Jade's Match, the Jewel Series Book 7

by Hallee Bridgeman

  His mouth suddenly very dry, he took a long drink of his water. “I think that would be great.”

  “Did you see the email from VelTech? They secured me a hotel suite in one of the new hotels in PyeongChang.”

  “Tang,” he said, correcting her pronunciation. “The ch is said so harshly that it almost makes a T sound.” She laughed and said it again, properly this time. “Perfect!” He wished she wanted to be here just to be with him and not to fulfill a contract. He smiled. “Assuming I make the team, because nothing in this life is certain, I have family you could stay with.”

  “No reason to.” She dug through her bag and pulled out her phone. “Ready?”

  “Always.” He leaned close to her. Instead of smiling at the camera, he turned his head toward her and kissed her cheek. She brought her hand up to his cheek, sandwiching him, and the resulting picture looked very sweet and loving.

  As she brought the phone down, she turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “I, uh, wasn’t expecting that.”

  Keeping his voice low, he leaned close to her. “Cora, it’s been a week. People are going to be ready for something more than a couple of smiling faces.”

  “I should kiss your cheek,” she offered. “These are your games coming up. The focus should shift from me to you.”

  He shrugged. “You’re more popular. Everybody wants to kiss your cheek. I’m only popular in a few niche circles. Kiss my cheek next time.” When you really want to, he thought.

  She stared at him for several seconds before blinking and smiling. “Of course. Very smart.”

  He watched as she typed the caption.

  Headed to the tourney in NYC. Bringing this hunka hockey hottie with me. Blessings upon blessings. #TeamUSA #goingforthegold

  His throat tightened, and he cleared it. “I still am objecting to hottie.”

  “Objection noted.” She grinned. “I can’t help the truth, Davis. Accept it. Read the comments on my posts. It’s a consensus.” Heat flooded his cheeks, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat while she laughed. “You’re embarrassed. Don’t be! I think it’s great.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t like being objectified like that.”

  The grin faded from her face. “You don’t think a fake romance with an Olympic athlete isn’t objectifying? I’m just embracing it and having fun with it. What’s going to happen when this very public and much-loved romance is over? Huh? The world is going to think there’s something wrong with me, or you. They will even pick sides, because that’s how people think.”

  He considered her words and his lips thinned. “I don’t know if that will be what people think. Besides,” he said taking her hand, “who could possibly think there was anything wrong with you? I think everyone in the world knows I’m a bit outclassed. I do, anyway.”

  “Right. Says the second man in my life to take me out. The first one died driving impaired, and you get paid to take me out.”

  Her words shocked him. He couldn’t imagine men not beating down her door and wondered what stopped them. “You said our date was the first you’d ever been on.”

  “That’s right. I snuck out to meet a boy at a party. It ended really badly, but you couldn’t call it a date.”

  He didn’t say anything for at least ten heartbeats. “That must have been terrible for you.”

  She stared at him with her bright green eyes and pulled her hand free. “I’ll tone down the hottie. I truly only meant it in fun.”

  “I know.” He released a breath and tried to lighten the mood. He leaned forward and retrieved the airline magazine the first-class flight attendant had delivered earlier. “I doubt you toning down on it will do any good. I can see my team jersey now. ‘Hottie Elliott’. I almost guarantee someone has already made one and has it hanging in my locker as we speak.”

  Cora laughed. “Oh, you should wear it! Any publicity is good publicity, right?”

  He glanced at her over the magazine and tried to contain his laughter. “If you say so.”

  She pulled her sketchbook out of her bag. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she pulled the tray table out from the arm of her seat and spread the book open. He saw the beauty she’d formed out of Psalms 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” She’d made each word into a work of art, with scrolls, vines, flowers, birds, and butterflies. She selected a pencil from her pencil box, and with a bright purple color, filled in part of a letter ‘L’.

  “That’s incredible,” he said, putting the magazine down and looking at the work more closely.

