Ho, boy.
Despite the lecture she’d just been giving herself, she didn’t want to hurt his mom’s feelings. So she felt compelled to be honest. “I’m pretty smitten with him, too,” she said softly.
His mother’s face brightened. “I thought as much.”
Jade laughed and took a sip from her lemonade to cool herself down.
“I don’t know what he’s told you,” Mrs. Sparks continued, “but if it seems like he’s moving a bit slow in the relationship department, be patient. His former girlfriend was a little tramp—excuse my language—and that’s made him…cautious about getting involved.”
Jade felt panic course through her veins at the mention of a relationship. Had Hunter been telling his mother they were dating? Is that what he thought?
“Maggie and Mia filled me in on the basics of what went down between him and Rebecca,” Jade said. “Trust me, I have no problem with slow. I hadn’t exactly planned on getting involved with anyone right after moving to town.”
Although she and Hunter had certainly jumped right into bed together… Before even knowing each other’s names.
Probably best not to tell Momma Sparks that.
She’ll be calling you the tramp.
“Probably wise,” his mom said, hunkering down in her beach chair. “Still, I can see a lot of similarities between you and my son. I think you would make a darn good couple.”
Bewildered, Jade was about to state that she and Hunter were complete opposites when Finn appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her wrist, and hauled her out of her chair. “Football time, newbie! You’re on my team!”
She tried to dig her feet in the sand to protest, but Finn easily pulled her along.
“I don’t know how to play,” she objected. “Plus, I’m terrible at sports. You’re going to lose with me on your team, Finn.”
Plus, she needed to go grab her cover-up because there was no way she was going to run and bounce around in just her bikini. Talk about a Janet Jackson moment waiting to happen.
He didn’t even spare her a glance, though, and just kept pulling her along. “Nonsense. Not only am I a fantastic player, I’m also an amazing coach. I can turn anyone into a winner. I’ll have you throwing spirals and running patterns in no time.”
Sure, maybe in an alternate universe.
She was more realistic about how severely she was about to humiliate herself.
Finn finally met her eyes and must have seen the terror lurking in them. “Look, I’ll only throw it to Mia, and you can just run the ball. Hunter will take it easy on you.” He glanced across the field marked out in the sand at the opposing team consisting of Hunter, Maggie, and Mr. Sparks, and sighed. “Maggie, however, is another story.”
As if she hadn’t already felt exposed around Hunter’s family, with all of their questions and curiosity about her life. Now, she felt almost…on display. Not just because of her minimal coverage. It was as if they were testing her, seeing how she’d handle their family activities.
But even though she didn’t have a clue what the hell she was doing, it also occurred to her that she could use this opportunity to her advantage. Hunter’s eyes had been following her around all afternoon, rarely leaving her body. He had shoved his own muscles in her face countless times, taunting her. Almost poking at her obvious attraction to him. Needling her.
Maybe this was her turn.
Maybe it was time to give him a little taste of his own medicine.
Steeling herself, she followed Finn, adding a confident sway to her hips. When she knew she had Hunter’s attention, she made an extra show of adjusting the ties of her suit. Grabbing certain areas she knew would…jiggle. He suddenly coughed and she smiled, though she didn’t look at him.
Although when she reached up and gathered her hair into a ponytail, she chanced a glance his way. His eyes were glued her chest, his lips parted. She stretched her back even more, pushing her breasts out. His eyes flew up to hers.
She grinned deviously.
He glared. And slowly shook his head in warning.
If he thought that was going to stop her, he had another thing coming.
Game on.
Finn and Mia tried to explain the rules to Jade, but all she really got out of it was that it was two-hand touch, and they had to run past the big red cooler on the other end of the field to score points. Never having watched a single football game in her entire life, she didn’t understand a word Finn said as he called plays. Wisely, he ran the ball down the field himself on the first play and scored.
This might be easier than she thought.
She could just stand there the whole time and let Finn do all the work.
“All day, Hunter!” Finn smacked his best friend on the shoulder as he ran back down to Jade and Mia. “You can’t touch this All-Conference running back!”
“College was over eight years ago, dude,” Hunter shot back.
“And you stiff-armed me, Caldwell!” This from Maggie.
The game went back and forth, each team taking turns holding the lead. Thankfully, Finn and Mia mostly caught and threw the ball to each other the whole time. He’d passed it off to Jade once, but she’d only gotten about a step and a half before Maggie tagged her. After that, Jade was content doing what Finn generously called “blocking” for him and Mia when they had the ball.
But despite Jade’s complete ignorance of the sport, she was having a lot of fun. Plus, Hunter was shirtless.
Shirtless. Sweaty. And smoldering hot.
And he kept sending her sly grins and winking at her every chance he got. Because the two of them were playing a whole other kind of game. The way his eyes trailed down her body…she was burning up. Despite being half naked in her bikini. The blistering sun had nothing on his sexy smirks.
But dammit, he was not going to win this round.
