Playing for Keeps

by LuAnn McLane

  “A Cricket Creek blue Slush Puppie after every win. You remembered.” Noah grinned as he accepted the cold cup.

  “Noah, you gave this town lots of memories.” Big Joe winked at Olivia. “Most of them good.”

  “Some of them legend,” Jason said and then backed away from Madison’s elbow.

  “Oh, come on, I had to raise a little hell,” Noah protested and then took a long slurp of his Slush Puppie. He backed away so the rest of them could order.

  “I’ll have a small vanilla-chocolate swirl with chocolate sprinkles,” Olivia said. It occurred to her once again that Noah wasn’t quite the cocky superstar that she had thought him to be, and without thinking she reached up and patted his back. He seemed surprised at her spontaneous gesture, but then smiled with what appeared to be a bit of emotion. While Madison and Jason ordered, he offered her a swig of his drink and she accepted, thinking that it felt like a very couplelike thing to do. She was getting used to him being around and determinedly pushed the fear of him leaving out of her mind. For now the spring sliding into summer seemed endless, and she refused to ruin what felt like a rare perfect night.

  “Your tongue is blue,” Olivia observed with a giggle.

  “Correction—Cricket Creek blue. Let me see yours.”

  “Oh, like I’m falling for that old trick,” Olivia replied and clamped her mouth shut.

  “Fall for what?” Jason asked after swallowing a bite of hot fudge sundae. “You need me to kick some Noah Falcon butt, Teach?”

  “Like you can,” Noah countered in a tough-guy voice that was hard to take seriously while he licked a dip top. “Damn, lost a piece of chocolate. My dip-top skills need some polishing.”

  “What did he want to see?” Madison asked.

  “My tongue.”

  “Oh, baby.” She gave Noah an arched eyebrow. “You’ve still got some game.”

  “Right, I know … for an old dude. I keep getting that.”

  Madison laughed. “Well, you’ve got an ice-cream cone in one hand and a Slush Puppie in the other. I think you’re an overgrown kid.”

  Noah stuck his tongue out at her.

  “Eew, with a blue tongue,” Madison observed.

  “Cricket Creek blue,” Olivia corrected.

  Madison shook her head. “You people are just weird.”

  “Isn’t she just the sweetest thing?” Jason asked drily.

  “Thank you, Jason,” Madison said in a singsong voice and blew him a kiss.

  Olivia laughed, then licked a creamy drip from her cone. When she looked up, Noah’s eyes were on her and her heart skipped a beat.

  11

  The Only Game in Town

  Noah was right. Watching Olivia consume an ice-cream cone sent his pulse racing. It wasn’t just the sensual act of licking the vanilla swirl but rather the pleasure she took in something so simple. “Let’s find a place to sit.” He located a vacant spot beneath a huge oak tree and sat down on top of a picnic table with his boots on the bench seat, just like he did as a teenager. A month ago, going out on the town meant an upscale hot spot where one drink cost more than an entire meal at Myra’s Diner. Noah had thought that was the lifestyle he had always aspired to and that it spelled success, but sitting here with warm and friendly people felt so relaxing … so damned good that he was beginning to rethink his goals.

  Since returning to Cricket Creek he had felt a sense of peace, of belonging. He woke up in the morning looking forward to the day ahead, and he realized that had something to do with the gentle woman sitting beside him.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” Olivia said.

  “My thoughts are worth more than a penny,” Noah teased and then bumped his knee against hers. “Actually I was thinking about how I love New York but always felt swallowed up by the city. It’s different here.”

  Madison nodded. “I get what you’re saying. Chicago felt the same way. Everybody knows everybody here. There is a sense of caring.” She rescued a piece of chocolate from her cherry dip top and said, “Mom and I were talking about that recently.”

  “Really?” Jason rested the heel of his work boot on the bench of the picnic table next to where Madison was sitting. “So you think you’re going to stay beyond the end of the play?” Although he asked casually, Noah could sense the seriousness in his question.

