by Desiree Holt
“Yes, thanks. And thanks for helping with the condo and everything.”
He walked into the office and dropped into the chair in front of her desk. “So everything got taken care of okay? Sorry I had to go out of town.”
“Oh, no. Please.” She shook her head. “Business first. Everything went smoothly at the bank, the moving truck arrived on time and I’m good to go.”
“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands. “I know this has all been kind of fast, but we really needed you here as fast as possible.”
Really fast didn’t even begin to describe it, she thought.
“I don’t know if anyone told you,” he said, “but we’re having a press conference at two thirty this afternoon. We’ll be introducing the hot new free agent we just signed. I’d like it if you could be there.”
The position of in-house counsel for the Tampa Bay Sharks had popped up out of the blue. One minute she was at a dinner in Chicago where Chris Davidson had been a guest. The next she was flying south to interview for a job that for an avid football fan like her was a dream come true. Her predecessor had already been gone for two weeks so she was immersed in work right away so this would really be her first chance to get to know more than the few people she’d been working with.
“Sounds interesting,” she told him. “Who’s the guy?”
“You’ll know him. He gets a lot of media coverage. It’s—“
Sarah held up her hand as the phone on her desk rang. “Yes?” she said into the receiver. “All right, I’ll tell him.” She looked across the desk at her boss. “I guess I’ll have to wait to find out. That was your secretary. Your director of communications is waiting for you. He says he needs you right away.”
Chris pushed himself out of his chair. “He’s antsy about today’s press conference. Lots of big television coverage.” At the door he turned. “I’d like you to make time to be there, Sarah. I know everything’s been kind of rushed since you got here. This will be a good chance for you to meet a lot of the corporate and football staff in one group.” He grinned. “And for them to meet you.”
Okay, she thought. Command performance. But she had to acknowledge he was right. She’d been here three weeks and had barely seen anything except her office or her condo.
“I’ll be there,” she assured him.
“Good.” He waved. “See you later.”
Sarah looked at the pile of folders on her desk and the document open on her computer screen and swallowed a laugh. She’d wanted something new and challenging, something that would keep her so busy she didn’t have time to think. She’d certainly got it, in spades.
After the situation with Kirk blew up at work and at home she wanted out of Chicago as fast as she could leave.
Only her carefully cultivated self-control had prevented her from leaping across the room and stabbing him with a letter opener.
“Now we can work on your appointment,” he told her with a smug look on his face that night.
She could hardly believe he’d had the balls to come to her place that night. The one thing she was grateful for was she’d never given into his suggestion they live together. He had been unbelievably shocked when she told him to get the hell out of her town house and her life. She’d had no idea how she would go to work every day at that firm seeing Kirk’s smug face every time she turned around.
Chris Davidson’s offer had been a godsend. Twenty-four hours after she’d boarded a plane for her interview in Tampa she was the new In House Counsel for the Tampa Bay Sharks. And settling into a city whose multi-million dollar projects were making it an exciting, vibrant, desirable metropolis
Out of nowhere a stray thought blasted into her brain. She knew the Sharks and the Panthers were in the same conference. She also knew they played each other during the season. Sad case that she was, she’d watched every single Panthers game for the past six years. Beau Perini had walked out on her, for heaven’s sake. Left her without so much as even a fuck you! Why did she continue to waste her time watching him play?
Trying to convince herself it was just curiosity, she’d trolled the Internet for news of him. Just following the sports news, she kept repeating. There were pictures of him with one woman or another, smiling, his arm around her. She noted that he seldom stayed with any of them very long and she wondered why. What was he looking for that none of them could give him? That she hadn’t been able to give him? Why hadn’t he been willing to explore possibilities after that night that rocked her world and she was sure it rocked his.
She knew he’d gotten married, and divorced before the ink on the license was barely dry. That figured. Obviously he hadn’t changed a bit since that night in New Orleans. She needed to pour bleach into her mind to get rid of him.
Well, she was done with men. All of them, in any size, shape or age, except for business. Maybe she’d get a dog. They were a lot more faithful and didn’t try to get over on you. Or a cat. Yes, a cat would fit better into her crazy schedule with the Sharks . Yes, that was what she’d do, at the first opportunity.
For the next couple of hours she buried herself in the stack of contracts she was reviewing. Her admin, Jenny, brought her lunch from the facility dining room. She ate with one hand while she made notes with the other. She paid no attention to the time until Jenny came in to remind her of the press conference.
“I’m going to peek if I can,” she grinned. “I hear he’s a real hunk.”
“Whatever.”
Sarah couldn’t help wondering who it was. There had been a lot of very high profile players available as free agents this year. By this time she figured she’d just find out when she walked into the room where it was being held.
“Meeting room on the second floor,” Jenny told her. “Have fun.”
Fun. Right. Another overgrown jock totally full of himself. She loved the game but she lumped all the players in the same category as Beau Perini. They were great on the field and lousy on the relationship stage. Sure, a lot of them were married, some of them even happily. But to her those were the exceptions.
She smiled and nodded as she joined the flow of people heading to the press conference.
