“Not an animal lover, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” Zeke gripped the armrests and watched the Seattle skyline zip by as Al drove like a race car driver through the winding city streets.
“Well, you’d better fix it, and right away. You have a zoo date and a wedding.”
“Fuck you.”
Al grinned, showing all his white teeth. “Paisley and the kids are not an option. They’re a requirement.”
“How long do we carry on this farce?”
“Until you find a real girlfriend, dumbshit.” Al grinned and winked at him. “Or come out of the closet. Your choice. Win her back, or you’re going to be up to your ass in kitty litter, buddy.”
Zeke groaned. “Shit.”
Al chuckled and whipped into Zeke’s driveway just as Paisley pulled in ahead of them. Great, he didn’t even have time to formulate a plan. Al would bully right through and make a mess of it or get Zeke into something he didn’t want to be into.
With a grinding of gears, Al slammed the poor rental car in park and hopped out to help Paisley with her groceries. Zeke followed them up the stone steps. The look of disgust Paisley tossed over her shoulder wasn’t lost on him.
She hated him.
“So, Paisley,” Al said, as he placed the bags on the counter.
“Yes, Al,” she said sweetly.
Zeke heard the final snap of the trap. There was no way out now.
“Zeke is a bumbling idiot, and he’s really sorry.”
She turned to Zeke. Her face scrunched up as if she smelled something distasteful. “My aunt always told me that there’s something wrong with a man who doesn’t like animals—or people.”
She was right about that. Zeke was screwed up beyond anything she could probably fathom.
* * * *
Paisley looked from Al to Zeke, who was busy putting away groceries and obviously had no idea where to put them. Leaning back against the counter, she let him sweat as he opened cupboards and drawers. His lack of familiarity with his own kitchen was pathetic.
“It’s not that Zeke doesn’t like animals, he’s not used to them.”
Zeke’s shoulders stiffened, but he kept his back to them as he rummaged in a bottom cupboard.
“Is there something wrong with Zeke’s voice?” she asked Al, raising her own voice to be heard over the clashing of the pots and pans.
Zeke straightened and turned to face her, looking sheepish. “I need your help.”
“Really?” She was almost enjoying his discomfort.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “For starters, the team has mandated you and I attend my brother’s wedding.”
“There is no you and I, and what do you mean for starters?” She narrowed her eyes and waited for his response. He was so uncomfortable, she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“They want to document my life outside of baseball starting with a family trip to the zoo, complete with a photographer to record the event.”
Paisley couldn’t help it. She started laughing. “Family? We’re not a family. We’re a burden.”
“I need your help, Paisley.” If he pleaded any more with her, he’d be on his knees, kissing her feet, and she could think of better reasons for him to be kneeling in front of her.
She shook her head. “Is your image that important to you?”
He looked down at his feet as if thinking through his answer. When he looked up, there was a determined set to his jaw. “Yes, yes, it is.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to another, not comfortable seeing this proud man beg. “I don’t think I’m the right woman for this job. I’m sure you can find another.”
“I don’t want another. I want you.”
“Sure you do, because it’d be hard to explain how quickly you replaced me with another model.”
“Yeah, it would,” he admitted, and she gave him points for being honest.
“It’ll cost you.” She’d made her decision. She had the kids to think of, and their future security.
“Name it,” Al said, stepping forward and pulling out a wallet.
Paisley shook her head. “Not yet.”
Zeke frowned, as if he knew this was going to cost him far beyond his bulging checkbook. “Go ahead,” he said warily.
“First of all, for the wedding I’ll need a dress. A designer dress. And shoes, really nice designer shoes.”
“You got it.”
“And I’ll need a facial and my nails done.”
“Absolutely. Anything else?”
“I’m just getting started. I’d like a five-dollar-an-hour raise.”
“Five dollars an hour?” Zeke balked.
Paisley stood her ground, jutting her chin out stubbornly.
“Okay, fine.”
