by Virna DePaul
Resist, Ruby.
“Look, Red, I got into a little fight. That’s all. Don’t make it a bigger deal than what it is. Fans love that shit, too, you know.”
“Maybe in the World Wrestling Federation, but not the NFL.”
That shit-eating grin crossed his face again. He bit into it, then shook his head, repressing silent laughter. “Oh, man.”
Her blood began to boil. “So, is that it? You think you can just solve everything with charm? Bring out the ol’ smile, and everything is forgiven?”
Alec rubbed the back of his neck. “A little charm never hurt no one, ma’am.”
Ruby frowned. “Don’t ma’am me, LeBrun.”
“Then don’t LeBrun me.” The chastising look he shot her may as well have been a hard slap to her ass. A rough clenching together of both her hands and a turning of her body to face a wall while he felt every contour of her body with those massive, athletic hands of his.
Ruby wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.
She tore her gaze away from his and clicked her pen open. “Enough of this. We need to get you ready for the press. We need to find a way to spin why you were fighting with your own teammate.”
“Do you want to get dinner afterward?”
Really? Asking her out while there was a crisis at hand? He had to be biding for attention. Ignore him. “Already ate.” She brushed him off, determined to get through this process. “We know the fight with Connors is going to be the first thing they’re going to ask you. There’s no point in dancing around it, because that will just drag it out.”
“Where’d you eat?”
“Bertoni’s,” she said quickly. “Okay, we can’t go with the ‘It won’t happen again, it was just a one-time hot, stupid moment,’ because this is the third moment in just as many weeks.”
“With the breadsticks and the salad? Who’d you go with?”
Ruby tried to focus on her pen moving across the page, on the words that would appear, not only in print, but in audio clips across morning radio shows tomorrow. She resisted the temptation to meet his eyes. “My date. Can you please focus? Like, for two minutes, can you focus? Your public image is at stake here, Alec.”
“Who was he?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who’d you go out with? I’m curious about the kind of man you’d date, considering how hard I had to work to get you to say yes to me.”
She slapped down the pen and glared at him. “Ah, but the fact is I did say yes to you. You’re the one who cancelled. Why was it again? Oh, yes, because you got engaged the very next day.” You dropped me like a hot potato for the bitchiest cheerleader of them all. Nice, Alec, nice. “Can we drop the subject now?”
Damn it, she’d let him get to her. Her bitterness was showing, and now he could easily see how much it had pissed her off.
He stood and reached out to her. “Ruby—”
“No!” She backed up.
“I can explain.”
The time for that was a long time ago, she almost said. “There’s nothing to explain. It should’ve never happened. You’re my client. I’m your publicist. One who’s currently in danger of losing her job because my father doesn’t think I can handle a hotshot like you.”
“Is that what he said?” Something in Alec’s face seemed, for a second, to show remorse. Like, actual remorse for his chain of stupidities. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been fucking up, I know. But all this shit will get sorted out, I promise.”
“It has to.” She stared at him, letting that sink in. “Because if it doesn’t, I’m out of a job, you could lose next year’s contract, and my father’s firm could lose theirs, too. This isn’t a joke. It’s time to cut the shit. Are we clear…Mr. LeBrun?”
If that didn’t get through to him, nothing would.
“Yeah. We’re clear.” He folded his arms over his chest, boosting the thickness of his muscles, and holy hell, even his veins had veins on them.
“Good.” She forced herself to look down at her notes, though everything on the paper was a blur. “So, about the press conference…you and Connor need to present a united front. Show remorse but shake hands and all that. It’ll tell the reporters it was a minor scuffle. I just need to find Connors’ publicist and confirm Connors will cooperate.”
She made a big show about collecting her things, packing up, and pretending she didn’t care he was staring at her with that inscrutable look on his face. But he was, and her chest fluttered with something she couldn’t explain. Why—if ultimately, Ruby knew Alec was bad for her—did her body react so opposite from her brain?
