Rocking Player: Single Mom Second Chance Romance (Steel Series Book 2)

by Victoria Pinder

  “Children’s health. Got it. That’s usually standard with union contracts anyhow.” He said it like it was a relief. “And, a good family life might be good for your image. People still whisper about the hooker who released a book. You are talking about the boy in the Pirates gear and the woman you kissed yesterday?”

  I turned and watched as Georgie sipped her coffee and her cheeks brightened as I said, “Yes. I want to marry her, if she’ll have me.”

  “I’ll assure the owners the game interruption was a bleep, and you’re asking her to marry you. It will assuage some of the press asking questions.”

  “Georgie is a keeper.”

  “And you’re sure the boy is your son?”

  “Yes.” I then said, “One question.”

  “What’s that?”

  “How’s the Pittsburgh offer?”

  While my team showed no loyalty to me, the people at the table hopefully would. I needed us all on the same page. Those brown eyes had never left my mind, but then my stomach twisted when he said, “Not one I’m looking at seriously, as it’s lower than the others.”

  There went that thought. I was all about the money now. I nodded and realized sentiment didn’t get the best contracts when I said, “Okay. Good to know.”

  I was about to say goodbye when Phil asked me, “Do you want me to see if they’ll up the offer as you’d like to be a Pirate?”

  If I was closer to my son, then maybe life would be easier than asking Georgie to pick up and move with me.

  She’d probably say no, and she’d be right. I couldn’t offer forever when I was on the road a lot. But I asked quietly, “Do you think they’d budge?”

  “If you showed interest, maybe. Your son wearing their uniform might be seen as a good thing to their franchise.”

  We wouldn’t get it if we didn’t ask, right? I nodded at myself and stared at the two new people in my life that somehow needed to fit in, beyond just an amazing fuck that I knew she was.

  I said with heat in my face, “Get me a reasonable number from them and maybe we’ll discuss it.”

  “Good because I thought we were both about the money.”

  “Oh, we are.” I was loyal to my friends on the team, but the team wasn’t loyal to me. Money mattered now. I said my “Goodbyes”.

  Phil’s calls were good for the bus or plane rides, but he wasn’t what kept me up at night from memories.

  That was all the woman in the next room, with my son that I needed to help today.

  I came back and scarfed down my waffle. Once I finished, I asked the others, “You ready to head to school?”

  Georgie fixed herself a second cup, or maybe third, as I wasn’t counting when I'd been on the phone. “This coffee is perfect.” She gulped it down and said, “You made it and it’s better than mine by far. I’ve no idea how you managed this.”

  Jeremy stared at me like he said without words "tell the truth". I tugged at my collar and stood as I said, “I can’t lie to you.”

  “What?”

  I took the take-out box and placed it on the counter as I said, “I tried your machine. Your coffee sucked.”

  She laughed. “That sounds right. It was a clearance bag.”

  I lowered my head like this was school and I was telling a teacher how I cheated when I said, “So I ordered a decent brand and filled your pot on the stove.”

  “Let’s get Jeremy to school.” She checked the lid on the rest of the coffee.

  My boy jumped up to join us and we all headed toward her Rav 4. I’d been a kid myself the last time I'd driven to school with a mom, but now I wondered what happened once the kids were off.

  Did I finally get my chance to rip Georgie's clothes off?

  Chapter 5

  Georgie

  The principal walked Michael into every class to see Jeremy’s teachers. The young women working with my sister, Olivia, batted their eyes at him.

  The entire time we walked around the campus, Michael kept his hand on my back.

  At least he hadn’t shied away from the selfies.

  Once we left, I finally breathed. I'd had no idea how many attractive teachers my son had or my sister, Olivia, worked with.

  I’m sure she’d text me later, but I silenced my phone for a few minutes. Alone time meant Michael and I could talk.

