Jo took another long pull from the bottle, relishing the cool bubbles that ran down her throat. “Aren’t there some abandonment laws or something?”
“Yeah. My lawyer said something about that.” He stood to pace. “Maybe that’s why she’s here for just the day, to be sure she sees him just enough to dodge an abandonment charge. She gave me some line about how she’d been traveling overseas and hadn’t seen the emails. I don’t know how to deal with her manipulation and head games. If she were a guy, I’d just punch her in the face for how she’s treating Ryan and then talk some sense into her.”
Jo smiled. The Chad she knew had never hit anyone in his life off the football field. “Pacing around on your newly injured knee isn’t helping anything.” He still wore only a towel so she could finally see how swollen his knee was. The towel was damned distracting. “Go get dressed, and then let me check it, please.”
His settled next to her again, swung his legs onto her lap, and then laid his head on the arm of the couch. He closed his eyes and whispered, “You know I sleep in the buff. Why would I get dressed?”
Because she was having a hard time keeping her hands off more than just his knee. But that’d be a major mistake. At first chance, he’d go right back to his first love, football, and she’d never see him again, just like before. She needed to tamp down the temptation.
“You wouldn’t flop your legs across any other PT’s lap while wearing just a towel, would you?”
Jo set the beer down on the coffee table. Alcohol wasn’t going to help her resist him. Especially when he acted like such a responsible parent. That had surprised her from the beginning. Something about that behavior made it even harder to stay angry at him.
With his eyes still closed, he grinned. “Not if you were a guy. Who knows otherwise? Other women have mentioned they actually enjoy laying their hands all over me.”
Jo grunted. It’d probably be quicker to examine his damned knee and get it over with. She ran her hand across the swollen flesh. “You mean like the women just out for your money? I bet they tell you all sorts of nice things. You’re just a big marshmallow covered in muscles.”
He laughed. “Tell anyone else that and I’ll sue you for slander. I have an image to maintain.”
“You couldn’t sue me, because it’s true.” She shook her head at the new damage he’d cause his knee. “You’ll have to take a break for a few days to let this heal. Did you look at the video montage I sent you from our workouts?”
He opened his eyes and nodded. “Thanks for doing that. Sometimes it’s hard to know if I’m making progress, but it showed I really am.”
“Were, making progress is more like it. This new injury is a setback, for sure. No more boneheaded moves like that again, please. Now move it. I’m going home.”
He stared intently into her eyes. “That’s the Jo I miss. The one who smiles at me while calling me a bonehead. It’s nice to have you back.”
Her first instinct was to tell him she wasn’t back at all, but something had changed between them tonight. “I’m tired of being angry with you, Chad. What’s in our past is done. But that doesn’t mean I want to be more than just your PT.”
“I’ll take being friends. You’ll still come to the ranch tomorrow, right?”
She started to decline, but then remembered she promised Ryan she’d see him tomorrow and bring him a book. Then, on top of it all, there was a baby horse. That was tough to resist. And she really did miss his mother.
Or was she just trying to fool herself? A sick part of her was dying to meet the woman Chad had married. “What time should I meet you there?”
He smiled and swung his legs off her. “We’ll pick you up at ten, if that works for you?”
She stood and grabbed her bag. “Should I assume you know where I live because it used to be Shelby’s house?”
“Yep.” He joined her by the elevator. “My mom said she was going to make her famous chili and corn bread. Just for you.”
“You love it too, and probably asked for that just to make it that much harder for me to say no, didn’t you?”
He held up his hands. “Guilty as charged. I really appreciate you doing this, Jo.” He leaned closer, like he wanted to kiss her.
Luckily, the elevator doors parted, so she hitched up her bag and hopped inside. “Yeah, well, I let some touching happen tonight because I felt bad about poking you at the restaurant. Tomorrow we’re back to the strike system.”
“Understood.” He crossed his arms and nodded. “But I’m curious. Have you poked all the other guys you’ve dated?”
“No. You’re re the only one who brings that out in me. I can’t figure out why. Other than you seem to know how to push my buttons like no one else.”
When the door started to close, he leaned his good shoulder against it to stop it. “Maybe I push your buttons to prove you can’t hide from me. I get you, Jo. Like no other man ever will. Because you won’t let him in and risk being hurt again. Admit it.”
“Suddenly you’re an expert on love? When those other women fooled you and used you for your money? I don’t think so, Chad.”
“It was only money that I lost to those other women, Jo. I never gave any of them my heart. Because it still belongs to you.” He stepped backward out of the doorway.
Just as the doors started closing, she said, “Actions speak so much louder than empty words, Chad. Night.” The doors slid shut, and she started her slow descent.
She closed her eyes and laid her head against the back wall. It’d been a crap day all around. A lousy date, who, on paper, should have been right for her, Chad bringing up Bryce, the heartbreak of watching poor Ryan missing his mother, and then, when she was at her weakest, the man went and threw out that his heart still belonged to her, dammit.
The best thing she could do was fix his knee and send him back to his beloved football. The worst thing she could do was let his pretty eyes and killer smile make her do something dumb again.
