by Skye Jordan
“What difference does it make if he was doing it to pad his client list with Noah’s name as long as it works?”
“That’s the key—as long as it works. I promise you, that guy didn’t have Noah’s best interests in mind when he flew out to do the surgery. Failure of this cement is no issue for him. He simply omits Noah from his track record, and no one is the wiser. And I’ve spent hours online and on the phone with colleagues and still don’t know much more about this damn cement than I did when I left the doctor’s office this morning. And the fact that Noah’s own orthopedist couldn’t give me answers about the surgery is a huge red flag.”
“But Noah’s doing great. He’s strong, free of pain, performing for Rafe. What’s really bothering you?”
She closed her eyes and carefully pressed her fingers to her eyelids so she didn’t smear her mascara. “I want to make sure this cement isn’t going to fail under extreme stress, the kind Noah will put it under during the Games. I want to make sure the screw holding his ankle together isn’t going to pull out when he tries these insane tricks fifty feet in the air. I’m not just concerned about the Games, Drake. I’m concerned about his future.”
He exhaled. “Okay, I get it.” He hesitated. “Just…”
“Just what?”
“Just make sure you’re not projecting your past fears onto Noah’s future, okay?”
Anger spiked, and Julia gritted her teeth. “Our situations are completely different. And after four years working with hundreds of athletes, I’m offended that would even enter your mind.”
“Noah’s different, Julia.” Drake’s voice grew soft but remained serious. “And not just to me. I can see he’s different to you too. You don’t have to admit it to anyone, but you do need to realize it for yourself. You need to be able to step back and view Noah’s situation for what it is, not what you fear it might become. Have you told him about your background yet?”
She winced at the thought. “No.”
“He’ll find out tonight. Why aren’t you telling him so he hears it from you first?”
“Because depending on whom he spends time with and what they talk about, there is a decent chance that he might only get part of the dirt. No point in giving him more than he needs.”
“That has serious backfire potential.”
“Then keep your fingers crossed for me. Hey, Noah’s ready,” she lied. “I have to go.”
They said good-bye, and Julia disconnected, then closed her eyes and rested her forehead in her hand. Should she just tell Noah the whole story of her past now? She really didn’t see the point. And if she wasn’t hanging on his arm tonight, his conversations might not even include her. Much.
She heaved a breath, straightened her spine, and rolled her shoulders. She couldn’t face scooping out the dirt right before the event. And to what end? It would be just as shocking coming from her as it would be coming from someone else. And dumping her baggage on him after she’d blocked any kind of personal relationship between them felt like sending mixed messages.
She had to let go of it, the same way she’d let go of her anger over the incident that started the whole mess. She couldn’t control what people said or did or believed.
She picked up her phone and texted one of the few acquaintances who’d supported her over the years, a fellow swimmer from Julia’s Olympic team, now married to an NFL star who also knew Phillips and his douche-y ways.
Are we still on?
While she waited for confirmation that Annabelle would be at the event, Julia double-checked the pins holding her hair in a messy but pretty bun. She had to admit, she definitely looked her best tonight. From experience, she knew the other women at this event would be fifteens on a scale of one to ten, Annabelle included. But Julia was okay with that, and resigned to shifting her relationship with Noah in whatever direction made him comfortable. She was his coach, not his girlfriend, not his lover.
His heavy knock at the door made her jump. Made her heart vault to her throat. Julia closed her eyes and breathed out. “Jesus Christ.”
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text: Linc and I are on our way. I’ll have a drink ready for you when you walk in the door.
Relief nearly stole her legs out from under her. With Annabelle at her side, Julia could venture into the choppy waters with confidence—even if it was superficial confidence.
Her stomach floated back into position, and Julia moved to the door to open it for Noah. “You gave me more time than I expec—” She stopped short when he stepped into the room. One glance down his body, and she blew out all her air. She’d expected him to look good, but not quite that good. “Wow.”
He had that nervous expression she didn’t see often. He pulled his black blazer open, showing the black vest with silver buttons beneath. “Vest or no vest?”
“Oh, keep the vest.” She smiled and nodded. “Very…” She chuckled as she thought of another boarding term she’d learned from the guys during their workouts. “Front. Very front.” She crinkled her nose. “Did I use that right? It doesn’t sound right. Oh, what did Finn say the other day that had me on the floor? Swank something?”