  “Now that I know I can get a fabulous martini at Sully’s, I’ll give it some consideration.” She concentrated on her cone but then looked up at Jason. “Unless you can think of a better reason?”

  “I could come up with a thing or two,” Jason answered.

  “Promises, promises …” Madison replied, but the blush in her cheeks made Noah think that Jason had already shown her a thing or two. The vibe between them was hot enough to make his ice cream melt. He could relate.

  “You going to the game tomorrow, Noah?” Jason asked with a sideways tilt of his head.

  Noah swallowed a crunchy bite of cone coated with chocolate. “You mean Cricket Creek baseball?”

  Jason grinned. “It’s the only game in town—the season opener against Morgan County. No beer allowed, but the hot dogs are good.”

  “I had planned on it. You going too?”

  “I might be late, but I try to make most of the home games.” He stood up and brushed crumbs from his jeans before extending his hand to Madison and playfully tugging her to her feet. “Hope to see y’all there.” He looked at Olivia as well, and Noah realized that people really were starting to connect them as a couple.

  “’Bye, guys,” Madison said. Noah thought that she seemed more happy and relaxed than he had seen her since his arrival. “They seem to be hitting it off,” he observed after they walked away. “Maybe you were right in hooking them up.”

  “I usually am.”

  Noah took a bite of chocolate and angled his head at her. “Why do you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Play matchmaker?”

  She looked a bit uncomfortable for a second, but then shrugged. “Part of it is to keep people here in Cricket Creek. I hate it when people leave when all they really need is right here in their own backyard.”

  Noah sensed there was more to it than that, but he chose not to put a damper in the otherwise excellent evening. “Is it okay if we go to the game and rehearse late tomorrow?” he asked and was glad when she nodded and seemed to brighten.

  “Sure, I’d love to go. Try to make as many games as I can,” she answered before crunching the last bite of her cone.

  “I …” Noah had a comment on the tip of his tongue but when Olivia licked a chocolate sprinkle from her bottom lip all coherent thought fled his brain. “Uh …”

  “What?”

  “You, uh, missed some.”

  “Here?” When she licked the wrong side of her mouth Noah shook his head and leaned closer.

  “Other side,” Noah informed her but chuckled when she missed the sprinkles.

  “Oh, can’t you help a girl out? For heaven’s sake, I don’t want to walk around town with chocolate-sprinkled lips. People laugh at me enough already. Where is my napkin, anyway?” She looked around, but he reached over and cupped her chin in his hand.

  “Allow me.” With the pad of his thumb Noah brushed a sprinkle or two from the center of her bottom lip. He didn’t mean it as anything overtly sexual, but he felt the impact of her moist mouth slide like hot fudge down his spine.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was husky, and the evening breeze blew strands of hair across her cheek. She looked at him with soulful eyes that held a hint of expectation. Noah desperately wanted to lean in and kiss her.

  And so he did.

  Softly. Gently. But the feel of her mouth beneath his packed a punch that had him threading his fingers through her hair in search of more. She tasted like ice cream, smelled like flowers, and he simply couldn’t get enough.

  “Noah, we’re in public.” She pulled back and whispered it in his ear.

  “I don’t give a—”

&nb
sp; “Fig?”

  “Yeah, a flying fig,” he responded gruffly. He was beyond caring about anything other than kissing her, touching her, and they were secluded enough not to be a spectacle.

  “Me neither,” she admitted with a trembling smile that hit Noah hard. Olivia Lawson was falling for him. He could see it in the depths of her warm brown eyes. She was so sweet, honest, and good … and she didn’t deserve to have her heart broken. She shook her head and put a hand on his cheek. “Don’t do that to me.”

  “What?”

  “Look at me as if I’m made of spun glass. Noah, I might not be the kind of woman you’re used to, but I’m not going to shatter right before your very eyes. Small-town girls are made of sturdy stuff.”

  “Olivia?” Noah’s heart pounded like it was the ninth inning and he’d been brought in to close a one-run game with three men on base and no outs. “What are you saying?”