She’d call Shelby when she got to the car and ask if she could pick up another book for Ryan on the way home. Then she’d ask her buddy to remind her of all the pain and suffering Chad had put her through. Maybe it’d make her heart stop asking her brain to give the guy another try. Because when he’d said she still owned his heart, her own had skipped a beat.
When the doors parted, she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder again.
Just as she stepped out, Chad appeared before her, panting and still in just a towel.
She asked, “What are you doing?”
“I ran down here to tell you something.”
“You ran all the way down the steps? What were you thinking? Your knee—”
“I want to make a point.” He knocked the remaining words right out of her mouth with the strength of his arm pulling her against his hard chest. Then he kissed her.
Her traitorous heart leapt in victory, while her brain screamed to make him stop. All she’d have to do is shake her head or push him away. But he was practically naked, and his hard pecs were all snuggled up with her aching chest. It felt too good.
She dropped her bag and let her hands run themselves up and down his corded back, just like they’d been wanting to do all week. Mmmmm. She loved the way Chad’s muscles quivered ever so slightly under her light touch. Missed exploring all the hard bumps and dips of his well-honed body.
His hand slid along her cheek to maneuver her mouth just the way he wanted, so she let him. She’d tell him to stop . . . soon. But then his tongue began to dance with hers in such a familiar, comfortable, inviting rhythm, she figured maybe she’d give him just another minute to prove his point. Sixty short seconds wasn’t too much to give. She was a reasonable person, after all.
When his large hand slid down to her bottom and squeezed, the alarm bells from her endorphin-soaked brain began to clang in her ears.
Her heart told her brain to mind its own business, while his busy hand slipped up her side and cupped her breast. The way hi
s big, rough, football-player hands could be so gentle and yet flip her “yes, please, do that” switch like no one else, finally brought her crashing back to reality. It’d be a mistake to let their kiss last even another second. Twenty more and she’d be dragging him back upstairs. So, technically, she had a few more seconds to enjoy touching him before she got serious.
A countdown started in her head, but when his hips pressed against hers, making it abundantly clear he wanted her as much as she wanted him, she lost count. Time to blow the game whistle and call time out.
She broke their kiss, panting as hard as he’d been after running down the stairs. She laid her head against his chest and shut her eyes until she could find the words to excuse her actions. She wasn’t usually so weak.
His heart thundered under her forehead.
“What do those actions say, Jo?”
“That we’re both idiots who can’t control our lust?” she whispered.
“No. It proves there’s still more than simple attraction between us.”
There was no question that was true for her. He had those smooth-talking ways and an irresistible body that was hard for her to ignore. But she couldn’t risk what little remained of her wounded heart again. “You’re just lucky I warned you the strikes would start tomorrow. Or I’d . . .” What? It was as much her fault as his that the kiss went on for so long. “Never mind. I have to go.”
He called out, “I’ll take the strike. It was worth it.”
Yeah, it had been worth it. But he’d never let it get to strike three. He’d get to two and stop, and then he’d shape up so as not to risk his beloved career.
She could take that to the bank just as she had his check. Now if only her heart would believe it.
8
MOTHERS ALWAYS KNOW BEST.
Chad settled back against his headboard, determined to push away the thoughts of Jo and how she’d kissed him back like she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Hopefully, with a little more time, she’d figure out he was different now and forgive him. If he had to, he could settle for just being friends, but he hoped they could be more than that one day again.
But when she smiled at him like that, it was so hard to turn off his emotions. He used to live to make Jo smile and laugh. He’d never had such an easy relationship, one filled with fun banter and teasing. She was the only woman who he’d call a true friend. Maybe that was all she could give him going forward. He needed to keep his eye on the prize, and get back out on the field.
He grabbed the remote from his nightstand to catch up on the pregame chatter. Tomorrow was a huge game for his team. If they won, they’d be first in their division. Right where they hoped to be early in the season. Their second-half schedule was going to be tougher. He needed to get better so he could help them make the playoffs.
As he tried to concentrate on the stats, and as the rolling banner across the bottom of the screen announced a snowstorm was on its way late in the day tomorrow, his conversation with Linda distracted him. She’d said she wanted to talk with him tomorrow. She’d made a big mistake. She could move back into their condo with him while he rehabbed his knee, and they could work on repairing their relationship. Then she added the zinger about how if they could work things out, it’d save him the child support he owed her for the past five years.
All a load of BS.
And nothing about how she’d missed Ryan.
Her new boyfriend must’ve figured out what she was really like and kicked her out. She probably needed a place to live temporarily until she found her next rich victim. Or it could be some plan to make another guy jealous. If it weren’t for Ryan, he’d tell Linda to stay out of his life for good. She wasn’t getting child support for a child she’d hidden from him. He’d happily be sure Ryan had anything he needed going forward, though.
But if he turned her down flat, would she use Ryan as a pawn in her many games? The poor kid was better off without his calculating mother. Chad needed a way to get her to sign over full custody to him, with the provision that Linda could visit Ryan anytime she liked. That way Ryan would have a stable home.
If they went to court, would the judge side with Linda because she was the mother and he’d only known Ryan for a few months? Hell, if they asked what Ryan wanted, he’d for sure side with Linda, because she let him do whatever he liked. What if she took Ryan to Europe as punishment for refusing her the back child support money? He wouldn’t lose a second child. It was only money. He had more than he could spend anyway.