Alec leaned into her. She smelled his goodness from a mile away. Her brain conjured up images of his arms around her, her hands running along that streamlined, gorgeous back, fingertips bouncing over those eighteen-pack abs. His scent made her head spin and thighs squeeze closer in aching need.
He picked up her hand, the one busy trying to zip up her case before the big bad wolf snatched her treats out of her basket. “Did you laugh a lot?”
She pulled her hand out of his. “What do you mean?”
“During your date. Did you laugh, smile, make him feel on top of the world, or did you put him through the ringer like you just put me?”
“I’ve had enough of this.” Ruby stood, sending the chair spinning away behind her to clatter noisily against the wall.
“Because I kind of liked it, Ruby. I gotta admit. That was hot.”
“You’re impossible.” She ripped her talking points from the notepad and shoved them against his chest. She didn’t let herself feel his pec under her palm. Instead, she walked away. “Stick to the script. And please wear the suit I ordered you. The one that makes you look like a responsible man, not a child prone to playground fights.”
At the look on his face, she almost felt bad for what she said. But then she remembered her date. Despite the fact she’d been bored out of her mind and half-glad her father had called her with an excuse to cut the date short, it was still Alec’s fault she’d had to cancel personal time to deal with this. As such, he was the one who should be apologizing.
But those muscular thighs, defined abs, and wide shoulders had no intention of apologizing. “Watch it, Red. I’ve had a hard day. Call me a child one more time…”
“And what?”
“And you don’t want to find out,” he replied. “I know you have to bust my balls a bit, because of what I did, but I’m warning you, you’re pushing it with the whole mommy scolding thing. I told you I’ll sort all this out. And a promise is a promise.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I might seem like I don’t care, but when I promise something, I stick to it.” In his eyes, she saw he was dead serious. Still, she’d heard this one too many times.
Ruby scoffed. “That’s what you said last time, Alec. You’re all words and no action. See you out there.” She turned at the door, happy about the way she’d handled the confrontation. Firm, not too weak, resolute. Good job, she congratulated herself.
But something she said must’ve set him off.
“Oh, Ruby…” he drawled, the warning in his voice crystal clear.
She slowed down to look back and check his face for clues.
“I’m all action, Ruby. Even after all this time together, I guess you don’t have the faintest clue about who I am. We have to change that, don’t we?” Then, he did the unthinkable. He dropped his towel, exposing the full Alec LeBrun, and headed straight for her.
Skin gleaming.
Muscles rippling.
Appendages saluting. And swelling.
And bouncing.
A child he wasn’t. HOLY. HELL.
He paused, hands on his hips, willing her to look her fill, before he brushed past her and strolled out of the medic room.
Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to breathe. Just one breath would be good. Oxygen was her friend. But she couldn’t speak, couldn’t have the last word. Damn Alec. He knew the eff
ect his stunt was having on her, too, because he turned around and caught her staring at his ass down the hallway.
His grin was no longer smartass as much as wolfish.
The game was now 6-0, and Alec LeBrun was in the lead.
Chapter Two
Alec glanced at the suit hanging in his locker, still wrapped in plastic from the dry cleaners. The one Ruby said would make him look like a responsible man—the better to explain his irresponsible behavior when he’d knocked Connors on his ass after he’d taunted him about a woman. Not Colleen, mind you. Given his very public engagement to her and equally public split, he would’ve expected that one.
No, Connors had taunted him about Ruby.
“You played like shit today, LeBrun. What, were you thinking of finally fucking the team’s publicist, now that Colleen’s out of the picture? Can’t blame you. She’s hot as hell, and I bet she’s feisty as fuck in bed, too. You know how redheads are.”
That motherfucker.
Alec had been on edge the past month ever since Colleen had played him for a fool. In the end, it was good riddance to her, but it still burned that he’d lost his chance with Ruby because of Colleen, and Connors’ asshole comments simply reminded him of that fact. Also, he had played like shit, so by the time Connors mouthed off like a stupid fuckboy in the locker room, Alec was ready for a fight. He’d swung with pure rage and every intention of breaking every bone in Connors’ face. Connors blocked Alec, but Alec managed to get a fist into his nose anyway.
