by Mandy Baxter
∗∗∗
Avery slid the soufflé into the oven and eased the door closed. Only a week in and semester break was already too long, leaving her with too much free time to let her thoughts run rampant. And each and every one of them centered on Jason Blackwell. She was supposed to be using the time off from school to find another job. The money she’d put away wasn’t going to last forever, and since she’d given Peyton her notice the day after Carson and Gena’s party, she’d been living off the meager savings. If she didn’t find a job soon, she’d lose her apartment. And crappy as it might be, it beat sleeping in a Dumpster any day.
Instead, her every waking moment had been occupied with thoughts of him. How long did it take for a broken heart to heal? She’d quit her job to avoid seeing him at any team functions, and likewise, she’d further depleted her savings when she left a check in his mailbox to cover the costs for the car repairs he’d paid for. None of it gave her closure, though. It didn’t help to sew up the gaping hole in her heart.
Avery gathered up the dirty mixing bowls and utensils and put them into the sink to soak as a knock came at her door. Kristie had been trying to get her to go out and have some fun for days. Maybe her friend was tired of being shot down. Little did she know that Avery didn’t succumb to peer pressure. No forcible partying for this girl.
“Kristie, I don’t want to go out …” The words died on Avery’s tongue as she opened the door wide and looked up, up, and up until her eyes met Jase’s. In just a week, she’d forgotten how tall he was, how masculine and imposing his presence. How damned good he smelled. “Jase.” God, even the sound of his name was a sensory experience, the word tingling on her tongue.
His gaze bore through her, the whiskey-brown depths devouring her with an intensity that beaded her skin with sweat. The heat was unmistakable, enough to steal her breath. And even as her hand twitched on the knob, urging her to slam the door in his face, she couldn’t bring herself to follow through with the action.
She didn’t realize until this moment how much she’d missed him.
“Avery, just listen.” He must have sensed what she was about to do and he took a step forward until his large frame took up the entire doorway. She took two steps back—afraid she’d be tempted to reach out and touch—and Jase followed her inside, easing the door closed behind him. “Sweet Christ, sugar.” His voice was strained, the words ragged. “How can one woman become more beautiful in a week?”
A pang of emotion shot through her chest but Avery steeled herself against his pretty words. “Jase, what are you doing here?” Her own voice was nothing more than a whisper. “I can’t … I can’t do this with you right now.” Try ever. Dredging up the pain of that night was too much.
His brow furrowed while his jaw took on a stubborn set. “Well that’s too damned bad, Avery. You’re going to hear me out. I won’t let you turn your back on me again.”
She opened her mouth to protest. To tell him to get the hell out. But the words wouldn’t push past her lips. The thought of watching him walk out the door made her sick.
“Avery …” Jase raked his fingers through his tawny hair and blew out a gust of breath. So reminiscent of their last night together. “Damn. I …”
“What, Jase? Just say it.”
“Damn it, I love you!”
Avery sucked in a breath. Had she heard him correctly?
“I love you so damned much it hurts. A month was all it took for you to crawl under my skin and now I can’t live through one more day without you. I could stand here and try to apologize for what that asshole Willis said to you. But I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to apologize for what I did to you. I’m so sorry, Avery.” He took a deep breath and held it in his lungs. “If I could do it again, I’d take it all back so you wouldn’t have to suffer an ounce of hurt and humiliation. I was a dick. A selfish asshole who never should have treated you as though you were a charm for me to keep in my pocket and use whether I truly felt that way or not. If my game was better, it was because you made me a better man. You made me want to be better. What we had wasn’t some stupid superstitious ritual. It was real. I need you, Avery. I want it all with you. And I know you want me, too.”
She wanted to believe him. The sincerity in his eyes, his words, was unmistakable. “You want it all?” she asked in a whisper, her voice quavering.
