I turn off the faucet and dry my hands, taking a deep breath.
“I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I already have,” Blake says with an enormous smile, his green eyes shining at me, twinkling under the kitchen lights.
We stare at each other in silence.
Eloise barges into the kitchen wearing yellow rubber gloves and whistling. She stops in her tracks when she sees us.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t know we had company.” She grins and winks at me. I blush.
“Eloise, this is Blake Merriman. He’s the quarterback for the Warriors.”
“Oh, yes, I’m well aware.” She pulls off one glove and shakes his hand. “I watch you every single weekend. I’m quite the football fan. I’m hoping you’re in a good headspace to kick some butt this weekend?”
Blake laughs.
“Yes, ma’am. I am. I hope to not disappoint you.”
She grins at both of us, a look in her eyes I can’t quite read. It’s motherly and it’s like she’s seeing something neither one of us can see.
“I know you won’t.” She looks to me. “Did you even offer our guest something to drink?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Blake says, standing up. “I just wanted to deliver these flowers.”
“I’ll walk you to the door,” I say. I glance at Eloise. She’s trying to tell me something with her eyes. “Unless…you want to stay for dinner? Hazel will be home.”
Blake grins broadly.
“I would love to stay for dinner. I don’t want to interrupt the rest of your afternoon. If you have work to do…”
“I just need to finish up a few things upstairs,” I say.
“And I’ll go ahead and put the roast in the oven,” Eloise says.
“You can come upstairs if you want,” I offer.
Blake laughs.
“That sounds good.”
He follows me up the steps and I find myself happy that I put on my most ass-hugging jeans today.
We step into my bedroom.
“Wow!” Blake exclaims. “Is that a Backstreet Boys poster?”
“I always did have a thing for A.J.,” I admit. “I’m not sure my crush is gone, either. Still waiting for him to propose.”
“I like hearing you have a thing for bad boys,” Blake says, staring at me.
My face turns fire engine red.
“You can sit…over there.” I point to a white wicker chair covered in my clothes. “Sorry for the mess, my dad never let Eloise clean in here when I was growing up. I haven’t had it in me to ask for her help.”
“No worries,” Blake says, moving the clothes out of the way. “So, this is your childhood bedroom?” He looks comically large in the seat.
“It is indeed,” I say.
“Do you think you’re going to stay in this house long-term?”
I look up from my spreadsheet.
“Sorry?”
“Is this the house you want to be in long-term. I mean, you have enough money to live pretty much wherever you want in Austin.”
I bite a hangnail on my finger.
“I’ve always wanted to live on a ranch, actually. Have animals and Hill Country views and all of that.”
Blake laughs.
“Are you serious?”
I look at him warily.
“Yes…why?”
“I’ve always wanted to own a ranch,” he says. “I mean, I’m pretty new to the Hill Country aesthetic, but what I’ve seen makes me want to stay for a while. All those low, rolling hills. Big blue sky that stretches forever. All the stars at night. It’s enough to make a man want to leave his big city life behind.”
My face is a five-alarm fire. I clear my throat.
“Well, I’ve got a lot of decisions to make. Maybe after the season is over I’ll look into selling this house. We’ll just have to wait and see.” I glance at my computer. “I’ve got some work to do…so…”
Blake pulls out wireless earphones from his pocket.
“I’ll be watching Netflix,” he says. “Let me know if you need something to drink. I can go get it for you.”
“Oh, you’re the guest here. I would feel so guilty – “
“Your wish is my command,” Blake says.
My face burns at his words. I get up from the bed and slam my door shut. I straddle Blake and he drops his phone in surprise.
“That wasn’t what I had in mind but I’m certainly not complaining,” Blake whispers to me as our lips find each other’s.
Our tongues melt together, and I’m panting before too long, his hands tangled in my hair. I unbutton his shirt and his hands find my sweater. We’re both topless and entwined like teenagers in the back seat of a car.
“Get up,” Blake says. I stand and he tears off my jeans and panties, lifting me up and laying me down tenderly on the bed. I run my hands over his washboard abs and trace his tattoos with one finger.
He kisses my breasts and makes his way between my thighs, taking his time as he makes me climax. The whole world fades away and it’s just me and Blake together.
“Kids! Hazel is home!” Eloise calls up the stairs.
“Shit!” I say, pushing Blake off me. We both hop around pulling our clothes back on.
I run to the bathroom to comb my hair and throw it into a ponytail. My cheeks are flushed. I look better than I have in months with the extra color.
There’s a knock at the door.
“Mommy!” Hazel calls out.
“Just a minute, baby!” I peek my head into the room. Blake is dressed and quietly watching Netflix in the corner. He winks at me. “Come in, Hazel face!”
She enters the room, her hair in pigtails, talking a million miles a minute about day care and her friends.
“Did Pilot’s mom drive you home?” I ask her.
“Pilot?” Blake asks, speaking up for the first time. “Someone named their kid Pilot?”
Hazel looks at Blake for the first time.
“Who are you?”
“Hazel, you met Blake a couple of weeks ago, remember?”
Hazel squints her eyes and furrows her brow.
