by Jaci Burton
"Woo!" Anya stood and pumped her fist in the air.
After that they let the clock wind down. The game was over, and the Traders had won. Katrina didn't feel at all like a traitor for being happy about it.
The kids didn't seem to mind, either. They both sported wide grins.
"Did you enjoy the game?" she asked.
"Are you kidding? It rocked," Leo said. "Can we do it again sometime?"
Savannah came over to them and smiled. "I'm sure you can. Going to the games is so much fun, isn't it?"
"Totally," Anya said. "This was so much better than watching them on television."
Katrina grabbed her purse. "Well, we should probably go."
"Aren't you meeting up with Grant?" Savannah asked.
"We didn't have plans to."
"Come on. I'll take you down to the locker room with me. I know he'd want to see you and the kids."
She wasn't certain that's what he'd want. He'd just sent tickets over for the club room, which had been a lot more than she'd expected. He likely expected she and the kids would go home, not that they'd show up outside his locker room.
"Uh, that's probably not a good idea."
Savannah stopped and stared at her. "Honey, he wants you there. Trust me."
"I want to see all the reporters and all the guys. So I'm going," Anya said.
"Me, too," Leo added.
Katrina sighed. "I guess we're all going."
She only hoped Grant wouldn't be pissed to see them there.
They could go and say hello and congratulations, and then they'd leave. She supposed it would be the polite thing to do.
ELEVEN
THEY'D WON. DAMN GOOD GAME, TOO. THE TEAM WAS shaping up. Grant felt good about his game play. He had some tweaks to make here and there, but overall, pretty decent. His offensive line was solid. The off-season trades the Traders had made had firmed up the holes in the line, and he was grateful for that. The rookies were looking good, too. He was confident this was going to be a great team this year.
Coach was positive about all the changes, too, and had told them after the game they had beat a tough team and that their individual coaching staff would meet with them next week to go over their game play. After that they'd had media interviews, Grant had hit the shower, then got dressed.
He checked his phone as he finished packing up. Several texts--one from his dad, of course. Praising him for the game, then telling him everything he'd done wrong.
He smirked. Typical.
Another text from his mother telling him she loved him and he'd played well. That made him smile.
Texts from his brothers, too.
Flynn texted: You sucked. Surprised you won that game. Good thing the second string came in and won it for you.
And from Barrett: Damn good thing you have a solid defense. Otherwise you'd have had your ass handed to you.
From Tucker: Too busy playing baseball to watch your game. Did you win?
He laughed at that because he knew Tucker would never miss one of his games.
He missed his brothers. Though he'd never let any of them know it. They'd never let him live it down.
Finally a text from his sister, Mia: You rocked it. Can't wait for the regular season to start.
Leave it to Mia to be the only one of his siblings to be encouraging. She knew the guys always gave each other shit, so she was the peacemaker.
"Reading your fan mail?"
He grinned up at Cole Riley. "Family criticisms."
"Aren't they the best?"
"Yeah. I imagine you get a lot of that as well from your family."
"Constantly. But I give the same to them so it evens out."
"Yup. Same here." In fact, Tucker had a home series in St. Louis next week. He was going to have to catch one of the games, that way he could be a lot more critical. In person.
He grabbed his bag and headed out the locker room door, surprised and happy to see Katrina, Leo, and Anya standing beside Savannah Riley. He'd meant to text her about meeting after the game, but his head had been filled with game prep so he'd forgotten. He figured he'd stop by their place after the game and see about taking them out to eat.
Cole swept Savannah up in a kiss.
"You played great," she said.
"I'm glad you were in town so you could be here for the game."
"Me, too. Cole, this is Katrina Korsova and her brother and sister, Leo and Anya. They live in New York and are friends of Grant's."
He shook her hand. "I know who you are. I've seen a lot of your photos." Then he shook Leo's and Anya's hands. "Sorry we beat your team."
Leo shrugged. "It's okay. It was a good game."
