The Devil Wears Blue Jeans (One Pass Away: A New Season Book 1)

by Mary J. Williams

  Alone, feeling as though she’d barely survived Hurricane Felicity, Darcy’s head fell back with a sigh and she asked herself if Mac couldn’t understand his sister, how was she supposed to wrap her head around what just happened?

  And, by the way, what the hell just happened?

  Darcy’s phone rang, a welcome reprieve for her spinning head. She checked the caller ID. Terra. Thank goodness. She could always count on her assistant to be the voice of reason.

  “Don’t forget you have a strategy meeting with the team’s scouting staff at three o’clock,” Terra said without preamble. “You have just enough time to go over your notes before everyone arrives.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Darcy said and hung up.

  Taking a calming breath, Darcy glanced again at the field. Football she understood. But matchmaking little sisters made her head spin. She found one piece of comforting knowledge. At least McClain had no idea what just took place between Darcy and Felicity. She wouldn’t be able to face him if he had the slightest inkling.

  Love? Between her and Joshua McClain? Ridiculous.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

  MAC CHEWED THE bite of butter-tender steak without tasting the rich, meaty flavor. Gaige Benson manned the outdoor grill. Next to him, Sean McBride kibitzed, giving his advice on all things about the art of barbequing.

  “They’re like an old married couple,” Logan Price said. The former all-star running back leaned against the deck’s railing and watched his ex-teammates with an indulgent smile.

  “Mm.” Mac couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  The food was good. The company was better. Yet, tonight, he had too much on his mind to appreciate either. Mac could have been alone in his kitchen eating sad mac and cheese from a box for all he cared.

  Mac took another bite of steak and chewed. And chewed.

  “Swallow. Please.” Gaige Benson said. “Five minutes of watching is putting me off my meal. Looks more like you’re chewing your cud than a prime piece of beef.”

  “Sorry.” Mac took a drink of water, washing down what was left of the steak. “I have things on my mind.”

  “Understandable,” Logan said. “We’re here to celebrate Darcy’s masterful handling of the NFL draft. Now it’s up to you not to screw up the incoming class of rookies.”

  “Thanks. Your confidence is overwhelming,” Mac muttered.

  “We believe in you, son,” Sean said as handed Logan a beer. “And if you fail, I’m married to the owner. I’ll just have Riley fire your ass.”

  “What can I say?” Mac sneered. “I know. Fuck off.”

  “Nice.” Sean shook his head. “Classy. Asshole.”

  “Boys, boys. Watch the language. The kids are in the house watching a movie, but you never know when one might wander out into grownup land.” Gaige waved a pair of tongs as if to say he knew how to use them for more than cooking. “Are we understood.”

  “Listen to the boss,” Sean said. “Shame on you, McClain. Foul language is a no-no.”

  “Look who’s talking You called me an—” Mac searched for a G-rated alternative. He glared. “You know what you said.”

  “Something crawled up your backside.” Sean slapped Mac’s ass and grinned. “Tell Uncle Sean what’s going on.”

  “Probably pissed that Scully Banks was Darcy’s first pick in the draft. Mac wanted Sherman Clyde,” Logan said. “Banks is a good outside linebacker. Potentially, he could be great.”

  “Is that what has your panties in a twist?” Sean scoffed. “You miss out on Clyde. Get over yourself.”

  “Scully Banks was the better choice,” Mac said. “Which is what I told Darcy before the draft.”

  “You admitted that you were wrong, and Darcy was right?” Gaige let out a slow whistle. “Miracles do happen.”

  “The fact that Darcy made the right call doesn’t make me wrong.”

  “Mac is right.” Gaige nodded. “It makes him a super-wide asshole.”

  “What happened to no cursing?” Mac demanded.

  “I called an audible,” Gaige said, high-fiving Sean. “Quarterback’s prerogative. Fuck the head coach. Players rule.”

  “Gaige Benson! Come with me.”

  A beautiful woman with wavy black hair and an annoyed expression grabbed Gaige by the arm. She was almost a full head shorter and slender as a reed, but the ex-quarterback followed her command like a docile puppy.

  “Violet isn’t happy,” Logan said, grinning as Gaige’s wife pulled him around the corner. “She looks sweet as sugar, but the woman is fierce when riled up.”

