Yeah, Whitney was a lifer. Just not his life. A lady and her baby was not a part of his life. Not now and as much as the thought had stabbed at him over the past few days, most likely, not ever. He hadn’t done anything in his life to earn that. Grazing towards the door, Rory stopped before turning around again. “You’ve been cutting about a half a second too late when Monaghan goes long,” he warned and Shay smiled. So he had been watching him play.
“Fix it.”
“No, the mockups said that the stage would be within six inches on the outside.”
Showing the crewmember the prints for the large stage that Whitney had signed off on a few days ago, she smiled at the rental director currently wrestling with the stage. The last few days had been pretty eventful and with having only a small window of time to iron out all the details of Charlotte’s fashion show, things felt hectic. And yet, it had also felt quiet. When they left Shay’s parents’ house, it had been nothing but a long stream of hugs, kisses, and promises to call and visit soon. And crying. Mostly on her part because she hadn’t expected Fiona to kiss Quinn so fiercely, nearly refusing to let them put her inside her car seat. And she hadn’t let her arm go until she promised she would be back to visit before the end of the year. That woman was something special. She already missed all of her fussing and running around the house trying to feed them all. The ride was calm and quiet when the three of them headed back home. Shay had told her some stories about him and his brothers growing up, but when he had asked about her childhood, she had shaken it off with a shrug. Truth was, she didn’t have much to share. Stopping at a sketchy gas station, they bought hot dogs before Shay handed her a big chocolate chip cookie after they had hit the road again. But favorite cookie or not, that still hadn’t stopped her from fighting him for control of the radio. Smiling at the memory, she bit her lip.
When he had brought her last bag in from the truck, she didn’t quite know how to thank him for the best holiday she had ever had. All the while fighting against the anxiety about being home again. Where Adam could find her. She opted for a stream of thank you’s and a hug and she could still feel his fiercely strong arms wrapped around her tightly. Her favorite hug. The one with both arms and a lot of strength behind it. The one that did all the speaking. Resting her face against his neck, they had stood for a moment and she hated that she didn’t want him to leave. That somewhere over the past few days his simple touch went from making her insides shake to total and complete comfort. Safety. She needed that hug. Had gone so long without one. Tired of being so strong she had relaxed into him. Running his thumb down Quinn’s cheek as she slept inside her carrier seat, he had left quietly after that.
“Are you sure about all the flowers?” Charlotte asked, stopping next to her and watching as the construction crew erected the large wall that would be serving as the backdrop for the show.
“Absolutely.”
Taking Quinn for an early morning walk around the property of Fiona and Patrick’s house before they had left, Fiona’s yellow succulents and orange dahlia’s bordering the house had inspired the idea for an outrageous floral piece for Charlotte’s show. The dramatic statement wall would liven up the space they had to work with. She hadn’t wasted a minute getting Marc, her florist on the phone. After a lip thrashing about coming through with such a tall order in such a short amount of time, the idea had intrigued him enough to pull it off. Just like she knew it would.
“I don’t really like flowers,” Charlotte scrunched her nose putting her hands on her hips. She had been glowing since arriving home from Myles’s mama’s. After a few homemade Moscow mules, she had gone on and on about how his grandmama had taught her how to make Myles’s favorite fried chicken and how hilarious his family was. She had told Charlotte all about Shay’s nieces and nephews and how Siobhan had nearly chased her down the driveway yelling out details for her wedding. Gosh, she missed that family.
“You just worry about your designs and I’ll worry about mine,” Whitney said, giving her a quick nudge seeing the black folding chairs arrive.
Inspecting the sleek chairs that would run in long rows in front of the stage, Ross shook the delivery man’s hand. “Three hundred?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh these are going to look great,” Whitney gushed. Charlotte hadn’t given them much time to orchestrate a fashion show, especially before the holiday rush, but she wasn’t worried. It would come together perfectly. Because just like every other event she was responsible for, it had to.
