Kayla walked around the island while Kelly leaned against the counter. She could feel her sister’s penetrating gaze on her as she opened the cupboard door and retrieved two glasses.
“Are things getting serious between you and Sean?” Kelly asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
She set the glasses on the counter. “I thought you didn’t want a blow by blow.”
“I don’t. But I’ve never seen you like this with any other guy. You’re practically glowing. And you’re turning red.”
Kayla looked up in dismay. Kelly’s expression was almost gleeful.
“Oh, yeah.” Kelly reached for a glass and flashed a wide smile. “You’ve got it real bad.”
* * *
Sitting beside Kayla at The Sky Room in Long Beach, Sean glanced at his watch and wondered where the hell Matt was. Until recently, Matt was the most punctual person he’d ever met. Matt’s philosophy had always been that everyone’s time was valuable and keeping people waiting was rude and disrespectful. But now Matt was the one who showed up late, if at all. It seemed as if his friend was falling deeper and deeper into a dark abyss he might never emerge from. And it scared Sean to death.
Across from him, Kayla’s sister Kelly gazed out the window. They were seated by a window with a beautiful view of Long Beach Harbor in front of them.
Looking at Kayla and her sister, it was easy to see they were related. Kelly had the same heart-shaped face as Kayla and they shared the same features, but where Kayla’s hair and eyes were a dark brown, Kelly’s eyes were whiskey colored and her hair light brown and streaked with blonde highlights. She was taller than Kayla by a good four inches and her body was more athletic. Kayla had told him Kelly played softball in high school and college but even if she hadn’t mentioned it he would have known it by looking at her. The way she carried herself reminded him of Matt. A strong and confident athlete.
Kayla glanced at him. “Should we wait, or go ahead and order?”
“Wait for what?” Kelly asked, turning from the view.
“I invited my friend Matt to join us.” Sean reached for his glass of Pinot Grigio their waiter had recommended. “But he probably had some media obligations after the game. I’m sure he’ll be here shortly though.” He took a sip. Athough he preferred beer, the wine was very good.
“Media?” Kelly’s brows rose and then realization dawned in her eyes. “Is your friend Matt Scanlon?”
“Yes.” He set his glass on the table.
Kelly’s lips pressed together in a grim line, but she didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. Anyone in Kelly’s profession would undoubtedly know all about Matt and his downward spiral. And if the trade rumors were true, Kelly had to be afraid that Matt might be traded to the Blaze. And then Matt, and his on and off the field antics, would become her headache instead of the Dodgers’.
Sean heard the noise level in the room heightened over the soft strains of the jazz band playing on the other side of the restaurant. Sean looked up to see Matt standing next to the hostess. He was gazing down at her, his megawatt smile out in full force. The petite blonde was eating it up. Sean was sure that before Matt left the restaurant the hostess would make sure he had her phone number.
“He’s here,” Sean said as Matt tore himself away from the hostess and sauntered across the restaurant as if he were Moses parting the Red Sea. Along the way, women stared at him with undisguised lust, and the men with admiration and envy. It had always been that way, but until recently Matt hadn’t believed his own hype. He’d been humble and hardworking, a model ball player. Now his ego was as big as the Pacific Ocean. The man Sean had known practically all of his life was becoming a stranger to him.
“Sorry I’m late,” Matt said when he reached the table. His gaze went immediately to Kayla and the frank appreciation in his eyes irritated Sean. Lifting his arm, he draped it over Kayla’s shoulders possessively. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Kayla,” Matt said smoothly as he pulled his chair out and sat down next to Kelly without even looking at her. Kelly’s eyes flickered with annoyance as she shifted in her chair, leaning slightly away from him. “I’m a big fan of your work,” Matt added with a suggestive smile that made Sean want to punch him.
“Thank you,” Kayla replied politely before glancing at her sister. “This is my sister, Kelly.”
