“Oh sure.” I walked to the corner and leaned to read through the statement he had prepared.
Isaac’s eyes were on me. His leg was elevated in the bed. He was wearing a cotton hospital gown.
I nodded. “I think it’s what we need to say tonight.”
Steve stood, collecting his things. “I’ll head back to the stadium. It’s going to be a zoo over there once the news breaks.”
I closed my eyes. I hadn’t actually faced what had happened.
“Thanks for your help. I’ll talk to you later tonight.”
Steve looked at Isaac. “Sorry about all this man. Get better.”
“Yeah.” Isaac muttered.
I waited for Steve to leave then closed the sliding door in place and pulled the privacy curtain so no one could see Isaac. We both needed some damn privacy.
I rushed to his side, desperate to kiss him. I ran my hands through his hair, taking his lips. Gliding my tongue over his. I mewed when he reached, forward taking my breast. I kissed his firm lips, wanting to take the pain away. Wanting to make the nightmare disappear.
I broke away, staring in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Isaac.”
He looked down at his leg. “How much do you know?”
I shrugged. “Probably all of it. I know they’re waiting to do surgery tomorrow so the swelling can go down.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
I nodded quietly. He would probably never play football again. He would lose his speed with this kind of injury.
“What can I do? How can I help? I can fly in specialists. I’ll fly to specialists? Just tell me. Tell me so you can play again. I’ll do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?”
He circled his hands around my waist. “Baby, I knew I wasn’t going to play forever. It’s ok. I’m ok.”
I felt the tears well in my eyes. How could he be so calm about this? He had been given a death sentence for his football career and he was taking it in stride. It didn’t make sense.
I looked at the tubes running into his arms.
“How much of these pain meds have you had?”
He smiled. “Enough I don’t feel anything in my leg.”
“We’re going to get you through this. I’m going to take care of your entire recovery. I promise.”
“Will you dress up in one of those nurse outfits?” He waggled his eyebrows. “You’d make the most beautiful dirty nurse.”
I slipped into the bed next to him. There wasn’t much room with his broad shoulders, but I found a place to curl up next to his good leg.
“If you want a dirty nurse outfit, then I’ll do that.”
He growled. “What about now?”
I laughed, sniffing back tears between giggles. “I don’t think your doctors would appreciate that.”
“Fuck the doctors. I need your kind of medicine. Make me feel better, baby. Make me forget this fucked up night.”
I propped up on my elbow, turning his face toward me. I loved the chiseled lines of his jaw. His rugged cheekbones. His gorgeous dark eyelashes.
I ran my finger over his lips. “I love you, Isaac Price. I’ll love you whole again. I swear.”
He closed his eyes as my hand coasted under the sheet, massaging the planes of his chest.
“I love you too. Maybe that’s why I don’t give a shit about my leg right now.”
Sometimes it felt as if Isaac’s kisses could burn me alive. I moaned as his lips grew hungrier for me.
“Lock the door,” he whispered.
I kissed him again, lingering in the fire we built together.
“Holy fuck.”
I heard her voice before I could scramble into a decent position. My hand was on Isaac’s stomach and his mouth was on mine.
I closed my eyes, grimacing.
Charlie Maine stood in the door, mad as a hornet and cussing like one had just stung her.
“What the fuck is going on here?” She slammed the door behind her.
36
Vanessa
I slowly pushed myself off Isaac, careful not to jostle him in the bed. He couldn’t feel his leg, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t hurt him.
“Well?” Charlie’s hands were on her hips.
“I can explain,” I started.
She shook her head. “I really didn’t think you had it in you. You’re cheating on Dylan? This is unbelievable.”
“No. No.” I shook my head.
“She’s not. We’re not…” Isaac’s words were starting to slur. I realized the pain meds must be kicking in. I looked at him. He was fighting to keep his eyes open.
“You think since it’s not a real engagement that you can sneak around with his best friend? That’s not how publicity relationships work.” Her hands moved from her hips to a folded position.
“No. I know.” I ran my hands through my hair. Isaac was practically snoring. “We’re not cheating. Dylan knows.”
“Doesn’t make it any better.”
I exhaled. I was tired of the secrets. Tired of the lies. The laws that kept me from letting my heart live the way it wanted to. I’d been pushed and managed. Everyone told me what to do. Even tonight, when Isaac needed me, I had to sit back at the stadium because of our image. It was bullshit. I was tired of it. I wanted to start living the truth.
“Charlie, you might not want to hear the truth.”
“Yeah, actually I do. It’s the one thing I do want. It’s the only way I can my job for you.”
“I am with Isaac.”
She shook her head.
“And Dylan,” I added.
“Excuse me?” Her mouth opened in a perfect O.
Isaac’s snores started to fill the room. “I’m with both of them. I’m in love with Isaac and Dylan. And they know. And we’re all good with it. That’s the truth.”
She staggered to the chair, taking the seat Steve had occupied.
“Wait? What? Are they? Are they together too? How in the hell?”
