Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5)

by Violet Vaughn

  Neal stabs a piece of lettuce and holds it in the air. “So where were you? It shouldn’t have taken that long.”

  “I got a phone call, too.”

  His eyebrows rise in question because his mouth is full. I say, “It was Trevor, we broke up.”

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “It’s a good thing. While I initiated it, I think he had planned on ending things with me, too.”

  “I’d say I’m sorry, but you know I’m not. You don’t need that kind of guy in your life.”

  I shrug. “Yeah.” While I’m fine with my relationship being over, I don’t want to bad-mouth my ex-boyfriend. And even though he hasn’t been an angel lately, I think deep down Trevor’s still a good guy.

  Neal gazes at me as a sly smile forms on his face. “What do you say we ditch this place and do something completely random this afternoon?”

  The office organization isn’t done, but it’s usable, and there will be plenty of slow retail hours to get it finished. “Okay, do you have something in mind?”

  “I do.” He takes another bite of his salad.

  “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

  He swallows and says, “Mini-golf.”

  I grin. “Mini-golf?

  “Are you laughing at the geek in me?”

  “No. I’m just surprised, but I think it sounds fun. And I don’t believe you were ever a geek.”

  His voice gets deeper, and I wonder if he has any idea that it makes me tingle. “There’s so much you don’t know about me.”

  I raise my eyebrows in response. His statement makes me think about how he’s right. I don’t even know where he lives, while he knows my darkest secret. This afternoon I’m going to work at getting to know more about my business partner.

  Settling into the black leather bucket seat of Neal’s BMW I begin my quest. My seatbelt clicks into place. “So you grew up in Breck and ski, right?” I ask.

  “I ski and snowboard.”

  “Which do you like better?”

  “Neither. I learned to ski first, switched to snowboarding after my high school racing career was over, and now it depends on who I’m with.”

  The blinker ticks softly as we wait at the light to turn left. “Flexible, I like it.”

  Neal glances at me, but his eyes are covered in sporty-looking sunglasses. His grin gives him away when he says, “I aim to please.”

  “That you do, and it’s quite charming.”

  “Wow, I’m getting a lot of compliments today. I must have done something right.”

  “At the risk of swelling your head before I trounce you in mini-golf, you do a lot of things right.”

  He snorts. “Trounce?”

  “Crush, beat by a mile, skunk—”

  “I know what it means. It’s just an odd word to use.”

  I think about how I used to spend time playing golf with my grandfather on his homemade putting green. Trounce is a word he would have used. “I guess.” I’m about to tell him about it, but stop myself since I’m supposed to be on a get-to-know-Neal mission.

  I ask, “What others sports did you play in high school?”

  “Soccer and lacrosse. What about you?” The engine barely purrs as we speed up.

  “I ran cross-country and spring track. But it was mostly to stay in shape. I wasn’t good at it.” Jeesh, I have a way of monopolizing the conversation when I’m with Neal.

  “You look like a runner to me. What were your events?”

  “Long-distance stuff.” I renew my effort to turn it back to him. “What positions did you play?”

  “Offense. So did you run the two-mile?”

  Huh, he’s good at deflection. No wonder I don’t know much about Neal. “Yes. I’ll bet you were good at offense. You like to get the job done. Were you also a straight-A student?” I grin because I managed to turn it back on him.

  “No. That was my sister’s job. But I did okay. You?”

  “Nope, I rocked the B’s though.” He’s slowing down, and the blinker lights on my side view mirror flash to indicate he’s turning right.

  He chuckles and says, “Yup, me too. I did better in college when I started to take classes I liked.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “CU Boulder.” He turns to look out the back window, and he maneuvers us into a parking spot.

  “And you majored in business, right?”

  “I did.” The gear shifts into park, and he lifts his glasses to gaze at me. “What’s with all the questions?”

  “I realized I don’t know you as well as you know me. I’m trying here, but you’re awfully good at changing the subject so it’s not about you.” I open the door to get out.