Matt turned and gave Kelly a nod. “Nice to meet you.” His tone was perfunctory, dismissive even. Kelly’s eyes flashed even as she pasted a fake smile on her face and murmured a similar response. Matt swung his gaze back to Kayla. “Did you enjoy the game?”
“Yes. We had great seats right behind the dugout.”
Kelly picked up her wine glass. “And our team won. It doesn’t get much better than that,” she said with a slight curve of her lips before delicately sipping her wine.
Matt’s eyes widened as he turned toward Kelly. “You’re Blaze fans?” he asked with a scowl.
“Since birth,” Kelly said as she set her glass back on the table. “Right, Kay?” she asked her sister. Kayla nodded as Kelly looked back at Matt. “One down, three to go.”
“You’re not sweeping us.” Matt leaned back in his chair and fixed Kelly with his patented stink eye. “You got lucky today.”
Kelly shrugged. “Rizzo’s pitching tomorrow. And as I recall, you struck out three times the last time you faced him.”
Matt’s scowl deepened. “Rizzo’s an overrated punk.”
“Dave Rizzo’s won the Cy Young award two times,” Kelly countered. “And when the phrase overrated punk is used, he’s not the man who comes to mind.” The air became thick with tension as their eyes clashed. Sean felt Kayla’s gaze on him but he couldn’t look away from Matt and Kelly. He’d never seen Matt do anything other than charm women. This was a first.
“The band is amazing,” Kayla said, breaking the taut silence. “There aren’t many restaurants like this anymore.” She looked at the couples dancing on the parquet dance floor and sighed. “And with this Art Deco décor it’s almost like we’ve stepped back in time.”
Sean ran his gaze from her upswept hair down to the graceful curve of her neck. After the game, she and Kelly had gone back to Kayla’s house to change clothes. She was wearing a light blue dress that hugged her body like a glove. She looked stunning. “Would you like to dance?” he asked. He liked Kelly but she’d been with them all day. He needed some alone time with Kayla.
Her dark eyes lit up. “I’d love to.” She looked at Kelly and then Matt. “You don’t mind if we leave you for a few minutes, do you?”
“No.” Kelly’s voice was strained. She gave Matt a cursory glance. “We’ll be fine.”
Sean noticed Matt’s dark expression and hoped his friend would play nice while they were gone. He pushed back his chair, and then reaching for Kayla’s hand he pulled her to her feet and led her across the restaurant to the dance floor.
When they stepped onto the dance floor, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She rested her hand on his shoulder and met his gaze with worried eyes. “Maybe we shouldn’t have left them alone,” she said as they began to move to the slow bluesy song.
“They’re adults. I think they can handle being alone together for five minutes.”
“My sister can be…” she bit her lip, “…well, let’s just say, she can curse like a sailor and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Especially when provoked.”
“Matt’s used to women fawning all over him.”
“Kelly doesn’t fawn over any man.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
Kayla laughed softly. “She’s a lot like Lisa.”
“That’s scary.”
“Stop it,” she said, playfully slapping his shoulder.
Sean glanced at the other couples on the small dance floor. Not far from them, an older couple swayed slowly to the music, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Kayla followed his gaze.
“They look happy, don’t they?”
“Yea
h.” He looked from the couple to Kayla. “You look amazing,” he said. He slid his hand down the silky fabric of her dress to rest on her lower back. She was wearing that light vanilla-scented perfume again—it was intoxicating. She was intoxicating.
“Thank you. So do you.” She moved her hand to the lapel of his suit jacket. “This is how people dressed back in the old days when they went out for dinner.”
“This was a celebrity hangout back in the day,” Sean said. “Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne and Cary Grant were regulars.” He paused. “My mother and father used to come here,” he said. “When I was really young I used to watch her get ready to go out.” A memory of her putting on her favorite earrings flashed in his mind. “She looked a lot like Grace Kelly.”
He saw the curiosity in her eyes but didn’t elaborate. Thinking about the past was futile; it didn’t change anything. Not the fact that his mom was dead or that he could have prevented it. “There’s a bar above the restaurant,” he said. “The Up Lounge.”
