by Raine Thomas
Her chin lifted. It was a move that never failed to get his libido hopping.
“Only Danny and Tobias call me that,” she said in a warning tone.
Smiling widely, he eased back into the sofa cushions and returned his attention to Danny. “I’ll come back on my next home stand. If you’ll put together a list of things you need fixed, I’ll tackle what I can.”
“You’re not our handyman,” Jasmine insisted.
He winked at her. “But I am a handy man.”
“Quit trying to turn away offers of help,” May told her sister. “This is my place. I’ll decide when I want a hot guy to come over and fix things that need fixing.”
“Preach, honey,” Danny said, holding up a hand.
May reached over and high-fived him, her gaze never leaving Jasmine’s face. Jasmine heaved a resigned sigh.
To keep the peace, Will shifted the conversation to topics other than home improvement. After he and Jasmine finished their drinks, she rose and carried her glass and his empty bottle to the kitchen.
“I forgot my purse upstairs,” she said. “I’ll head up and get it and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“Sounds good.”
May also got to her feet. “I’ll come up and make sure you didn’t forget anything else.”
“You’re such a big sister,” Jasmine said as they started up the stairs.
Will watched her legs until they disappeared.
“They’re pretty incredible, right?”
He looked at Danny. “Huh?”
“Jazzy’s legs.”
“Oh. Hell, yeah. Never seen any sexier.”
She returned a couple minutes later, May in tow. May and Danny sent them off with hugs and waves. Before Will could open the car door for Jasmine, the driver did so.
“This is a nice ride,” she said as she slid into the leather backseat. “What kind of car is this?”
“A Tesla, ma’am,” the driver replied before closing the door.
She met Will’s gaze as he sat beside her. “This is a nice touch.”
“Glad you like it. I thought we’d enjoy ourselves a little more at the event if we didn’t have to think about the drive home afterward.”
“Planning on getting drunk?”
“Nah. Those days are behind me. Can you imagine being hungover with a five-year-old and Gump running around?”
Jasmine shook in a mock shudder. “I see your point. Even without the usual screaming that kids do, I’m sure it would suck.”
Something must have shown on his face. She briefly closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Will. That was insensitive.”
“It’s fine.” He knew she hadn’t meant it in any kind of derogatory way. “Actually, Katie made another one of those giggle sounds earlier.”
Jasmine’s delighted smile grabbed his heart in a fist.
“What made her laugh this time?” she asked.
It took him a moment to draw a full breath. He swallowed hard to push through the tightness in his chest so he could respond.
“Gump farted.”
She blinked as though she wasn’t sure how to respond. Then she let out a loud laugh.
“That is just precious,” she said with a shake of her head. “It makes me so happy to hear it. She’s made so much progress, Will.”
Knowing that a large part of that progress was owed to her intensified the feeling in his chest.
“But a dog fart?” she said. “Really?”
He grinned. “Yeah. He was sitting on the hardwood floor. It really resonated.”
She reached out to grasp his arm as a fresh bout of laughter overtook her. It was the second time that evening she’d deliberately touched him. It hadn’t occurred to him before then that she never had before.
Thinking of how he’d been reacting to her so far, he held out hope that there would be plenty more touching between them before the evening’s end.
Chapter Sixteen
Jasmine hadn’t been sure how a gymnasium could be transitioned into a glamorous event space, but someone had definitely pulled it off. The Michael Sanderson Center for Boys and Girls looked like the poshest Hollywood gala. She’d only seen events like this on TV and in magazines.
Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Plush carpet covered the floor. Rich draperies hung along the walls. Velvety curved sofas and an abundance of Chiavari chairs complemented the many clear acrylic tables guests were meant to use to hold their drinks and appetizer plates. Servers in black suits and bow ties circled with trays covered in sweet and savory canapes. A four-piece jazz band played on a grand stage.
And celebrities abounded.
Jasmine met so many she would never remember them all. There were athletes, of course. Mostly locals from the city’s MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS, and new NHL expansion teams. But she also met newscasters, actors, musicians, artists, politicians, social media influencers…it was mind-boggling.
She was having so much fun. She sipped wine from her glass and made her way around the room with Will, who seemed to delight in introducing her to people if his big smile was any indication. He had offered her his arm as they entered the event. Since she’d had a hard time keeping her hands off him from the moment she first saw him in his suit and tie, she had happily kept her hand on his taut bicep while they mingled.
Who would have thought that a suit could get her so hot and bothered? It wasn’t something she’d ever noticed about herself. That evening, though, she was battling an unhealthy amount of lust for Will Campbell.
Judging by the many looks he got from the other females in the room, she wasn’t the only one with that particular problem. She might not have had any right to be bothered by those women, but she was. A couple of times when the stares were painfully blatant, she’d had to restrain herself from saying something. This was her student’s father, she reminded herself. Her sexual attraction to him wasn’t any more appropriate than those looks being sent his way by other women.
Still, it was exciting to feel so alive and passionate about something again. She’d take what relief she could get from the weight of her uncertain future.
“Looks like it’s photo op time,” Will told her a couple hours into the event, catching a signal from the team’s owner, Caroline Sanderson.
