Enamored

by Susan Scott Shelley

  "I'm glad. He's been so good to this program." Savanna pressed her lips into an understanding smile and back-walked a step. "I'll let you know if Mason is able to go to the game."

  "Hey." Slade burst out louder than he'd expected, but he couldn't let her walk away. Not yet.

  She stopped mid-turn, her delicate brows drawn together.

  "You know, this is the first time we've been together without the distraction of a large crowd or a noisy function."

  "Is it?" She took a tentative step toward his personal space.

  "I wouldn't forget if I'd had the chance to do more than say hello to you."

  She tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing the silver hoop on her upper ear. He wanted to trace the earring with his finger to see if it felt as delicate as it looked. And how she'd react to his touch. Her gaze held his a second longer but then dropped to his chest. "I should get back to my office."

  "Or we could have coffee."

  Her head snapped up. "Right now?"

  "Why not? The cafeteria isn't far and their coffee isn't awful. We've known each other for what—three years? And I still don't know what you like to do when you're not being a miracle worker here."

  "My title is Wish Granter, not Miracle Worker." She bumped her shoulder into his arm and tilted her head in the direction of the elevator. "Okay. I have time for one cup. But I guarantee you're going to be bored. "

  "Don't worry. I'll think of something after you tell me your favorite color and your favorite drink."

  Yes. He'd been intrigued by Savanna since first laying eyes on her at the fundraising gala for the foundation three years ago. Man—she'd looked hot in the simple red dress. Until today, he'd never had the chance to approach her. All his other visits with the kids had been arranged by her assistants.

  As they rode to the cafeteria, she kept the conversation centered on the kids in the program but when they sat across from each other in an empty corner of the cafeteria, she grew quiet.

  Slade sipped his coffee and settled back in his chair. Not too far, but relaxed. "So, tell me all about Savanna."

  "Original." She blushed and shook her head. "There isn't much to tell."

  "Also original. But something tells me you really are. So what's your deal?"

  "I'm twenty-six. I've been involved with the Wishes Granted Foundation since I interned with them during my senior year of college. And what else was it that you'd said you wanted to know? Oh, right. My favorite color is teal. My favorite drink is champagne, and when I'm not working, I definitely don't spend my time racing cars around a speedway at two-hundred miles an hour."

  He laughed and leaned forward, placing his cup on the table. "Have you ever tried it?"

  "You have a reputation for being a risk taker. I've heard the other players talking about your escapades for years."

  "Escapades?" He couldn't resist grinning at her; she'd asked his teammates about him. "Is that really what they say?"

  She nodded and pursed her lips to fight the smile. "I'm afraid so. Last season, Dom Torres told me that you went sky diving during your day off in Arizona. Adam Hudson mentioned that the two of you walked on some clear bridge somewhere. And Liam has told me countless stories of how the two of you spend the off-season. Cliff diving, extreme skiing, and bungee jumping. Is there anything you won't do?"

  Pleased she'd learned so much about him, he leaned back in his seat again. "Not really."

  "But, don't you ever get scared?"

  "It's more of an adrenaline rush." He drank from his cup. The coffee wasn't half-bad. He couldn't tell her that the rush temporarily filled the ache of loneliness in his soul. He never talked about that, but he'd suspected Liam, Dom, and Adam had figured it out. "No room for fear."

  She pushed her cup aside and leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. Her smile had faded, replaced by an earnestness he hadn't expected. "How do you do it?"

  "Do what?"

  "Plan those things and then not worry about what could go wrong? Or do them in spite of what could go wrong?" The intensity in her voice and in her gaze pulled at him to fix whatever was troubling her.

  He set his cup near hers and mirrored her position. "Worrying about something doesn't help. It only wastes time that you could spend doing something else."

  "I'm really glad you asked me to coffee. I have a problem and you're the perfect person to ask for advice."