“I’ll bet the view is spectacular.”
“It is.” He let his gaze wander over her face. “But I think the view right here is even better.”
“Yes. It certainly is,” she said in a husky whisper that affected him just as if she’d kissed him. Awareness thickened his blood and, instinctively, he pulled her closer. She laid her cheek against his shoulder and they moved in unison to the sultry music. Closing his eyes, the only thing he was aware of was the sweet smell of her hair and the warm softness of her body against his. She fit against him perfectly, as if she’d been made just for him.
Lost in the woman he held in his arms, Sean didn’t notice the music had stopped until he heard the light applause from the patrons in the restaurant and on the dance floor. Kayla lifted her head and looked up at him. His breath caught in his throat and his heart started to pound when his eyes met hers. They were dark and luminous.
Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. Or speak. Or look away.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed. It could have been seconds, or minutes. And it wasn’t until the band started to play another more up-tempo number that the spell between them was broken.
“Thank you for the dance,” she said in a voice that sounded pretty normal.
How could that be? He felt like one of the Pipeline’s giant waves had just crashed over him and sent him hurtling to the ocean floor.
“We should probably go check on Matt and Kelly,” she said. Reluctantly, he let her go and when they walked off the dance floor he still hadn’t said one damn word.
His mood shifted dramatically when they approached the table and saw Matt and Kelly staring at each other like two gunslingers about to shoot each other dead.
Kelly stood up, her eyes blazing as she looked at Kayla. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.” Picking up her purse, she gave Matt a withering glare and then marched stiffly away from the table.
“I think I’ll go too,” Kayla murmured and took off after her sister.
Sean watched her disappear and then sat down across from Matt. “We were gone less than ten minutes. What the hell did you do?” he asked.
Matt gave him a wounded look. “What did I do?” He shook his head in disgust. “That, my friend, is a first class bitch.”
“You’re just pissed because she didn’t immediately bow down and offer to suck your dick like most of the women in this town do.”
“She’s a fucking Amazon.” Matt scowled. “I wouldn’t let her anywhere near my dick.”
“Is that how you talked to her?” Sean asked. “Because if you did, I don’t blame her for anything she said.”
“How about how she talked to me?” Matt’s expression was incredulous. He really believed he was the injured party. “And she’s a fucking Blaze fan to boot.”
“So is Kayla,” Sean pointed out. “And Kelly’s not only a fan, she works for the Blaze.”
“Doing what?”
“Public relations.”
Matt snorted. “Figures.”
“I spent most of the afternoon with Kelly,” Sean said, meeting Matt’s scornful gaze. “And I like her. But more than that, she’s Kayla’s sister, and Kayla’s important to me, so back off or—”
“Or what?” Matt’s eyes narrowed.
“Or get the hell out of here,” Sean said, keeping his voice low. Their fellow patrons were already paying attention to their table because the Dodgers’ star catcher was sitting at it. They didn’t need to invite more attention by arguing in public. He leaned forward. “I know you went through hell, but this has got to stop. You’re out of control.”
Matt’s eyes blazed with anger. “Don’t analyze me. You’re not a shrink.”
“You’re right, I’m not. But you sure as hell need one.”
“And you don’t?” Matt asked. “When’s the last time you talked to your father?”
Sean tensed. “My father is none of your business. Don’t turn this around on me.” He leaned back as Matt rose from his chair and stared down at him with steely eyes.
“I’m sick of this.” Matt’s mouth curled with contempt. “I’m outta here.”
* * *
“What a prick!”
Knowing Kelly’s salty vocabulary as well as she did, Kayla knew Kelly was being kind. Looking at her sister’s flushed face in the mirror she couldn’t remember ever seeing her so worked up over a man.
“Are you okay?” she asked as they washed their hands at the double sink.
“I’m fine,” Kelly said as she pulled a paper towel from the dispenser next to her.