  “My mom taught me pencil techniques. This is how I pray, meditate, and relax, depending on what I need at the time.” She turned her head to look at him. “When I start filling it in, my mind relaxes and I feel like that’s when I can really talk to God without me getting in the way.”

  He met her eyes and felt his heart rate accelerate as he stared at her relaxed, happy face. “What a beautiful way to express yourself,” he said in a low tone, nearly a whisper.

  She smiled softly. “Thank you.” For another moment, they kept eye contact. Then, she looked back at her paper, and he took an opportunity to take a picture of her, making sure her drawing could be clearly seen.

  CHAPTER 5

  Cora dove into the sand and felt the ball make contact with her forearms. She hopped to her feet and dashed to the net in time for Ruby to set the ball for her spike. Pulling all her reserve strength, she used her stomach and leg muscles to jump well above the net and fiercely spiked the ball through her opponent’s block to hit the sand behind her.

  Before her feet even touched the ground, Ruby had her in an embrace as she raised both hands above her head and screamed. She slid down with her arms around Ruby as the two jumped in a circle, yelling, the crowd on their feet cheering so loud that she could feel it inside her skull.

  As soon as Ruby released her, she fell back onto the sand, arms outstretched, legs bent. Her muscles felt like rubber, and she honestly didn’t know if she could move.

  A shadow fell across her and she opened her eyes to see Davis standing above her, hands on his hips, grinning down at her. She smiled back and held her hand up so that he could pull her to her feet. On an impulse, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He brought his arms across her middle and hugged her back.

  “Great match,” he said in her ear.

  She pulled back and grinned at him. “Hard fought. That team was tough.”

  She turned toward the opposing team and shook hands with the two women. She knew them both and took a moment to speak to each before looping an arm over Ruby’s shoulders. “Serious good game, friend,” she said, hugging her to her. “Wow.”

  “I need water,” Ruby said, pulling away and walking next to Cora to the sidelines.

  Unlike the opposing teams, Cora and Ruby did not wear bikini uniforms to play. Just as they had in the Olympic games, they wore spandex tank tops and spandex shorts. Because of such high ratings for their televised matches, they no longer faced much opposition for their chosen uniforms.

  “Good game, girls,” Ivan Sloan observed, handing each of them a bottle of water. He’d coached them as a team for the last five years and knew the two of them like his own daughters. He was taller than both of them, with a lean athletic build. He wore a white golf shirt, red shorts, and a white linen fedora hat. Despite the heat on the beach, he had a full black beard, and with the wrap-around sunglasses he often wore, could look very intimidating if he tried. He gestured at Cora. “You’re bleeding.”

  She looked down at her knee and brushed at the blood and sand matting together. She poured some water over it and tried to decide if she actually had the energy to walk over to the first aid tent.

  “Need me to get you a Band-Aid, there, cupcake?” Davis asked, as if knowing her internal debate.

  She chortled at his teasing. “No. I think it’s good. I’ll just walk it off.”

  “Tough as nails, you are.”

&
nbsp; “Or, you know, tough as cupcakes.” She straightened and drank half the water before touching Davis’ shoulder. “Davis Elliot, this my coach, Ivan Sloan. Ivan, meet Davis.”

  The two men shook hands and Ivan slipped off his glasses. “Been following the social media. Looks like it’s taking off.”

  “VelTech clearly knows their marketing.”

  “VelTech-schmeltek.” Ivan shook his head. “It’s Cora. The world fell in love with Ruby and Jade. Something about their dynamic was special. I can tell something about you two is as well, Davis. I don’t think it would have worked with just anyone.”

  Cora felt her cheeks burn, and she tossed her empty water bottle into her bag before pulling out a clean towel. She wiped the sweat off her face and looked at Ivan. “Lunch?”