“Hey y’all.” Liv came into the courtyard, stopping before pointing to the giant pegged wall. “Is that for a - ?”
“Flower wall,” Whitney answered, shaking her head.
“Ohhh, I like it.” Liv shook her head assessing the rest of the area looking thoroughly impressed.
They were downtown at the landmark Aiken house. It hadn’t been her first choice of venues, but she took what she could get. The large Victorian house sat on a huge property surrounded by magnolia trees and adorned in balconies. The courtyard had just the right amount of space to fit all the guests and staging for the show. The only headache had been how to effectively use the giant reflection pool in the middle of the courtyard to their advantage. Deciding to build a long stage cutting across the water, she was pleased that it was looking even more beautiful than she had originally imagined.
“Here are the programs.”
“Thank you, Liv.” Whitney took the grey box from her. “I appreciate you doing these.”
“Please, I could do them in my sleep,” Liv waved her off. “Oh no. No, sir,” Liv yelled to the rental director before taking off towards the construction crew. “That isn’t going to work there.”
“Silly woman can’t help herself,” Ross chuckled taking the box of programs. “Such the control freak that one.”
Giggling, she agreed with him, spotting Myles. “Hey you,” she smiled closing the distance between them. Wrapping her into a giant hug, he lifted her off her feet a bit, his large arms nearly crushing her. “You’re a very large human being, have I ever told you that?”
Chuckling, he winked at her and looked around the courtyard. “Wow, this place looks-”
“-Like a mess,” she finished. “Yes, I know, but I promise you that it will be ready to go for your lady’s big night tomorrow.”
He was such a good man. Crazy about her cousin and she was thankful that he had been putting up with Charlotte’s aloofness; refusing to leave her side. Because although Charlotte could take care of herself, Myles challenged her.
“Don’t worry about the stage,” Liv huffed, slightly out of breath. “I threatened the builder that if one of the models goes down tomorrow night, I’ll have Myles here go after his legs.”
The lights testing above them, they watched Charlotte stand on top of the stage carefully, scanning the courtyard.
“Excuse me, ladies,” Myles nodded as both her and Liv’s hands stopped him.
“Let her have her moment,” Liv grinned watching Charlotte, the lights splashing across the entire courtyard.
“Ah, the moment,” Whitney sighed gently as Myles looked between them as if they had lost their minds. “That moment you’re so incredibly scared, but you realize that you might actually be crazy enough to pull it off. My moment was my very first wedding I worked on with Ross. Everything down to the napkin rings had been custom designed and accommodated over three hundred guests,” Whitney smiled and Liv shook her head, no doubt remembering that day.
“Mine had been the night I organized Jax’s first charity event,” Liv smiled, rubbing her small belly lazily. Turning to Myles, she looked up at him. “Speaking of my delicious man, if you’re home,” she pointed to him. “Then that means my husband is home and needs to be welcomed back properly,” she winked squeezing their arms. “I’ll be here by four tomorrow,” she promised blowing a kiss to Ross across the courtyard before taking off.
“Did y’all win?” Whitney asked smiling up at Myles. She remembered S
hay mentioning that they had a game in Pittsburgh two days after they came home. Hence why they had to cut their trip to his parents’ so short.
“Hell yeah,” Myles smiled, his teeth so bright against his dark face. Stuffing his hands inside his pockets he didn’t take his eyes off Charlotte. “It was close, but we got the win.”
Watching him anxiously stare at Charlotte, she chuckled. “Alright you can interrupt the moment now.”
Looking down at both of them, Charlotte tried to hide the relief on her face when she saw Myles, but Whitney knew better. She was happy for her cousin. She deserved happiness. Even if she was kicking and screaming the entire time. Checking her phone she saw a text from Siobhan, marking it the twelfth one of the day. Talking with Siobhan brought back memories of West Virginia and that stirred thoughts of Shay. And the thought of potentially seeing him tomorrow night had her nearly blushing. Which was bad. So very bad. They were friends. Plain and simple. And friends did things for each other, things like rescue them in the middle of a crisis or welcome them into their family’s home for the holidays. So if that was true, then why was the feel of his hug still leaving her breathless?
