Waste of Handsome (Carolina Waves #2)

by Tina Gallagher

  Pulling up FaceTime, I touched her name and waited half a breath before her smiling face filled the screen.

  “Hey you,” she said. “How’s Chicago?”

  “Boring without you.” The words were out before I could stop them.

  She laughed and sat back in her desk chair. I decided not to obsess over my flowery statement and instead got comfortable and rested against the pillows.

  “What are you up to tonight?” she asked.

  “Going out with the guys to get some deep dish. How about you?”

  “I’m picking Mrs. Button up from her hair appointment and we’re going out to dinner. I’m not sure where yet. I told her it’s her choice.”

  “Please be careful.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Her eyes softened. “But thank you for worrying.”

  I hated to leave Hannah in the midst of the shit show I’d created, but duty calls. At least I’d just started a home stretch when the news broke so I was with her, but today’s game in Chicago starts a seven-day road trip in the Midwest.

  “If anyone bothers you, let Mrs. Button loose on them.”

  I rubbed the center of my chest as Hannah’s answering laugh caused a warmth to spread through it. The action dragged her eyes downward.

  “So.” She drew out the word in a low, husky voice. “What are you wearing?”

  I slowly moved my arm down my side until she could see me from hip to face.

  “Mmm, nice,” she said and licked her lips.

  My body had its usual reaction to her interest in it, tenting the towel.

  “Have anything interesting to show me?” she asked.

  She’d spun her chair and I can tell by the way she’s slouched down that her feet are resting against the wall behind her desk.

  A smile spread across her face as I slowly untucked the towel, loosening it around my waist. Moving the flap aside, I opened it, exposing my hip. Her smile widened.

  “You know, normally when I show you mine, you show me yours,” I said, bringing her eyes back toward my face.

  “I’m still at the office so you’re just going to have to use your imagination.”

  I closed my eyes and pictured Hannah spread out in my bed like she’d been just a couple nights ago.

  “Jack?” I heard her, but instead of answering, I smiled and let out a low groan at my thoughts. “Jack!” I slowly opened my eyes and took in her laughing face. “Stop that!”

  “I was just using my imagination like you told me.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

  Hannah opened her mouth to answer, but instead sat up straight and swung her chair around. I looked at the side of her face as she glanced toward her office door.

  “Yes?” I heard a voice in the background, then Hannah looked back at me. “Jack, I have to go. Marianne wants to speak with me before I leave.”

  “Call when you get home so I know you’re safe,” I said.

  “I will. Have fun tonight.”

  “You too.”

  Even though I had the phone focused on just my face, before she hung up, her eyes looked down as though she could see everything below my neck. That did nothing to calm my raging erection. Thankfully I have a half hour before I have to meet the guys.

  Being on the road can be exhausting, but I always enjoy the hole-in-the-wall places we’ve found to eat in every city we visit. Back in my early playing days, I frequented the hot spots, but now I just want to go somewhere quiet where I can be left alone and enjoy a good meal, maybe a few drinks.

  Dan bumped my arm with his elbow.

  “Lexi got the game ball today.” He tilted his phone in my direction, showing me a picture of his smiling daughter holding a dirty softball. “She hit a homerun. Not over the fence, but the ball went over the center fielder’s head and she made it all the way around.”

  “That’s my girl,” I said.

  “No, that’s my girl.”

  He showed the picture to Cal, Monte, and Kasprzyk then put the phone back down next to his plate.

  I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

  Before he could respond, the waitress showed up at the table carrying two large pies. A young guy stood behind her with a heaping platter of chicken wings in one hand and two pitchers of beer in the other. They squeezed everything onto the table and she grabbed our empty pitchers. The kid stayed just behind her, staring at us with his mouth hanging open.

  “You guys need anything else right now?” she asked. We told her we were good and she said to give her a shout if we needed anything. Otherwise, she’d leave us alone. Which is how we like it. She dragged her co-worker away with her.

  He must be new. We’ve frequented this place often enough that the regular staff and patrons don’t give us that wide-eyed look anymore. When we’re done eating, I’ll have the waitress send him over to sit with us for a few minutes.

  My mouth watered at the combined aroma of pizza goodness and spicy wings. Knowing better than to dig into the pie before it cools a bit, we focused on the wings. They’re probably just as hot, but at least they won’t fall apart.

  “I have some news to share,” Kasprzyk said, after we’d put a good dent in the platter of wings. We all sat back in our seats, giving him our full attention. “Natalie is pregnant.” He smiled. “We’re expecting baby number four.”

  We all congratulated him, then finally felt confident the pizza had cooled down enough to stay together when taken out of the pan. Monte grabbed the spatula and served slices all around.

  “So when’s she due?” Dan asked.

  “December 12th,” John said.

  I did the math in my head and said, “So she’s four months pregnant?” He nodded. “Didn’t I just see her? She didn’t look any different.”

  “She has a little bump, but has been hiding it well. Now that we’re telling people, I’m sure she’ll be wearing things that make it a little more obvious.” He shrugged. “After the miscarriage, we wanted to wait to announce it.”