  “Yeah. Go on into the building. Should be laid out. Next match is at three. Don’t skimp on carbs today. I know how you like to fill up on rabbit food.” He looked at his watch and picked his clipboard up off his chair. “Eat then meet me back down here. I want to check out your knee. I watched you favor it in the last two jumps.”

  Cora smiled stiffly. “I’m supposed to be smooth enough that you can’t see that kind of thing.”

  “Cute, little girl. Go eat.”

  She pulled on a pair of loose shorts over the spandex before she slipped a hand in Davis’ hand as if she had been doing it for years. “Ready to get some lunch?”

  “Definitely. I love rabbit food.”

  They walked hand in hand across the sand to the tunnel that would take them to the athletes’ area under the bleachers. She could see Ruby ahead of them with her fiancé, Andy. She glanced over at Davis. “What did you think of the game?”

  “It’s different on television.”

  “Oh? In what way?”

  “Tons of ways. Usually, I’m sitting in the air conditioning eating some wings or something and you’re on a little screen.”

  “Very funny.”

  He shrugged and squeezed her hand. “I’m sure hockey’s different live, too. But, I don’t think I gave enough credit to the sheer physical power down there on the sand court. I’m really in awe. Your legs are really, really strong.”

  The rush of pride followed by the big smile on her face took her by surprise. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

  “I understand some of the workouts you’re doing better now.”

  She saw a look on his face that she often saw on her father’s. “Are you mentally reorganizing my daily workout?” she asked with suspicion.

  He whipped his head around and looked at her with a surprised look on his face. “How…?"

  “I swear. You’re just like my dad. I thought that earlier in the week, but now I see it more.” She laughed as they paused at the entrance to the room the organizers had turned into a dining facility so she could brush the sand off her feet and slip her shoes on. “It’s interesting to me.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. “I’m going to take that as a high compliment.”

  “You should. My dad is an incredible man. More, though, he really knows fitness and tailoring it for an athlete’s need. I see that same passion on your face.” Once she had her shoes on, they kept walking, no longer holding hands. “Thank you for caring about my workouts the way you do.”

  “Of course.”

  They flashed their badges at the security guard standing at the door and entered the dining area. She slung her bag over her shoulder to free her hands while they filled one plate with fruit, bread, cheese, and hummus and another plate with chicken wraps and hamburgers. Cora and Davis set their plates on the opposite side of the table from Andy and Ruby and paused to bless the food before Cora picked up a fork with a hand shaking from hunger and started shoveling hummus into her mouth.

  When she felt like she had the ravenous side of her abated, she checked tosee if the gues were paying attention. Noticing Davis and Andy engrossed in talk about the current baseball season, Cora leaned toward Ruby.

  “Davis seems really nice,” Ruby said. “How’s it going with the campaign?”

  She glanced over at him and spoke quietly so that he couldn’t hear. “I like him, despite my initial opinion.”

  “Is he nice? Weird? A believer?”

  “Yes! We went to church last Sunday together. He totally called me out on praying at meals without waiting for him. Super nice. Kinda weird. Interesting worldview. Kind of traditional but also very forward thinking. I’m enjoying getting to know him.”

  Ruby raised an eyebrow. “You realize that you grinned the whole time you spoke, right?”

  Slightly self-conscious, Cora sat back and forced the smiled off her face. “What do you mean?”

  Ruby glanced toward the guys who were very animatedly discussing the most recent Red Sox game. “I mean, I think you’re a little smitten, Miss Anderson. I think maybe there's than a pretense happening here.”

  Cora frowned. “Hardly.”

  Ruby took a sip of her water and nodded. “We’ll see.”

  An hour later, lying on the padded table while Ivan dug his knuckles into her calf and she tried not to cry out loud, she considered Ruby’s words. No one knew her better than Ruby. They’d lived together, trained together, fought for their silver medal together— they were closer than most sisters. What did Ruby see in Cora’s face when she talked about Davis that made her say that?