“I want a shopping spree to get school clothes for the kids.”
Zeke frowned.
“And a big ring. You owe me a big ring, and it’s mine to keep.”
“You’ll get it. I promise.”
“And the kittens stay.”
“They were supposed to be gone days ago.” He stared incredulously at her.
“They aren’t.”
“But—”
“They stay or no deal.” She dug in her heels and refused to budge on this most important subject.
“I really don’t—”
“Zeke—” She narrowed her eyes and gave him her best bitch glare, one she suspected she needed more time to perfect.
“Fine.” He groaned.
“And when this is all over with, I want twenty thousand dollars put in a trust for the kids.”
“Not a problem, but he can do better than that,” Al said.
“Good.” She held out her hand. “Deal.”
Zeke shook it. “Deal.”
“That’s all you want?” Al asked.
“Did I sell myself too cheaply?”
“No, you didn’t,” Zeke said.
“I think you did,” Al countered, ignoring Zeke’s death glare. He appeared to be immune to those glares.
“No one asked you.” Zeke shot him a withering look, but nothing made Al wither.
Paisley grinned. “I got everything I wanted.”
Well, not exactly everything. She’d like to have his heart and his love, but she’d never have that. She wasn’t even certain he was able to give his heart to anyone.
Chapter 16—Stealing Home
A few weeks later, on the first Monday in June, Paisley gathered the kids together while Zeke stood in a short line to purchase tickets for the zoo.
It was morning, and not too many people were out and about yet. This was the perfect time for a zoo excursion with a hot superstar baseball player she wanted all to herself. Despite driving a hard bargain a few weeks ago, Paisley liked being Zeke’s pretend fiancée more than she should. Way, way more. Not that she’d seen much of him other than on the baseball field. He’d left that very next day on a long road trip, then come back to play five home games in a row without one day off. He looked tired, but he didn’t complain.
Behind Paisley, a tall, nervous woman in baggy clothes clutched her camera and fumbled with the lens. Paisley had the distinct impression the woman had never had an assignment as big as this one. She probably took portraits of kids and dogs, but never a celebrity on an outing with his “family.”
She felt sorry for the poor woman and searched her brain to recall her name. She was in her twenties and could be quite pretty with a better haircut, some subtle makeup, and better-fitting clothes.
Then Paisley remembered her name—Bernice.
“Bernice, where are you from?” she asked conversationally as they waited for Zeke. Next to her, the kids literally bounced on the balls of their feet, even Sadie. They’d never been to a zoo before.
“Okanogan, and it’s Bernie.” Bernice/Bernie looked genuinely shocked anyone was acknowledging her existence.
“Where’s that?”
“North-central Washington, on the dry side of the state.�
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Zeke joined them, tickets in hand. Bernie fumbled with her camera and almost dropped it. Glancing at Paisley, Zeke cocked a brow in her direction as if to say, where’d they come up with this photographer? Paisley shrugged and smiled encouragingly at Bernie, not wanting to add to her nervousness.
“Ready?” Paisley asked. The kids cheered, Zeke smiled, and Bernie looked ready to throw up.
Paisley reached for the twins’ hands, but Sadie avoided her and slid up next to Zeke. She shyly took his hand. He stared down at her in surprise, then smiled reassuringly. His large hand closed over her small one.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Zeke’s head shot up in the direction of the camera. For a brief moment, annoyance flashed across his face but was quickly replaced by his award-winning smile.
Paisley followed along behind as Sadie and Zeke strolled toward the first of the animal pens. Zeke seemed as eager as Sadie and they leaned against the barrier of the gorilla enclosure. Without thinking, Zeke picked up Sadie so she could see better, putting her on his shoulders. She giggled and smiled down at him.
Paisley suddenly realized she might have some competition from her niece for Zeke’s affections. Sophie tugged on her arm. “Would you pick me up? I can’t see. I wanna see. How come Sadie gets picked up and I don’t?”