  I’d been living in a bubble yesterday and today. I wanted him, but I wasn’t sure how we fit. Life near him had me on edge and I’d never made smart choices when nervous. Logically, Michael would probably leave forever, so this short time was all I’d get, then I’d be able to breathe.

  Except he wanted Jeremy and, after the alluding to more in our conversation, we needed a firm decision if he intended to be in our lives now. And, I needed to get a grip, fast.

  Michael and Jeremy might be good together and they deserved that shot. I’d loved my dad, and his cancer was one of the worst times in my life.

  Michael held the driver’s door for me like a gentleman. Once he joined me in my car, he said, “Jeremy’s a good kid.”

  I nodded but peeled out of the parking lot before someone else stopped us.

  I’d like a few hours to talk to Michael and touring a school wasn’t my idea of one-on-one time when we had decisions to make about what we wanted to do for our future.

  “The school is nice,” he said.

  I wasn’t sure where else to go, so I went on auto-pilot home, until I entered my garage and his two-seater reminded me we didn’t fit. I ignored the feeling as I said, “I think so. And he does well in school.”

  “There are other school options.”

  “I guess, but I went there myself, so I’m slightly biased into thinking it’s a good place.”

  As the garage door closed, he asked, “Do you think you could live outside of Pittsburgh?”

  Tension ran up my back. He wanted us, it seemed, and we’d talk seriously. I turned off the engine and took out my house key while I said, “I never thought about it.”

  “Why not?” he asked as I turned the key to let him inside.

  He went right to the kitchen and poured us more coffee. He’d bought a six-cup container, so we had plenty, and his ass in front of me gave me a nice view. The jeans he wore weren’t nearly as tight as his work pants, but I had my memories of his naked body that heated me up. While I'd never believed in love, I’d avoided any mention of sex these past few years. “Why would I?” I asked as I set my purse down. “My family is here.”

  He placed a cup near my seat from earlier and I took it as he took the seat he’d chosen while he said, “My parents live in Fort Myers. They moved to retire and see me during spring training. They are Jeremy’s grandparents, and they’ll want to meet you both.”

  My mind raced faster than my body aching for his touch did. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want him in my life. I had needs too, and I ignored how I jittered a little and said, “They’ll probably be angry about everything.”

  “That’s not their style.” He shrugged and said, “I’ll handle them. Mostly they’ll want to know where they fit.”

  Good. My parents would have been good for Jeremy. My dad had died before I'd known I was pregnant, and I prayed for years that he was happy I had Jeremy. In a blink, I hoped Michael’s parents were good. I wrung my hands together and said, “I don’t know. My parents died, so he’s only had me, and my sisters, and my cousins, who act like uncles.”

  “And you all live in Pittsburgh?”

  “No.” I lowered my head. “Stephanie’s living in London now, with her husband-to-be, and my cousins are all over the country.”

  His eyebrow perked up, but he sipped his coffee. I did the same and, once we finished, he asked, “What about the other four sisters? What happens when they marry?”

  I took out my phone to get it out of my pocket and said, “That won’t happen.”

  “How can you know that?”

  My stomach tightened. At mom’s funeral, steam had been coming out of me, not tears, and I’d been
in my last trimester. Then, I was the first-time mom with a newborn crying hysterically after putting him in his crib. Not honoring that war inside me didn’t seem possible. I lifted my chin. “I guess I can’t, but we made a pact.”

  His gaze narrowed. “What pact?”

  “To never marry and turn into our mother. She was quite a wallflower.”

  “Your one sister is breaking that.”

  His words were like shards of ice he’d plunge into my heart, but I ignored the adrenaline inside me. “She thinks love cures all. I don’t know about that.”

  “They might all change their minds.”

  We’d never lied to each other as our parents had said the only people you can ever truly rely on is each other. “I don’t know.”

  He stepped closer and his nearness warmed my skin. I glanced up and my lips tingled in anticipation. We both wanted this moment and my heart raced as he said, “Georgie, I’m sure they are pretty, as you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

  Absolutely sweet. My insides twisted and part of me melted. “Yeah, right. You’ve met movie stars.”