  Olivia cleared her throat and then said, “I’m saying that we need to go back to my house and … and rehearse.” She gazed down at the grass and then back up at him. “Are you ready?”

  “I’ve been ready.” Noah nodded and stood up so quickly that he almost fell over and had to steady himself on the edge of the picnic table. If he wasn’t mistaken, Olivia Lawson wanted him as much as he wanted her—and not just to rehearse lines that they already knew by heart. He leaned in and said next to her ear, “Are you planning on having your small-town-sturdy-self way with me?”

  She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and lifted one slender shoulder. “Maybe.”

  “Well, then, let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”

  Olivia laughed when he tugged her to her feet. “Don’t go feeling so sure of yourself, Noah Falcon.”

  He arched one eyebrow and gave her what he hoped was his best winning smile. “So I have a chance?”

  She held her thumb and index finger an inch apart.

  “Baby, that’s all I need.”

  “We’ll see.” Olivia’s light, playful laughter washed over him like warm summer rain. Noah was used to bold, confident women. Olivia was pure and natural in comparison, and yet there was an earthy sexiness about her that simply blew him away.

  When Noah took her hand, he wasn’t surprised to feel a slight tremble. A light rose blush stained her cheeks, and he could tell that she was nervous. He couldn’t wait to kiss away her inhibitions.

  Oh, boy … but when he started walking, he found that his own legs felt a little shaky. He had dated models and starlets, but he couldn’t remember when he had felt such a sense of sweet anticipation.

  They started strolling at a normal pace toward his car, but the closer they got to Main Street the faster they walked. The sexual tension that had been building since day one suddenly heightened to a fever pitch.

  “Oh, my goodness!” Olivia yelped when she nearly sat on the apple pie.

  Noah hopped into the car and threw it into gear. “Hold on tight.” He had to force himself to go at a safe pace while driving to her house, but as soon as he pulled into her driveway he rushed over to the passenger side of the Corvette, yanked open the door, and tugged her to her feet. Not caring about who saw them, he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the steps.

  “What are you doing?” Olivia clung to his shoulders and laughed with pure delight.

  “I don’t know. I felt the need to have you in my arms right away.” When she fumbled with the doorknob, Noah said, “It’s not locked?”

  “This is like Mayberry, Noah. I never bother to lock my doors.”

  Noah shook his head. “I know, but all the same, promise me you’ll keep your doors locked from now on, okay?” The thought of anything happening to her clenched his gut, and he hugged her closer.

  “I promise,” she replied in that husky voice edged with Southern comfort. “And thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For caring, Noah.”

  “This whole town cares about you, Livie.”

  “Yes, but in an abstract way. Your concern for my safety means a lot to me. And I care about you too. This isn’t about who you are—you know that, right?”

  “Yes, I do know that.” But she had no idea what that statement meant to him. As a baseball player Noah had been taught to keep his game face on. So when emotion suddenly clogged his throat, he was taken aback, but then he gave her a slow smile. “You know, it was always my dream to make it to the majors, and don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed everything about it, including the female attention.” He cleared his throat and continued. “But, Livie, what you just told me is the sexiest thing a woman has ever said to me.”

  She looked at him and nodded. “I get it.”

  Noah looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. “You know everyone in this town makes it clear that they are proud of me. But at the same time Mabel rides my ass when I go to the bakery. Madison keeps me in line and, well, Myra gives it to me real. Even Jason treats me like a friend and not a celebrity. It’s pretty cool to feel needed, wanted, and liked as a person instead of a franchise that’s losing value.”

  “Losing value?” Olivia put a hand on his cheek. “You don’t give yourself nearly enough credit.”

  He sat down on the sofa with her on his lap. “Ahhh, Livie, thank you for making me feel good about myself again.” He chuckled. “Even as a kid I felt worthless when I wasn’t hitting.”

  “And yet you love the game.”

  “Absolutely. I miss playing, but I didn’t know how much I missed the game until I started spending so much time with the high school team. Being behind the scenes has been great—I didn’t know I’d still be able to enjoy baseball from a coaching angle.