Blood flew. Bones cracked.
It had taken several of their teammates to pull them apart, as they glared and spat expletives, heaving chests and faces bleeding. Coach had nearly had a fucking stroke ripping into their asses after that, but Alec barely heard him. He was still too irritated about what Connors had said.
No one talked about Ruby that way. If one woman was off-limits and deserved respect in this crazy world of professional football, it was her. Connors, who’d obviously picked up on Alec’s feelings for her, should have known that. But how had he figured it out?
Alec had only ever told his best friends on the team—and in life—Heath and Kyle, his feelings for Ruby, and they’d sworn never to say anything. They were also the only two people on earth, besides Colleen, who knew why Alec, less than twenty-four hours after he’d asked Ruby out, had proposed to Colleen in the first place: Colleen had told him she was pregnant.
As expected, Alec had reeled at the announcement. Not just because the prospect of unexpected fatherhood had terrified the shit out of him—what if he turned out to be as horrible a father as his own?—but mostly because he’d known instantly he had to do the right thing, which meant kissing any chance with Ruby goodbye and instead tying himself permanently to Colleen, a woman he’d slept with because she was gorgeous and good in bed, but had never developed deeper feelings for no matter how hard he’d tried to make things work between them. So he’d done what he’d thought was right. He’d proposed. He’d moved Colleen into his house and set a wedding date for the beginning of October, just two months later. But in the end, he hadn’t been able to go through with it.
As much of a shock as an unwanted pregnancy had been, Alec had quickly fallen in love with his unborn child. And he’d come to understand that marrying Colleen out of obligation wouldn’t create the kind of family he wanted his child to grow up with. So several weeks ago, just two weeks before the wedding, he’d told Colleen he couldn’t marry her but was willing to remain an involved co-parent. She became incensed and admitted the truth—no baby. It’d all been a trap.
Alec had once again been floored—this time by how much he’d grieved the loss of a child who had never even existed. The loss of his chance to prove that he could indeed be a good father, unlike his own. His feelings had consumed him, making him drink more than he ever had, making him lose focus on everything else.
But it was time to pull his shit together. The drinking, the fighting—it had to stop. Not only for his career. But for Ruby’s.
Ruby.
Clearly she was under the assumption—as everyone else was—that he’d loved Colleen and was devastated over their broken engagement, and that was why he’d been drinking and fighting so much lately. It was the natural assumption, of course. After all, he’d chosen not to tell-all to the public out of respect for Colleen. Yes, even after she’d shown her true colors, he still held integrity and divulged nothing to the press. But he’d shown a woman who’d lied to him more care than he’d shown Ruby, a woman who’d always earned his respect.
And, if he was honest to himself, a woman who’d always owned his heart.
With all the bullshit with Colleen, the last thing he’d been thinking about was dating again. Even Ruby. But that was before she’d walked in, looking gorgeous and getting in his face. It was as if she’d slapped him out of a trance he’d been in. For the first time in weeks, his vision had cleared and he was himself again. And he’d also been infused with purpose.
He’d come to want the baby he’d thought was his, but it was never meant to be.
That wasn’t the case with Ruby.
He wanted her. And if the way she reacted to him—when he was wearing his towel and when he wasn’t—was anything to go by, she still wanted him. He was going to make sure they both got what they wanted. That would mean sitting down with her and explaining what had happened with Colleen. It would also mean showing Ruby how he felt about her, which meant, as much as he hated it, taking things slow.
For starters, his breakup was still fresh, and people would talk about him. Also, his emotions were still raw from being played for an idiot. He needed to make sure the situation with Colleen was completely behind him before pursuing Ruby. Finally, he knew full well the reason he’d had to work so hard to get Ruby to say yes to his dinner invitation two month ago—her job, and her reluctance to cross professional boundaries.