“I remember. But why are you in Mommy’s room?”
“I’m just hanging out,” Blake replies. He looks nervous.
“What are you watching?”
“Octonauts,” Blake says.
I look at him in total shock.
“Octonauts? Seriously?”
Blake grins.
“I hear that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days. Thought I would join in.”
Hazel takes off her monkey backpack and walks over to Blake.
“Can I watch?”
Blake looks at me expectantly.
I nod.
“Go ahead.”
“Your mom says it’s okay,” Blake says.
Hazel climbs up on his lap, surprising Blake in the process.
“I can’t hear!” she complains.
“Sorry, I’ve got my earphones in. Let me switch the output.”
A few seconds later, the sound of Shellington and his friends fills my room, along with Hazel’s laughter.
I sit back on my bed and get to work, trying my hardest to focus on the laptop in front of me and not this impossibly gorgeous man being sweet to my baby.
Our baby.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
BLAKE
“I want to sit next to Blake!” Hazel cries out, letting go of my hand and calling dibs on two adjacent chairs. She insisted on holding my hand all the way downstairs.
“That works for me if it’s okay with your mom,” I say.
Camille smiles.
“It’s perfectly fine. Eloise, need any help with dinner?”
“No, you go ahead and sit. It’s almost all ready. Hazel, will you set the table for me, please?”
Hazel looks at me.
“I want Blake to do it.”
“Hazel!” Camille says. “Blake is our guest. You do it.”
“I don�
�t mind doing it,” I say. “It’s been awhile since I’ve sat at a proper table.”
Camille shakes her gorgeous head.
“No guest of mine will be setting a table in this house.”
“I’m less of a guest and more…part of the family, don’t you think?” I say with a grin.
“Fine! You’ve both worn me down,” she says. “Hazel and Blake. Both of you set the table.”
I put the plates out while Hazel lays out the silverware. I crouch down to meet her eye.
“We make a good team.”
Hazel giggles.
“Just like the Octonauts!”
Eloise brings the food over and all four of us dig in to our plates with gusto.
“This is absolutely spectacular, Eloise,” I say, beaming.
She grins.
“That’s very kind of you.” She pauses and looks between me and Camille. “So, will we be seeing more of you?”
“Blake’s my friend, of course he’ll be back!” Hazel interjects.
“I hope to be seeing much more of all of you,” I confess. “I was actually thinking that there’s a little festival Friday in downtown Austin. Face paint, balloons, amusement park rides. I thought we could go. The three of us. And Eloise, if she wants.”
“Oh, I’m much too old to be doing that. I’ll leave you kids to it.”
“Don’t you have practice on Friday?” Camille asks, biting into more pork roast.
“Not in the evening,” I tell her. “It’s my treat. I can pick both of you up around six. We could eat dinner at Hopdoddy beforehand if you don’t mind standing in line for it.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Camille says. “It’s a date.”
Ding dong!
“I’ll get it!” Hazel says.
“Look out the window and if you don’t recognize the person, please come back and get a grownup, alright?” Camille says.
Hazel nods, a smile lighting up her face, her pigtails bobbing as she runs across the tile.
“She likes you,” Camille says.
Eloise makes a noise. We both look over at her.
“What?” Camille asks.
“Nothing. It’s just I wish your father could be here to see you and Hazel’s dad eating dinner together.”
I glance at Camille. The shock on her face tells me that she was not expecting this response.
“How…when…how did you…?”
“The day I met him at your father’s funeral. Hazel looks just like you, Blake. Spitting image.”
Camille and I are both speechless.
“Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t tell anyone,” Eloise says. “You two should close your mouths. You’ll catch flies.”
Camille smiles at me and I nudge her leg under the table.
The sound of rapidly-approaching tiny feet fills the room.
“Mommy! Auntie Janet is here!”
I look at Camille.
“Should I go hide in a closet somewhere?”
She rolls her eyes.
“That’s hardly necessary.”
Janet’s cowboy boots click across the tile floor. “Well, I must say I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
I stand up and hold out my hand.
“Pleasure to see you somewhere outside of the stadium.”
“Wish I could say the same. Can I sit?” Janet asks.
“Please,” Camille says. “If you’re hungry, there’s more than enough roast for all of us.”
Janet shakes her head.
“I had some P. Terry’s along the way.” She glances at Hazel, whose plate is empty. “Any way we could talk somewhere more private?”
Eloise stands up.
“Hazel, I need your help spotting a blue jay outside. Will you come with me?”
Hazel looks at me.
“Can Blake come?”
“Not right now. But I promise I’ll come later, okay? I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”
Hazel seems appeased by my promise to her and skips out of the room holding Eloise’s hand.
“Okay, shoot,” Camille says to Janet.
“I spoke with the Commissioner,” she says. “And it isn’t great news. There’s going to be an investigation and depositions. To make sure Blake hasn’t received preferential treatment. It’s not okay for an owner to be romantically involved with one of her own players.” She pauses. “And I presume that you’re continuing this relationship?”
“Yes,” I say resolutely.
Janet grimaces.
“I was afraid you would say that. You know there’s a chance you could be fired?”
