by Lori Ryan
She’d started out simply reciting the facts to him, but by the end of her little diatribe, she could hear the conviction in her own voice. She believed in herself, and she wanted other people to believe in her, too. It didn’t seem to matter that she didn’t know this man. She didn’t want him thinking badly of her. Thinking she couldn’t succeed at whatever she set her mind to.
He frowned at her, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine what this man wanted. Why on earth would he care why she was working here?
“You shouldn’t be working here. You’re not like these other girls,” he said, his tone clipped and impatient.
“Hey!” she said. “My best friend works here and has for years. She makes a damn good living and she’s good at what she does. Besides, I don’t know of anywhere else that I can earn three to four hundred dollars a shift, even though I suck at waiting tables. I wouldn’t make a quarter of that at a regular waitressing job.”
She opened her mouth to continue her tirade, but he cut her off, eyes boring into her.
“I’ll give you the money. What do you need to cover six months?”
“What?” she asked before his meaning dawned on her and she stepped away from the table. “You can’t buy me! Whatever it is you’re hoping I’ll do for you, I’m not for sale, Mr. Kyle.”
“Aiden,” he said calmly as one of the bouncers walked up behind her.
“Everything all right here, Jazz?” the bouncer asked.
She nodded over her shoulder at him, the red flush she was becoming used to creeping onto her face again. Her manager had walked out of the back and was eyeing her suspiciously as well.
“Everything’s fine. Thank you,” she said to the bouncer then lowered her head.
“I have to go,” she said, not meeting Aiden’s eyes. She’d never been more humiliated in her life. She thought she’d been prepared for the possibility of people offering her sex for money when she took this job, but it was more of a blow than she’d realized it would be.
Chapter Four
Aiden waited by his car until Lily came out of the club an hour later. He was beat and only wanted to go home, but he’d offended the hell out of this poor woman. He could see that now, and that hadn’t been his intention at all. He couldn’t leave without telling her he was sorry. Shoot. Now he was one of those guys. The creepy guys who hung out and tried to push themselves on the girls at the club after hours.
He’d half expected one of the bouncers to come and try to chase him off, but no one had. They did walk her to the door and he saw her speak to them, shaking her head before heading his way. And, the large man stayed in the doorway, eyeing her as she approached. Well, hell, he couldn’t blame them. He’d do the same thing if he were in their position.
Aiden stood and held his hands out, trying to appease her. “I’m really sorry, Lily. That came out all wrong back there. I wasn’t trying to offer money in exchange for anything.”
She looked back over her shoulder at the bouncer, as if to assure herself that she was still being guarded, and he winced. He really screwed this up if she was that worried.
“It’s all right,” she said, but he could see it wasn’t.
“It’s just, I see you in there every night, and it’s clear you don’t belong there. That’s not you in there.”
She raised her chin and he could see the pride shining in her eyes. “I’ve worked really hard to get where I am, Mr. Kyle. I’m a registered dietician, and I’m damned good at what I do. It just turns out, I’m not very good at running numbers and creating business plans. But, I’ve had a business coach look at my figures now, and if I can keep my head above water for six months, and add two new clients per month for each of those six months, I can make it. I can make it.”
He eyed her realizing she was a whole heck of a lot more than she appeared, just as he’d suspected. And, she was damned determined. He liked that about her.
“So,” he said, a plan forming in his head, “you just need twelve more regular clients to be able to quit? If you had twelve more, you’d be all right?” He didn’t know why he thought of it like that. Like he needed for her to be all right before he could walk away and forget he ever saw her, but that’s what he was feeling.
“Yes, if I get twelve over the course of the next six months and keep them,” she said, slowly, nodding her head.
“Done,” he said and held out his hand. “Give me your business card. I’ll have twelve new clients for you tomorrow.”
Twelve at the same time instead of over six months should not only get her what she needed, it should put her over the top with the big influx of income at once. His teammates wouldn’t be thrilled, but he’d make them see it his way. Dang. If he had to, he'd blame it on the curse so they’d go along with it. Because he could tell this woman was too much temptation for him. His best strategy—his only strategy—for resisting the curse, was to stay away from women. And he couldn’t seem to stay away from this one, at least not while she was working here and her job might just depend on him. He’d watched her drop more drinks in three nights than he would have thought possible. And, every time, her boss’s head had turned right toward Aiden.
She laughed at him. Laughed. At him. He narrowed his eyes.
“What’s so funny?”
“You! Why would you do this for me? What is it that you want?”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “What do you know about baseball?” he asked.
“Nothing. Well, that’s not exactly true. I know all about the nutritional and dietary requirements of an athlete’s body and how to balance those needs individually for each specific sport and for the individual player. But, the game? Nothing.” She shrugged a shoulder.
“We have a forty man roster. Each of those forty men treats their bodies as a temple, carefully monitoring what goes into it. But, we’re also busy and most of us are lazy as hell when it comes to things like cooking or grocery shopping. I’ll be doing my teammates a favor by getting them your info. I can get you at least twelve players tomorrow as regular clients. Maybe more. Oh, and I’m also friends with half the Brawler football franchise. I can get you more clients when their season starts.”