Cole slanted a look in Grant's direction, but Grant wasn't about to say anything to Cole. He figured he'd get a lot of questions about Katrina at the next practice, though.
"I hate to rush off, but I have a plane to catch," Savannah said.
Cole turned to them. "Hate to greet and run, but I'm going to head out with my wife."
"Very nice to meet you, Cole," Katrina said. "And you too, Savannah."
Savannah hugged Katrina. "I'm calling you the next time I'm in New York. Or if you're ever in St. Louis, we'll have lunch or dinner."
"Actually she's--" Anya said, but Katrina cut her off right away.
"I'll definitely call you. I'd love to get together."
"Great."
Grant wondered what that was all about. He'd have to ask her later.
"So, how about something to eat?" he asked after Cole and Savannah left. "I'm starving."
"We've eaten tons in here," Anya said. "Besides, I'm spending the night at Leah's, so if you can drop me off at her place, that would be great."
"I'm staying over at Bobby's."
Katrina looked at both of them. "How did I not know about these plans?"
"You do now." Anya gave her a sweet smile. "I promised Leah a rundown of the game. And we're going shopping tomorrow."
"There's an all-night video-game tournament going on. There are five of us playing, and I'm already late," Leo said.
Katrina looked at Grant. "Sorry. But if you're hungry, I'll be happy to go with you."
"Sure."
He had a car waiting for them, and they dropped Leo off first since their apartment was closer.
"Thanks, Grant. I hope I get to see you again."
"You will."
Anya was next.
"Don't you need overnight stuff?" Katrina asked.
"Already took care of that this afternoon when you were out running errands."
Katrina shook her head. "The things you do that I don't know about."
"Sorry, warden. Next time I'll file an agenda in advance. Thanks for the game tickets, Grant. Hope to see you soon."
"You're welcome. See ya."
"Oh, and my sister will be in St. Louis next week for a photo shoot. You two should get together." With a grin shot Katrina's way, she was out the door in a flash.
That's what Katrina had cut Anya off about. She was trying to avoid Anya telling Savannah she was going to be in St. Louis. Or, she was avoiding having Grant find out she was going to be in town.
That was more likely.
He leaned back in the car. "So ... you're going to be in my home city, huh?"
Katrina looked a little flustered about that. "Well, yes. I just got a call this morning about it."
He wondered why she'd had no intention of telling him about it, either. He had no idea why she was so reluctant to be with him. He knew it wasn't because they didn't get along, and he knew damn well it wasn't because they didn't have any chemistry together. He was going to have to push the issue. "You have to let me show you around."
"I ... well, I do have to work."
"Sure you do. So do I. But not twenty-four hours a day. You'll have some downtime, right?"
"I suppose."
"Then we should hang out. I promise it'll be fun. Besides, your sister kind of ordered us to, didn't she?"
/> She quirked a brow. "You really think I do whatever my little sister says I should?"
"No. But I'd like to spend time with you."
She didn't answer, because the car arrived at a restaurant Katrina had suggested to the driver.
"This place is open late, plus the food is really good," she said as they climbed out of the car.
He laid his hand at the small of her back. "I trust your judgment."
It was a French restaurant. Really nice, with a lot of mirrors, dark corners, and sexy ambiance. His kind of place.
The hostess smiled and said Katrina's name. Obviously she was well-known here, because a waiter came over and also greeted her by name, then led them to a table against the wall. Since it was late, they weren't crowded and had some privacy.
The menu was good, too. He zeroed in on something he wanted. Hell, he was hungry. Everything looked good.
The waiter handed them a wine list.
"Would you like some wine?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not really, but you can have some if you want."
She handed the wine list back to the waiter, whose name was Claudio. "Just sparkling water with lime for me, Claudio."
Grant ordered regular water, and they placed their dinner order. Claudio left to get their drinks.
"Do you come here a lot?" he asked.
"On occasion."