  Natalie had been pregnant at the end of last season, but lost the baby around her third month. I can’t blame them for waiting to tell everyone this time.

  “You hoping for another girl?” Monte asked.

  “I know Ava is for sure,” John laughed. “A girl would be nice so we’d have two of each, but honestly, it doesn’t matter to me. Healthy is all I care about.”

  After we finished all the food and settled the tab, I asked the waitress to send the guy who’d delivered our chicken wings over when he had a chance. He showed up next to the table almost immediately and I invited him to sit in the sixth chair.

  Unnecessarily, I introduced myself and the guys and found out his name is Tim, although he hesitated before offering it, like he may have forgotten for a second. We talked for a while, mostly about baseball, before the waitress walked past, making eyes at him that said it was time for him to get back to work. He stood and thanked us for calling him over.

  “We’ll see you next time we’re in town,” I said. “This is our usual hangout when we’re in the city.”

  “I’ll see you then,” Tim said, having mostly lost the star struck look he’d had earlier.

  When he left, Cal said, “All your extra PR must be rubbing off on you.”

  “Maybe it’s just Hannah rubbing off on him,” Monte added.

  I looked at him with a raised brow. The wives and girlfriends rule never really applied to the women I’ve spent time with, but Hannah is different. Sometimes the guys need to be reminded of that fact. My look did it better than any words could. Monte lifted his glass to me in apology.

  To lighten things, I said, “Maybe I’ll get extra credit for coming up with it on my own.”

  We finished our drinks and hung out for a little while longer when Cal looked toward the back room.

  “Anyone up for a game of pool?” he asked.

  “I’m in,” Monte sai
d.

  “I’m actually gonna head back to the hotel,” Dan said, then smirked. “My personal physical therapist gave me some extra exercises to do. I want to get them in before bed.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I said, surprising them. I’m usually one of the last to leave whenever we go out. “I’m beat. It’s been an exhausting couple weeks,” I added, stopping any ribbing they might have thrown my way.

  “I’ll hang out for a while longer,” John said. “I’m not tired at all and will just end up flipping through the nonsense on TV if I leave.”

  We all stood. Cal, Monte, and John walked toward the back room to the pool table. Dan and I walked out the front door and continued the five blocks to the hotel, mostly in silence. Before we went inside, Dan stopped.

  “I’m actually kind of glad the guys decided to stay,” he said, nodding toward a bench to the left of the sliding doors. “I wanted to talk to you alone.”

  “What’s up?” I hesitated a second, then sat. “Everything okay?”

  “Relax, everything is fine,” he said, settling next to me. “More than fine, actually. This is totally classified information, but I got Sabrina’s permission to tell you.”

  Between his smile and the look on his face, I knew what he was going to say.

  “Holy shit! Sabrina’s pregnant?” He nodded, looking like he might give himself whiplash. I reached out and patted his back in a sideways hug. “Congratulations! That’s awesome.”

  He kept nodding at my words.

  “When’s she due?”

  “March 10th,” he said. “We didn’t think it would happen so fast, so the timing sucks with the season starting, but we’re too thrilled to care.”

  “Does Lexi know?”

  “Do you think it would be a secret if she did?” he asked around a chuckle. “No, I just convinced Sabrina to tell our parents a couple days ago. The doctor said everything looks great, but Natalie’s miscarriage has her a little freaked out.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “At least now the parents know just in case she needs them.” He looked at me. “And now you know in case I need you.”

  Baseball has given me a makeshift family, but Dan has definitely become the brother I never had. It was my turn to nod and I had to swallow down the lump in my throat before speaking.

  “I’m sure you won’t, but I’ll be here if you do.”

  He slapped my back and stood.

  “Besides, how could we not share this news with Uncle Jack?” he asked, lightening the mood.

  I stood and followed him into the hotel. We’d just gotten off the elevator on our floor when his phone rang.

  “Hey Bri,” he said, a huge smile on his face. “I just shared our good news with Jack.”

  I yelled my congratulations toward the phone.

  Dan’s smile faded. “No, we didn’t see that,” he said, eyes shifting in my direction, then toward the floor. “We’ll check it out. Thanks for letting me know. I will. Love you, too.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as he ended the call.

  He glanced up and down the hallway before looking at me again.

  “Sabrina said there’s a bunch of shit about Hannah on the internet. She caught the end of the story on one of those entertainment shows and checked it out.”

  I looked at my phone to see if Hannah had called. No missed calls or texts showed. So either she didn’t see it yet or she’s already dealing with the fallout.

  “Let’s get in your room so we can find out what’s going on,” Dan said.

  We walked the short distance to my room and I stopped looking at my phone long enough to unlock the door and step inside. Dropping into the chair, I Googled Hannah’s name and fought to keep my dinner down. My vision blurred as a helpless rage coursed through my body and I blinked furiously, bringing my screen back into view.

  “Shit.” Based on Dan’s whispered curse, I assume he’s looking at the same thing I am.