She had no idea how long they’d been out there playing, but Mr. Sparks suddenly announced that both teams had one last play. The teams were tied up, so whoever scored would win. She did her duty and tried to guard Maggie—or whatever it was called—though she didn’t think she was doing much good. When Hunter’s team couldn’t “convert the downs,” it was her team’s turn to run their last play.
Finn gathered them into a huddle. “Okay, Mia, I want you to run a slant route.” Mia nodded.
Holy hell, did she actually know what that meant?
“Jade, you’re going to run the ball. I’ll block for you.”
Wait. What?
Jade adamantly shook her head. He’d obviously lost his mind. “No way. Why can’t you just throw Mia the ball?”
“Because they aren’t expecting us to give it to you,” he said. “Maggie’s backed off of you. I promise, they’ll be looking at me or Mia. They’ll never expect you to bring it home.”
Mia squeezed her arm, smiling reassuringly. “You can do it. Hunter’s got a bad knee, so juke to the right if he comes after you.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Jade protested, starting to panic.
Mia calmly placed her hands on Jade’s shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. She had a real knack for putting someone at ease. “Just dodge to his right. Sidestep him. You’ve got this.”
Finn bumped her shoulder. “I’ve got a week’s worth of free drinks at the bar for Mags on the line here, so…we’re all counting on you.” Mia smacked him on the back of the head and he laughed. “Hey, I’m kidding. You’ll do fine.”
Jade glared at him. “Not the best pep talk, coach.”
They stepped up to the line, her heart beating out of control. She was so going to lose this game for them.
No, you’re not. You can do this.
“Down, set, hut!” Finn shouted. He immediately turned to Jade and tossed her the ball.
She caught it and took off.
She sensed the other team’s momentary shock at her having the ball before they gathered their wits. Hunter headed in her direction, his moves quick and agile. His big, hulking fi
gure was stampeding straight toward her when Mia’s words popped into her head.
Bad right knee. Go to his right.
Repeating those words over in her mind, she stared him down and pushed her legs faster. There was a confident smirk on his face, as if he knew he was about to have her wrapped up in his arms. She was inches away from his outstretched hands, and…
She lunged to the left—his right.
Thrown off balance, he stumbled, and couldn’t turn his body around fast enough. She sprinted the rest of the way down the field, holding off Maggie and Mr. Sparks long enough to pass the red cooler.
It didn’t actually hit her until she heard Finn’s and Mia’s raucous cheers.
She’d scored!
They’d won!
Aside from academic awards in high school, she had never won anything in her life. And as silly as it was to get all excited about something so trivial, she was super proud of herself. Especially when Finn and Mia practically tackled her to the sand, then made her join them in a victory lap around the field.
“Losers eat dessert last!” Finn yelled, and pointed at Maggie. “Suck it, Breedlove!”
Jade was vaguely aware of Maggie’s shouted response back at him—complete with expletives—as Hunter slowly made his way toward her. Or rather, stalked his way toward her. The man looked like he had all sorts of ideas spinning around in that dirty little mind of his.
God, she was turned on. Had been all afternoon.
“Congratulations, Red,” he told her, smiling.
A thrill spun through her. “Thanks.”
He leaned in and murmured, “That was cheating, by the way. Playing in your bikini like that. Distracting me on purpose.”
She gave him a coy, sideways glance. “One must use the assets one has.”
“Not into playing fair, huh?” he asked, hands on his hips.
She waved down at his half-naked body. “Like you’re any better.”
He tossed her a wry grin. “I never said I play fair. Those were some nice moves at the end. How’d you know to go to my right?”
“Mia gave me some tips.” Feeling emboldened, riding her high, she stepped into him, close enough their chests were touching. “She said you just can’t handle quick little redheads who are trying to score.”
He choked out a heavy breath, as if she’d punched his gut. “Oh, sweetheart. I’ll let you into my end zone any day.”
She tipped her head back and laughed. “If I wanted cheese, I would have moved to Wisconsin.”
“She’s got jokes now, does she? Well, we’ll see about that.” A look came over his face that forced her to back up a step. His grin widened.
She stuck a hand out, attempting to hold him back. “Hunter, don’t you dare.”
He leaned forward and whispered, “It’s not nice to make a guy’s dick hard in front of his parents, you know. I’m supposed to look like a gentleman around my momma.”
“You are no gentleman,” Jade murmured, her body going crazy.
His expression turned lecherous. “Exactly.”
Crap.
She took off at a sprint.
About four seconds later, he easily caught her and threw her over his shoulder. Her bikini top shifted in her struggle, and she had to do some quick maneuvering before there was a full-on topless situation. Though, when her nipple grazed his bare skin, she had the sudden urge to just rip the whole thing off and let their slick bodies rub against each other.
“Guess you’re not so quick now, are you?” He headed straight for the water.
“Don’t you do it, Hunter!”
“What? I thought you liked getting wet.”
“Damn you! I swear, I’ll—”
Fifteen minutes later, she was eating her dessert soaking wet from head to toe, balancing her plate of food on her lap, and towel-drying her hair.
“Hunter Sparks,” his mom scolded him. “I can’t believe you almost drowned that poor girl.”
