Still Loving You

by Sheryl Lister

  Lauren moved to the center and shared some details about herself—background, previous employment and experience working with athletes.

  Many of the younger players seemed to be spellbound by her presence. Malcolm heard Marcus whisper, “I think there’s going to be more than a few guys camped outside her office.”

  Omar chuckled.

  Malcolm said nothing. Her honey-brown face was as beautiful as he remembered, her smile still bright enough to light up a room and her curves sexy enough to stop traffic. Nothing had changed. Including his feelings. He’d never wanted to see her again.

  Chapter 2

  Lauren stared out at the room full of football players, her nerves a jumbled mess. Some sent flirtatious winks her way, while others’ gazes held skepticism. But one pair of piercing light brown eyes bored through her. She didn’t need a PhD to know that Malcolm wasn’t happy about seeing her.

  She ignored him for the moment and smiled. “Thank you for the welcome. I’m looking forward to working with all of you. I previously worked as a nutritionist and dietitian at a hospital in Phoenix and as a consultant with Arizona State’s athletic department. I’ll be working closely with you and the coaches. We’ll schedule appointments with each of you to establish baselines, set goals and individual programs, as needed. Are there any questions?”

  “Are you going to cook, too?” a player called out.

  “No, but I’ll be consulting with the staff chef.”

  Another player asked, “Are you married?”

  Lauren laughed. “No.” The question had nothing to do with her credentials, but she figured the more they knew about her, hopefully, the more they’d come to trust her. She was under no illusions that the job would be easy, but she planned to be the best nutritionist the team had ever had. Lauren answered a few more questions then stood to the side as the general manager spoke. She surveyed the large meeting room that looked more like a movie theater, with its leather seats and a huge video screen that covered the front wall. The owners had spared no expense.

  Her gaze shifted to Malcolm, who sat off to one side. His expression hadn’t changed—it held about as much warmth as a blizzard. She discreetly studied the man she had intended to marry. The handsome face that had haunted her dreams so many nights had matured into one that she was sure had women drooling wherever he went and gave new meaning to good-looking. His athletic body looked even more toned, and the muscles of his chest and upper arms bunched with every movement. An image of her running her hands over his smooth, hard frame rose unbidden in her mind. She quickly dismissed it. With the way he kept frowning her way, she would be lucky if he even said hello, let alone came in for a scheduled appointment. The general manager’s voice filtered through her thoughts.

  “Before we end, I’d like to congratulate Malcolm Gray on being named one of the city’s humanitarians of the year. He and his brothers and sisters will be honored for their work with the homeless community.” Deafening applause broke out. Once it faded, he gave the date, time and place of the gala. “I’d like as many of us as possible to show our support.” The meeting ended shortly after.

  Lauren had no idea Malcolm’s family held such prominent roles in the community. She turned and was immediately surrounded by several football players, who introduced themselves and cited all the reasons why they should have the first appointment. Though the big men towered over her like mountains, she caught a glimpse of Malcolm leaving out of a side door. Their eyes locked briefly, his so cold she shivered. Then he pivoted and strode out of the room without a backward glance.

  She refocused her attention on the men in front of her and assured them she would be meeting with all of them as soon as she set up her schedule. Finally, they dispersed, except for one. He had to be at least six eight, and by his size, she guessed he might be a linebacker. He had dark skin and equally dark eyes.

  He gave her a shy smile. “Ms. Emerson, I’m Darren Butler.” He stuck out his hand.

  His large hand engulfed her small one. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Um... I know you’re still working on your schedule, but if possible, can you give me one of your earliest appointments?”

  The sincerity in his eyes tugged at Lauren. “Is there something specific you want to discuss?”

  Darren glanced around, seemingly uncomfortable. “Yeah, but not here.”

  “I’ll probably start having meetings by the end of the week. Can it wait until then?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll make sure to put you at the top of my list.”

  Relief flooded his face. “Thank you. I’ll see you then.” He inclined his head and made his way to the exit.

  She hoped it wasn’t anything serious, healthwise, and made a mental note to schedule Darren as one of her first appointments.

  “You handled yourself well, Ms. Emerson.”

  Lauren turned at the sound of the GM’s voice. “Thank you, Mr. Green.”

  “Have you had a chance to see your office?”

  “Not yet.” It had taken her a minute to find her way around the massive facility when she arrived earlier. By the time she’d somewhat figured out the layout, the meeting had been ready to start.

  He smiled. “Then come on. Let me show you your new digs.”

  She returned his smile. They walked down a series of hallways, their footsteps echoing on the highly polished marble floors. He pointed out the locker room, weight room, training room, hot and cold spas, a few other meeting rooms, and a door that led to the practice field.

  Mr. Green stopped at the dining hall. “Training camp doesn’t start until next month, but the chef will be here later this week to meet with you. Nigel is a great guy to work with.”

  “I’m looking forward to working with him.” She really wanted to ask what had happened to the previous nutritionist, since these positions weren’t readily available, but kept the question to herself. Lauren surveyed the room. It was far from the cafeteria-style area with long tables and hard, narrow benches she had envisioned. It resembled an upscale restaurant—dark wood tables for four and six with matching cushioned chairs and half a dozen buffet stations.