  The remote beeps as he locks his car, and we walk toward the miniature golf building. Designed to be used year-round, there are two golf courses. One outside and one inside, along with various video games to keep kids entertained. Neal says, “I’m not that interesting. There are a million guys like me.”

  Oh, no, there aren’t. “Really? A million guys that own multiple businesses, retail locations, and fund random girls to be nice?”

  “There are a million guys that have a decent job and treat people right.” He pulls the clear glass door open for me to enter the building.

  “You sell yourself short, Neal Morgan.” I step ahead of him into the breezeway and pull the cold metal handle of the next door, holding it open for him to enter.

  We walk up to a long counter painted royal blue. I say, “Two for golf, please.” The woman behind the counter scans us quickly and reaches over to get clubs.

  I turn to Neal. “What’s your favorite color?”

  “Red.” There’s a twinkle in his eyes when he asks, “What’s yours?”

  “Magenta, but they don’t have it.” The putters thud on the counter, and I ask, “Can we have a red and a purple ball please?”

  Neal chuckles as the woman digs through the bucket to give us the colors I requested.

  I grin at him. “You laugh, but the right color ball makes all the difference.”

  “I bet. Purple balls are known for trouncing red ones.”

  I palm the cool plastic and toss the ball lightly in the air. “Oh, Neal, it won’t be the color that lets me trounce you.”

  We approach the first hole of the miniature golf course. It’s designed in an old mining town theme, and the ball has to travel through a mountain tunnel that turns sharply to the left.

  Neal’s ball drops onto the fake grass with a thud. “Let’s put a wager on this game.”

  “What do you have in mind?” I hold on to my ball and rub the smooth dimples in the surface with my finger.

  “How about for each hole the winner can ask the other any question they wish?”

  Considering Neal already knows my biggest secret, my answer is easy. “Deal.”

  “Want to go first?”

  “Nope. You go. I’m thinking about my question.”

  Neal lines up his putter and taps the ball with force. It rumbles through the tunnel and pops out the other side, toward the hole, where it stops short.

  I set my ball down and take a moment to plan my shot. I take it, and when my ball comes out of the tunnel it rolls slowly in. “Yes!”

  Neal shakes his head. “Wow. Okay, what’s the question?”

  I know he’ll answer with as few words as possible so I craft my wording carefully. “What was the name of your high school love?”

  “Jenny.”

  I grin because now I know he fell in love in high school. I try for more. “Where is she now?”

  “You only get one question, but I’ll answer as a bonus. She went to medical school, and I heard she’s a pediatrician in Denver.”

  The next hole is a train bridge over water, and I go first. I hit my ball harder than it needed, and it bounces off the lip behind the hole to end up a few feet from the target.

  Neal takes his time and does a better job judging how to strike the ball. His land
s near the hole, but on my turn I tap my ball in easily while he manages to overshoot and miss.

  This time I’m afraid my question might be too personal but go for it anyway. I watch carefully to see his reaction. “What was the name of the girl that broke your heart?”

  He answers quickly, and I’m glad to see he doesn’t seem upset. “Kate.” He walks to the next hole but turns to look at me as he does. “I already told you about her.” He smirks. “That was a wasted question.” Neal places his ball down and plans his attack.

  Not wasted at all. I smile but wish I could jump up and down, because he’s not hung up on her and that leads nicely to my next question.

  Neal wins the third hole. “Did you have any serious boyfriends in college?”

  I wonder what he’s really asking. Does he want to know if I fell in love after Trevor, or if I had sex? I put my hand on my hip and tilt my head. “Define serious.”

  He grins. “Sleepovers.”

  Heat rushes to my face. “Yes. You’re so going to regret you asked that.” Neal’s wink makes me roll my eyes.

  I win the next hole. “Casey called you a man whore.” I wink back at him when his eyes widen. “But Nika says you’ve changed. When was your last sleepover?”

  Neal moves toward hole five and doesn’t answer until we get there. “Over a year ago.”