  Flipping through the pictures, I cringed as the horrible night Hannah described to me a few months ago unfolded in full color. She looks so different...younger for sure, but with her designer dress, fancy updo, and full face of makeup, she looked older in some ways. The article accompanying the pictures depicts her as a typical Hollywood wild child with too much money and not enough sense.

  I tossed my phone on the table next to me, afraid if I kept looking I’d either smash it or find the guy who published that shit and go smash him in the face.

  Chapter 35

  Hannah

  “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go with everything happening,” Mr. Hanover said.

  He’d summoned me to his office to drop that bomb. I’m supposed to head up to Boston in two days to meet up with Jack to attend a benefit. Then we’re venturing over to New Hampshire for another fundraiser and to visit Jack’s father, which I’m excited and nervous about in equal measures.

  “I apologize, Mr. Hanover. I never thought my past would come back at me like this.”

  I’ve been in the same room when Mr. Hanover stared down a player, but have never been on the receiving end of his steely gaze until now. I fought the urge to hunch my shoulders and sink into the chair.

  “I understand you didn’t ask for this, but it’s here and has to be dealt with.”

  He’d said a variation of that sentence to Jack a few months ago and ironically, I was the one enlisted to help clean things up. Now here I am sitting in the middle of my own mess.

  “Would you like me to resign?” I asked.

  It’s a serious question. He’s traded players who cause crests in the Waves’ organization. Why would I be any different?

  “Resign?” He muttered under his breath then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “No I don’t want you to resign, but you have to admit that keeping yourself behind the scenes is probably a good idea at this point.”

  Behind the scenes is my favorite place to be, but I’m not sure that’s possible for me anymore. Even after this all settles down, I’m sure that on a slow news day, some bored reporter will check out what I’m doing. But I didn’t tell him that.

  And as a PR person, I’ll admit that there’s some merit to what he’s saying, but as the woman in Jack’s life, I want to go see him and meet his father.

  “We can send someone in your place if you think it’s necessary,” he said, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Since I’ve been accompanying him all season, don’t you think that would draw more comments?”

  He grunted, which I took as agreement since he didn’t rebut my point.

  “If we were in LA or New York, it may be more of a concern, but I can’t imagine the paparazzi is going to flock to a fundraising event in Boston to snap a picture of me.”

  Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his eyes, then dragged his hands down his face. Meeting my eyes, he said, “You really believe that?”

  “I do.” I shrugged. “Besides, me hiding away won’t minimize any curiosity people have about my past or my relationship with my father.”

  He folded his hands over his stomach, seeming to consider my words. As usual, Mr. Hanover’s expression gave nothing away, so I was surprised when he said, “All right.” At my raised brow, he added, “You can go.”

  That said, he leaned forward and started sorting through the paperwork on his desk. I decided to take his statement and run before he could change his mind, throwing a quick thank you over my shoulder as I left.

  Jack

  I took the fastest shower possible, packed my duffle, and was out of the locker room before some of my teammates even entered it. We’d split the series with Boston, with three of the games going into extra innings. I’m exhausted and looking forward to a day off.

  Well, the day off and spending time with Hannah.

  The benefit we attended last night was a stiff, formal Boston affair, but I still had a good time. Hannah looked amazing in a black dress that should have been non-descript, but it
put her every curve on display. Her black heels weren’t sky high, but they had the coveted red bottom, and added just enough to her height to align all our good parts.

  Not that Hannah has any bad parts.

  But the cherry on the sundae was the fact that she wore the glasses I had given her a few weeks ago. She had debated between the ones she calls ombre and the tortoise shell but in the end decided on the latter.

  I’d managed to get her on the dance floor for most of the slow songs. Her body pressed against mine had the usual effect, but thankfully the jacket of my tux hid that fact.

  I walked out the gate and spotted the Audi convertible I’d rented for this venture parked at the curb. I’d convinced her to drop me off earlier and go back to the hotel for some well-deserved R&R.

  “Hey,” I said, not wanting to scare her as I approached the car.

  She looked in my direction and smiled. I opened the car door and slipped behind the steering wheel then leaned over the console and kissed her. I’d intended on just quick peck to say hello, but it ended up being a full-blown, tongue-tangling kiss. And I would have loved for it to continue, but I heard voices in the distance and figured we should get out of here.

  I ended the kiss and rested my forehead against hers, breathing in her sweet scent.

  “You ready?” I asked. “Are you okay with the top down?”

  She nodded. “That’s why I put my hair in a ponytail.”

  I moved back into my seat before I forget where we’re at and start kissing her again. Hannah took a deep breath and slowly smiled before moving into her own seat.

  “You smell so good.”

  “You wouldn’t have said that a half hour ago.”

  “I’ve been around you after games and you still smell amazing,” she said.

  A lot of women have complimented me through the years, but their flowery words never meant a thing. But when Hannah says something like that, I get a warm feeling in the center of my chest that chips away at my stone-cold heart. Maybe it’s because I see how happy Dan and Sabrina are, but instead of freaking me out, it makes me want to explore where this relationship with Hannah can go.