“Glad you could join us for this, Sarah.”
Rod Dematteo, Director of Football Operations, walked up beside her, shrugging into his sport jacket.
“Yes. Me, too. Do you know who it is?”
“Sure. It’s—Oh, here he comes now, with Chris .” He pointed. “Over there.”
Sarah looked—and froze. No, no, no. Life could not be playing such a cruel joke on her. Why oh why was this happening to her? It just wasn’t possible.
But apparently it was, because walking between Chris Davidson and another man she had not met yet was the phantom of her erotic dreams, the man who haunted her fantasies, the one she cursed with steady regularity.
Beau Perini, in the too, too, too very real flesh.
He looked over and spotted her at the same moment and stopped in midstride, staring.
“Sarah?” He blinked as if unable to believe his eyes.
She certainly knew how he felt because she had the same feeling. For a long moment she couldn’t breathe and she was sure her heart had stopped beating. Oh, my god. This was the Sharks’ hot new star running back?
Yes, indeed. It certainly was. And just as gorgeous as ever. A little older, a little more muscular, and looking better than he had a right to. She had to stifle the urge to run back to her office, lock the door and hide. How on earth would she ever get through this? She felt hot then cold then hot again as the familiar feeling from six years ago smacked right back at her.
Chris looked from one to the other. “Do you two know each other?” he grinned. “Great. That’s great. Sarah is the new In House Counsel for the Tampa Bay Sharks.”
*****
Beau was surprised he could put one foot in front of the other, much less form a halfway coherent thought. He was glad his agent, Dan Leventhal, had his fingers clamped firmly around Beau’s elbow
, guiding him. And that he, Beau, himself had done enough public kiss ass things that he could flip his switch to automatic. He smiled as they walked the rest of the way to the room where the event was being held, nodding to people.
And all the while one thought kept running through his brain.
Fuck! Sarah York here? Right here in Tampa?
He blinked for a moment, wondering if he’d just conjured her up, since she’d been on his brain every night for the past six years. But no, when he glanced at her, crowding against one wall with some of the staff, he saw people chatting with her, some shaking her hand. She was real. Definitely real.
She had blossomed into a mature woman who just blew him away. Her thick auburn hair that he remembered felt like fine silk when he sifted his fingers through it. Same creamy complexion, same brilliant green eyes. The tailored slacks and blouse she wore outlined the richness of her figure. His hands twitched as he remembered cupping those nicely rounded breasts and that firm ass. That—
Jesus, Beau! Get your brain out of bed and back in the game.
“–will have a big impact on our running game,” Chris was saying. “Right, Beau?”
He pulled out his professional smile and nodded. “Right. Absolutely.” He hoped he hadn’t just agreed to play without a salary.
He thanked the discipline he’d learned on the field for helping him through the afternoon. Chris showed off a replica of his new jersey. The merchandising manager passed out various souvenirs to the media. Over the course of the next couple of hours Beau answered what felt to him like two hundred questions and posed for at least as many pictures and video sound bytes. Then Chris wanted to introduce him to all the members of the corporate staff he hadn’t met. They had stayed around to shake his hand and he was expected to give them a few minutes. By the time he’d made his way through them all Sarah had disappeared, snuck out while he was doing his mandatory glad-handing.
Damn!
So she was avoiding him. Well, he could hardly blame her but he wasn’t about to leave it at that. He’d kicked himself from here to forever for leaving the way he had, and not trying to find her again He got the dumbass of the year prize for that. They were both part of the Tampa Bay Sharks now. He saw it as an unexpected opportunity to try and mend fences. Somehow he would prove to her he was a different person now and that he’d regretted every day the way he’d walked out on her. Despite his situation with Toby and the continuing crisis with Lacey, he was determined to have her back in his life.
Finally everyone left except his agent, Chris and the coach.
“Good job.” Dan Leventhal slapped him on the back. “As usual.”
“We’re looking forward to a ramped up running game with Beau on the field,” Coach Muller said. “Everyone’s excited that spring practice is just around the corner.”
“Same for me,” Beau said. “Uh, question.” Make it casual, he told himself. “By any chance was that Sarah York I saw here during the press conference?”
Chris nodded. “It is. I met her on a trip to Chicago. She was looking to make a change and I needed a new attorney for the team. She came highly recommended, with a plus factor that she’s a huge football fan.” He gave Beau a quizzical look. “I didn’t realize you knew her.”
He shrugged, trying for an air of nonchalance. “We haven’t see each other for a long time. I’d like to pop in and say hello, if you can tell me where to find her.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll take you there myself.”
“No, that’s not necessary.” He wasn’t sure he wanted a witness, especially his new boss, to Sarah’s reaction to him after all this time. “I’ll just—“
“No problem. Come on.”
“I’ll check in with you in the morning,” Dan told him as he headed for the elevator.
“So you know Sarah?” Chris asked.
“I haven’t seen her for years,” Beau told him, trying his best to set the stage for an unwelcome reception. “Maybe she won’t even remember me.”
Chris laughed. “Beau, I hate to give you a swelled head but you’re a tad unforgettable, especially with the ladies.”
