by Claire Adams
“No, you still aren’t.” He tried, and failed, to keep a serious face. Then let it go and bust out laughing. “You’re a good dad, though, and Harper’s great.”
My chest swelled with pride, as it always did when someone complimented me about Harper. Being a parent was tough, and I constantly worried that I’d fuck up with her, but so far so good.
“Speaking of daughters, did you know Richard has one?” I asked.
I’d been wondering how to fish for information about Gabrielle without being too obvious about it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Ryder knew everything about everyone on the team. He was a fun-loving guy with a wild streak that got people to open up to him for some reason. Those qualities felt like they would keep people from confiding in him, but he just so easy going and nonjudgemental that he was somewhat of a go-to.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “He doesn’t ever talk about her, though. He’s never had any pictures up of her or anything. She’s probably fat and ugly, and that’s why he doesn’t want to put her up on display like any proud father would.”
Gabrielle’s deep blue eyes and blonde curls flashed in my mind, along with those delectable curves that I’d had in that alley. Ryder was definitely wrong about the fat and ugly part, but I wasn’t about to correct him.
He was right about the fact that Richard never put up any pictures of her like a proud father would. What the hell was up with that? Although, if he had put pictures up of her, half the damn team would be lusting after her. Given his rules about her not dating football players, it wasn’t all that surprising that he wouldn’t advertise her to the team.
“I did hear that she was some kind of genius. I think she’s in law school or med school or something. Rumor has it that she smashes all of her classes and is, like, I don’t know. Some kind of prodigy.” Ryder shrugged.
Law school, I wanted to tell him, but I kept my mouth shut. I’d known she was smart, but damn, if the rumors were true, she was smarter than I’d realized.
Some guys might be put off by that kind of brain power, but all I felt was a renewed determination to get that number.
“She sounds kind of like you, actually. If you hadn’t chosen to run plays and throw a ball around a field for a living.” Ryder flashed me a knowing grin and went back to his stretches.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Academics were easy for me, but it was nothing compared to the feeling I got when I played ball. It was all I’d ever wanted to do.
I made good grades and got a degree to appease the powers that be, but I was never going to follow some kind of office bound career. It just wasn’t who I was. I lived for the game.
“Nah, it’s not. And you know it. Why the sudden interest in mini Ralls anyway?” Ryder positioned himself on the lift bench, and I went over on autopilot to spot him.
Shit. “No sudden interest. I just heard he had a daughter. I was curious.”
“I’ve never met the girl, obviously, but don’t even think about going there, man.” Too late. I was way past thinking about it. I’d already been there. And I fully intended on going back there.
****
I ambled up to the reception desk, and Olivia smiled and twirled a strand of hair between her fingers as she devoured me with her eyes. She’d always harbored a bit of a crush on me. A crush that I was totally willing to take advantage of to get what I wanted.
I didn’t feel guilty about it. She’d been undressing me with her eyes since I started with the team and threw herself at me at every team party. She had no qualms about trying to take advantage of me. I’d passed out on the field briefly at one of postseason parties last year and woke up with her kissing my stomach and trying to get me out of my jeans.
“Livy.” I shot her my panty-dropping grin and was rewarded with a starry look in her eyes. “Is the boss man in?”
She giggled. I hadn’t said anything even remotely funny. The tinkling sound grated on my nerves, but I kept my smile fixed on her.
“No, he’s out at meetings all day, but I can get him for you if it’s urgent.” Her eyelids fluttered, and I was pretty damn sure her voice wasn’t usually this throaty.
“I actually came to see you.” Her eyes widened. “I need his daughter’s number. What was her name, Gabrielle? Everyone knows you’re the girl with her finger on the pulse around here.”
She lowered her voice and looked around like I’d shared a scandalous secret. “James Skye, are you planning a surprise for Richard’s birthday?”
What? Oh. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I hunched my shoulders, stuffed my hands in my pockets, and gave her a shy smile, like she’d caught me in a lie. “Yeah, something like that. I need to talk to the daughter about it, though. Can you help a brother out?”
“You are just so sweet, you know?” she gushed as she pulled up her contact list on her computer. “If you need any help, you just let me know. I’m not sure how much help Gabrielle is going to be.” Olivia wrinkled her nose.
“Thanks, Liv, but I just need to get some info from her. I need to get some stuff from someone who can get into Richard’s house.”
“Okay, keep me in mind. I would be a much better partner in crime if you need one.” She winked.
My stomach rolled a little. It wasn’t that Olivia wasn’t attractive; she was a raven-haired beauty with dark eyes and olive skin that could send your heart racing and your cock throbbing.
Hell, when I’d first started out, I’d chased that skirt so hard you’d have thought that getting on her was my job, not getting on the team whose owner she so jealously guarded. The guys had all warned me against her, and pretty soon, it became clear why.
Olivia was on the wrong side of the hot/crazy scale. As hot as she was, it didn’t come close to balancing out the craziness. Even that little white lie about the surprise for Richard’s birthday had the potential of coming back and biting me in the ass.