I shook my head. “Oh no. No. No. I mean they’re friends, but not like that. I love Isaac, he loves me. I love Dylan, he loves me. It’s simple from our point of view.”
“You have a fucking open relationship with your two wide receivers?”
I exhaled. There was a small rolling stool near Isaac’s bed. I perched on top. “It’s not open. I’m exclusively with them. They are exclusively with me.”
Her eyes grew even wider. “This is unbelievable. You can’t be fucking serious, Vanessa.”
I nodded. “I am. I’m dead serious. And I need you to figure out a way that I can have both of them. That’s your job now.”
I crossed my arms, realizing suddenly just how valuable Charlie Maine was to me.
37
Vanessa
I gave Charlie until the end of the week to figure out how to make my dream a reality. That’s when Isaac would be released from the hospital. He would leave having a total of three surgeries. And there was no way in hell, I was sending him home to hobble around on his own.
I had purchased the skimpiest nurse outfit I could find and intended to wear it for him every day if that’s what he wanted. I wasn’t going back on the promise I made the night he was hurt.
I didn’t have to say anything. There was never a discussion—Dylan just moved his things to my house the night of the game. He was waiting for me when I got home from the hospital with two suitcases and a backpack. It was as if Isaac’s injury brought us closer. He made sure I wasn’t alone. He stepped up, taking on the role of two men.
Most people wouldn’t have believed me if I told them what Dylan had taken on. But how could I? That would expose us. Expose Isaac.
I loved how in late fall Texas nights were still warm.
The pool water felt like a bath enveloping my skin. I floated on my back in the salt water, staring at the brightest stars I’d seen. It was one of the best parts of living outside of the city. The sky was lit up like it had been invaded by diamonds.
Dylan s
wam beside me, resting his chiseled arms on the stonework of the pool. He sipped a cold beer. I had learned to stock them. I had every flavor and brand he and Isaac liked.
“Damn, I love Texas,” he mused holding the bottle in his hands.
“Have you ever lived anywhere else?” I swam to his side, letting my legs kick behind me. They scissored slowly as I held onto the ledge.
I watched his throat move as he swallowed. He was so gorgeous. I inhaled.
“Nah. Only Texas. I’m a College Station boy.”
I smiled. “I can see that about you.”
“How so?”
“You have that cowboy swagger,” I teased.
“Oh really?” He put his beer down, wrestling me in front of him. The water splashed as I pretended to swim away. “You like cowboys?”
I chewed on my lip, looking at the stars. “Oh, I think I like artists, musicians, you know poets…”
Dylan tugged the strings on my bikini, as he pulled me closer. I laughed and squirmed in his arms. My top and bottoms floated away as he pivoted me to straddle him.
“You want to say that again?” he dared.
I settled around his waist, gripping the back of his neck. He started walking backward and I realized he was taking us to the hot tub. He stepped up and over the stone step so that we were surrounded by swirling jets.
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll say it again.”
“Such a trouble maker tonight.” He gnashed at my lips, taking them with a rough kiss.
I climbed his body, feeling him slide between my thighs. His skin was slick and smooth in the water. I didn’t know when he had lost his board shorts, but I felt his hard shaft press into my heat.
I nodded. “I’m your trouble maker.”
He bent, sucking my nipple in his mouth. I thrashed backward in the water as my breasts bobbed above the surface.
“You know what cowboys do to trouble makers?” he teased.
I opened my eyes, blinking innocently. “What?” I asked, my voice breathy and husky.
“It might involve a lasso and some rope burn.”
“Shit,” I whispered. I kissed him hungrily. I pressed my mouth to his, tasting the beer swirl on my tongue. “I want to cause more trouble,” I moaned. “The worst kind.”
I felt how hard he was pressing into my thigh.
“Fuck, Vanessa.”
His hands tangled in my hair. I knew we were drowning. Sinking and swimming for life. My veins pulsed with excitement.
He scooped his hands under my knees. “I’m taking you upstairs now. And I’m tying you to our bed.”
I waited for the next words. He carried me out of the hot tub.
“And I’m not going to stop fucking you until the sun comes up.”
“Oh God, Dylan.” I clung to his neck, hanging on as he grabbed our towels on the chaise. He wrapped me in one and tucked one around his waist.
I started to dab the water from my skin. I reached out for Dylan, feeling the world start to spin.
“Whoa.” He caught me before I fell. “You ok?”
I nodded. “I think the hot tub made me light-headed. That’s all.”
“Maybe I need to carry you the rest of the way.”
“Maybe.” I grinned.
He drew me to his chest. I leaned into him. “Thank you for everything this week, Dylan.”
“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t say it.”
“But I want to say something. I have to.”
My body was buzzing. My head felt funny. It had to be from the hot tub, but before we got carried away in the rest of the night I wanted him to know what he had done for me went behind words.
“That’s the whole point, darlin’. You don’t have to say a word. I know.” He kissed my forehead tenderly. It made him even sexier how he could go from complete sex machine to thoughtful and tender. I knew it was a side of him he kept hidden.