“My own fault,” Jade said with a pout and glared at Hunter when he winked at her. “I provoked him.”
She may have been pouting on the outside. But on the inside, she was positively glowing.
It was amazing how creative the man could get with his hands underwater, while appearing perfectly respectable above the waves.
Gentleman, her ass.
Chapter Twenty
Her desserts had been demolished.
After an afternoon of everyone lazing around in the sun, playing games, and sharing stories, there was hardly any food left at all. Everyone was just kicking back in beach chairs around the fire pit, relaxing.
As Jade was applying more sunscreen, her phone rang.
She pulled it out of her bag and saw a private number. Concerned that it was one of her suppliers calling about her merchandise, she answered the phone.
Big mistake.
Her stepmother’s high-pitched voice came over the line. “Jade, dear. How are you?”
She immediately got up and walked away from everyone, heading down the beach. She didn’t want them to hear her conversation in case she suddenly started screaming or swearing in anger. “Why are you calling, Cassandra?” she asked flatly. “You and I have nothing to discuss.”
The other woman was silent for a moment, as if she hadn’t expected Jade’s harsh tone. “We haven’t spoken in so long, darling. I was calling to see how you are. How are you enjoying South Carolina?”
She wasn’t buying a word of Cassandra’s faux concern for her welfare. It was always an act with her. There was always some kind of angle.
“Everything is fine,” Jade bit out. “Although you should already know that, since you and Lane have been keeping tabs on me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dear.”
She scoffed. “Please. Lane called me two weeks ago. You two have been spying on me. But it won’t do you any good. You’re not getting a red cent out of me. So I suggest you leave me alone.”
Cassandra sighed, as though Jade’s words had hurt her. Bullshit. The woman had to have a heart to feel pain.
“I was only calling to invite you to my birthday party in a few weeks.”
That stopped Jade short. “What?”
“My birthday is in a few weeks and Lane has been planning a little get-together. It would be so nice to have the whole family together again, dear. To have my kids here with me would be the best birthday present I could ask for.”
Oh, that made Jade see red.
Cassandra had never treated her as anything but a squished bug on the bottom of her stiletto heel. She and her son had been cut from the same evil, greedy cloth. All they had ever cared about was money. Certainly, not Jade.
That’s it.
“Or maybe the money from my trust fund is the best present you could ask for,” she bit out.
A moment of silence, then, “I don’t know what you mean.”
Jade ground her teeth, tightening her grip on the phone. “Oh, I think you do. You’re trying to lure me up there so you and your asshole son can swindle me out of the money my father left for me. Lane’s attempt to muscle me into submission didn’t work, so what is this? Your way of trying to soften me up by acting like a mother hen? Because your acting needs some work, Cassandra. I’m not buying a word of it.”
Jade could hear her stepmother’s deep breathing over the line and smiled in satisfaction. Cassandra could control her temper for only so long. A leopard never changed its spots.
“You ungrateful little bitch,” she spat in Jade’s ear. “Here I am, trying to be nice and invite you into my home, and all you can do is be nasty and rude. I was your father’s wife. I deserve more respect than this.”
“Being married to my father doesn’t make you respectable,” Jade responded, raising her voice. “And certainly not my mother.”
Cassandra scoffed. “Well, knowing her daughter, the woman must have been a real gem.”
“Do not talk about my mother.” Jade wanted to reach through the phone
and pull the woman’s hair out by the roots.
Cassandra must have understood that tactic wasn’t working. “I can’t believe you won’t even try to make amends with us. Your father would be so ashamed of you right now.”
Jade released a dark laugh, shaking her head and suddenly missing her father so terribly she could barely stand. “After all those years of being married to him, you still never knew my father. All you wanted was his money, and don’t pretend otherwise. If you think I’m stupid enough to believe that you would ever want to make nice with me, then you’re even dumber than I thought. I wouldn’t step foot inside my father’s house with you in it for all the wine in Italy. Don’t ever call me again.”
She hung up, seconds away from chucking the phone into the ocean.
Would she ever be rid of Cassandra and Lane? Or would she forever have to put up with their leering presence and snide remarks?
The whole scene had just been another reminder to Jade of how much pain and destruction could be caused from foolishly falling in love. The decision her father made to marry Cassandra had irrevocably changed their family. And had changed her father, who’d slowly seen the kind of woman he’d married and realized the mistake he’d made. He’d suffered over that. Who knew how long Jade would have to continue suffering for it?
She wouldn’t go so far as to say that love was always a lie. It hadn’t been with her mother and father.
But it didn’t last. One way or another, it always ended. And for the person left behind, it always ended in pain.
How soon would her situation with Hunter end? How fleeting were their feelings for each other? Because she had to admit, there were feelings involved. Whether she liked it or not.
For the first time in her life, she wished her realistic outlook on love and relationships was all wrong. She wanted to believe in fairy-tale romance. Wanted to believe that spending eternity with your soul mate was possible.
And more than anything, she wanted to believe she’d actually found her soul mate, and that he was within her grasp.
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