“What happened? What did he say to you?
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Kelly dried her hands and tossed the paper towel into the trash. She opened her purse and pulled out a tube of lipstick. Meeting Kayla’s eyes in the mirror she said in a controlled voice, “But I’ll say this. Matt Scanlon and his gigantic ego didn’t affect me in the slightest.”
Kayla almost believed her. Right up until the moment they left the restroom and found Matt striding toward them. He greeted a several fans with his killer smile, but when he reached them his cocky grin faded and his almost black eyes fixed Kelly with a stare so glacial that Kayla shivered. She glanced at Kelly and saw the same frosty edge in her eyes. Her posture was rigid and her fingers were like talons digging into her purse.
Neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. And then Kayla realized they were having what amounted to a staring contest, just like she and Kelly used to have when they were kids. Kelly always won.
And she won this time. Matt finally looked away and at her. “Goodnight, Kayla. It was nice meeting you.”
Before she could reply he brushed past them and both she and Kelly watched as he walked over to the blonde hostess and started chatting her up.
“Jackass,” Kelly muttered and then turned to her. Her face was still flushed and her dark amber eyes still glittered with anger. “I need a drink.”
If this was Kelly unaffected Kayla didn’t want to be around her when she was affected. Following her sister to the table, she hoped Matt and Kelly didn’t cross paths again. If they did, there was a good chance neither of them would survive.
Chapter Nineteen
Shay: It occurred to me today that I’ve never thanked you for helping me.
Jared: You don’t have to thank me.
Shay: Yes, I do. I can honestly say that you’re the best man I’ve ever known.
Three days after the incident with Matt in the restaurant, Kayla walked Kelly to her rental car, wishing her sister could stay longer but grateful for the time they had been able to spend together. Every night they’d stayed up talking and giggling just as they had when they lived at home. Lisa and Lance had joined them one night and they’d stayed up half the night drinking wine and discussing almost every topic under the sun. Lance was particularly entertaining, and had them in stitches as he regaled them with what he assured them were true stories about the celebrity clients that
visited his salon.
After Kelly stowed her suitcase in the trunk, she closed it and looked at Kayla with concern. “You’ll be careful?”
“Yes.” Kayla nodded. She’d finally told Kelly about the letters and the vandalism of her car. “You saw my new security system,” she said and pointed to the cameras now installed in strategic spots on the roof, “and my cameras. It’s like a fortress. In fact, I’m thinking a moat and a drawbridge might be in order.”
“You goof.” Kelly gave her a hug. She held on to her tightly and then pulled back. “I don’t feel right keeping this from mom and dad.”
“They’ll only worry.”
“They’re parents. They worry about everything.” Kelly grinned. “But I’ll respect your wishes. Just as you’ve always respected mine.” She was referring to the darker side of her eating disorder and just how much despair she’d been in at the time. “Have I ever thanked you for that?” Kelly asked, her eyes suddenly moist.
“Thanks aren’t necessary. We’re sisters and friends. I’m here for you always.”
“Same here, Sis.” Kelly blinked the moisture away and then grinned. “We swept the Dodgers,” she said with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. “And the icing on the cake was when Scanlon got ejected in yesterday’s game.”
Kayla couldn’t share her sister’s glee. Granted, Matt had acted like an ass at dinner, but she knew how worried Sean was about him, and there was no joy to be had in celebrating Matt’s meltdown. Trade rumors were flying fast and furiously and, according to all the baseball analysts, Matt was days away from being traded. According to Sean, Matt could very well lose it if he was traded from the team he’d loved since he was a kid. “Don’t gloat,” Kayla warned. “Matt could end up being traded to San Francisco.”
Kelly’s grin faded. “Doug would never allow it.” Doug was the team’s general manager and had to approve all trades and player acquisitions. “Besides, we’ve got two catchers, one of which will undoubtedly win rookie of the year. We don’t need a third. Especially one with baggage.”
Love in the Afternoon Page 23