“Sugar, I want to take you home and show you off to my family. I want to wine and dine you, buy you pretty things, take you on trips. Hell, I’ll sit in this apartment all day, every day if that’s what you want. Anything to spend time with you. Avery, I love you.”
∗∗∗
“You hurt me.” Jase’s chest tightened as his heart clenched. “Those words took away everything good I thought or felt about myself since I’d met you. You played with my emotions and decimated my heart. I appreciate that you’re sorry, Jase, and I am, too. I never should have said the things I did. I was hurt and confused but …”
No. This sounded too much like good-bye. She had to forgive him, damn it. “Avery, don’t push me away. Don’t let my stupidity ruin what was so perfect between us. Please, just give me another chance. I won’t let you down. I’ll do whatever I have to do to prove that I’m good enough for you.”
“It’s not about being good enough. How can we have an honest relationship when it was built on dishonesty?”
“Avery.” Jase pinned her with his gaze. “I never lied to you. Everything I said when we were together was the truth. And everything I felt about you—still feel about you—is real.”
“Maybe you’re just riding the high of your success. Maybe you’re afraid of what will happen if we’re not together.”
Damn it. He refused to let her make excuses to push him away. “You’re right. I’m fucking terrified to lose you, Avery. But not because of some stupid superstition. I wouldn’t give a shit if I never played another game in my entire life. Because none of it—not the money, the success, anything—would matter if I don’t have you.”
Her gaze softened. “Jase.”
He hadn’t convinced her yet. There was still too much doubt in her voice. “Please give me another chance, sugar. We can go slow, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your trust. Just … just please don’t walk away from this. Us. You know we’re good together. I love you, Avery. And I know you love me, too.”
Avery’s eyes drifted up to meet his, bright shining emeralds against a night sky. Never in his life had Jase laid eyes on a more desirable woman. One that knew him heart and soul and had seen past his wealth and fame to the man underneath. With a feather-light touch, he brushed her hair behind her ears and cupped her face in his palms. Avery’s lips parted, her expression sad and unsure. It broke his heart all over again.
A week. Seven short days apart felt like years as he kissed her. Their bodies melted into one another, his arms encircling her waist, hers coming up to grip his shoulders. Jase savored Avery’s taste, the softness of her lips, the heat of her mouth as he kissed her. Her hands wound into the fabric of his T-shirt and she held him as though afraid he’d pull away.
“I love you, Avery,” Jase whispered against her mouth. He deepened the kiss, delving into her mouth with his tongue and stroking along her bottom lip. She pulled away and studied him. Her gaze conveyed the emotion he felt. “And I’m going to tell you every minute of every day for the rest of my life until you believe it.”
She reached up to trace his jaw with the soft pad of her finger. “Maybe not every minute. You’re going to need some of that time to play ball if you want to win a Super Bowl anytime soon.”
There had been times growing up when Jase didn’t think he’d ever have anything. But now? He had the life he wanted, the career and respect he’d worked so hard for, and most importantly, he had the girl. Avery was everything to him. Now that he had her, he knew that he’d never need anything else.
“Will you go?” he asked. She came up on her tiptoes and planted a sweet, soft kiss on his lips. “It would
mean a lot to me if you were there.”
“Are you kidding?” His lips met hers once again. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Read all three parts of the fabulously intense Billionaire’s Club: Texas e-series!
From St. Martin’s Press
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Kimberly Minter Photography
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mandy Baxter lives in rural Idaho. She’s a part-time pet wrangler, a full-time sun worshipper, and only goes out into the cold when coerced. She loves black clothes, pink appliances and thinks junk food should be a recognized food group. In the summer, she can be found sitting by the lake, enjoying the view from her dock. She also writes urban fantasy under Amanda Bonilla.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“Billion Dollar Player” copyright © 2014 by Mandy Baxter.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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Cover digital illustration © www.shutterstock.com
Author photo © Kimberly Minter Photography
eISBN: 978-1-4668-5880-0
First eBook Edition: November 2014
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