  “She’s a doctor,” Sean said as if that explained everything. He moved to the grill and took over as head chef.

  Interested in the man/woman dynamics playing out in front of him, Mac watched and waited the five minutes it took Gaige to return.

  “What did Violet say?” Mac asked. “Did she wash your mouth out with soap?”

  “She didn’t use soap.” Gaige rubbed the corner of his mouth, smiled, and licked his thumb. “Damn, I love that woman.”

  Mac’s gaze moved from Gaige, to Sean, to Logan. All married. All happy. All in love. He needed advice. Who better to ask than his three contented friends?

  “I have a question.” Mac cleared his throat.

  “Ask.” Gaige popped the top of a beer and took a sip. He nodded toward Sean, then Logan. “We’re listening.”

  “What’s the best way to woo a woman.”

  Beer spewed from Sean’s mouth. Logan snorted and swallowed hard. Gaige, always the ultra-cool ex-QB, merely smirked and took another drink.

  “So many reactions, my head may burst,” Sean said as he wiped his chin. “First. Who says woo? Anyone?”

  “Woo is a legitimate word,” Logan said. “A tad old-fashioned. Who knew our buddy Mac was blessed with nineteenth-century sensibilities?”

  “You guys are hilarious.” Mac rolled his eyes. “Never laughed so much in my life. Ha, ha, ha.”

  “Sarcasm?” Sean asked Logan.

  “Apparently, despite his words to the contrary, Mac does not think we’re amusing.”

  “Okay. Enough.” Gaige punched Sean in the arm. Logan avoided the fist only to get a kick in the pants. “Mac asked a serious question.”

  “The woman is Darcy, right?” Sean’s gaze narrowed. “Sure as hell better be. If you’re fooling around on her, your life is over.”

  “Wait.” Logan frowned. “Mac and Darcy? Since when?”

  “The end of March?” Thoughtfully, Gaige tapped his beer bottle against his chin. “Early April? Almost a month, I think.”

  “I’m glad to know you keep close tabs on the duration of my relationships,” Mac groused.

  “Darcy is like family. Which makes us her older brothers.” Sean pinned Mac with a withering look. “What are your intentions?”

  “Suck my dick,” Mac answered under his breath. “And forget I asked.”

  “Temper, temper.” Gaige grabbed Mac’s arm before he could storm off. “When you say woo, do you mean romance? The whole shebang?”

  “If I knew, why would I ask.” Mac sighed. “I’ve never… I mean, where women are concerned, I ask. They say yes, or no. We have sex. Sometimes more than once. And then we’re done.”

  “I’d like to give you hell, but I had an uncomfortable flashback to my pre-Riley days.” Sean looked suitably uncomfortable. “Unfortunately, I have no room to talk.”

  “Logan? Anything you’d like to say?” Gaige asked.

  “Well.” With a half-smile, Logan rubbed his neck. “I was practically a monk when I met Claire. Depression, self-pity. You remember.”

  “Pitiful,” Gaige said with a nod.

  “She woke me up—so to speak.” Logan chuckled. “I wouldn’t say I romanced her as much as I wept with gratitude.”

  “Gaige?” Sean slung an arm over his friend’s shoulders. “Looks like it's up to you.”


  “Since during my single days I was neither a monk nor a man-whore, I will pick up the gauntlet.” Gaige looked Mac in the eye, his expression somber. “Be kind, be thoughtful. Listen—really hear—what Darcy has to say. Put her needs before your own. When you’re wrong, apologize. Hell, apologize just on principle because you probably did something wrong.”

  Logan and Sean nodded their agreement.

  “Two more things Whatever you do,” Gaige added. “Be honest with her. And don’t be a dickwad.”

  Mac ran Gaige’s advice through his head, saving each one in a brain file he marked Romancing Darcy. Then, he nodded.

  “I can do those things,” he said. “I can.”

  “Aw.” Gaige put Mac in a headlock and ruffled his hair. “I’m so proud. My boy has become a man.”

  Mac squirmed out of the hold. To be honest, Gaige let him go. Retired from football for over ten years, the man still has harms of freaking steel.