  He reached out and took my hand. “Not as glamourous as you think. Most are too skinny.”

  We stood and he immediately held me closer. I laughed as my breasts pressed into his hard muscles. His hand went lower and I didn’t complain at all. “Why do I like when you grab my ass like that?”

  “You do,” he said, and squeezed it again.

  This would go right to the bedroom. Maybe we both needed that. I hadn’t been with anyone since, but I wiggled away and picked up our empty cups to bring them to the sink. “Hey, now. We’re talking.”

  “Right.” He picked up the sponge and turned on the water to wash the dishes. “I’m sure your sisters have prospects. It could be sooner than you think that it’s just you and Jeremy left…unless-”

  “No.” It was sexy to have him helping like that. I had my hands on my hips, then picked up a towel to dry as I said, “I need to believe my sisters are strong.”

  He handed me the plates he’d cleaned and asked, “I’m sure they are.”

  I placed them in the dryer as I wiped my brow and said, “Our mom was weak and none of us want to die of a broken heart or loneliness if something happens to any future husband. I don’t want to just wither away and die when I have Jeremy. He needs his mother.”

  We finished with the cups and he turned off the water as he said, “Your parents sound like they were in love.”

  “They were that.” Love destroyed. I needed peace. My friends all complained about how their parents were awful and sought therapy. But me…all I had were memories with a missing mother figure who never fought for me. Vacations, talking about report cards, and more. My dad teaching me to ride my bike played in my mind as I put a cup down and then met Michael’s sexy blue eyes.

  My face heated as I was pulled out of the memory and asked, “What?”

  He leaned against my counter like he lived here with us and said, “My mother and father are married because religion says divorce is bad, but I don’t know if they’re happy. They get along, but you must have been raised in gentleness.”

  True. I would say idyllic, except that crashed and burned with mom. Why had Jeremy, me, or my sisters, not been enough of a reason to live? Maybe marriage should be more of a deal like his parents. I tossed the towel and ignored the beat of my heart as I asked, “Why do you think that?”

  He pressed his hand on my back again and said, “Because you’re the sweetest woman I ever met.”

  “Doubtful,” I said.

  My lips tingled for more kisses and my body roared like I’d denied myself ultimate pleasure last night when I’d passed out.

  He lowered his head and pressed his forehead to mine as he said, “Look, about Marsha.”

  That froze me. The woman in the Bahamas before my mom called that my dad was sick. I remembered the red dress and the high heels clicking on the marble floor as she flounced her hair like she’d replace me in Michael’s bed as I asked, “Are you still dating her?”

  He held my hand to his heart and said, “No. I didn’t date her then. I should have told you that better. I was more worried she’d tell you I was a baseball player, which was stupid on my part.”

  Now that never crossed my mind and I laughed. I couldn’t help it as I said, “I wish she’d spilled that one. Then I’d have tracked you down.”

  His blue eyes stared at me like he needed to assess me when he said, “She was nothing to me before I met you, and I’ve never seen her again.”

  Good. "I hoped there was more to the story than you were a player, but honestly, with my dad’s heart attack, I couldn’t think about her.”

  “You were…are everything I want.”

  Well, I’d not stressed about the details of the other woman from six years ago, but it was good that she wasn’t anything to worry about. But I swallowed and asked what bothered me now, “Are you dating anyone?”

  His hands traced my sides and held me like he needed me when he said, “No, but I’d like for us to pick up where we started.”

  Started? In bed and naked, in every corner of that room of his and mine. We'd worn clothes as an accessory to eat out before heading back. That vacation was burned in my mind as my lust-filled dream every night for years now, but I let out a sigh and said, “I…I’m different now.”

  Mom’s don’t get to live like that. Responsibility filled my days of working, making lunches to pay for school, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, but he said, “Jeremy’s at school and you can take off the mom outfit.”

  I glanced down at my cardigan and pants and then back at him as I asked, “The what?”

