The Sport of Romance: A Multi-Author Box Set

by Cari Quinn

  “Ethan paid us to make sure this party was successful.”

  “And to be successful, you had to have me on board.”

  She nodded, her own anger fizzling out. She clasped her hands together in front of her and wrung them. “That’s true, but I never planned on it going as far as it did. I just wanted to get you to dance, have a good time. It was never supposed to be sexual.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe you didn’t plan on using every means you had.”

  “Believe what you want. That’s not what we’re about.” She stared at her feet, obviously embarrassed. “It got out of hand. Something about you just made me forget every rule we had.”

  “I’m supposed to believe that?” Cooper ran his hand through his hair, frustrated and confused. “I don’t know what to believe.”

  Izzy sighed, looking as sad as the beagle he’d had as a child with those big brown eyes that could melt the hardest heart. Only Izzy wasn’t his trusted, loyal childhood friend. She was a woman with a job to do, and that job had involved using him to reach her goal. Whether it included actual physical acts with him or not, he didn’t know. His heart didn’t want to believe it did, even though his head screamed “sucker.”

  Cooper shook his head. “Know what? I was looking for you to ask you out on a date like a gentleman asks out a lady. That’s what an idiot I am.”

  “Cooper, I—I’m sorry.” Her face crumpled, she looked ready to cry, and it took every ounce of determination he’d honed over years of scrabbling and fighting in the toughest of sports not to give in to those beautiful brown eyes.

  “I’m not. I’m ashamed of you. I thought we had something, and you took advantage of my stupidity. Goodbye, Izzy.” He turned and walked away, grateful the boat was docking, and he could get the hell off the damn thing before he lost his resolve and caved to his baser needs.

  He could get that from any number of women, but he’d thought Izzy could give him more, thought she’d stave off the loneliness of a single man, give him a reason to like this new place that’d been forced upon him.

  Now he’d get none of the above.

  Chapter Six

  Delayed Penalty

  Izzy held it together until she’d dropped off her sisters and shut the door to her little apartment. When she snapped the deadbolt shut, something snapped inside her.

  She threw herself down on the ratty living room couch and cried her eyes out, not caring if her makeup ran or her expensive dress wrinkled beyond repair. Her sobs drowned out the sounds from the freeway next to her apartment. Her heart cracked wider with each second that passed.

  She should be thrilled. Ecstatic. On top of the world.

  Her company had just pleased a very wealthy client and was on the verge of something big. Really big.

  Right now, none of that mattered. It would tomorrow or the next day when the shock of all these crazy feelings wore off and eased the humiliation of being branded a prostitute.

  Had she done everything she’d done just for the money? Because if she had, then she deserved that title. God, she’d been a fool over a man who didn’t care one damn bit about her. He’d used her just like she’d used him.

  Only it hadn’t really been like that. Not for her. She’d felt more, a seed of something that could’ve blossomed and grown into a beautiful flower, but instead of nurturing it with mutual trust and affection, she’d fed it with lies and behaved irresponsibly.

  Cooper was right about her. She should be ashamed of herself. She’d taken advantage of their initial attraction, even though she never planned on it going as far as it had, never dreamed she’d lose her mind looking into those deep blue eyes, and shed her scruples as quickly as she shed her clothes for him.

  Shame on her.

  He’d wanted to ask her out on a real date, show her the respect she didn’t deserve after her inexcusable and unprofessional behavior.

  She’d been an idiot on so many levels.

  Sitting up, Izzy wiped her face with tissues, blew out several deep breaths, and blinked the tears away. This was stupid. She barely knew the man. He was gorgeous, ripped, and a great dancer. So what? She called forth her practical side, that side which poo-pooed such bullshit as falling hard for a guy she’d only known three hours.

  She’d learn from this mistake. Never again would she enter into any kind of a physical relationship with a party guest, not that it’d been a problem before, but it would not be again.

  Her mind flashed back to those laughing blue eyes blazing with desire during their bathroom trysts, sympathetic with concern over her childhood story, and brimming with irritation because she’d latched on to him as a pretend boyfriend.

  She sighed. It was over. The party was a success. They’d be making good money along with a bonus.

  That’s all that should matter.

  Only it wasn’t.

  She missed him, crazy as it was. She shouldn’t, but she did.

  * * *

  Cooper opened his eyes to find Joker sitting on his chest staring him straight in the eyes. His head hurt like hell, courtesy of the half bottle of whiskey he drank when he arrived home.

  “Hey, buddy. Miss me?” He reached up to pet the scruffy cat.

  Joker meowed, most likely bitching about the quality of his life and the crappy servant he’d been forced to tolerate for more years than he could count.

  “Yeah, I know. Life’s a bitch.”

  Joker rubbed his face across Cooper’s stubble.

  “I met a woman last night. I thought she was someone special.”

  The cat studied him, as if to say, I know where this is going.

  “Yeah, I kinda fell for her. She was gorgeous, great body, great dancer, confident, intelligent.”

  Joker’s purring almost drowned out Cooper’s words. Oh, to be a cat and not to have a worry in the world.

  “I was going to ask her out until I discovered she’d used me, so I dumped her ass.”

