How to Lose a Groom in 10 Days

by Catherine Mann

  “You need to be naked.” With unsteady fingers, she gripped the drawstring of his shorts and tugged. “Now.”

  “I can make that happen.” He reached for the hem of his shirt and drew the tee up and off.

  She forgot what she was doing for a moment to enjoy the show. Leaning closer, she kissed the tattoo of a smoking hot baseball bat on his biceps. He tasted like salt, soap and man. Perfect.

  Taking a random path down his chest, she licked along the outline of more colorful ink—an impossible staircase that led in circles, geometric fractals. She went lower as he stepped out of his shorts and kicked aside his boxers. Lips moving along the proud thrust of manhood, she licked the ridge until he gripped her shoulders.

  “I’ve missed you too much for that.” The hoarse rasp of his voice pleased her.

  She smiled up at him. “We were only apart two nights.”

  “And it was too long.” He scraped back her hair with one hand and tilted her chin up to look at him. “Come here.”

  Teasing him, she kept an eye on him as she circled the tip of him with her tongue….

  She yelped as he lifted her in his arms, spinning her around until she realized he was carrying her to his bedroom.

  Cool sheets enveloped her while he paused to find a condom. Sheathe himself. Then his hard body covered hers.

  He sank into her. Deep.

  Her breath caught. Her heart stuttered to a stop for a second before it began again at a frantic pace. She bit his shoulder for a moment before she realized what she was doing. Letting go, she tucked her forehead to his chest and wrapped her legs around his waist to hold him close.

  He stroked her hair with one hand even as he stroked her insides with powerful thrusts. Opening her eyes, she peered up at him, visible in the moonlight streaming through a skylight over the bed. He was so beautiful it hurt to look at him. Not just because he was a sexy baseball star. But because she loved him.

  Always.

  Meeting his gaze for a long moment, he bent over her to take her mouth and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her. She let him, meeting his tongue stroke for stroke, rolling over him until she sat on top. Her hair fell forward, a dark curtain that closed out anything but their kiss.

  There was a hushed, awed quality to lovemaking that had never been there before. She felt it in the way he moved against her. In the way he looked at her. It was because it was their first time together as a married couple. And he treated her with a level of reverence that she couldn’t afford to think about right now.

  Shaky, she straightened.

  She fought for words that would dispel some of the seriousness that would make sex light and playful again. But Grady sat up with her so that she sat in his lap, straddling him intimately.

  “I want to keep you in the moonlight.” He edged her back under the skylight, keeping them sealed together as he spun her beneath him again. “You’re so beautiful.”

  Dizzy from the spinning and the heady words, she could only clutch at his shoulders as he went to work on her breasts, lavishing them with kisses she could feel everywhere in her oversensitive skin. He plucked at her sex with his thumb and forefinger, catapulting her into a thousand sparks of delicious fulfillment. Then he did it all over again until she held him too tightly to let him do that again.

  “Please,” she whispered in his ear. Needing him to come with her the next time. Wanting to feel him burn the way she was burning.

  Then he moved inside her and she couldn’t think anymore. She could only hold on tight as he took them higher. Higher.

  When she flew apart this time, he went with her, their shouts muffled against each other’s shoulders, the heat sealing them together in a molten flame. Pleasure filled her to her fingertips, a languid, satiated joy that pulled her mouth into a smile. Lying beside him in the dark she tipped her forehead against his chest, snuggling close.

  She wasn’t sure how long they’d lain intertwined in his bed when his cell phone rang, the shrill chime jarring her out of half-formed dreams of lying beside him forever.

  Beside her, Grady rolled off the bed with a grunted apology that she was too languid to answer. She tugged the sheet around her and curled into the warmth of where their bodies had been together. The scent of his aftershave lingered on the pillow.

  When he returned to the bedroom a moment later, his scowl chilled the last of the warmth from their lovemaking.

