.
They seriously reminded me of Thing One and Thing Two. That’s what I was going to call them from then on.
“I’ll call him up,” Terry said, quickly picking up the phone.
I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if I should go back into my little room or wait in the lobby. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights once again. Run or stay? The way they were looking at me was making me very uncomfortable.
“Gentlemen!” Tom greeted them, walking out front.
“We need to talk, in private, with her,” one said as he pointed to me.
My eyes went wide. “Me?” I asked, pointing to myself and looking around, knowing there was no one else they could want to talk to.
“All right, well, come on in,” Tom said, keeping his upbeat attitude.
We all walked into the office that was way too small in my opinion. No one sat. The tension rolling off the men was thick and uncomfortable. It was clear something was wrong. My mind raced as I tried to think about what it could be. Dayton’s arm wasn’t getting better, but that wasn’t my fault. I was doing all I could just to keep him out of pain.
“We have a problem,” the man said, staring at me.
“What kind of problem? Dayton hasn’t said anything,” I said, immediately going on the defensive.
“Do you remember signing the NDA?” Thing One asked.
I nodded. “How could I forget?” I said dryly.
“Did you understan
d what it was and what it meant?” he snapped.
Now the guy was pissing me off. I wasn’t an idiot. “Yes, I can read.”
“What’s going on?” Tom asked, clearly trying to diffuse the situation.
“News of Dayton’s injury and his location have hit the papers today. How would they have found out? You signed a document stating you would not reveal his location or his injury and yet, the entire country knows about it,” he said accusingly.
I shrugged. “I don’t know how they found out. Why don’t you ask the reporter who wrote the story how they knew?”
“There isn’t a single reporter. It’s made the national news. Everyone knows!” Thing Two glowered.
My mouth fell open. “What? How?” I gasped.
“Who have you told?” he said, his gaze making me squirm.
I shook my head. “No one.”
“Someone knows and someone talked to the press. It’s all over the internet. People are making predictions and the team stands to lose a great deal of money in revenue. Dayton could lose money on the few marketing deals he has if the companies suspect he is out for good. No one wants a guy representing their athletic wear if he doesn’t ever play the game,” Thing One reported.
I looked at Tom, hoping he could help me. “I don’t know. I have no idea what could have happened. I assure you I wasn’t involved in his secret getting out.”
I wasn’t sure if they knew about our trip to Utah. I didn’t want to get Dayton in trouble. I wasn’t sure what I should or shouldn’t say. I felt like every word I uttered was making the situation worse. If I’d had a heads-up, I could have talked to Dayton and figured out what I should and shouldn’t say. If Tom found out I was sleeping with my client, he’d fire me. My stomach twisted in knots and I quite literally backed myself into the corner, trying to remove myself from the situation.
“Who have you told? You’ve told someone!” Thing Two shouted.
I gulped down the lump in my throat. I was fucked. “I told my mom. I didn’t tell her the extent of his injury. I don’t know the extent of his injury. I only told her I had a new client.”