  They continued the tour until he stopped and opened a door. “Wow,” she said softly when he gestured her into a spacious office easily three times the size of the one she’d had at the hospital. She walked across the plush carpeting to a huge mahogany desk on one side of the room that had an oversize chair tucked neatly behind it. Behind her, a half wall of windows overlooked a beautiful grassy area and walking trail. A small conference table took up space on the opposite side of the room.

  “There should be information on all the players from last year in that file cabinet, and I’m sure you’ll find some on the computer, as well.”

  Lauren glanced over to where he gestured.

  “But, this is your show now, so you can set up a system that works best for you. It may take a few weeks for the players to get on board.” He smiled. “Or maybe not, judging from the way they cornered you earlier.”

  She felt her cheeks warm.

  “I’ll leave you to settle in. If you need anything, let my assistant know.”

  “Thank you, I will.”

  Mr. Green gave her one last smile and departed.

  Alone, her thoughts went back to his previous comment. Lauren had never had that much male attention in her life, even from the last man she’d dated. That relationship had ended six months ago. Her ex had been all for them climbing the corporate ladder together—as long as he stayed a rung above hers. He hadn’t been happy when her salary topped his by a thousand dollars a year, and their easygoing, idyllic romance turned agitated and contentious. In the end, she tossed his ring and assurances of forever back and walked away, much like she’d done with the promise ring Malcolm had given her. She thought she had loved Jeffrey, but the moment she’d locked eyes with Mal
colm, every memory and emotion she’d kept buried sprang to life. She realized she wasn’t over Malcolm. Not by a long shot.

  * * *

  As soon as Malcolm parked his motorcycle in the garage, his cell buzzed. Without looking, he knew he’d see Morgan’s name on the display. His stripped off his riding gloves, dug into his pocket for the phone and smiled. “What’s up, sis?” He pressed the button to lower the door and entered the house through the garage.

  “That’s what I want to know, so I’ll be over in an hour.” Morgan hung up.

  He released a deep sigh. He and Morgan always had that twin thing where they could sense when the other was bothered or upset. Based on his morning, he suspected she’d felt his emotional turmoil. He’d never expected to see Lauren again, especially since she moved to Arizona years ago for what she’d called a “better opportunity.” Now he would be forced to see her damn near every day. To make matters worse, she looked even better than he remembered. As he’d noted during the meeting, the beautiful girl he had been in love with had grown into an even more beautiful woman. The curves he used to enjoy caressing were fuller and...

  Malcolm cursed under his breath and ran a hand over his head. He stilled, remembering that he’d cut his hair a week ago, replacing the locs he had sported for over a decade with a scalp-hugging style that would take time to get used to. He climbed the stairs, took the short hallway to his bedroom, dropped his duffel on a bench at the foot of his bed and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking his large backyard. The June temperatures had warmed, and in anticipation of the annual barbecue he held for his teammates before the new season started, he had pulled out the deck and lawn furniture. He would need to cut the grass, but otherwise, the yard was ready for entertaining.

  His thoughts shifted back to Lauren. He had to figure out a way to get out of any consultation with her. Malcolm’s diet was just fine and his weight perfect, so he had no real need to see her. And that’s what he would tell her. He glanced down at his watch. Knowing that his sister would be arriving soon and that she’d most likely want to eat, he headed down to the kitchen to prepare a late lunch.

  Morgan rang his doorbell just as he removed the chicken breasts from the stove-top grill. He placed them on a plate and went to let her in.

  “Hey,” Morgan said. “Something smells good.”

  Malcolm chuckled and kissed her temple. “Come on in. I knew you’d want to eat.”

  She followed him to the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “Hey, you know I’ve never liked cooking. Nothing has changed. Lucky for me, my wonderful husband is an ace in the kitchen, and so is my favorite brother.” She gave him a bright smile.

  “So I’m your favorite, huh?” They’d been joined at the hip since birth and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. She was his baby sister by five minutes, and he took his charge as big brother seriously. It had been hard relinquishing the reins to her husband, even if Omar was his friend and teammate. He pulled out a bowl of mixed greens, sliced the chicken into bite-size pieces and added them. “How’ve you been feeling?”

  Morgan ran a gentle hand over her rounded belly. “Pretty good. The only thing is whenever I sit for more than five minutes, this kid starts moving around so much, I swear there’s a full-fledged game of tackle football going on.”

  “Well, you only have two more months to go. Did you and Omar change your minds about finding out the baby’s sex?” Malcolm placed the bowl on the table, along with plates, utensils and a smaller bowl of salad dressing.

  “Nope. We’re going to wait. Of course, Vonnie and Faith are trying to get me to change my mind, talking about they need to know what to shop for.” Siobhan, whom they affectionately called Vonnie, was the oldest of the five siblings. She and her husband, Justin, had a daughter who’d just celebrated her first birthday.