  “Jerk,” Mac muttered, hiding a grin.

  “Go find your woman,” Gaige said with a friendly shove. “And don’t blow it.”

  His woman. Mac liked the way the words sounded, enjoyed the way they felt on his tongue, the way they warmed his heart. He’d been cold for too long. Alone. Lonely. Fool that he was, he hadn’t realized how empty his life was until Darcy came barreling in.

  Mac heard her laugh before he saw her. Turning toward the sound, his breath caught in his throat. Darcy. A force of nature whether she smiled or frowned. If her expression was pensive or cool and dismissive. She lit up his life just by being herself.

  “When did I become a ball of introspective mush?” Mac wondered.

  Looking at Darcy, he knew the answer. She’d made him a better coach. A better friend. A better man.

  Did she have any idea how much she’d come to mean to him? Did she know the best part of his day was his first glimpse of her? Mac wanted to tell her. Speak all the words. Did he have the courage?

  Darcy’s gaze lifted, meeting his. He recognized the spark that flared in her blue eyes and it was all he could do not to grab her hand and drag her someplace—any place—where they could be alone.

  As though reading his mind, Darcy made a small gesture, a brief tilt of her head. Mac looked to his left, smiled, and nodded. There were people everywhere. Milling around. Inside the house and out. If he wanted a little alone time with his woman, there weren’t a lot of choices unless they locked themselves in the bathroom. The seven-foot-tall potted fern at the corner of the deck wouldn’t provide the kind of privacy he preferred, but he appreciated Darcy’s creativity.

  “I haven’t had a chance to speak with you all evening,” she said, joining him behind the plant.

  Rather than give in to the urge to take Darcy in his arms, Mac leaned against the railing, gripping the wooden posts.

  “You’ve been busy basking in the glory of your first NFL draft.” He felt a surge of pride. “You deserve every pat on the back—and more.”

  “Really?” Darcy leaned her hip against the rail, inches from his. “Even though I let your guy get away?”

  “Accept the compliment and let the rest go,” Mac warned. “Unless you want to get into a fight?”

  “I live to argue.” A twinkle entered her gaze. “Especially with you, Joshua.”

  Mac felt the muscles in his legs turn to rubber as his libido kicked into gear. Had he misheard? Darcy called him Joshua. Right? He looked around. In front of dozens of people? Had she lost her mind?

  “My place is just around back. Let’s go.”

  “Down boy,” Darcy said. “I just wanted to say your name in public. One time.”

  “Only once?” Mac asked, willing his blood pressure, and his dick, to lower. “I won’t object if you want to call me Joshua all the time.”

  “Even when we aren’t naked?” she asked with a mischievous smile.

  “Any time you like.”

  “Maybe.” Darcy shrugged. “Mr. McClain is my colleague, my team’s head coach. Joshua is my lover.”

  Mac brushed a finger over her hand. One brief caress, but enough to make Darcy gasp. He barely stopped himself from breaking out with a smug grin.

  “Don’t forget, Mr. McClain and Joshua are the same,” Mac reminded her. “One person, two easily integrated personalities. If you’d like.”

  “Aren’t we doing well?” Darcy tilted her head to the side. “We’ve kept our private lives away from work. Do you really want to rock the boat at this point?”

  Yes, Mac almost shouted. Let’s rock the damn boat—together. Trust me not to let you fall.

  Before Mac could say anything, they were interrupted. Riley smiled at Mac as she laid a hand on Darcy’s arm.

  “The mayor stopped in for a second to say hello.”

  Darcy looked at Mac.

  “You can’t say no to the mayor,” he told her. “We’ll finish our conversation later.”

  “Don’t forget where we left off,” Darcy told him.

  Mac gave her an understanding smile.

  “Remember who you’re talking to,” he said. “I never forget anything.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

  “DID I MESS up?” Riley asked. “We’re you and Mac in the middle of a moment?”

  “No.” Darcy frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “I understand completely,” Riley said with a sage nod.

  “Would you mind explaining it to me because my brain is muddled.”

  With the ease of a perfect hostess, Riley greeted guests without letting herself get waylaid and maneuvered them toward the other side of the deck. All the while, she listened and answered Darcy. The woman was a marvel.