“No problem. I can entertain myself.”
“The other players’ dates are hanging out together near the photo area,” he said, gesturing toward the well-lit step-and-repeat banner bearing the event’s logo. “Do you want to join them or go back to drool over Andrew Wyatt some more?”
She laughed and elbowed him in the side. She’d been completely tongue-tied when she met Andrew, one of the stars of her favorite medical drama, Sacred Grace.
“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t bring that back up,” she said.
He started walking toward the step-and-repeat, reaching for her hand and tugging her along with him. Her pulse raced over the innocent contact. It felt much more intimate than holding onto his arm.
“I recall agreeing not to tell anyone else,” he corrected. “At no point in time did I ever promise not to mention it again. Just as I never promised not to call you Jazzy if the moment seems right.”
Her eyes narrowed.
He gave her an innocent smile. “Not the moment?”
“Nope.”
“Okay then.”
They reached the step-and-repeat. It had been set up just outside the gym in a roped-off section of the outdoor basketball court. At least twenty guys had now collected there, as had a commanding woman in a black evening gown.
“That’s Caroline Sanderson, the team’s owner,” Will told her. “I’ll introduce you to her later.”
She nodded. She had seen the woman smiling and walking around the room. Every time she and Will had drawn near her, Caroline had been in an in-depth conversation that Will hadn’t wanted to interrupt. That made sense to Jasmine now. The team’s owner had to be incredibly busy as the hostess trying to encourage the attendees to do
nate to the event’s cause of supporting at-risk youth.
Seeing Everly and Sierra among the waiting women, she said, “Since I’m here, I’ll just hang out with the other dates.”
“All right. This might take a while. They’ll want a team photo, individual photos, and some player groupings.”
“I’ll somehow manage without you.”
“Will you?”
He gave her a mischievous smile and lifted her hand to place a kiss on the inside of her wrist. She drew in a sharp breath as it sent a fresh wave of desire rushing through her.
“I had to give Andrew a run for his money,” he said, winking at her before he released her hand and headed off to join the other players.
She watched him go, doubting her heart would get back under control by the time he returned. She hadn’t ever had that kind of reaction to a man.
What was she going to do about it?
“That looked fun,” said one of the women Will had said were the other dates.
Jasmine turned to face her. The woman looked quite lovely in her deep sapphire-colored ballgown. It suited her fair coloring.
Giving her a smile, Jasmine replied, “It really was. I’m Jasmine.”
“Alexis.” She lifted her wine glass as though toasting their introduction. “This is Gwyneth and Marie.”
Jasmine followed the gesture of her hand to the two women beside her. Gwyneth was a tanned brunette with dark hair and eyes. She wore a purple dress that Jasmine personally thought looked more like a prom dress than something suited to this type of event. Supposing the woman couldn’t afford anything nicer, she reserved judgment about it.
Marie had flawless ebony skin and gray eyes that Jasmine suspected were colored contacts, but that didn’t make them any less arresting. Her gold evening gown caught the light, drawing more than one set of eyes to her impressive figure.
All three women were smiling. Despite that, she sensed a less than welcoming vibe from them.
“So, you’re here with Will, huh?” Gwyneth said. “I haven’t seen him attend one of these events with a date before. Are things serious between you?”
Jasmine took a sip of her wine before responding. She had never been approached about her personal life so directly. She wasn’t sure whether to be uncomfortable or grateful they weren’t beating around the bush to get the answers they sought.
“Will and I met in February,” she said. “Are you all here with ballplayers too?”
The women exchanged glances, likely unhappy with her vague response. Until she knew why they were asking, she wasn’t about to give them more.
“Yep,” Alexis said. “I’ve been with Tony for almost a year and a half now.”
Because Jasmine had started keeping up with the team, she knew Tony Descalso was a relief pitcher.
“Gwyneth here has been with Kyle for about a year,” Alexis continued, referencing the team’s right fielder, “which is the same for Marie and Eddie.”
In some of their more casual conversations over the past few weeks, Will had shared some things about his teammates. Jasmine knew Eddie was never without a woman on his arm whenever the team traveled. She saw no reason to mention that, though it might have been satisfying to see the reaction from Marie. She was currently giving Jasmine a thorough scan that didn’t feel all that flattering.
“That’s nice,” she said, unsure what else to say.
“Since this is your first one of these shindigs,” Alexis said, “let me give you a few pointers.”
Jasmine lifted her glass to hide a rather catty smile. “By all means.”
Tipping her chin toward a group of six or seven women, the other woman said, “Those are the One-Timers…the girls the players date once and never bring to another event. You know, kind of like one-night stands?”
Jasmine nodded, presuming Alexis and her two friends had already lumped her into that group.
With a nod in the direction of four women who were trying way too hard not to be obvious about watching them, Alexis said, “Those over there are the Repeaters. They’ve been to a few events with the same players, but the future of their relationships is still uncertain.”
“Then there’s us,” Marie chimed in. Her voice was low and her accent lyrical, telling Jasmine she was born in another country. “We’re the ones with long-term relationships heading toward marriage.”
“I see,” Jasmine said.