Zeke grinned at Sophie. “You’re next, but you have to have patience.”
Sophie’s lower lip jutted out and big tears welled in her eyes. Paisley rushed to do damage control, but Zeke intervened before she could say a word.
“Oh, no, princess, that’s not going to work on me. Wait your turn and be polite and nice, or nothing you do will make me pick you up.”
Paisley could almost see wheels in Sophie’s head spinning as her devious little brain ran through scenarios in which he’d have no choice but to pick her up.
“Don’t even think about it. You’ll get your turn,” Zeke warned, reading the pouty little girl’s mind. He squeezed her shoulder to soften the blow of his less-than-desirable answer. Zeke might be better with kids than she was.
Sophie heaved a sigh, and Paisley pulled her toward the gorillas while Brayden hurried ahead. His hands gripped the railing as he leaned forward. Zeke kept an eye on them and the gorillas with Sadie still perched on his shoulders. He held her ankles to keep her safe, and her beaming smile broadcast to everyone she was on top of the world. She giggled and pointed at the huge gorilla sitting on his butt in the shade of a tree. Zeke laughed, too, a deep, rumbling laugh with pure joy behind it.
“He looks like my teacher, Mr. Auster. He just needs glasses,” Brayden said.
The kids erupted into laughter as they discussed how to get glasses on the gorilla. A baby gorilla did a drive-by and smacked the larger gorilla on the cheek, running off before his elder could react. The kids dissolved into another fit of giggles.
Zeke’s wide smile and sparkling eyes met Paisley’s. He winked at her, turning her insides as gooey as the warm caramel her grandmother used to make. With just one wink, he destroyed her resistance and sucked her back into his web as if she’d never escaped his sexy hold.
He frowned briefly. “You okay?”
“I’m wonderful.” She smiled up at him. For the first time, she dared to hope they could have something more than a business arrangement with benefits.
“How about a kiss for the camera,” Bernie asked.
“In front of the gorillas? They’ll be traumatized for life,” Zeke teased. He lowered his voice. “But I wouldn’t be. I’d be more traumatized if you didn’t kiss me.”
Emboldened by his words and the heat in his otherwise teasing gaze, Paisley stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his in the briefest of kisses. Her heart raced harder than the gazelles running across a nearby field. The kids giggled and made gagging sounds.
With Sadie riding on his shoulders, Zeke couldn’t pull her in for a deeper kiss, but his heated gaze promised he’d rectify that shortcoming later.
By the time they’d walked half the zoo, the kids were clamoring for lunch, and Zeke plied them with hot dogs and warm pretzels while they dined in the shade of an old tree. As soon as they finished, they ran around on the grass playing a game of tag, laughing and screeching like normal, happy children.
Paisley sighed with contentment. Feeling his gaze on her, she turned to Zeke. “They’ve come a long way, and I have you to thank for some of that. You’re really good with kids.”
He shrugged and plucked a blade of grass and chewed on it. “Being a baseball player, I’ve had a lot of experience with kids. They’re easier to read than adults because most of them wear their hearts on their sleeves.”
Paisley nodded and swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.
“What do you think happened to them? Do you think there was abuse?”
Paisley glanced around before answering. Bernie had wandered off to photograph birds and squirrels. No one was within hearing distance. “If not direct physical abuse, I know they saw their mother repeatedly hit, possibly even beaten, and they were definitely verbally abused.”
He rubbed his chin, staring into the distance. “I think they display all the classic examples of kids coming from a bad situation, but thank God, kids are resilient. They bounce back quickly, though you can never estimate how deeply their childhood will affect them as adults.”
Paisley frowned and studied him, but his face was a perfect mask of contentment and relaxation. “You sound like you would know.”
He shrugged and gnawed on another blade of grass. “I had friends growing up who were in bad situations.”
“I heard what you said to your brothers. You blame them for leaving you alone with him. I’m guessing you were referring to your father. Are you certain those friends weren’t you and your brothers?”