But he didn’t want ‘ladies,’ he wanted Sarah.
“I remember her having a lot on the ball.” And then some.
“She’s already a real asset to us around here. She’s very sharp. We were lucky to get her.” He stopped at an office door. “And here we are.” He led Beau into the reception area where someone was manning the desk. “This is Sarah’s admin,” he said by way of introduction. “Jenny, can you tell Miss York an old friend would like a few minutes of her time, please?”
“I, uh, wouldn’t exactly say we were friends,” Beau put in but everyone seemed to be ignoring him.
They waited while Jenny buzzed into Sarah’s office and heard her say in a puzzled voice, “Old friend? Uh, sure.” Pause, then, “Of course.”
Okay, so she knew who was waiting to see her and was just as edgy about it as he was. Maybe more so, since she hadn’t been the one to screw things up.
“We’ll just go on in,” Chris said and opened the door to the inner office.
Sarah was just rising from behind her desk when they walked in. Beau saw anger and resentment flash across her face before she smoothed it into a polite mask.
He forced a calm he didn’t feel. “Hello, Sarah, It’s been a long time.”
She dipped her head once, the expression on her face giving nothing away. “Yes, it has. I was pretty sure I’d never see you again.”
He pulled out his best Beau Perini smile. “Life has a funny way of arranging things, I guess.”
“Well.” Chris looked from one to the other. “I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted.”
Then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him. Now Beau was left alone with the woman who lived in his dreams constantly. He stared at her, memorizing this new, older, more sophisticated Sarah. More mouthwatering, although the original had been great. The silence between them grew until it was practically a living thing. Why didn’t she say something, even if it was to tell him to go to hell? Finally he cleared his throat.
“Good to see you again, Sarah.”
“Is it?” Frost dripped from her words. She stood there behind her desk, pinning him with her gaze. “I’m surprised you’re not busy with your fan club? I’ve seen all kinds of pictures of you with your adoring fans clinging to you like leeches.”
“Pictures can be misleading,” he told her. “Anyway, this was a media event. Something different, but you know that, right?” When she didn’t answer, he cleared his throat and blew out a breath. Just get it out there, he told himself. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I am truly, truly sorry.”
“Oh?” She lifted an eyebrow. “Exactly what is it you’re apologizing for?”
Okay, asshole, put it in words.
He blew out a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets, reaching for a calm he was far from feeling “I’m sorry that I was such a jackass when we were together. That I walked out without saying a word. That I didn’t tell you exactly how much the night meant to me.”
“Snuck out is more like it,” she sneered. “Somehow I’d thought you had more manners than that. More class.”
He felt his cheeks heat. “I did. I do. I mean…Oh, hell. Go ahead. I deserve whatever you’ve got to say to me.”
She did the staring thing again. Beau wanted to tell her she had a look that could freeze the Pacific Ocean.
“Okay.” He spread his hands out. “I was an asshole. Maybe the biggest one in the world. I spent the best night of my life with an incredible woman and I snuck out like a thief in the night.” He shook his head. “Call me names. Hit me. Beat me. Whatever you want to do. My mother would tan my hide.” He took two steps closer to the desk. “But you’ve had your revenge, Sarah. Many times over, because you have haunted my dreams every single night since then.”
“Not enough for you to get in touch with me,” she pointed out. “In fact, you got married to so
meone else.”
“Big mistake,” he told her. The sick feeling that always accompanied thoughts of his marriage swept over him, but he beat it back. “Big, huge mistake.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “There hasn’t been a night or a day since that night in New Orleans that I haven’t kicked myself in the ass and called myself all kinds of names. My only excuse, worthless as it is, is that I was young and irresponsible and too dumb to see what was right in front of me. So my only excuse is no excuse at all.”
“Really.”
Well, he thought, at least she’d said something.
“Yes, really.” He took two more steps forward. Now he was right at the desk, only the flat surface of it separating them. “I’d really like the chance to talk to you, Sarah, even if it’s just to apologize more. Could I possibly persuade you to have dinner with me?” When she didn’t say anything he added, “Lunch? A drink? Anything at all?”
She swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, a gesture he remembered from that night. It turned him on then and it turned him on now. He was ready to get down on his knees and beg when she gave a sharp nod of her head.
“All right. I’ll probably regret it but yes, I’ll have a drink with you.” She held up a finger. “One drink.”
He blew out a sigh of relief. “I’ll take whatever I can get. How about tonight? Right after work? What time do you get off?”
He was babbling but he didn’t care, as long as he got her to say yes to something.
“Fine. A drink tonight. But that’s all.”
“A drink. Good, that’s good. What time do you get off work?”
She checked the watch on her wrist. “I have a contract I have to finish up before I can leave. Seven would be the earliest I could meet you.”
“I’ll pick you up,” he insisted.
“I don’t think that will work. Pick a place and we’ll meet up.”
Okay, he’d take whatever he could get. “How about Jake’s After Dark? Do you know where it is? I have no idea how long you’ve been here.”
“Three weeks and I have a GPS in my car. But that’s a restaurant.”