  Joker dug his claws into Cooper’s chest, but he didn’t flinch. The pain didn’t come close to matching the pain he felt inside. This was stupid. He didn’t fall for a woman, not like this. Yet he had, and now he didn’t know what the hell to do about it.

  “Hey, you’d have done the same thing.”

  Joker continued to stare at him as if to say dumb shit.

  Yeah, he’d wanted to spend more time with her, explore those unfamiliar feelings she elicited in him. He’d always been a bit of a daredevil, and she’d tempted him to take a chance on a relationship.

  Only she’d been paid to do it. How did a guy get past that? And how did a guy get past that hot body, expressive eyes, sassy mouth, and long fucking legs? Obviously, he hadn’t. He’d dreamt about her all night long, doing the things to her he hadn’t gotten a chance to do on the boat, and letting her do the same to him.

  He was a fool. A damn fool. She’d used him. That was a fact.

  Despite it all, the truth behind her words about the team had sunk in. Nothing he did would move them back to Florida. Did he really want to leave his guys, guys he’d built a rapport with, and start over somewhere else?

  The answer was no, he didn’t.

  Cooper sat up, knocking the cat off his chest. Casting an annoyed look over his shoulder, Joker stalked off in a huff and disappeared out the bedroom door, probably to extract revenge on the leg of an expensive piece of leather furniture.

  * * *

  Cooper walked past Ethan Parker’s sergeant major of an assistant, and swung open the door to Parker’s office. Ethan looked up from his computer, surprise crossing his face.

  His admin pushed her way past Cooper. “I’m sorry, Mr. Black. He got past me.”

  “It’s okay, Mina. He can stay.”

  Mina hesitated and Ethan gave her an encouraging smile. With one last, disgusted look at Cooper, she left the office, shutting the door after her broad butt got through it.

  “She’s scary, that one,” Cooper joked, trying to break the ice.

  “Min
a’s been with me for years. I appreciate all she does.” Ethan sat back, put his feet on the desk, and adopted a casual pose that was anything but casual. “What can I help you with, Coop?”

  Cooper studied Ethan for a long moment, Ethan looked right back, his direct gaze never wavering.

  He took a deep breath and let it out, as if it would cleanse him of all his ill-conceived notions. “I’m here to talk about the team, and what I can do to make this transition smoother.”

  “Are you serious?” Ethan’s feet dropped to the floor, and he sat up straight. A slow smile spread across his face.

  “Dead serious. I’ve been an ass. I want to start over.”

  Ethan nodded slowly but didn’t answer right away. He was letting Cooper squirm, and Cooper had to respect him for that. The guy had some major balls. Finally, just as Cooper was starting to fidget, Ethan nodded slowly. “All right. Let’s brainstorm some ideas. Let me take you to lunch.”

  “Sounds good.” Cooper hesitated. “One other thing. Isabella Maxwell. How well do you know her?”

  “I don’t. Not really. I learned about her company through a mutual friend.”

  “What exactly is her company?”

  “They’re called the Party Crashers. They have a website. Look them up. They guarantee they can turn a bad party into a good one. Knowing your attitude and your teammates’ toward this move and me personally, I figured that party could use all the help it could get. She did a great job, and I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t believe they’d be able to pull it off.”

  Yeah, she’d done a great job, especially on Cooper. “That’s it? They’re paid to crash parties?”

  “Yeah. That’s it. Did you think there was more?”

  “Uh, no. Not at all.” Cooper stared over Ethan’s head out the window, his brain a confused mash of conflicting thoughts.

  “Seems like you two hit it off that night.” Ethan stood and grabbed his coat, shrugging into it as he headed for the door, and Cooper followed. “Any chance you’ll see Izzy again?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She seems like a good woman.”

  “Yeah, she does,” Cooper said, and he meant it.

  Chapter Seven

  Power Play

  When the bell tinkled over the coffee shop door, Izzy looked up and did a double take. A tall, fit man walked in, a hoodie pulled down low over his face.

  His body looked a lot like Cooper’s. But lately, she’d been seeing Cooper in every man who walked in that door, as if he’d come looking for her. It’d been a week, and she needed to get over him, but instead she’d taken to Googling his name, staring at pictures, and reading everything she could get her hands on about him, such as the charity work he’d done in Florida, how he always took time to talk to fans, how he played the game with all-in passion.

  A woman had to admire a man like that.

  She’d developed a bit of a fan crush on him, become a puck bunny before she’d ever seen her first professional game in person. Nothing unusual with that. Right?

  Izzy tugged on the bottom of her Seattle Sockeyes number fourteen jersey that Ethan had given to her when she’d picked up her very generous check. Number fourteen happened to be Cooper’s number.

  She glanced around the coffee shop and back to the hooded man lingering near the doorway across the room. Midmorning wasn’t her busiest time, and he was her only customer. A little jolt of fear ran through her, and she prayed she wasn’t about to be robbed.

  Izzy put on her bravest smile and waited for the man to come to the counter. His long strides carried him closer as he pulled the hood off his head. Her heart leapt over the Olympic high bar and set a world record. Her mouth dropped open. Her hands gripped the edge of the counter.