"You know it's open late, so you must eat here after your late-night dates."
She laughed. "No dates. It's more like late-night photo shoots. It's a good place to come when everything else is closed and the entire shoot team is hungry."
"Uh-huh."
Her gaze met his, and in the muted light, her eyes sparkled like sapphires. It was amazing how the color of her eyes changed depending on the lighting.
"I told you, I don't date. I'm too busy. But I do have a tendency to want to eat, especially after a grueling day of shooting. Just like you, tonight. You worked hard. You're hungry."
"And you're barely eating. You only ordered a salad."
"I ate plenty in the club box tonight. Thank you again for the amazing seats. Leo and Anya really enjoyed themselves."
"You're welcome. Did you have a good time?"
"I did. I spent a lot of time with Savannah Riley. She's charming."
"Yeah, she is. She keeps Cole on his toes."
"I could see that. She seems very organized."
Claudio brought their drinks.
"Thank you, Claudio."
"You're very welcome, Miss Katrina. Your food should be up shortly."
Their waiter politely disappeared again.
They were sitting on the same side of a booth, looking out toward the restaurant. He turned to her. "I don't want to talk about Cole and Savannah. Tell me how you liked the game."
She half turned to face him. "It was fascinating, actually. Having never been to a football game, I realized there was so much to learn. And of course, Leo and Anya felt it their duty to educate me."
He picked up a lock of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. "Of course."
She was squirming, but she didn't pull away. A good sign.
"So you learned a lot about football today?"
"Yes. A lot more than I knew before. It was quite an education."
"And you like learning new things, I take it."
Her gaze was glued to his. "Yes, I do."
"Any questions you want to ask me?" He paused for effect. "About football, that is. I'm a good teacher."
He'd lowered his voice.
She hesitated, swallowed. He watched her throat work, then moved his attention to her mouth. He really wanted to kiss her right now, but the restaurant wasn't that empty, and he didn't want to break the spell. He liked the silky feel of her hair between his fingers, even though he wanted to cup the back of her head and draw her closer.
"You don't play the entire game."
"Not yet. I will soon. The coaches like to put in the rookies and the free agents who haven't played for the team yet, see how they fit."
His fingers brushed the top of her breast. She drew in a deep breath. Was that so his knuckles would linger on her skin? Either way, he sure as hell enjoyed the sensation. Katrina didn't seem to mind it, either, because she leaned in a little.
"Do you evaluate them, too? When you're on the sidelines?"
He felt her heart pumping faster against his hand as he continued to play with her hair. But outwardly she maintained such calm.
"Yeah. Especially any of the new offensive linemen and the receivers that weren't in when I was playing. I want to see how fast the receivers run their routes, how accurate they are, and whether they're where they're supposed to be. With the linemen, how tough are they? Can they beat the defensive linemen off the mark, or are they getting pushed off the line? If they can't protect me when I'm in the pocket, then I'm going to end up on my ass and they're of no use to me."
There was fire in her eyes, a desire he read and knew well. His dick was getting hard, and so far all he had in his hands was a lock of her hair. What would it be like if he held her body against his, if they were naked? If he could run his hands down her back, cup her breasts, feel her breathing against him?
"Katrina."
She pulled back when Claudio arrived with the meal.
"I brought baguettes as well. Hot and fresh from the oven," Claudio said.
Their waiter looked at them both and wished them bon appetit, exclaiming that their dinner should be excellent.
The spell was broken, and Katrina spent a minute or so talking over their meal with Claudio. Then, hunger took over and Grant dove into his food, which, true to Claudio's word, was damn good.
"Do you like it?" she asked, motioning to his steak.
"It's perfect. How's your salad?"
"Amazing."
"Would you like a bite?" He sliced off a piece of steak and held it up for her.
"I would, actually."
He fed it to her, and liked that she didn't mind eating off his fork. He slid it between her lips and she chewed, her eyes closing.
"Mmm, so tender. You're right. It is very good."