  Sitting up, she clutched the sheet around her. “Grady? What’s wrong?”

  He dropped to sit on the side of the bed, cell phone cradled in his hands, tendons in his neck strained. “Someone at the courthouse and a picture of our marriage certificate landed on social media.”

  “Oh no.” She tucked the sheet tighter around her, trying to think through what that and their inevitable breakup meant for him. For his career. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “Right. You didn’t think the wedding would happen.” His face was scrubbed clean of expression as he scooped up his shirt from the floor and pulled it on over his head. “But I’ll need to deal with the fallout.”

  “What do you mean?” She felt his retreat, and it didn’t have anything to do with him heading for the door.

  “Considering all the questions the team is fielding about us since the story broke, the Stars rescinded their permission for me to drive to Atlanta.” He retrieved his overnight bag and starting pitching in his belongings. “I need to be on the team plane so I can handle this with the press secretary in Atlanta tomorrow. We fly out at dawn.”

  Chapter Six

  ‡

  Grady had the hotel room packed in record time, even making room for Polly in the back seat in a pet carrier they’d gotten from the vet. He’d offered to call a cab so Melanie didn’t have to drive back to Orlando with him, but she’d insisted on going with him.

  Not for a minute did he think that meant she’d decided to be his wife for real, however. He hadn’t forgotten the talk of annulments the night before and he wasn’t foolish enough to think that great sex would change her mind. Hell, they’d had great sex for a few weeks and she hadn’t taken his proposal seriously in the first place. Why would he think she’d want to attend a press conference with him as his bride just because they’d shared another night together?

  “I’m sorry about this.” She sat in the passenger seat of the Honda, wearing jeans and a yellow tee that said “You are my Florida sunshine.”

  Something about that made his mood all the blacker since it felt like false advertising. She wasn’t the easygoing, fun-loving woman he’d fallen for. By her own admission, she was more complicated than that. She’d hidden things from him. And she didn’t want to be a “part time” wife. So basically, screw him and his proposal.

  Screw their whole short-lived marriage.

  “You didn’t leak the photo.” He’d switched off his phone half an hour ago when he realized how big of a deal this marriage had become in social media.

  “But if we’d had a regular marriage, all of this would be easier because we’d face this together.” She cleared her throat. “Like a couple.”

  “Yeah. We would.” He drummed a beat on the steering wheel, not sure how much more he could risk his heart with this woman. She’d turned his life upside down in the last twenty-four hours.

  Still, he wondered if he could have convinced her to stay with him if they’d had more time.

  “I can take Polly though,” she offered. “I’ve got room for her at my old apartment. They allow pets.”

  “How convenient. You can go right back to your old life now that I’m leaving.” He shook his head. “But no thanks. I’m taking Polly with me. I paid the vet bill. She’s in my name. She’s my dog. End of discussion.”

  He felt her frown even though he stared straight ahead at the Florida Turnpike. He’d send someone to pick up his truck tomorrow. He’d be lucky to make it to the private airstrip for the plane at six a.m. For now, he just followed the red glow of taillights on the highway ahead and t
ried not to think about this season stretching out in front of him—one hundred and eighty some games that wouldn’t be any fun without her.

  “You can’t care for a dog on the road.”

  “Like hell I can’t.” He actually had no idea how he was going to take the puppy with him, but he wasn’t going to start this season alone. He might not have Melanie, but he would have his dog. “I’ll get a pet sitter when I need to.”

  “A full time pet sitter. To travel with you.”

  “If that’s what it takes. Yes.”

  “Are you sure that’s fair to Polly?”

  This time, he did turn to look at Melanie, illuminated by the dashboard lights. She toyed with the ribbon on the bridal bouquet he’d bought for her, curling the pink satin around one finger.

  “You know how I knew you liked peonies?” he asked, ignoring the questions about the puppy since he hadn’t thought that through yet.

  “I didn’t even know I liked peonies.” She lowered her nose to the delicate petals and sniffed. “But they smell amazing.”