Zeke’s expression hardened. He stood and brushed off his shorts. “Let’s go. We have a lot more to see.” He dismissed her attempts to gain deeper access to the man under the mask as if she didn’t matter, scarring her with a deep, invisible wound where he’d never see it.
Paisley plastered a smile on her face and walked beside him, as if they were truly a couple. He’d driven that point home once again, shooting an almost fatal bullet with pinpoint accuracy straight into the middle of her heart.
He surprised her by reaching for her hand, offering an olive branch to soften the blow. “I’m having fun.”
“I can tell.”
He glanced at Bernie, who’d dropped her camera bag and was scrambling to stuff everything back into it. “I could do without her.”
“She’s trying.”
“She’s a fucking disaster.”
“She is that.” Paisley laughed. “I get the impression this is a very important assignment to her. I understand trying too hard.”
His mouth pulled downward briefly. “So do I.”
Paisley smiled up at him, wondering how to stop herself from falling in love with this man. She suspected he might need her even more than she needed him. He squeezed her hand, and she leaned into him. They approached the kids looking like the happy couple they really weren’t, but Paisley had made a lifetime of sad situations into better ones by using her imagination. That imagination didn’t desert her now.
Bernie had finally gathered her stuff and flung her bulging bag over her shoulders, snapping pictures of them together. Paisley knew in her mind’s eye how those pictures would look to the average person off the street as well as she knew how she’d cherish those photos. Life was a succession of memories, and she’d do her damn best to create the best ones she could, despite how temporary they might be.
She’d played the part of a loving fiancée like a seasoned actor, only she wasn’t sure she was acting. Not anymore.
* * * *
Every good deed Zeke did was carefully planned out for maximum exposure to feed into his well-crafted image as a nice guy who gave freely of his time to those less fortunate. He’d always made sure his good deeds were documented. Being fo
llowed in public by a photographer had never bothered him before. In fact, he usually insisted on it.
Only this time was different. He wanted to spend the day with the kids and Paisley and not be on stage every second, but doing so wasn’t part of his agreement with the Skookums. They wanted to document his life, and he’d agreed to it. Now he was beginning to regret that decision. He’d sold his soul to the devil, or at the least Scott Decker. Same difference, now that he thought about it.
Zeke kept his private life private. Period. End of story. At some point the zoo excursion had gone from a publicity op to a private moment best kept private, and that bothered the hell out of him.
The team was back on the road tomorrow, and he didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay in Seattle and enjoy what he had for as long as he had it. Sooner or later, Paisley wouldn’t be able to ignore what a screwed-up mess he was and run like hell. Even his brothers didn’t have a clue, and they were almost as fucked up.
He’d given her a glimpse of what a bastard he could be and cringed at the recent memory.
Zeke found a ring for Paisley, going by himself to pick it out instead of taking Bella as he’d originally planned. After haunting the streets of Seattle and checking out every jewelry store within several square miles, he’d walked into a funky hole-in-the wall shop in Fremont without all the glitz and glamour of the more uptown establishments. They made their own jewelry, and the uniqueness of the items in the window caught his eye. They reminded him of Paisley, different and beautiful without being flashy or over the top. The clerk wandered over to meet him, dressed in an ankle-length hippie dress. Her long hair was in dreadlocks, and she had intricate tattoos of vines and flowers adorning both arms from wrist to shoulders.
“Hi, I’m looking for an engagement ring.”
She sized him up with one long, appraising glance. “I see. We don’t have any diamonds.”
“I’m not necessarily looking for diamonds.”
Her eyes narrowed. He didn’t think she believed him.
“What about this?” He pointed to a blue stone surrounded by smaller green stones. It caught his attention because it was delicate and pretty and was Skookum colors.
Bottom of the Ninth: Seattle Skookums Baseball (Game On in Seattle Book 6) Page 18