  “You know, I was lucky I got noticed when I was playing here. Small-town teams like Cricket Creek don’t get scouted as much as the big schools.”

  Olivia shrugged. “Maybe you can find a way to change that. Even small-town kids need a chance.”

  Noah smiled at her and then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Or even a second chance.” He met her gaze and then dipped his head and captured her mouth with his. The kiss began tenderly, but the moment his tongue tangled with hers Noah was lost in sensation that went beyond just physical. He didn’t simply want Olivia—he needed her …

  And yet he hesitated.

  Olivia reached up and cupped his cheeks between her palms. “I want this, Noah. Let’s go to my bedroom.”

  “So do I.” With her still in his arms Noah stood up. “Down the hallway?”

  “Yes, the room on the left,” she answered in a voice full of heat. “And hurry!”

  “Not a problem,” he said and laughed as he picked up the pace.

  They entered the bedroom and he eased her to her feet and kissed her hotly before pulling back to begin unbuttoning her blouse.

  “Your fingers are trembling,” Olivia said with a sense of wonder.

  “Kinda ruins my player reputation,” he said with a slight grin.

  “No, it’s incredibly, adorably sexy.”

  “Just like you,” he said as he continued to undress her. “I’ve fantasized about your underwear from the moment I saw you in Grammar’s Bakery.”

  Her eyes widened. “Truly?”

  He nodded. “You were so prim and proper but with a mouth made for kissing. I imagined silk and lace.”

  “You would have been oh, so wrong.”

  After pushing the soft cotton blouse down over her shoulders, he sucked in a breath. “But I’m not.”

  She pressed her lips together and looked down at the floor. “I went shopping.”

  Noah felt his chest tighten. “For me?”

  She nodded slowly and then raised her gaze in a question. “How did I do?”

  Noah cupped his hands around pale blue satin edged with just a hint of white lace. The tiny white bow that peeked between her breasts was demure and yet enticingly sexy. With an intake of breath, he rubbed his thumbs over the creamy skin spilling out over the top of the bra and said, “Perfect.”
r />   “The bra?”

  “No … you. The lingerie is just an added treat.” He brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck. “Do the panties match?”

  “Why don’t you find out?” Her voice was soft, breathless. And when he sucked her earlobe into his mouth, she moaned and held on to his shoulders for support.

  “You don’t have to ask twice.” While nuzzling her neck he unbuttoned and then unzipped her pants. He slowly slid them over her hips and down her thighs. “Ah … satin,” he said, cupping her ass in his palms. He tucked a finger under the elastic and sighed. “And lace. Bikini.” While toying with the panties, he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, teasing, tasting until he felt the moist heat of her desire beneath his hand. When she sucked in a breath, he said, “Olivia, lie down on the bed so I can see you.”

  12

  Cowboy Up

  Olivia eased down onto the bed and gazed up at Noah. It had been a long time since she had been with a man, and she should have felt shy, unsure … but the passion smoldering in Noah’s eyes made her feel bold and confident. The bra and panties had been an impulse buy and had looked so enticing in her drawer next to her Hanes Her Way that she had slipped them on this morning. Just wearing the slinky underwear had given her an attitude, and she thought with a smile that she was going to fill her dresser drawers with silk, satin, and lace.

  “You can’t smile like that without telling me what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m thinking that you are overdressed for the occasion.”

  “I like how you think, Livie Lawson.”

  She eased up to her elbows.

  “And I love how you look,” he added and then tugged his shirt over his head. A moment later he was gloriously naked. She gazed up at wide shoulders, a sculpted chest, and muscled thighs. A thatch of dark hair covered his chest and tapered to an enticing line pointing to an impressive package.

  Oh, my …

  “You’re gorgeous, Noah …” she said but then hesitated.

  Noah sat down on the bed and tilted her chin up to look at him. “I hear a but in there somewhere.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip and waited for her to elaborate.

  “This sounds corny, but I find you sexy from the inside out.”