Her eyes widened and she seemed frozen, unsure of whether to believe him or not.
“I don’t want anything in exchange, Lily. I just don’t want you to have to work here when you’re so clearly out of your element. Besides,” he said, running a hand through his hair, “I can’t keep coming here every night to make sure Donny keeps his word about not firing you.”
He didn’t tell her why he couldn’t keep coming here. He wouldn’t let her know she was temptation on legs for him, and he couldn’t keep subjecting himself to that when he needed to focus on his game.
“So,” he said, sticking his hand out again, “give me your card and I’ll get your clients. Then, you quit.” He looked over her shoulder once more to the club’s entrance where the bouncer stood, glaring at them.
With a very distrustful glint to her eye and a great deal of skepticism she didn’t seem to be trying to hide, she handed over her business card. He nodded and got into his car, then watched until she got to her car and was inside with the engine running before he pulled away.
He had a lot of favors to call in.
Chapter Five
Aiden was smiling when he walked into the locker room almost a week later. He’d easily convinced more than twelve of his teammates to try Lily’s service, which meant he didn’t need to sit in the strip club and watch men manhandle her night after night. And, more importantly, he didn’t have to see her. Didn’t have to be tempted by her.
His smile slipped a bit when he thought about how she’d starred in his fantasies every time he’d jerked off in the shower that week, but he shoved the thought aside. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t being tempted by the curse right now, and that was all that mattered.
“Hey, man. Thanks for hooking me up with Lily,” Jason Denali said, slapping Aiden on the back, making him freeze.
>
“What did you say?” he asked, spinning to glare at Jason, who raised his hands in the air in surrender.
“Whoa,” Jason said, backing away. “The food, man. I meant the food.”
Gage chimed in with a moan of pure appreciation. “Did she make you guys the pecan crusted chicken this week? God, that was heaven.”
Several of the other players nodded and grinned, all agreeing the pecan chicken was a favorite before they began shouting out other meals she’d made them that apparently rocked their worlds. They talked about her as though she came to their houses and cooked for them. And suddenly, he had images of her in his kitchen doing just that for him. Naked.
Why was she naked in his fantasy?
He shook his head. Of course she was naked. Half the time when he pictured her, she wasn’t wearing a thing. Well, maybe those red heels she’d worn at the Candy Shoppe Lounge.
Rafe was the first to notice Aiden wasn’t joining in on the conversation about Lily’s cooking.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like her food?”
Aiden shrugged and turned back to his locker, hanging his shirt up and grabbing his warm-up jersey.
“I haven’t tasted any of her food.”
He heard the laughter of the guys around him as they processed what he said, but it was Rafe who grilled him.
“Why didn’t you hire her? You got all of us to hire her.”
Aiden shrugged another shoulder but didn’t say anything. What could he say? I couldn’t stand the temptation of having her around? I didn’t want to risk getting caught in the curse so I’m avoiding the one woman I’ve met lately who draws me in like nobody’s business? He couldn’t tell any of them that.
He heard the guys slowly go back to getting into their warm-up uniforms, but Rafe stuck close to him. When the rest of the guys started to file out onto the field, Rafe leaned in.
“You like her. You had all of us hire her to help her out, but you didn’t hire her yourself. Only reason to do that would be to avoid her. And, the only reason to avoid her is because you like her.”
Aiden turned and leveled a look at Rafe.
“You’re making more out of this than it is. It’s not a big deal, Rafe. I just don’t think I need someone to cook for me.”
Rafe grinned.
“I dare ya.”
“What? Dare me to what?” Aiden asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like this answer. Rafe knew he wouldn’t back down from a dare.
“Hire her. Hire her to cook for you,” Rafe said, his grin wider than ever.
Aiden ground his teeth together and turned to grab his mitt from his locker.
“Sure,” he said, offering up yet another damned shrug to try to convince Rafe to back off. “I’ll hire her.”
But, as he walked from the locker room, Rafe’s laughter followed him, and he knew he’d just screwed himself. Screwed himself good.
Chapter Six
Aiden didn’t know if it was the dare from Rafe or the fact that the guys wouldn’t shut their damn mouths about her food, but he’d booked Lily’s services within the week. Now they sat side-by-side on his couch, going through her forms, talking about his schedule, his workout routine, and the recommendations for his diet made by his team doctor.
And, it was all he could do to focus on any of that.
She smelled freaking phenomenal. Like cinnamon and buttered sugar, and something he’d like to sink his teeth into. Aiden shifted on the couch, making sure his raging erection wasn’t blatantly obvious through his jeans.
“Last question,” she said, smiling up at him. She was all business, seeming utterly unaffected by him. “Any allergies to food that I need to know about?”
Damn, he was distracted. His allergy to shellfish had been drilled into him from a young age. He never forgot about it. Forgetting it could mean his life.
“Shellfish,” he said, sitting up and refocusing.