Getting Gabrielle’s number was worth the risk, though. I would deal with Olivia if the time ever came. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Olivia. My plan is still in the beginning stages. If anything does come up, I’ll give you a shout.”
She tapped on the keyboard, and my phone buzzed. “Done. Her contact details are in your inbox.”
“Thanks, Liv. You’re the best.” I shot her another trademark smirk. “You won’t tell him I was here, will you?”
She flushed and shook her head. “Of course not, I’ve planned surprises before, you know. I’m looking forward to seeing what you have planned. I’m sure Richard is just going to love it. It really is so thoughtful of you to be planning something for him so far in advance.”
If I was being honest, I didn’t even know when Richard’s birthday was. “It’s no big deal. Really, it’s nothing more than a half-assed idea at the moment.”
If she knew that it was so half-assed that it didn’t quite exist, she might not have been singing my praises. It was more likely she would chase me from the building with her stiletto in hand and outing my sorry ass to the man himself at the same time.
“You’re so modest, James. Everyone loves that about you.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and started the mental process of removing my clothes with her eyes again. My skin crawled. It was time to get out of there.
“Thanks again, Olivia.” Feeling like I’d robbed a bank, I hauled ass out of there.
Chapter Ten
Gabrielle
I wasn’t used to having nothing to do. It frustrated me. I’d been scouring the internet, trying to figure out my next step, but so far, nothing caught my interest for more than a perfunctory examination.
For a couple of minutes the night before, I’d considered photography, but I was bored to death once I started reading about composition and placement and other words that didn’t ring my bell.
I’d moved from photography to social work. I knew it was quite the leap, but I honestly had no idea what I really wanted to do.
Social work seemed interesting for lo
nger than photography had, and I could use some of the credits that I already had towards the degree. Then I realized I had no desire to return to school full-time and gave up on that idea.
I was going out of my mind. I needed a goal. I needed something to focus on. I played around with the idea of applying for a position as a secretary earlier that morning. At least until I figured out what my next step would be, but all the listed positions required experience. Which I didn’t have.
The only upside was that Heather had called. She wanted to go to the mall later. She’d thrown out some stuff that she’d deemed “beyond saving” when she’d finally gotten around to clearing up her disaster zone of an apartment. She claimed that retail therapy was exactly what she needed.
My phone buzzed. I snaked an arm out and grabbed it quickly. As it had been since Friday night, every time my phone buzzed, my heart flipped, and the butterflies in my stomach went mad.
James had awoken a sexual need in me that I’d never felt before. Then he dropped off the face of the planet. I almost regretted not giving him my phone number, but then if he didn’t call, I’d know it was because he wasn’t interested in me, which would be disappointing. This way, I still had some hope that he just hadn’t been able to track down my number.
My heart sank, and the butterflies in my stomach turned to stone when I flipped the phone and saw my dad’s smiling face staring at me from my screen. I had the phone on vibrate, so I hadn’t had the advance warning of his ringtone.
I really didn’t want to talk to him, but things had calmed down between us a little, and I knew I would have to speak to him eventually.
I stared at the display for a long moment before my resigning myself to the inevitable and swiping on the green button. “Hey, Dad.”
“Gabrielle, honey. How are you?” His voice was brisk, and I could hear horns blaring in the background. From some corner of my mind, I remembered some of his meetings this week were out of town. If the information from the dusty corner was correct, he was in New York today.
I toyed with my hair. Then, I flat out lied. “I’m good, Dad. Just really busy, I guess.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that.” Big surprise. “I want you to come see me when I get back.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I don’t know if I’m ready for—” He cut me off.
“If you agree to come and discuss this with me sometime at the end of the week, I’ll open your line of credit back up.” His voice held an edge of finality. I had been expecting something like that, so I’d already opened up my own bank account.
“I don’t know, Dad. I just, I think I need some time.” Both of us already knew that I’d be in his office as soon as he scheduled an appointment for me, but I had to put up a fight, at least.
He sighed as if he was tired of dealing with his petulant child. “I’m not asking you, Gabrielle. I’m telling you to agree to come and see me, and I’ll reopen up your line of credit.”
I breathed a frustrated sigh of my own. “Fine, Dad. I’ll come see you. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m not taking the bar.”
“We’ll see, Gabbi. I’ll see you Thursday or Friday. I’ll have Olivia call you.” The line went dead.
Fabulous.
****
“You look like you’re in need of sustenance.” Heather held out a coffee cup to me, and I accepted it with a grateful smile.
Heather and I exchanged a quick hug and sank onto the bench where we always met when we went shopping.
“Rough morning?” Heather blew into the plastic cover on her cup.
I chewed on my lower lip. Then got irritated when I realized that I was doing it. “Yeah, you could say so. My father called.”
Heather winced. “He’s still giving you a hard time, then?”
“It’s nothing that I wasn’t expecting; I just thought I was ready for it.” The confession tore me open a little. I hated showing vulnerability. Heather was just about the only person I opened up to like that.
“You’re stronger than you think, Gabbi. He was never going to make this easy on you, but you can get through it. If you’re still sure that you don’t want to take the bar, that is.” There was a glimmer of hope in her tone.