Pulling into his driveway, Shay put his truck in park, grabbing his phone before walking through the garage. He felt great back in Pittsburgh. The Mavs had just won their fifth game in a row and he had played a stellar running game. But after chatting with Griffin on the flight home about his most recent talk with Bill Mathis, he was pissed that they were seriously considering releasing him to shake up the team a bit. Why the hell this new owner wanted to mess with a perfectly constructed team at the hands of a three time Super Bowl winning coach blew his mind. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, he was beginning to think that no matter how well he played, it wasn’t going to matter. Flipping on the lights, the kitchen lit up and he sifted through some mail the cleaning lady had left for him. His mother had called him on his way home not wasting a second before firing off questions about Whitney and Quinn. After reminding her for the tenth time that Whitney was just a friend, she hadn’t stopped long enough to listen to what he was saying before going on and on about how wonderful they were and already discussing Christmas. He had stopped her there before lying that he needed to go catch his flight. He didn’t need his mother filling his head with more thoughts of Whitney. He was doing a good enough job of that on his own. Which bothered him because it wasn’t productive.
Grabbing an iced tea from the fridge, he popped the top sliding the back door open. The heavy breeze off the water hitting him in the face, he took a swig of tea. If he didn’t convince the new owner to change his mind about renewing his contract, he sure as hell was going to miss this place. It was his second home and he loved this city. Loved his team. Lights from some small boats on the water caught his attention and he stuffed his hand in his pocket. Listening to coach earlier go on about his final strategy with Mathis, he thought of Whitney and Quinn. And that right there was the exact reason he didn’t get involved with any woman. He had a job to do. If he was lucky he’d have at least five more years in the league. Just enough time to solidify his spot in the hall of fame and set records that players after him would have to work their asses off to break. The endorsements, the partying and the opportunities weren’t just for him, they were for Rory too and he didn’t need that being clouded by little Miss Fancy Pants who had a rule about cussin’ and felt too damn good the last time she had given him a hug goodbye.
Every mile closer to home he had been able to feel her get more and more tense. Nothing like the smiling, warm woman he had spent the weekend with. And he didn’t like that. Taking out his phone, he scrolled through his messages, his thumb resting on Whitney’s name. Quickly scrolling back up to Sara, his usual choice after an away game, he typed on the keypad.
You around, sweetheart?
Pausing on the send button, he clicked his phone off shoving it back in his pocket. He really wasn’t in the mood for her despite the house being so damn quiet. Yeah, that was it. Walking inside, he locked up making his way up the stairs. It was one of the drawbacks of living in such a large house alone. Too empty. Too quiet. And coming off a weekend with his family, the silence was nearly deafening. He wasn’t sure why but the sounds of Quinn laughing sounded off inside his head and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh Marc, they look amazin’.”
Looking at the finished wall of flowers in the middle of the courtyard with Charlotte’s name spelled out in the middle, Whitney gushed.
Yes.
Just, yes.
This was exactly what she wanted. Some sophistication to add to the otherwise edgy flair of Charlotte’s clothing line, wrapping the entire show up into a pretty little bow. Socialites and friends had already begun arriving while Ross radioed her to check the curtains around Davey’s music speakers. Davey, Save the Dates latest and in her opinion, greatest DJ, had already been at it for an hour as guests took pictures and selfies against the giant wall covered in flowers. Again, it was exactly what she wanted. Charlotte’s name splattered all across social media.
“I’ll get it,” she told Ross stopping to shake hands with a heavy gentleman she recognized as a Mavericks boss. Or maybe a coach? Myles had been pacing hard since arriving, looking both handsome and intimidating in his tan suit. Shaking hands with Mavericks players, whose attendance she assumed had been mandated, she couldn’t help but wonder if that also included Shay. She hadn’t spoken to him since he left her house, leaving her with silence and more than enough work to keep her busy. The possibility of seeing him tonight sent a chill up her spine.