  He could see by the look on her face, something was eating at her. And not whether he was going to ask her out. Though disappointed their coffee wasn't a flirt-fest, he was curious.

  "Shoot." He nodded for her to continue.

  "My brain seems to be wired for worry. It's pretty frustrating. I miss out on things because of it but can't seem to stop."

  "What type of things?"

  "Trips and experiences, and more everyday type of things that you'd do without a problem. That most people would do without a problem." Rolling her eyes, she sat back. "Never mind me. So, are you ready for the upcoming season?"

  Slade glided his hand across the table until the tips of their fingers barely touched. He'd never seen her anything less than confident. Peeling back the layers and uncovering who she was and what made her tick was far more tempting than discussing his readiness to play baseball. "Tell me some everyday-type-of-things you're scared to do."

  "This is embarrassing, but I once spent five minutes stuck on a high diving board paralyzed with fear. The lifeguard had to come and get me down."

  "That's nothing to be ashamed of. I remember lots of kids being scared of the diving board at the community pool when I was growing up."

  "No." She shook her head and color rose in her cheeks. "That happened last summer. I was with some friends and thought I could do it, but when I got up there, well, the board seemed a lot higher than I'd expected."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah. And I can swim, too. But I couldn't jump." She pulled her hand away. "Last week, one of the kids in the program wanted to be a fireman for a day so we took him to the local firehouse. Everything was fine until they let him slide down the pole. He did great, but wanted me to do it too. I couldn't. I stood there, palms sweating, heart pounding, looking at the gap between the floor and the pole in front of several brave firefighters and felt like the world's biggest baby. But worse, I let him down."

  "I'm sure you didn't. Those kids love you."

  "Yeah, but they're so brave in battling their diseases. I need to be braver too. Mind over matter, right? But I can't get over the mind part. In my head, I tell myself I can do an activity, but when I get to the actual doing, I can't follow through. It's like something inside me locks up and all the what-if scenarios rush through my mind and I can't move."

  "I can help you." The words had popped out before he'd fully thought them through. But he wanted to help her, more than he'd wanted anything in a long time. And helping her would keep his mind off of obsessing over the results of the genetics swab test sitting on his desk and whether his biological family would actually get in touch with him. After years of being alone, maybe it was too much to hope for.

  "How?" Savanna's voice pulled him away from his thoughts.

  How? He didn't have a clue. All he knew was that he wanted to spend more time with her. "We'll do some of the things you're scared to do. You let me know what you've always wanted to try and we'll do it together. Or I can come up with some ideas too."

  "What if we're out doing something and I freeze up and panic?" Her shoulders narrowed and her fingers pressed into the table like her fear had already kicked in.

  "I promise I won't get frustrated or leave you behind. We'll talk about why you're scared and get you through it. Despite whatever ideas my teammates seem to have, I research the safest places before I do an activity. You'll be safe with me." He lifted one of her hands and held it in both of his.

  Her fingers relaxed, just enough, and her hazel gaze deepened to green. "I'd like to try. But what's in it for you?"

  Three years of slow burning inte
rest made his answer easy. "Spending time with you."

  Her brows drew together and she laughed, relaxing her shoulders. "Wow, that's... I'm flattered, especially considering what I just told you."

  "You told me that you want to face your fears. Pretty damn brave, if you ask me."

  That earned him a smile. "You think so?"

  "I do. Look, playing baseball is nothing compared to the stress the kids in the program face, but my job is demanding and I have some other things going on that leave me needing to blow off steam. That's where you come in."

  "So helping me helps you?"

  "If you want to put it that way." He gave into the urge to squeeze her hand and caress the soft skin on top. The warmth of her skin soaked into him like a gentle morning sunbeam. "I like you. I want to spend time with you. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that."

  "There are so many things I want to try. And you'll really hold my hand through it?"

  He linked their fingers. "Starting now."

  Her hand tightened around his. "Literally and figuratively, hmm? I'll take it. What should we do first?"