  He smiled, got two glasses of iced mint tea and brought them to the table. “Faith isn’t expecting, is she?” Faith and their oldest brother, Brandon, were trying for a baby, and Malcolm hoped they had good news soon.

  She shook her head as she filled her plate.

  Their mother was beside herself with being a grandmother and with all of her children getting married. The only problem was that her attention had now shifted solely to Malcolm, the only single one. But he wasn’t biting. As he had told his family countless times, he planned to be a bachelor for life. He loved the freedom to come and go as he pleased, and the ability to decide when he wanted to date. No hassle, no fuss. He would gladly accept the role of uncle and spoil his nieces and nephews.

  After reciting a short blessing, he and Morgan started in on the meal.

  “What kind of dressing is this?” She sniffed. “Lemon what?”

  “It’s lemon basil. Something I ran across at a restaurant where I had dinner. This is my attempt to recreate it. I used light sour cream to cut some of the calories, fresh basil, lemon juice and a little salt and garlic pepper. What do you think?”

  Morgan ate a bite, angled her head thoughtfully and groaned. “It’s really good. And that’s why I come over here to eat when Omar isn’t home.”

  Malcolm shook his head. “Did he go over to the center?”

  “Yes. Rashad is finally going to talk to one of the psychologists, but he said he’d only go if Omar went with him. He’s gone to a few of the group sessions, but that’s it.” Omar and a group of organizers had opened a mental health center geared toward veterans two years ago. Omar’s older brother, Rashad, suffered from PTSD, and Omar wanted a place for Rashad and others like him to seek treatment that didn’t center wholly around medication.

  “I’m glad. I know how much he’s been hoping Rashad would go.” They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  “What’s going on?”

  He glanced up from his plate. “Nothing. Why?”

  Morgan stared at him a long moment. “So you’re okay with Lauren being the nutritionist? I assume it’s the same Lauren responsible for breaking your heart in college.”

  Malcolm set the fork down and pushed the plate aside. He blew out a long breath. “Yeah, it’s her.” Just the mention of her name conjured up an image of her standing in the center of the room earlier.

  “I still owe her for that, so I hope I don’t run into her while I’m at the practice facility.”

  “Let it go, Morgan.” When Morgan found out what happened, she had stormed over to Lauren’s dorm room, and he’d had to carry Morgan out to keep her from kicking Lauren’s butt. In their family, the rule had always been mess with one, mess with all. It was even truer for him and Morgan. “She doesn’t matter. I’ve been over her a long time.” At least he thought so. Malcolm had been in several relationships since their breakup and hadn’t thought of her once after the sting had died down. But his reaction to Lauren today told him he still had some lingering feelings that he’d buried.

  Morgan took a sip of her tea. “What are you going to do about having to consult with her?”

  “Nothing. I eat clean eighty percent of the time, work out four or five times a week, sometimes more, and my weight is fine. I have no need to see her.” Malcolm knew Lauren would be sending out emails to all the players to schedule the preseason consultation—the same routine every year—but he intended to send her the same information he had just mentioned to his sister, with the numbers, and ignore her for as long as possible. He had to stay far away from her. His sanity depended on it.

  Chapter 3

  Thursday morning, Lauren made it to the Cobras’ training facility at seven thirty. After three days on the job, she considered it a major accomplishment that she went straight to her office without taking a wrong turn. She powered up her computer, checked her schedule and read through her emails. She had sent a message to all the players and had three scheduled for today, including one with linebacker Darren Butler. So far, a little over half had responded, but not Malcolm. Not that she ex
pected him to. A knock sounded, and her head came up.

  “Morning. May I come in?”

  Though the man wore athletic pants and shirt, she didn’t remember seeing his face on the roster. He stood close to six feet with a trim, toned body, military-short dark hair and deep brown eyes set in a handsome olive-toned face. “Certainly.”

  “I’m Nigel West, the chef.”

  Lauren smiled and stood to shake his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nigel. I’m Lauren.”

  “The pleasure is all mine.”

  “Please have a seat.” She gestured to the small table and joined him there. “How long have you been the team chef?”

  “Going on six years. For the most part, it’s been a blast, but there have been a few hiccups along the way,” Nigel added with a chuckle.

  “Tell me a little about the meal setup. I want to see what you already have before making any changes.”

  “Sure.” He leaned back in the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. “There used to be a variety of approved snacks available at all times and a good amount of fruits and vegetables. But over the last year, let’s just say things weren’t as tight.”

  “There were fewer healthy options.”

  “You got it.”

  Lauren wondered if that was what had led to the former dietitian being let go.

  As if reading her mind, Nigel said, “When a few players weighed in at fifteen or twenty pounds over what had been reported, it was bye-bye, Stan. To make matters worse, he had taken money from two players who’d bribed him to lie.”

  “Are they still on the team?” If they were, she needed to know up front. In no uncertain terms would she be party to any of those schemes.

  “Nope. They were sent packing with Stan.”

  It must have been kept hush-hush, because she didn’t recall reading anything about a scandal or seeing it mentioned on the sports news. “Well, you won’t have to worry about any of that with me.”