  “Cooper,” she choked out the words, shocked to see him. Delight raced through her body, alerting dormant parts to the hot man’s presence, and alerted they were.

  Too much.

  “Hey.” He stopped in front of the counter, his eyes on the menu board on the wall. “I’ll have a double caramel macchiato.” His lopsided grin warmed her heart.

  “Do you even know what’s in one?”

  “Drink them all the time, gets me in touch with my feminine side.”

  “You don’t have a feminine side.”

  He met her gaze but not before his eyes travelled lower and back up. “Number fourteen, huh?”

  “Ethan gave it to me. Let me get that drink started right away.”

  He nodded. She could feel his eyes on her as she made his drink, watching her every move. She slid the drink across the counter to him.

  He took a sip and licked his lips. “Yummy.”

  “I make the most awesome macchiato anywhere.” She couldn’t help but smile.

  “You do, take it from a connoisseur.” He grinned right back. “Can you join me? You don’t seem too busy.”

  “Okay.” Izzy tried not to sound too excited and poured herself a strong cup of coffee—she’d need it to get through the next few minutes—and joined him at a small table near the window. Outside the skies were gray with drizzle. “It’s raining again.”

  Another smile quirked the corners of his mouth. “You know, this incessant rain is actually somewhat romantic.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah, or it would be if I had a special someone to share walks in the rain with me.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

  “I’m sure you’ll find that person.” She was afraid to read anything into the emotions lighting up his eyes.

  “Maybe I already have.” Cooper looked down at their intertwined fingers then back up. He swallowed and ran his free hand through his dark hair. “Izzy, I’m sorry. I called you a prostitute, and that was inexcusable. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  “I forgive you, and you were right, too. I was using you—at first. But it went further than that. I never get physically involved with guests or clients, ever. You blew through all my convictions with one epic, sexy smile.”

  “Really? Only one.” He preened like a male lion after seducing his lioness into the den.

  “Only one.” She watched him, waiting and hoping.

  “How about we start over?”

  “That would be awesome.”

  He removed his hand from hers and stood. Her heart sank. He was leaving? Was that how he started over?

  Instead he bent down and took her hand in his again. “I’m Cooper Black.”

  She giggled, batted her eyelashes, and gazed up at him. “I’m Izzy Maxwell.”

  “Well, Izzy, I think you and I should get to know each other better. Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?”

  “I’d love that, Cooper.”

  “So would I.”

  Cooper pulled Izzy to her feet and kissed her soundly, a kiss full of new beginnings and future promises—not to mention, hot enough to melt ice.

  The End

  Thank you for spending time in my world. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. If you did, please help other readers discover this book by leaving a review.

  For news on upcoming Jami Davenport books, sign up for my newsletter by clicking here.

  Crashing the Net

  Game On in Seattle 3

  www.jamidavenport.com/CTNBlurb.html

  A continuation of Cooper and Izzy’s story available at all major retailers.

  Hockey star Cooper Black and professional party crasher Izzy Maxwell return in this sequel to Crashing the Boards.

  Jealous boyfriends and glitzy parties can be a recipe for disaster. When the gorgeous yet controlling Cooper interrupts a party Izzy was paid to crash and almost ruins her career as a professional party crasher, Izzy kicks him to the curb. She learned early in life not to count on anyone, and she will not relinquish her independence, not even to a sexy-as-sin pro athlete who can melt her heart with one wink.

  As the Sockeyes hockey team opens their inaugural season in Seattle, Cooper finds himself minus a girlfriend and plus a su
rly teenaged nephew. Cooper doesn’t want to be a surrogate dad, he doesn’t want to play in Seattle, and he doesn’t want to be alone. He misses Izzy, but seeing her with other men at parties turns him every shade of green. Regardless, he wants her back, and he’s willing to change, if only she’ll give him a second chance. Aware of her precarious finances, Cooper makes an offer she can’t refuse by hiring her to be responsible for his nephew when he’s traveling with the team.

  Fearing Cooper isn’t capable of changing his control-freak ways, Izzy resists his efforts to turn their financial arrangement into a personal relationship. He needs a sweet, docile girlfriend, and Izzy cannot be that woman. Yet, when tragedy strikes, Izzy is there when Cooper needs her the most, and love has a way of getting what it wants, no matter the circumstances.

  Complete Booklist

  The following Jami Davenport titles are available in electronic and some are available in trade paperback format.

  Evergreen Dynasty Series

  Save the Last Dance

  Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?

  The Gift Horse

  Game On in Seattle—Seattle Sockeyes Hockey

  Skating on Thin Ice

  Crashing the Boards

  Crashing the Net

  Love at First Snow

  Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series

  Fourth and Goal

  Forward Passes

  Down by Contact

  Backfield in Motion

  Time of Possession

  Roughing the Passer

  Standalone Books

  Christmas Break

  Madrona Sunset

  About the Author

  If you’d like to be notified of new releases, special sales, and contests, subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/LpfaL

  USA Today Bestselling Author Jami Davenport is an advocate of happy endings and writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami’s new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times.