“Got it,” she said and whipped a roll of stickers out of the small organizer bag that sat by her feet. He watched as she stuck a shellfish allergy label on each sheet of his form on the top and the bottom. No way those stickers could be missed.
“I’m impressed,” he said. “You seem to be really on top of everything.”
She grinned. “I love doing this. Getting everything exactly right for each client. It’s fun. I have to thank you, by the way. I have so many baseball players for clients, I’m able to devote two whole days to cooking just for you guys. You actually don’t have higher calorie needs than most people because you’re not in constant motion in your sport like some athletes, but you do have slightly different protein, fat, and carbohydrate balance requirements. I’ve also suggested some custom supplements for some of the guys, so if that’s something you’re interested in, we can work with your team doctor to come up with the right plan and tweak as we go along.”
She stopped and blushed. “I’m babbling. Anyway, thank you. For everything you’ve done.”
He watched her, the softness in her eyes drawing him in. “You were able to quit the club?” He knew the answer to that. He’d gone in for a few nights after his friends had hired her, and there wasn’t a sign of her on any of those evenings.
“Yes.” She nodded and the blush grew. “With the big chunk of new clients at once, I was able to get all caught up on my loan payments, and if things continue this way, I’ll be just fine. My business will make it.”
She glowed as she smiled at him, and all he could do was stare at her. His fingers itched to reach out and touch her, to brush that soft skin, to feel those lips, see if they were really as plump and soft as he imagined. To taste them, nip at them and see if she moaned in response.
Oh, hell.
Holy hotness, Batman. Lily thought it was her imagination for a minute, but there was no mistaking this—Aiden Kyle was thinking dirty thoughts. And, oh shoot, so was she. She blinked, slowly.
She could not go there with this man.
For a number of reasons. Not the least of which was the fact that the man had single handedly saved her business. If she screwed this up by acting unprofessionally, she could lose everything she’d worked so hard to build. Then, of course, there was the fact that she wasn’t baseball-player-girlfriend material. No, she was more like the tortoise and he was the hare in this story. He lived a life she couldn’t imagine. He had his pick of any woman he wanted. He had money and fancy shiny toys like the Corvette sitting in his driveway. He was so far off her pace it was laughable.
“Here,” Lily said, probably a bit too loudly, a bit too suddenly. She reached for the cooler bag at her feet, unzipping it, and pulling out the glass containers. “I have some samples to get you started. These are cookies. They have a great deal of protein and fiber, and are the perfect snack for before a workout when your body will need an extra boost in a small package.”
Aiden didn’t break eye contact as the corners of his mouth tipped and he took the container. “I’ve heard a lot about theses cookies. The guys rave about them.”
She grinned. “They’re my secret weapons. They have shredded carrots and pecans, but you won’t even know you’re eating something that’s good for you. I promise.”
She pulled another set of containers out and handed them over. “These ones are lunch-sized portions of a few things for you to try. I’ll drop off three days' worth of meals at a time from now on. Leave the empty containers on the counter, and I’ll take them to refill. No need to wash them. Just leave them with the tops off. I’ll gather them, clean, sanitize and refill.”
She was babbling again. They had already gone over this, as well as the alarm and key instructions so she could access his home if he wasn’t there. She had his schedule; she’d given him the drop off routine. They were finished.
Yet, here she sat, repeating everything again.
He smiled at her now, a full on melt your panties kind of smile that said he knew exactly how nervous she was.
She stood. Abruptly. He joined her.
�
�Well,” she said and stuck her hand out to shake his. And, then she didn’t know what to say.
He smiled down at her hand, taking it carefully in his much larger one, as though afraid he’d break her.
Lily retrieved her hand, a little disturbed at the way the warmth of the handshake seemed to seep into her, shaking her to the core. He still smiled at her, that knowing, confident smile that told her he knew exactly how flustered she was. And, he was not.
She backed up to the door. He was not the least bit flustered as that smile remained on his lips. Oh, those lips. What she wouldn’t do to have a free pass to those lips for a day. Or a night. Or five minutes. Lily felt behind her for the doorknob.
“So,” she said, still lost. Goodbye. Goodbye is the word you’re looking for.
“Goodbye, Lily,” he said.
“Bye,” she squeaked.
Good grief.
Chapter Seven
Lily shook off her umbrella and placed it outside the door before she set down the cooler bag. She pulled Aiden’s note off the door where he’d taped it, just as she’d instructed him to. He was letting her know which meals he liked best, what to repeat and what to avoid for future orders. She scanned the note and smiled as she tucked it into her bag. So far, he’d loved just about everything, just like his friends. She’d expanded her business enough to add another day of rental at the commercial kitchen space she used for her cooking and prep, making it that much easier to get everything done.
She made her way to the kitchen and unzipped the cooler bag, then started to settle all of Aiden’s meals onto the shelves of his refrigerator. For some reason, coming into Aiden’s space always seemed more intimate than going into her other clients’ homes. She had keys and alarm codes for most of them, since her clients tended to be busy professionals. She always came and went quickly, setting everything up, grabbing the empty containers, and going on her way.