He scooped me in his arms and kicked open the French doors. “I have some cowboying to do.”
I giggled hysterically. “Is that what you call?”
He took giant steps through the living room and was ready to turn for the staircase when I screamed.
Dylan almost dropped me.
“What the fuck?” he shouted. “Who the fuck, are you?”
My mouth dropped. I knew I was staring at a ghost. I never thought I’d see that face again. It couldn’t be possible, could it?
His lips curled into a smile. He pushed his sandy brown hair out of his eyes.
“Hey sis. Catch you at a bad time?”
“Danny?”
38
Dylan
I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. After an awkward as hell introduction Vanessa and I left her brother downstairs while we put on some clothes.
She raced around the room. It didn’t look like she could put together an outfit if she wanted to.
“Here.” I shoved a Warriors T-shirt in her hand. “Put this on.”
She was in shock.
I rummaged through her drawers and grabbed a pair of running shorts. “And these.”
She was in a trance getting dressed.
I pulled up my jeans, fastening them as I tugged on a white shirt.
“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.
She used the pool towel to dry her hair. “Eight years?” She looked at me.
“Damn.”
“I don’t know why he’s here. I don’t get it.”
She paced in front of the door.
“Let’s go find out.” I held her hand.
“What if he wants the team?” I saw the panic in her eyes. “What if that’s why he’s here?”
I shook my head. “That’s not going to happen.”
She was frozen in the doorway. I couldn’t get her to cross the threshold. “You don’t know that. I don’t know that. I don’t know him anymore.”
“I get that I’m not the first man people turn to for advice, but I’ll tell you something Isaac has always said.”
“What’s that?” She looked hopeful.
“Nothing happens if you don’t make it happen.”
I saw the cute little crinkle in her forehead. “That’s the advice?”
“Yeah. It means get your ass downstairs and find out what your brother is doing here. You know we’ll take care of you darlin’. Isaac will be home tomorrow, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
She seemed to accept my approach for now. She squeezed my hand harder than usual as we walked down the stairs together.
When we reached the kitchen Vanessa’s brother had made himself at home, helping himself to one of our beers. It was weird how I could see the familiar resemblance. He had bright blue eyes and high cheekbones, but when I looked at her, I couldn’t see a trace of him.
“So new fiancé, huh?” He chugged my favorite beer.
“So long-lost brother, huh?” I retorted.
“Hey,” Vanessa hushed us both. “I’m surprised to see you, Danny. Shocked really.”
He hopped on the counter, swinging his legs. “Grammy tracked me down.”
“Where?” Vanessa asked.
“Singapore,” he answered. He took a swig of beer. “Hell of a trip.”
“You’ve been on vacation for eight years, Danny.”
I didn’t like drama. I didn’t like family problems. Girl problems. Relationship shit. This wasn’t my scene. But I was in deep with Vanessa. We may never have a wedding. Our entire engagement might have been fake, but I had fallen for this girl.
For her laughter. The sparkle in her eye when she saw a piece of art she loved. For the way she thought through the team’s problems. How she loved me. How she took a chance on a man who had never spent more than a week with the same woman. And I wasn’t going to bail on her now. It wasn’t my fight, but if Vanessa was involved, then it was my fucking business. Her brother would have to get used to that.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and stood next to her. I would stand by her
side as long as she needed me.
I felt her relax into me. I tucked my hand against her waist.
Danny cocked his head. “So this thing looks legit.”
“This thing?” Vanessa stared at him. “Are you talking about our engagement?”
“Grammy said it’s not going to last. Thought I should at least check out the guy who’s going to marry my little sister. Dad would want me to do that.”
Vanessa’s eyes fired. “Don’t even pretend you care what Dad would want. You checked out of this family a long time ago.”
“I’m still your brother, Nessa.”
“The brother who didn’t show up for our grandfather’s funeral. The brother who missed my college graduation. The brother who never answered a call or a single email in eight years. That brother? Is that what you call a brother?”
I tightened my grip on her. I could feel her shake under my fingers.
“Nessa, who are you? Running a football team? Sounding like Granddad already, trying to fit me into a box.”
She groaned. “I’m not trying to fit you into any kind of box.”
Danny hopped from the counter. He had finished his beer. I eyed him closely.
“Grammy wants me here. I’m staying at the house. Maybe we could have breakfast tomorrow.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I have meetings and Isaac is being released—” she stopped, catching her mistake before she said too much.
“Who?”
I stepped in. “My best friend is going to be released from the hospital in the morning. It’s a big deal around here.”
“Huh. Ok.” Danny walked toward the front door. “Think about the breakfast. I’m still on Singapore time so I’ll be up. My clock is going to take a few days to recalculate. I know Grammy would love to see you.”
I thought I heard her hiss. I held on to her.
Danny strolled to the foyer. “Nice meeting you, Dylan. You two can get back to whatever kinky stuff you had going on. I’ll have to tell you about the shit in Singapore sometime.”
“Man, I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
Danny paused at the door. “But really, congrats on the engagement.”
My Playboy Fiance Page 44