  He unbuttoned my sweater as he said, “The PTA, loving mom outfit you wore. We’re home, alone.”

  Alone sounded tempting. And, I’d be in his arms. A huge part of my heart wanted exactly that, but I held still as I said, “You promised to practice catching with my son. Our son.”

  He tugged my sweater to bring me closer to him. “And we will, after school.”

  My legs were already jelly, and my breaths were getting shorter. “And what happens when your team leaves? I can’t just hope and wait for when your team returns here.”

  His hands traced my sides and goosebumps grew everywhere. My body remembered his touch, but his words were every reason I shouldn’t just strip my clothes off in the kitchen and relive the past when he said, “Unless we both make the playoffs that won’t happen and, even then, it’s no guarantee as we’re not the same division.”

  My son deserved better. I should want better than to be a stop on the road, but I wasn’t sure how Michael fit in my life. He’d said he’d be everywhere and we would live here. He wasn’t offering more than moment-to-moment when we fit in his schedule. I’d not be peaceful that way. I reached for his hands and tugged for him to release me when I said, “Then, we shouldn’t.”

  He let go but was still so close that my heart beat in tune with his as he said, “You and Jeremy could be in Tulsa for some of the season.”

  Flights weren’t easy and our lives were built here. I lowered my lashes and hoped I’d sound calmer. “He has school.”

  He swallowed and his Adam’s apple caught my attention as I remembered how he'd ravaged my body once as he said, “It’s late September. This craziness in my life ends, at most, mid-November. Then, we have some time.”

  I traced the collar of my shirt and asked, “Some time for what?”

  He leaned closer and our eyes were in each other’s faces as he made my huge kitchen into such a small space as he said, “For you to realize marrying me solves our issues.”

  Marriage? My ears burned. Sure, I’d had late-night fantasies where Michael found me and Jeremy and we were a family. But he practically shoved peace out the window when I was near him. If we did marry, then I was more than a stopover in his life.

  But I wasn’t ready to live only for a man and never state my opinion.

  I wasn�
�t my mother. I froze as I said, “Wait. What?”

  He widened his stance, stepped back and crossed his arms. The huge white kitchen of mine somehow grew back to its normal size as he said, “I can ask for more money in my contracts if there's a stable home life.”

  “How?”

  “My lack of family and the rumors have caused corporate heads to believe I’m volatile. Marriage proves I’m more trusted for the team.”

  “I see.”

  “You want health insurance. And Jeremy gets my parents in his life. But it will mean you’ll probably have to move from here.”

  Just pick up my life and follow a ballplayer? This was a leap of faith, but he was my son’s father and the only man I wanted. I turned toward the sink as I said, “I can’t do this.”

  He placed his hand on my shoulder and pulses rushed through me as he asked, “Why not?”

  I flipped around and his arms caught me as I ignored how my heart now raced. “Because I told you. I refused to get old and die from a broken heart and hurt Jeremy.”

  His gaze narrowed but he didn’t touch me. It was good because I was a total disaster and tears threatened to come. “Then don’t. I don’t want that.”

  “What?”

  His words stilled me.

  Then he touched my sides again like he wanted to reassure me, but my nipples grew hard as he said, “We have good sex and our lives blend. All you have to do is bend, not that I know the end location of where we’ll live yet. And I don’t want anything to happen to you if something happens to me. Besides, you have to watch Jeremy.”

  My mother hadn’t cared that she had six girls or twenty of my cousins who’d once considered her their second mother. My son was my everything, but I couldn’t deny Michael was the only man I’d ever met who made my body turn into a temple of unending desire. At the moment, his blue eyes were clear and it was all just me being crazy as I straightened out my white pants to loosen any wrinkles and asked, “And, all you want is for me to move with you?”

  “I’m a free agent.” He took my hand and held it between us as he said, “I don’t know where I’ll be in the spring. If you marry me, then you’re part of the conversation with my agent.”