How could these women not be aware of how crazy they sounded?
Alexis turned her gaze to the group of women that included Everly and Sierra. “That group over there is The Wives.”
Unsure whether to reveal that she was acquainted with a couple of them, Jasmine nodded again.
“Until you marry a player, you’re not allowed to hang out with The Wives’ Club,” Gwyneth said.
“Is that so?”
“Yep. So if you think you have a future with Will, you should prepare for years of this type of thing at social events.”
Jasmine found their interpretation of the groups rather odd based on what she knew about Everly and Sierra. Both women were friendly enough. She couldn’t imagine either of them ostracizing someone based on their marital status.
“A couple years, huh?” she said to fill the silence that lingered after Gwyneth’s statement.
“Oh, yeah,” Alexis replied. “It isn’t easy to get these guys to commit. They have women throwing themselves at them everywhere they go. You have to give them a reason to settle down.”
“You mean love?”
“Oh, sure,” Marie laughed. “If you’re lucky.”
Likely seeing Jasmine’s puzzled look, Alexis said, “Most of The Wives snagged husbands in less…we’ll say traditional means. For example, Tianna pretty much bought Austin. Her family’s loaded.”
“Yeah,” Gwyneth agreed. She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “And Lena basically blackmailed Luis. I don’t know what she has on him, but there were rumors of some rather choice sex tapes.”
Finding herself more and more amused, Jasmine said, “Really?” in a way that conveyed more interest than she felt.
“Yeah. Or you could always go the pregnancy route,” Marie said, nudging Alexis in the side.
All three of the other women laughed.
Calming herself, Alexis explained in a loud whisper, “Sierra snagged Evan by getting knocked up.”
Jasmine couldn’t even pretend to be amused anymore. “Thanks for sharing all of this, ladies. I’ll certainly keep it in mind.”
Not waiting for their responses, she turned and strode across the small crowd of women until she reached Everly and Sierra. Sierra stood out in the crowd thanks to her magenta-streaked hair, but her bold magenta gown drew even more attention. Beside her, Everly looked like a statuesque goddess in her black dress, her vibrant red hair swept up in an elegant style that looked stunning on her. Jasmine swore her belly had gotten bigger just in the couple weeks since her last PT appointment.
“Hi, ladies,” she greeted them.
“Jasmine,” Sierra said with sincere pleasure in her voice. “It’s so nice to see you.”
Jasmine wasn’t surprised when Sierra drew her into a hug despite them being virtual strangers. Sierra had struck her as the hugger type.
“It’s nice to see you too. How is little Noah?”
“Oh, don’t get me started,” Sierra said with a laugh. “I’ll have you looking at photos and videos on my phone for an hour. I’ll just say that he’s an absolute doll, and motherhood is both more exhausting and more rewarding than I ever thought it would be.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“It really is. I have to admit that while this event is fun and I’m happy to support Aunt Caroline, I miss him terribly. This is my first time away from him for this long.”
Jasmine reached out to pat her arm. “I’m sure he’s fine. You’ll be home and snuggling with him in no time.”
“That’s such a sweet image! Thanks.”
Nodding and turning to E
verly, Jasmine asked, “And how are you feeling, Doc?”
“Good, thanks. I actually used the gift certificate you gave me earlier today. I really needed it too. Aiden’s been pressing on a nerve I didn’t even know I had. That massage made me feel like a new woman.”
“I’m so glad to hear it.” Thinking about what she said, she asked, “Is Aiden what you’re naming the baby?”
“Yes. It was my brother’s name.”
Jasmine caught the use of the past tense and suspected there was a story there. This wasn’t the time or place for that kind of conversation though.
“That’s nice,” she said. “Hopefully the baby pressing on your nerve now isn’t a sign of things to come.”
Everly and Sierra laughed.
“If he’s anything like his uncle, we’ll be just fine,” Everly said. When the band cued up a new song, she moved closer so she didn’t have to shout. “Are you enjoying yourself tonight?”
“I am. Will is quite entertaining and I’ve met some fascinating people.”
“Like Alexis and crew?” Everly murmured with a subtle glance in their direction.
“You mean The Girlfriends? Oh, yeah…that was quite fascinating.” Turning to Sierra, Jasmine said, “Did you know they said Evan married you because you got pregnant?”
Sierra shrugged. “That’s true enough.”
When Jasmine’s lips parted, Everly chuckled and gave her friend a light smack on the arm. “She’s being deliberately obtuse, which is why such rumors got started in the first place. Sierra feels, much as I do, that our personal lives are our business. The truth is that she and Evan were engaged for months before the pregnancy. They just changed their plans from a big wedding to an elopement once they found out.”
“Oh.” Finding that perfectly understandable, Jasmine dismissed everything The Girlfriends had told her. “I happen to think elopements are romantic. Where did you go for the wedding?”
“The coast of Mexico,” Sierra replied. “It was absolutely gorgeous. If you ever have a day on your hands, I’d love to show you photos.” Snapping her fingers, she said, “That reminds me. I’m ready to schedule a photoshoot with you. Let me get your phone number so I can text you with some dates.”