“I am. I don’t want to do it just because it’s what my dad wants. I want to want it. The way he’s acting isn’t making it any easier. In the meantime, I’m stuck. On the bright side, I’ve ruled out photography, social work, and veterinary sciences.”
Her eyes widened. “Veterinary sciences? You hate blood.”
She knew me too well. “I know. It popped up as an ad on the website I was browsing. Since I’m trying to keep an open mind, I clicked on the link. Closed it almost as soon as it opened.” At least the link didn’t have a virus. I knew better than to click on pop-ups.
Heather smiled. “It’s a good thing you’re keeping an open mind, but I don’t think it needs to be quite that open.”
“You might be right about that.” I pushed away the wave of gloominess that plagued me since my father’s call. “I thought we were shopping, not moping.”
Heather’s eyes brightened. “That we are. I seriously need a distraction. I think I’m about to turn into a textbook.”
I laughed. “Good thing you’re not Professor McGonagall, huh? Otherwise, you really could turn into a textbook. Although, that might be useful during the exam itself.”
“You’re such a dork.” Heather punched my shoulder lightly and chuckled as we walked. “For the record, it would’ve been pretty useful to be able to transfigure myself during the exam.”
“And I’m the dork?” Heather and I had watched the entire Harry Potter series one weekend when we were supposed to study for midterms. Then we’d watched it again before finals. Pretty soon, the series had become our favorite escape.
“Always. It was your idea to watch it in the first place. I hadn’t even read the books.” She flipped her hair and tugged on my elbow, leading me into a boutique clothing store where neither of us could afford to buy anything. Not without my father’s credit card, anyway.
“Your loss.” I threw out my hands. “I could only lead the horse to the water.”
Heather laughed, sounding more relaxed than I’d heard her in weeks. “If you’re implying that my weight gain makes me resemble a horse, please remember that I’ve been sitting on my ass studying for weeks. Have a little mercy.”
She was as skinny as a rake. Always had been. I treated her statement with the sarcasm it deserved. I put my hand to my forehead and mimed looking for something far away. “Weight gain? What? Where?”
She rolled her eyes and giggled at me. “You’re incorrigible.”
I grinned proudly. I was incorrigible. It was something I kind of liked about myself. “Got you to crack a smile, didn’t I?”
“You always do.” Her expression softened. “Whatever you decide on doing next, you’ll be great at it. Though, you might need a bigger distraction than our beloved Mr. Potter to get through it this time around.”
“What are you talking about?” I had a pretty good idea what she was talking about, and two seconds later, she confirmed my suspicions.
“You need a man. Like, a stupidly sexy man who can get you out of that big brain of yours and just make you have some damn fun for once.” My mind drifted to James. He had succeeded quite spectacularly in that task on Friday. I didn’t think I’d ever been reduced to such a puddle of raw desire before.
But whatever; he still hadn’t called. I was quite sure I was just another faceless notch in his bedpost by now.
Heather knew all about my dad’s rules about football players, so I didn’t say anything. There was no need to kick that hornet’s nest over a guy who probably didn’t even remember that I existed.
****
I was exhausted by the time I got home. Heather and I had spent hours circling the mall. My phone buzzed in my bag. I still hadn’t taken it off vibrate, and I seriously considered just letting whoever it was go to voicemail.
The caller wasn’t in my contacts. I took a deep breath, trying to quash my cautious optimism that James might have finally tracked down my number.
“Gabrielle speaking.”
The butterflies in my stomach woke up and went nuts as his deep voice spoke at the other end of the line. “Hey, Gabbi.” He was so effortlessly casual. “I figured out a way to get your number.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I tried to keep calm, but it was damn hard. My body knew the things he was capable of doing to it. My nerve endings came alive just from the sound of his voice. “How’d you do it?”
“I’d tell you that if I told you, I’d have to kill you, but I’m afraid your fate would be infinitely worse than that. Let’s just say that I did what I needed to do to get to you.” My heartbeat sped up, and my palms became clammy at the thought that he’d clearly gone to some lengths to get my number.
“That doesn’t sound ominous or anything.”
His low chuckle made me feel giddy. “It wasn’t supposed to, but it was kind of Bond-worthy.” His tone was light, joking. It was endearing.
“If your next words are ‘Call me Skye. James Skye,’ I’m hanging up.” I wasn’t even joking, though I doubted he would be that cheesy.
He laughed a deep rumbling laugh that sounded like it came straight from his stomach in response. “Man, I wish I’d thought of that. That would’ve been so fucking epic. And it would’ve fit perfectly.”
“No, not epic. Horrible. You’re better than that,” I teasingly berated him. “And that would never fit perfectly. Not ever, not anywhere.”
“You being serious? It would’ve been awesome. I’m sort of reminiscent of James Bond, aren’t I?” He could thank his lucky stars that I knew what sarcasm sounded like.
“So, Mr. Skye. What can I do for you?” The nerves that had calmed with his teasing were back in full force. Maybe even with reinforcements.