  Did she—

  Ivan dug into her hamstring, and she cried out. Tears streaming down her face, she raised up onto her elbows and dug her fists into her eyes, taking deep, slow breaths. Right when she felt like she might beg him to stop, she felt the muscle give under the pressure and the pain faded to the point of tolerance.

  Relaxing back onto the table, she focused on staying completely relaxed while her mind wandered and eventually made its way back to Davis.

  The flush of heat that covered her face had little to do with the pain from Ivan’s fingers and more to do with the sudden realization that she truly did like Davis. Quite a lot, actually. What would that mean to this social experiment VelTech currently paid them to perform? She thought about it and thought that they’d probably love to see it turn into something real.

  Would Davis, though? Did she even fit into his plans for the future?

  How could she possibly approach him about it after the cool way she treated him the first few days? She’d have to think about how to let her feelings be known without opening the door to total humiliation and heartbreak.

  Ivan slapped the table to signify that he’d finished torturing her for now and she slowly sat up, lifting her hands above her head to begin warming her shoulders up for the three o’clock match. While she stretched, Ivan taped her knee.

  Davis' mouth went dry when he saw Cora stroll across the green marble floor of the enormous lobby of the Viscolli New York hotel. She wore a simple black dress with shiny red heels and had all of that long black hair piled on top of her head. A red rose sat tucked behind one ear.

  He snapped a picture of her coming toward him and could hardly believe that this beauty was his date for the night. Never mind about the pretense and paycheck at the end. He still found himself completely enamored of her.

  As she approached, he accessed the social media account launchpad app on his vPhone and put up the picture.

  At what point did I get so blessed to have this beauty on my arm? #bestillmyheart

  The VelTech marketer had explained that the app would propagate the photo and caption to all his social media accounts, posting them and spacing the timing out by a few seconds each over the next few minutes to emulate human behavior. He slipped the phone back into the pocket of his jacket and walked toward her, smiling. “You look amazing,” he said as she reached for his hand.

  “I could say the same, Mr. Sharp Dresser,” she replied, looking him up and down, from the toes of his shined shoes to his black slacks, blue shirt, and black sports coat. He could see her appreciation of him and his back straightened with pride. “Not qu
ite sweaty gym clothes, is it?”

  “Truthfully, you look amazing either way.” Her shoes made her easily five inches taller than him. “I really like the shoes, though.”

  She shifted her body, looking at her shoes and then at him. “I always hesitate. When you’re a girl and six-two, it makes shoes a hard decision.”

  “Never hesitate.” He squeezed her hand and led her toward the elevator. “I mean it. You look amazing.”

  “And very tall.”

  Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he asked, “Is that a problem to you?”

  “It’s normal.” She paused. “You?”

  They stopped walking and he put a hand on the small of her back. “Cora, I have nothing but appreciation for your beauty and physique. I am not afraid to stand next to a woman who is taller than me. I find you incredibly attractive. I don’t mind looking up to you in the least.”

  Her green eyes widened and she put a hand over her heart. “I—” After a pause, she said, “You are very handsome. I’m excited about dinner tonight.”

  “Me too, Cora. I’ve only heard about this place on the food channel.”

  As they walked toward the elevator, some heads turned, and a few people surreptitiously snapped photos of the couple with their smartphones. They were becoming a celebrity couple.

  “You called me Cora. Like twice now, you called me Cora.”

  “Isn’t Jade your family’s nickname for you?”

  “It’s not exclusively reserved for family. Heck, it’s like a public name, especially since I’m teamed with Ruby. Ruby and Jade the jewels of the volleyball court.”

  “Do you mind if I use your real name when it’s just us? In private?” he asked. She hadtrouble reading his expression. There was something there, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “Well, no. I don’t mind. It is my name after all.”

  He pushed the button for the elevator and rocked back on his heels. “It’s a great name. Cora was first made popular when American author James Fenimore Cooper named his tough dark-haired heroine Cora in the novel….”