  I squat down to determine the best direction to hit my ball. I glance up at him. “Why haven’t you gotten involved with anyone?”

  “You’re not very good at only asking one question.”

  I shrug and take my shot, hoping I win so I get the answer. My ball goes in, and I quietly say, “Yes.”

  Neal takes his turn and misses. I’m about to walk to the next hole when he grabs my arm and pulls me close. His eyes sparkle under the artificial light. “I got tired of meaningless relationships. The next woman I date will be more than a pretty face and sex for me.”

  I stare into his eyes, and heat smolders deep inside me. He licks his lips, and I want to taste them in the worst way. Let me be that girl.

  Chapter 29

  During our golf game, I learned that Neal had a dog as a child and wants another, and he has an apartment above the Wine and Cheese Shop and a plot of land outside town to build on someday. He wants children, would be a famous rock star if he could be anything, and his favorite ice cream is Coffee Toffee Crunch. Oh, and he wears briefs. That last little morsel has many visions flashing in my mind.

  When we return to town, Neal leaves me at Ruby Raines so he can deal with other business. Silk is luxurious in my hand as I rearrange a dress one more time. I’m driving myself crazy, trying to make everything perfect, so I head over to Rhinestone Cowgirl to visit with Nika.

  She looks up from a pile of jewelry on the counter. “Everything set?”

  “Pretty much. I have Loren and Mandy coming later to train on the register and to see the clothes. I hope you don’t mind if I teach them to sell the way you taught me.” I grab a sheet of labels, and metal scratches as Nika moves the pile that goes with it over for me.

  “Of course not. Besides, there will be times when one of our girls might follow a customer over to the other shop. It’s good that they do things the same way.”

  I picture Neal pouring over the spreadsheets he loves, and smile. Nika and I decided early on that we would ring each other’s sales up with our own to make things easy for the shopper, and Neal and Christian could sort out how to do the finances.

  Nika asks, “How are you doing with what happened last night?”

  The shame of sharing my secret causes my pulse to quicken, but I squash it down. “Strangely, just fine.” I decide to assume she’s talking about Trevor instead. “Trevor and I broke up this morning, and it’s like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

  Adhesive is sticky on my finger as I wrap a price tag around a chain. “Spending time with Trevor just confirmed what it was we had. While it was wonderful in high school, as an adult, not so much.”

  “Hey, I’m hoping you’ll like this idea. Christian and I would like to have you and Neal over for a celebratory dinner next week. Would it feel too much like I’m setting you up?”

  “What? No. Gosh, no. Neal and I get along great.”

  “Okay, just making sure. Of course you know I think you two belong together, but you seemed really uncomfortable around him last night.”

  I gather up the necklaces I tagged, and they clink as I wander over to the jewelry display. “It was an awkward situation. I guess maybe I was afraid he’d think less of me as a partner.”

  “Oh, Ruby, you didn’t exactly commit a crime. I think a whole lot of women can imagine the same thing could have happened to them. Guys, too.”

  “I know that. But the shame I felt back then has definitely lingered.”

  Nika has finished with the bracelets and links her fingers through them. “Well, don’t feel embarrassed around me. I’m like Neal, I think what you did was courageous and probably incredibly hard.” She’s beside me now, and her light floral scent floats around me. “Childbirth scares the hell out of me. How did you manage?”

  I grin. “Drugs, lots of good drugs.”

  The side door opened when I was speaking, and the cold reaches us. Christian asks, “Drugs? What did I just walk in on?”

  Nika and I chuckle. And then she says, “You don’t want to know.”

  I say, “Hey, you’re cooking for me again next week.”

  “Oh, good, I was thinking I’d do the duck again since that’s what sold you on the whole idea we’re celebrating.”

  Nika snorts, “Yeah, that was it.”

  “Duck sounds awesome.” I wink at him. “And it just might have been what tipped me over the edge.”

  Christian wraps an arm around my body and pulls me against him. “You’re going to get the biggest piece of dessert.”