All the noise in his head made him give up trying to pay attention to football, so he turned off the TV. As he lay on his back with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, a thought of how to thwart Linda’s plan hit him.
He grabbed his cell to text his lawyer and ask him to send a custody agreement right away. Then he dialed Jo. She answered with, “I was having the best dream of my life, so this better be important.”
“It is. Did the dream include me?” He was pretty sure his dreams were going to include her after their hot kiss. She’d been the subject of many of his again lately.
“Nope, he was faceless. But he had a really hot body.” She yawned loudly into the phone. “They never have faces when I haven’t had sex in a while. Why am I even telling you this?”
“Because you were asleep. You used to say the cutest things before you were all the way awake in the mornings.” It was one of his favorite things about her. “But you’re in good company. I’ve been living like a monk too.” He really should do something about that. But when would he between rehab and Ryan?
She snorted. “A few weeks is nothing compared to two years. You’ll live.”
“Two years?” He settled farther under the covers and plumped up his pillow. “Why would you choose to go two years without sex? You could have any guy you want, Jo.”
“I’ve been busy with my café the last year.” She sighed. “And before that, I didn’t want a man in my life after the last one.”
Shelby had told him about her bad breakup with the doctor. He wanted to punch the guy for using Jo to get ahead at her father’s practice. “Tell your matchmaking team they need to step up their game. Scott was a lapdog. You need a Rottweiler.”
She chuckled. “I’ll let them know you said so. Why are you keeping me from my sex dream?”
He wanted to offer to take care of the sex for her, but he’d better not. “Linda wants me to take her back.”
“Are you kidding me? After running off with another man and then hiding your kid from you? If you take her back, I’ll call three strikes and quit rehabbing you.”
“I’m not taking her back.” Jo was always a straight shooter. He liked that about her. “But if I tell her to take a hike, I’m afraid she’ll use Ryan as a weapon, so I need for you to show up tomorrow wearing your ring. If she thinks I’m engaged, maybe she’ll back off on whatever scheme she’s cooking up.” He wouldn’t mention the money Linda was asking for, or Jo might completely lose it.
There was nothing but dead air for a full ten seconds. “Jo? If you’re not going to talk to me, then hand the phone to the faceless guy. Maybe he’s got a sister.”
She chuckled. “Stop making me laugh. This could be a very bad idea, Chad.” She blew out a long breath. “Won’t she know that you were just living with that other woman, so our engagement would be awfully fast?”
“Linda never knew about the woman I was living with. She was in and out before my ex got back from getting her hair done. But Linda knows who you are and that we were engaged before. She’s even seen pictures of you, so I think she’ll buy it.”
“Wait. How has she seen pictures of me?”
“I still have some. At my mom’s house.” And in a box in his closet in San Diego, but she didn’t need to know that.
“It’ll be hard to convince Linda we’re a couple without touching each other.”
“Obviously. So we’ll call a truce on the touching just for the day. You might be doing Ryan a huge favo
r, Jo.”
“Dammit, Chad. Why did you have to add Ryan to the mix? I’ll think about it. Good night.” She hung up.
He smiled and tossed his phone on the nightstand. She’d do it for Ryan.
Jo shivered in her down jacket as she waited on her front porch for Ryan and Chad to pick her up. The November wind bit right through the jeans tucked into her boots. Chad had just texted her, warning that Linda had showed up unexpectedly to ride along with them to the ranch. And they’d be there in a few minutes, to pick up his beautiful fiancée.
So the charade would soon begin. Her stomach hurt a little when she thought about how hard acting like Chad’s fiancée all day was going to be, but she’d do it for Ryan.
When Chad’s big truck with its dark, tinted windows lumbered up her drive, she drew a deep breath for courage and high-tailed it to the driveway.
After Chad stopped, she lifted the door handle to hop into the passenger side, but Linda was already there. “Oh, hi. I’m Jo. I’ll just sit in back with Ryan.” Why Linda wouldn’t want to sit next to Ryan after not seeing him for months made no sense.
The blonde former Miss Alabama beauty queen smirked. “Linda. Chad’s wife.”
Wife? It was tempting to add that Jo was the one who still owned Chad’s heart, but that’d be a bad idea. Wouldn’t it?
Instead, she held up her left hand and waggled her fingers. “Clearly you meant ex-wife. He’s all mine now.”
Linda’s eyes narrowed. “Not until you say I do, he’s not.”
Chad cleared his throat while Jo refused to back down from Linda’s death-ray stare. He said, “Let me get that door for you, babe.” He started to get out.
“No worries. It’s freezing, and you walk too slow these days. But thanks.” She shut Linda’s door and opened the one in the rear. “Good morning, Ryan.”
She climbed in and then leaned over the front seat and kissed Chad’s cheek. “Morning, babe.” She nipped his earlobe to remind him to behave. Not because it used to drive him wild. Or because he smelled really nice. Or because she loved the way he’d do anything for Ryan.
Perfectly Ms. Matched (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 2) Page 8