  "When are you free?"

  "I'm having dinner at my parents' tonight, and you probably need to do some things to prepare for tomorrow's game. How about next weekend?"

  He mentally ran through his schedule. The Riptide played nearly every day during the season. Free time was hard to come by. "I have an afternoon game next Sunday. I can pick you up after that. We'll do something scary, and then have dinner. Do you trust me to plan it?"

  "I do."

  The simple words and the trust behind them were gratifying. He was content to sit there, drinking his coffee and holding her hand. Being with her gave him a shot of adrenaline, softer than the jolt he felt jumping out of a plane or racing a fast car, but just as addicting.

  Savanna glanced at the slim silver watch adorning her wrist. "I'd better go. I need to close my office and say goodnight to Mason and his family before I head to my parents. If I'm late for dinner, my mom will start calling the area hospitals to see if I've been admitted."

  Chuckling, Slade released his hold on her hand and pushed to standing.

  "The sad part is, I'm not kidding." She picked up her cup and led the way to the elevator. After punching in the number for her floor, she moved closer to Slade in the small space. "Good luck tomorrow. I hope you guys win."

  The elevator stopped at her floor. Slade slid his fingers over her shoulder, then forced his hand to his side. "I'll see you on Sunday."

  She nodded and stepped out of the car. "Good night."

  When the doors closed again, he grinned at his reflection, feeling like he'd just hit a game-winning grand slam home run. He hadn't expected to spend time with sexy Savanna, let alone her admission. But he was just the man to show her how exhilarating taking a risk could be.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LIAM

  THE EXCITEMENT AND anticipation of Opening Day was palpable at the stadium, even hours before the game's scheduled start. Liam zoomed through the hallways on the golf cart he occasionally used to get around the field. It saved him the turtle-like pace of going the distance on his crutches. He parked outside his office and dressing room, grabbed his crutches, and then hobbled to the door. The windowless room, with its pale gray walls, large metal desk, and comfortable orange couch, was home away from home—his place to decompress. Sharing it with Claire would be interesting.

  She and Slade had helped him rearrange furniture to accommodate the wide path his crutches demanded, and the desk and chair the maintenance department had brought in for her. Like it or not, reminders of his new normal were every place he looked.

  He grabbed a water from the mini-fridge and lobbed the closed bottle onto the couch. Not having the use of his hands to carry things because they were supporting his weight on the crutches was getting old—fast. He was sure Slade would eventually tire of helping him out at home, and didn't want to bother Claire by asking for her help here. Hopefully, he could manage getting into his costume alone.

  Fin and Fiona's costumes hung side by side on the closet doors. Fin's outfitted in a Riptide uniform complete with a cloth cast to cover Liam's real cast, and Fiona's in blue medical scrubs. He had to admit they looked cute together.

  And Claire herself... Wow. With her compact, sexy body and heart-stopping smile and kissable lips... His body tightened and he slammed down the gate on his desire. Fin was supposed to fall for Fiona. He wasn't supposed to fall for Claire.

  His focus needed to be on quickening his recovery and making sure he kept his job. Nothing else.

  Fans, the management, the team, and the media had big expectations for the Riptide this season, and Liam had big expectations for Fin. He couldn't deny the brilliant addition of Fiona, especially if the storyline received the level of attention Raymond was sure it would. It had the potential to bring a lot of awareness to the team and by extension, the team's charity. He'd do anything in the world to help those kids. At all of the hospital visits where he’d accompanied his father, back when Dad had played Fin, Liam had realized the kids had needed his dad just as much as he did. Rather than resenting the amount of time his dad had spent with them, he’d joined in with the cheering up. Ever since, he’d viewed them as the siblings he’d never had.

  The door swung open and Claire breezed in, blonde hair blowing around her face like a halo. She met his gaze and a wide smile bloomed. "I'm so excited for today. You have no idea."