When she licked her lips after, his cock tightened.
And that was just food she liked. There was something about her mouth that mesmerized him. Of course he had kissed her before, and remembering that made him want more. But there was an innocence about her, a hesitance in their interactions that intrigued him. She was twenty-seven. Surely she'd been with guys before, even if she did say she didn't date. She just meant she didn't date a lot, right?
He was going to have to ask her about that, and that wasn't a subject easily brought up. A guy didn't just ask a woman how many men she'd fucked, especially a woman he wasn't really dating.
He'd like to be dating her, though, but she always seemed so reluctant. And it wasn't because she didn't like him. He was good at reading signals, both on and off the field. And Katrina's signals said she was interested. But they also said back off, which confused the hell out of him.
Maybe she'd gotten burned badly by her last boyfriend, and she was gun-shy. He understood that. He just needed to know how to approach her. He could take things slow, but he needed to know the score, and the only way to do that was to ask. He preferred to take an upfront approach with women, and appreciated women who did the same. He didn't mind being shot down as long as they were honest with him about why.
They finished their meal. Katrina declined dessert, and so did he, so when Claudio brought the check, he took out his credit card and paid. He flagged down a taxi and they climbed in.
"Thank you again for inviting us to the game. We had a great time."
"Anytime. I'm glad you came."
When the taxi stopped in front of his hotel, he turned to her.
"I thought we might have a little more privacy here. We could go to the bar, have a drink and talk, and you wouldn't have to worry about the kids popping in. What do you say?"
Katrina hesitated. Just
what kind of expectations did Grant have? What kind did she have? She wasn't ready for this. Or was she?
It was just the bar, right? And she could go home whenever she wanted to.
So why was her pulse shooting out of the stratosphere?
She'd barely survived dinner with Grant, and all he'd done was hold on to a strand of her hair.
This man was not good for her. He made her think about things. Hot, sexy things she had no business thinking about.
Still. Just a drink. Play it cool, like he didn't matter. She was very good at this.
She shrugged. "Sure, but then I'll have to leave. I have a lot of details to iron out and I have to fly out tomorrow."
He smiled, his hand at her back. "Me, too."
As they walked through the doors of the hotel, she asked, "Details to iron out, or flying out?"
"Both."
He motioned with his hand to the left, toward the bar. It was very late, but the bar was well attended. Vacationers, maybe some business travelers. Perhaps people in town for the game? One of the things she'd always enjoyed about travel was guessing the reason for people's destination.
Their waiter came by and she ordered a cognac. She felt wound up, and she figured that would relax her.
Grant ordered whiskey.
While waiting for their drinks to arrive, she looked around at the people populating the bar.
"Looking for someone?" Grant asked.
"No. It's a game I play whenever I travel. I try to figure out what people are in town for."
Their waiter arrived with their drinks. She took a sip and let the warm liquid slide down. Sweet, sultry, she felt herself relax after a couple swallows.
Much better.
"Is that right?" he asked. "Okay, tell me a few of your guesses."
She held the glass in her hand, but motioned with it toward the couple in the corner. "She's in a short dress, he's in nice slacks and a button-down shirt. Obviously not here on business, but not dressed as tourists, either. My guess? Honeymoon."
He studied them, too. "Why honeymoon and not anniversary?"
She shrugged. "Just the way they're looking at each other, like a massive hole in the ground opening up between them couldn't separate them. It's new love, not mature love. Plus, they're young. And look at the way he's rubbing her back, touching her hair. It's like he can't keep his hands off of her."
She nodded, reaffirming her initial thoughts. "Definitely honeymoon."
"Or they're having an affair."
She shot him a glare. "Hey, cynic. Don't ruin my imagined young-love honeymoon here."
He laughed, then took a sip of the whiskey. "Maybe they're just getting to know each other and they're in those initial stages of hot lust. When you know you really want someone, and you can't wait to get your hands on them, get them naked, and explore their body."