“What can I do?” Liv asked behind her, drawing her attention. Her stunning boss in a black fitted cocktail dress, hugging her small belly and long arms, smiled back at her. Oh, she was going to enjoy this.
“Well darlin’, you can be a guest,” Whitney smiled, trying not to laugh. She had been eight months pregnant with Quinn during the draft party for the Mavericks and all she wanted was to work the event. It was the biggest party of the year and Liv and Ross had gone over the top this past year, but mostly because she had been desperate to get out of the house and far away from Adam. Liv hadn’t known that though, she still didn’t know the extent of her trouble with Adam. Nobody did. Insisting that she stay off her feet, Liv had deemed her a guest, forcing her to be a spectator and deal with Adam all evening.
Watching her mouth part, Liv eyebrows wrinkled. “You did not just say that to me, Scott.”
“Oh yes. Yes, I did. And I mean it too, honey pie,” she hugged Liv’s arm guiding her to the courtyard spotting Jax standing taller than anyone else in the entire crowd. “Enjoy the show, boss.”
Leaving Liv there with her mouth open, she heard Ross inside her headset, “Did you just tell boss lady to sit this one out?”
“Karma.”
“You’re my new idol,” Ross laughed.
Squeezing gently through a small crowd, she made her way around the perimeter doing a final inspection. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about the entire stage running over the pool, but it had turned out pretty spectacular. Handing a revised list of show music to Davey they went over the transitions line by line. Glancing over the top of the sheet, she saw Shay walk into the courtyard and her heart rammed inside her chest. Securing a button on his suit jacket, he looked like he had just walked into a movie premier instead of some city event. Standing in front of the white flower wall, lighting shined behind him catching the giant silver watch secured on his wrist. He looked sinful and sophisticated and nobody would have suspected him being a ball player for a living. But she remembered. Remembered how smooth, skilled and precise he had ran around his parents’ backyard during the football game. Dressed immaculately, he shook hands with a few men, ease and confidence swirling around him. Cupping his shoulder, Myles reached out his hand and Shay took it grinning widely at something Myles mentioned and her body trembled. Men stood a bit taller when they shook his hand and women smiled brighter. And her?
Well, he had her double checking her green shift dress and wanting a glass of water.
“Looks good,” Davey said bringing her back to the party. And earth. Agreeing, she took off towards the side of the pool, sneaking another glance at Shay as she locked eyes with him, a small grin spreading across his face. Oh, how she had missed that grin. His eyes hooding over, he raised a large hand slowly and she clenched the clipboard to her chest. Gosh, God really knew what he was doing when he created Shay Cunningham. Smiling back, she felt hot under his gaze and she turned around quickly nearly knocking into Charlotte’s intern, panic all over her face.
“We’ve got a problem.”
Following the young girl behind stage, Whitney navigated her way around the models that Charlotte had spent an entire forty-eight hours interviewing, spraying perfume and hairspray that had her nearly gagging. Pinning a short jersey dress onto a leggy brunette, a pin nearly falling out of her mouth, Charlotte lifted her head. “I’m short one model for the Mavericks’ collection.”
Inspecting the model again before releasing her, she stood up. “She’s a no show and not answering her phone.”
“Okay, we can just have one of the other models change outfits.”
Shaking her head, Charlotte helped buckle another model’s stiletto. “I need them all in their outfits until the end of the show so that they can circulate around the party if I have any hopes of these buyers placing orders.”
“Well what about-” Whitney asked, thinking of the only tall, leggy woman she knew who could pull off wearing an over-the-top outfit.
“Liv?” Charlotte asked, cutting her off. “Her belly won’t fit.”
Hail Mary (The Mavericks Series) Page 15