  "I think I have a pretty good idea," he countered, but he knew what she meant. "Any first-time jitters?"

  "Not yet, but I'm sure there will be." She set her purse on the desk behind her, then frowned at the alerts pinging from her phone. Muttering to herself, she shook her head, her thumbs flying across the keypad.

  He didn't like the tiny frown line that had formed between her brows. "Anything wrong?"

  Claire sighed a huge expulsion of breath. "Nothing important. Just my little sister. She can be a scatterbrain and a little dramatic."

  Liam pulled his costume from the door. Her phone had pinged a lot over the last two days and each time, that same line had formed. She needed a distraction and he needed that line gone. "We should get dressed. We're supposed to meet the film crew in the training room soon."

  She tossed her phone into her purse then crossed to him and ran her hand down her costume's soft material. "I can't believe this is real."

  "Just wait until the first time you step onto the field." He'd never forget his first time. The crowd's energy, the sheer volume of people and noise, and all eyes on him, waiting for him to perform. "Take a second to absorb the moment. There's nothing else like it."

  "Okay, now I'm a little nervous."

  "The pressure is huge but you'll do fine. Remember, we'll still be connected with the head sets." He slung his costume over his shoulder and headed toward the couch, careful not to catch the edge of the rug with his crutches.

  Claire beat him to the couch by five seconds and pulled the costume from him. "Here, let me help."

  "I can do it." But he gratefully sank onto the cushion and set the crutches aside.

  She shushed him and opened the costume's zippered back. "Is your pant leg wide enough to go over your cast?"

  He reached for the garment and her fingers skated over his. The zing from the brief touch radiated up his arm. Swallowing, he closed his hand over the gray material and leaned back. "The designer added a zipper to the calf so as long as I keep that open and roll up the leg, I'll be fine. The cloth cast will hide any exposed skin and the real cast, and will hopefully be a reminder to people that I'm injured and they shouldn't get too close."

  Tugging the material over his cast and then his shorts, he kept his focus on getting into Fin's skin and not how Claire was getting under his. The other leg glided on easily and he snapped the pant stirrup over his sneaker.

  In the corner of his vision, Claire slid her costume up her legs and over her arms in one easy move. She even managed
the zipper without any problem. Then she turned to him.

  "What do you think?"

  The fins extended down her arms and attached to her gloved hands via a loop over the middle fingers. From the neck down, she was a shark with arms and legs, complete with the fin on her back. From the neck up, she was still the stunning woman who'd been on his mind for the past few days.

  He grabbed his crutches and pushed to standing. "I think that when Fin sees Fiona, he isn't going to know what hit him."

  She grinned and checked out her reflection in the mirror hanging on the door. "I like the blue scrubs."

  "Good call there." He glanced at the costume hanging off his waist. "I probably should lay back down and try to shimmy into the rest. Balancing on one leg is hard if I have to let go of one of the crutches to pull on the costume."

  She shook her head and crossed to him. "I'll help."

  Liam stiffened his muscles when she held the one crutch and helped him tug the costume over his arm. Having her so close messed with his senses. She switched sides and when pulling up the other sleeve, her fingers brushed along the bare skin of his forearm and bicep before running over his T-shirt covered shoulder. He sucked in a breath as his body reacted to her touch.

  Not the time. Not the place. Not now. Not her.

  Repeating the commands helped him get a handle on his control. Until she stepped behind him. Her hand brushed his neck where she held the material in place as she zippered the costume closed. God, if she helped him like this before every game, he didn't know if he'd make it through the first week without bursting out of his skin. "Thanks."

  She stepped in front of him, cheeks flushed, and helped him loop the fins over his gloves. "Do we put the heads on now?"

  "Yeah. The team doesn't ever want Fin or Fiona running around unmasked." He shifted his weight and reached behind him for the mask that hung like a hood. He couldn't have her helping again and touching his face. He'd do something to reveal his desire for sure.