  “Sometimes a man—the right man—can make the most clear-minded woman lose the ability to make a rational decision. Sean still drives me crazy. The big, gorgeous lug.”

  Riley’s words in her mind, Darcy greeted the mayor. She smiled, shook his hand. Listened as he praised her work. When he left a few minutes later, she let out a sigh of relief. Most politicians, even the ones she voted for, were basically bags of hot air.

  “He’s a good man. Not the most charismatic person, but I think our city is in good hands.” Riley shrugged. “He liked you.”

  “I provide a good photo-op,” Darcy said. She grimaced. “Did I sound as cynical as I think?”

  “A tad.” Riley laughed. “Don’t look so horrified. You aren’t wrong. Publicity is the keystone of any public figure’s success. You’re a hot ticket right now. A high-profile woman with a high-profile job. He may be boring as hell, but our mayor is no fool. A picture with you is pure gold.”

  “I’m flattered.” Darcy paused. “Yet, slightly disturbed.”

  “Sounds about right.” Riley nodded. “Now that the schmoozing side of the evening is complete, do you want to tell me what’s going on in that overactive brain of yours? Trouble with Mac?”

  “No!” Darcy shook her head. “Mac and I are good. Great. Terrific.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Riley ducked her head and met Darcy’s skittish gaze. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I can’t help.”

  “May I ask you a question?”

  “My automatic response would be, you don’t need to ask if you can ask, but why confuse the issue.” Riley smiled. “Ask.”

  Darcy thought about Mac’s sister. What she’d said about their childhood. What she said about Mac in particular. Love. Happiness.

  “Recently, I dismissed someone’s advice.” Darcy bit her lip. “Not advice, exactly. More like, she threw an idea at me and I jumped to the side and let it wiz right past.”

  “I don’t know what you mean, and you didn’t ask a question,” Riley said.

  “Have you dismissed an idea out of hand, certain it wasn’t right for you?”

  “Of course, I have.” Riley nodded. “Sometimes you just know when a thing isn’t a good fit.”

  Exactly, Dar
cy thought. Despite Felicity’s heartfelt plea, she knew love was not a good fit for her. And yet…

  “Have you ever, after a lot of consideration, and some sleepless nights, changed your mind?” Unaccountably nervous, Darcy reminded herself to breathe. “Instead of jumping out of the way, maybe you should have jumped forward and embraced the idea.”

  Riley handed Darcy a glass of white wine from the nearby drinks table. She sipped from her glass as though contemplating her answer.

  “I admire someone who can adjust her thinking,” she finally said. “Changing your mind doesn’t mean you were wrong. You simply have more information. Or, took what you already knew and looked at the situation from a different angle. Either way, change can be good. Healthy.”

  “I could screw up a good thing.”

  “Ah.” Riley’s lips quirked into a smile. “The light dawns. The subject is your growing feelings for Joshua McClain.”

  Feeling vulnerable under Riley’s knowing gaze, Darcy gulped her wine. The rush of alcohol into her bloodstream did nothing to settle her nerves.

  “My feelings were fine. Dandy,” Darcy said. “Until I met Felicity McClain.”

  “Mac’s sister.”

  “Do you know her?” Darcy asked.

  “We’ve met,” Riley said with a nod. “She’s bright as a shiny brass button but has her problems.”

  “My problem is that she threw around a lot of disturbing words.”

  “Really? How odd.” Riley frowned. “For instance? Give me an example.”

  “Love. Happy ever after.” Darcy shrugged. “You know, words that have no place in my life.”

  “Or so you thought.” With an understanding smile, Riley rubbed Darcy’s arm. “If I understand, you’ve had a change of heart on the subject. You no longer think that love is just a four-letter word?”

  “I love football. I love my mother. I’m pretty fond of my friends.”

  “Thank you,” Riley said with a slight bow.

  “What if…” Darcy took a shaky breath. “What if I don’t know how to be in love?”

  “Do you think there’s only one way?” Riley asked. “Look at Sean and me. Our path was completely different than any couple I know. We had a unique set of problems, a different way of thinking. The fact that we survived the ups and downs is nothing short of a miracle. Ask anyone who has a strong, lasting marriage. They’ll say the same thing.”