  “They’re planted at the ballpark. That first night we danced in the rain in the dark, we were close to them. You said something smelled good and I asked the landscaper about them the next day. Peonies, he told me.”

  “Grady.” Her voice broke. “I know I haven’t been fair.”

  He gripped the steering wheel in white-knuckled fists, staring straight ahead. “What if I stayed here with you? Told the Stars I’d buy back my contract and—”

  “No one does that.” She shook her head in disbelief, her silky hair sliding over her shoulder just as it had slid over his body last night. “You don’t turn your back on talent like yours.”

  “Hypothetically speaking, then.” He had to know the answer to a question that had bothered him deep in his gut since he’d seen her sprint away. “If I was a regular guy you met at the field. Just another baseball fan. Would it be different right now? Would I know your parents or have a real wife?”

  She blinked fast, looking away and outside the window so long he wasn’t sure she would answer. Her chest moved with a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure this will make sense to you, but nobody ever put me first before. I didn’t believe it was real because I didn’t know what that felt like. So, no. I don’t think it would have been any different. I still wouldn’t have trusted what we had was real.”

  He’d asked for honesty and he’d gotten it, so he couldn’t complain when it hurt like hell. She wouldn’t have given him her heart no matter what he did. Maybe that should have made him feel better, but it burned a hole straight through him and left him raw. Empty.

  Fresh out of words and realizing exactly how small his chances were of ever winning her over, Grady focused on getting to the airfield as fast as the law allowed. He’d shown her that he cared. That he loved her and wanted her in his life. She just didn’t love him enough to want to be his wife.

  When he pulled into the private airstrip where the team plane waited, he shoved the car into park but he didn’t get out fast enough. Melanie took his hand and pressed something cold in his palm.

  Her wedding ring.

  “I’m sorry, Grady.” At least her voice choked on the words. “Truly, I am.”

  Grinding his teeth, he took it and dropped it in the Honda’s cupholder.

  “I got it for you, Mel. Just like I got the house in Atlanta that I don’t want anymore either. I’ll sell our house, but you figure out what to do with the ring.” The simple act of speaking hurt. Physically. Hurt. He reached in the backseat and pulled out Polly’s carrier. “I’m taking our most important asset.”

  He eyed the Golden Retriever pup as she struggled to stay upright in the moving crate. He knew exactly how that balancing act felt and the dog managed a whole hell of a lot better than him.

  Around them, he could see other players’ cars pulling into the dark parking lot. He’d purposely put the Honda in a space farther from the team aircraft just in case there were any media gathered, but it looked quiet enough.

  “Grady—” Melanie had slipped out of the passenger seat and stood across the hood from him.

  But the time for talking was over. He had his answers now.

  “Let’s at least end this honestly.” He didn’t know how he’d stand on a press podium and talk about her to the media in a few hours’ time when it hurt this much just looking at her. “I’ll look into an annulment when I get to Atlanta. Goodbye, Melanie.”

  He thought he saw a glint of tears on her cheeks, but it was probably a trick of the lights. Turning on his heel, he shouldered his overnight bag and took his dog to start the regular season without his wife.

  *

  Melanie watched him leave and wondered if he’d felt like this when she ran out of the courthouse two days ago.

  This was how it felt to watch the person you love most in the world walk away from you.

  The hurt was worse than anything she’d ever felt, and she’d taken a lacrosse ball to the eye socket in gym class once. Then there’d been the time her mother had accidentally punched her in the jaw a few years ago when she’d been going for Melanie’s father. But seeing Grady stride off toward the plane—knowing how much she’d hurt him even though she loved him—hit a level of pain that all but doubled her over.

  She didn’t deserve him. Hadn’t believed he loved her. Yet, somehow, he wanted her as much—maybe even more—than he wanted a career in the majors. After a lifetime of reverberations in her family from her father’s inability to make it on a major league roster, that simply hadn’t computed in her brain. But was it so hard to believe that just maybe her family experience was wildly dysfunctional? That she’d been given a false view of love, marriage and sensible priorities?