“Is there?” I ask.
Camille shakes her head.
“We can’t have that. We have the Championship this weekend.”
“The investigation isn’t going to start until after the finals,” Janet explains. “But if you’re found to have participated in any wrongdoing…”
“We haven’t,” Camille says. “Honestly. He’s gotten zero preferential treatment.”
“Good,” she says. “Now you just have to convince the Commissioner of that.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CAMILLE
“Hold on, Hazel face!” I call out to her as she runs across the parking lot towards Blake’s truck.
Eloise laughs.
“I can’t believe you convinced me to come out here for this,” Eloise says.
“The magical promise of Hopdoddy’s,” I say with a grin. “Was it worth the wait?”
“It certainly was,” she says. We’d had dinner with Blake and driven separately to the festival.
I see Blake sweep Hazel off her feet and spin her around. Her shrieks and giggles echo all the way across the packed parking lot.
“He’s really good with kids,” Eloise says.
“I know,” I reply. “It’s kind of surprising, actually. He says he doesn’t like kids.”
We meet up with Blake, Hazel’s hand entwined with his.
“You ready to stuff yourselves with cotton candy, funnel cake, snow cones, and popcorn?” Blake asks.
I groan.
“You’re going to make me gain forty pounds in a single night.”
Blake leans down and whispers in my ear.
“Then there would just be more of you to love.”
I bite my lip and blush. We pay for our tickets and immediately Hazel zeroes in on a football toss game where the prize is a stuffed dragon twice as big as she is.
“You want that dragon?” Blake asks.
She nods.
“Yes!”
He laughs and hands over tickets to the booth worker, a pimple-faced teenager who looks like the life has been sucked out of him by having to work here.
Blake grabs a football and throws it in the dead center of the moving target. Hazel cheers.
“Do that nine more times and you win five hundred tickets,” the clerk says, bored. “No one’s ever done it before.” He smacks his gum and goes back to texting.
Blake hits it again. And again. And again. At this point, a crowd has formed around us, and the booth attendant no longer looks bored.
“One more!” Hazel says. “I counted!”
“Good job, Hazel,” Blake says. “Give me a high five for good luck.”
Hazel jumps in the air to reach his hand with a resounding smack.
“Here we go,” Blake says. He tosses the football and smacks the target easily. The booth worker rings a bell and hands over an entire roll of paper tickets. The crowd cheers. Blake immediately returns the paper tickets in favor of the giant dragon. He hands it to Hazel who nearly collapses under its weight.
“Hey, you’re Blake Merriman!” a guy yells as we walk through the crowd.
“Nah, I’m not. I get that all the time though,” he says, winking at me.
He carries the dragon for Hazel and buys us all fluffy piles of pink cotton candy. Eloise declares herself exhausted and we decide to hit up the Ferris wheel. It has enclosed cages; half of them that tilt back and forth
for a more terrifying experience.
“I’m picking the stable one,” Eloise says. “I can’t handle too much excitement.”
“And what about you, Hazel?” I ask her. “We have to take two different cages because the dragon is so big. Do you want to go on a rocking one or the stable one?”
Hazel’s eyes are big.
“The stable one. The other one is too scary.”
Blake shoves the dragon in behind Eloise and Hazel. We wave goodbye as they twirl up in the air.
“The scary one, please,” Blake says. “We live for danger and adventure.”
The attendant stops the wheel so we can get on. I shut the door behind us, my heart pounding.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
“It flips all the way around at one point,” Blake says with a serious look on his face.
“What?” I exclaim.
He bursts out laughing. “I’m kidding. Here, sit next to me. I’ll keep you safe.”
I cross the carriage and sit on the metal bench next to him. The ride starts up and I feel my stomach swoop in sheer terror. Soon, we’re a quarter of the way around the wheel and the ride stops. Our carriage rocks back and forth in mid-air.
Blake wraps his arm around me and I feel my heart pounding. I lean my head against his strong shoulder, smelling his perfume. I absentmindedly trace my fingers around the tattoo of a lion he has on his forearm.
“This is our first date,” Blake announces, rubbing my shoulder with the palm of his hand.
“What?”
“It is. I’ve never taken you out to dinner before. And now this festival. This is a pretty damn good first date if I do say so myself.”
“Even though my kid is here with my nanny?”
“It’s even better this way,” he says. “I like Hazel. A lot. She’s a sweet kid.”
There’s silence as we look at each other.
“I get the impression that she likes you, too,” I confess to him.
I look at his green eyes as he bends his head down to kiss me. Soon the hand that was draped over my shoulder is grabbing my breast. I moan as he reaches under my sweater and cups his hand around, squeezing and teasing my nipples.
“You ever fucked on a Ferris wheel?” Blake whispers to me as he kisses my neck.
“No,” I reply. “Someone might see us.”
“It’s already rocking back and forth. We’ll just add to it. Besides that, it’s dark out here,” he says, unzipping his pants. “You’ve already got a dress on. Just take those panties off and we’ll be good to go.”
DIRTY PLAYER: A Secret Baby Sports Romance Page 13