  I put my arm around his waist and lean into him as I glance at Nika. “If things don’t work out with you two, I’m happy to let you cook for me every night instead.”

  He says, “Finally, someone who appreciates me.”

  Nika rolls her eyes at him as I pull away and hit his arm lightly. “I need to get back on my side to train Loren and Mandy.”

  ***

  The lock clicks as I turn it on the front door of Ruby Raines. Turning back to glance over my shop, I take a moment to appreciate it. From the mossy green carpet to the twig light fixtures, it’s a dream come true. I open tomorrow morning and I’m ready. Garret stopped by with the last of the clothing, and I’m satisfied that my store is the best it can be.

  Nika steps in. “Are you almost done for the night?”

  “I am done. I was just admiring how fabulous this place looks.”

  “It really does.” She twirls in a circle slowly. “Very magical. Hey, don’t leave just yet, okay?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  She can’t look at me, and her mouth twitches into a smile. “Oh, nothing.”

  I snort. “You can’t keep a secret to save your life. But if you tell me, I’ll pretend I’m surprised.”

  She leans in close and whispers, “Neal’s bringing you something, and I’m supposed to make sure you don’t go before he gets here.”

  I whisper back, “Okay.”

  She walks over to a vibrant purple dress made from vintage silks. “This one keeps calling to me. I might have to have it.”

  The dress is a lingerie-type sheath until it gets below the knees where it flares out in a ruffle. It’s designed to either be worn as a first layer or on its own. She has a body that would work that dress well. “It would look gorgeous on you. You’ve got great taste, because I could only get enough of that fabric for a few dresses, but I had to have it anyway.”

  Nika holds the hanger up by her face and splays it out over the front of her body. A voice with a distinctive male tone that warms me to the core sounds behind me. “Twirl in it, because that’s what they’re made for.”

  I turn to a large bouqu
et of purple, pink, and magenta flowers that covers Neal’s face. I gasp. “Oh, my, those are amazing.” I take the large vase with two hands and inhale an aroma that makes me want to smother myself with them.

  “What fairy wonderland would be complete without flowers? Congratulations on Ruby Raines.”

  Nika says, “Wow, now that’s how to do flowers.”

  I set them down on the counter and turn to him. “Thank you.” I wrap my arms around his waist, and the crisp cotton of his Oxford shirt is smooth on my cheek. “You’ve made my dream come true.”

  His arms embrace me. “I’m glad I could do it. But don’t forget, you’re going to make me money. I know a good investment when I see one.”

  I pull away, but he doesn’t let go. Gazing up at his face I place my hands on his chest. He says, “I’ve got one more surprise for you.”

  Releasing me, he steps back as Christian enters with a bottle of champagne. Four flutes tinkle against each other in his other hand, and I guess they’re expensive too.

  Nika takes the glasses from Christian and the cork pops. He says, “To Ruby Raines!” He pours the champagne slowly into the tilted flutes, and Nika hands them out. When he’s done, we all raise our glasses in a toast.

  Neal says, “To women in dancy dresses.”

  I giggle at the odd look Nika and Christian give us. After I take a sip, I say, “When I was a little girl I loved to twirl and watch my dress fly out in the shadow. I would get upset if I didn’t have something dancy to wear.”

  Nika says, “And a style was born. That’s perfect.”

  I raise my glass, and the others join me. “To the most amazing friends a girl could have. All three of you have supported me every step of the way, and for that I’m grateful.”

  This time I savor the bubbles on my tongue and the crisp finish as it goes down. “I’m forever spoiled, you know. I can’t drink house wine, and now I’m afraid I’ll never be satisfied with regular champagne either.”

  Nika sighs. “I love good champagne.”

  Neal says, “You’re not spoiled, just enlightened. Life’s too short to drink the cheap stuff.”

  I chuckle at our snobbiness. While the words sound pretentious, I know the man saying them has no trouble knocking down a wall or doing my laundry if that’s what needs to be done. I recall his office that first day and how I was surprised he sat amidst straws, napkins, and urinal cakes.