  What was she doing playing referee for her parents at her age, anyhow? She deserved her own life. A chance to make her own choices.

  The knowledge that she was making the biggest mistake of her life cinched her chest like a vise. Her gaze dropped to the diamond ring in the cupholder and she leaned into the Honda to retrieve the double bands. She squeezed it so tight the setting imprinted on her skin. Fear of hurting Grady even more weighed her down like lead. An even bigger fear of losing him forever forced one foot in front of the other anyhow. She didn’t know what she’d say when she caught up to him. But panic fluttered inside her with the urge to try something. Anything.

  The time for small ball and a safe at-bat was long gone. She was down to her last out.

  “Grady!” she called, feet kicking up gravel in the parking lot as she outran the glow of her headlights. “Wait!”

  “Sorry, ma’am.” A big, burly man stepped into her path from out of nowhere to shine a flashlight on her face. “No unauthorized parties past this point.”

  “I’m not unauthorized.” She squinted past the flashlight beam as the security guard’s name badge came into view. “Stephen?”

  She recognized him from odd jobs around the spring training facility. They’d both been assigned to lay pavers in a walking path behind right field two years ago.

  “Hey, Melanie. I didn’t know that was you.” He clicked off the flashlight. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m – um. In charge of pets on the plane,” she fibbed. “A couple of players are bringing animals with them and I’m taking care of them during the flight.”

  She sidled past him while he made a low whistle.

  “Sweet gig!” He gave her a thumbs-up sign. “But I thought you married the second baseman yesterday? Was that, like, an Internet hoax?”

  She could not let her marriage come down to that—a brief social media rumor stomped out with a press release in the cold light of dawn. There had been peonies.

  And love.

  “Actually, I really hope not.” She pointed to the plane. “Do you mind if I—”

  “Sure, sure.” He waved her past. “Don’t forget the little guys when you’re a big deal player’s wife, okay?”

  She smiled at him even though his words
made her stomach tighten painfully. She brushed past one of the other Stars, a lanky pitcher who towered over her as she neared the steps to the plane.

  Taking the steps two at a time, she shot past the catcher, a Cuban built like a bulldog who stood joking with one of the other air hostesses in the aisle of the posh private jet.

  “Grady?” she called, turning the heads of the handful of players already in their seats.

  And then, she saw him. Middle of the plane. Bulky, noise-cancelling headphones already in place. He stared out the window next to him even though it was pitch black on that side of the aircraft.

  “Excuse me, miss.” A woman in a sharp navy suit approached her from the back of the plane. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave—.”

  One of the other players – Boone Sullivan – tapped Grady on the shoulder and pointed. Grady turned to face her, his eyes going wide with hope, then wariness.

  Slowly, he removed the headset. “Melanie? Did you forget something?”

  He didn’t make a move to stand. Or to save her from the all-business-looking blonde in the tailored suit who still barreled toward her, a team VIP badge around her neck.

  “Sorry.” Melanie attempted to smile at the VIP but the woman’s expression didn’t change. Instead, Melanie tried her luck with Grady. “Actually, Grady. I did forget something.” She struggled for what to say. For how to express herself to him in front of one pissed-off looking team representative and ten Stars teammates he’d have to play with all season.

  “And?” He looked at her with a touch of weariness, no doubt as exhausted from the last forty-eight hours as she felt.

  But then, he didn’t know that her whole life rested on this moment and that gave her the courage to finally blurt what was in her heart.

  “I forgot to tell you that I’d rather be your part time wife than anyone else’s full time bride. Because the kind of love I feel for you is enough to fill however long we have to spend apart.”

  A few snickers in the aisle behind her. Navy Suit Woman sighed impatiently like she’d heard a million such declarations from infatuated females.