Now, it would probably take a miracle to convince her to go out with him. He didn’t want to fuck things up with her a second time. Women like Ruby rarely gave him another shot. Women like Ruby were too good for him. But it was time to move on now. Time to prove he had his and her best interests at heart, beginning tonight. All he could do was pray she’d give him a chance.
So Alec changed into the suit, appreciating the care Ruby had taken to pick out something that fit him perfectly, while at the same time replaying how fucking gorgeous she’d looked standing in front of him in that little black dress and heels, her hair long and wild cascading down her shoulders.
She was beautiful always, no matter what she wore, but given he’d only ever seen her in business clothes, it’d been a huge transformation.
It made him wonder how else she might transform. If they were in the bedroom, let’s say. What would Ruby O’Brien be like between the sheets? Uptight? Innocent? Or full of piss and vinegar like she was every time he fucked up and she had to come looking for him? It was only about the thousandth time he’d wondered such things, and as always, he came to one conclusion. He’d bet his Super Bowl ring and every dime he had that a passionately aroused Ruby would be wild with desire, a freak in bed.
Maybe it was the way she always looked at him with those sexy, blue eyes, lips just barely parted in disbelief.
Or the way she’d stared at his naked body between the time he’d dropped his towel and the time he’d walked past her. She’d flushed, shocked eyes focused on his dick. Her breath had caught, and for a brief moment, he’d contemplated taking her square by the shoulders and fucking her right up against those lockers.
Maybe one day, dude. If you’re lucky.
Looking sharp in his suit, Alec walked to the press room, where to his surprise, Connors awaited him alone. He had a butterfly bandage on his cheek, which covered what Alec knew was a nasty gash. He’d put it there. “Hey, man,” Connors said.
“Hey.” Alec kept a short distance from the shorter, bulkier player.
“You have a minute?”
“Not really.” Ou
tside the room, he could hear the reporters gathering for the press conference and wished he could just get this over with.
“Look, bro…normally, you’re the ass, but tonight, I was out of line.” Connors rubbed his chin and carefully touched his wound with his fingertips.
“Yep. You were.”
“And my publicist just told me that if things get out about what I said to you, I might lose my endorsement to Hertz.”
“Hertz?”
“Yeah. We can’t all be Nike posterboys.” Connors looked like he wanted to start another fight then remembered his career was on the line. “Anyway, I just wanted to say, why don’t we get through this, salvage this situation, and be done with it?”
“Sounds good by me.”
“You have my word I won’t say anything about Ruby again.”
Alec gave him a sharp look. “Don’t even use her name around me, dude. Not even once. I’m warning you.”
Connors lifted his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. So you know, I only said those things because I was jealous as fuck. She’s amazing and the way she looks at you... Well, good luck, bro. Truce?” He held his hand out to Alec.
Alec stared at it a minute, wanting to ask Connors how Ruby looked at him. God, he was pathetic. Instead, he nodded and tossed his hand into Connors’. “Sure, man. Truce. Let’s go. I hear them coming.” Sure enough, a moment later, the door opened and there stood a member of the press, letting them know they were ready.
Once the room had filled, Alec’s gaze found Ruby, sitting in the back of the audience. He wasn’t looking forward to standing in front of all those cameras, microphones, and reporters asking their questions, but one look at Ruby’s face made things better. Despite the shit he’d pulled in the locker room, she smiled encouragingly at him.
Coach Reddick talked first. After he was done, he signaled for Alec to take the stage. Alec didn’t bother to pull out the crumpled piece of notebook paper from his pocket, the one Ruby had shoved at him before he’d stormed out of the med room. He’d had enough experience talking to the press to know what to do. When it was time, he walked up to the podium in front of fifty reporters, photographers, and their camera flashes. He smiled and waved. And when the first reporter asked what had happened with Connors, Alec told them the truth.