He laughed and stepped into the room. “Swankalicious.”
Julia burst out laughing. “Oh my God, that’s right. That’s you, Hunt, swankalicious.”
His gaze slid over her body, hot and intimate. “And you are perfection personified. You look mouthwatering.”
“Thank you.” The heat was rising between them, and she needed air before she combusted in a ball of flames, so she tapped his chest with her clutch. “Ready to do this?”
“I’m actually way more interested in doing you, but since you keep insisting that’s off the table, I guess the party will have to be a very, very distant second choice.” He pulled his hand from his pants pocket with something small and black in his palm. “But I have something for you before we go.”
He offered her a velvet box, his demeanor quieting and deepening. “For all you’ve done,” he said, voice soft and serious. “For all you’ve put up with. For staying.”
Oh hell. Everything inside her melted. “Noah…”
“Don’t freak out. It’s nothing crazy. But I hope you like it.”
She took the box from his hand, met his gaze, and reached up to stroke his jaw. “Thank you.”
His eyes went soft, but he held on to the edge of humor. “Open it first. You might hate it.”
Grinning, Julia lifted the lid. Inside, on a fluffy pad of white, lay a sleek silver necklace. She pulled in a breath of pleasure and lifted the small, simple round charm with the hammered finish to read the engraving.
Badass
&
Beautiful
Julia burst out laughing and bent at the waist, holding the necklace to her heart. “Oh my God.” She straightened and looked at it again. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
And she lifted on her toes to kiss him.
The reaction was as automatic and innocent as his kiss the night before. And as soon as her lips touched his, she was ready to blow off the party to spend the night in bed with Noah. He kissed her back, gently, lightly. No diving in for tongue or pushing her against the wall to take what he wanted. Just soft, short little kisses that made her ache for more.
“Ooooookay,” he said, leaning away. “If we don’t stop that, we’ll never get to the party. And now look what you’ve done.”
He reached down to reposition his erection, making Julia laugh again, but this time, her face flamed to life.
When he turned for the door, she caught his arm. “Will you put this on for me?”
He lifted his brows. “You want to wear it tonight?”
“Of course.” She paused, frowned. “Unless you don’t want—”
“No, I do.” He faced her and took the delicate necklace from her hands. “So, you like it?”
She turned and closed her eyes at the feel of his rough fingertips brushing her skin. “I love it.”
As they walked
to the elevator, Julia felt her tension ratchet up again. And when the silver doors slid closed, Noah asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Her gaze darted toward him. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’re wound tighter than I’ve ever seen you.” His eyes scrutinized and probed. “Is one of your exes going to be there?”
“No.” She laughed the word. “I just hate these big events.”
“Drake says you’re an introvert, but you handled the Guru staff like a mediator, and you run our workout group like a professional trainer.”
“Small groups are fine. And this will be fine too. It’s just not my favorite thing.”
The doors opened, and she stepped out, trying to look like she knew how to walk in these four-inch heels. Noah was the perfect gentleman, opening doors and guiding her through with a hand at the small of her back. And even that small touch made her nervous. Which in turn pissed her off. If it weren’t for Phillips, none of this would matter. She would never be so uptight about people thinking she and Noah were together. But reality was reality, and her future depended on the impression she made on athletes, trainers, and sponsors tonight. Even more so in the wake of Phillips’s accusations.
In the Lincoln, she saw Noah watching her from the corner of her eye and tried to relax. She knew he wanted to ask a million questions. Knew he wanted her undivided attention. But she couldn’t give him answers or attention tonight, and he’d just have to deal with it.
Inside the car, his scent filled the space, making Julia’s craving for him stir. She shifted on the seat and recrossed her legs, holding her thighs tight to ease the ache at their apex.
His touch on her neck made her startle out of disjointed thoughts as he ran the back of his finger along her throat, then across her collarbone. “You really are beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and curled her fingers around his, giving them a squeeze before releasing them. “Noah, remember—”
“I know, I know,” he said, his voice frustrated. “No public displays of affection, no innuendos, no speaking of our one night of—”
She covered his mouth and whispered, “Drivers hear everything.”
When she removed her fingers, he murmured, “If I weren’t so full of myself, I might think you were embarrassed of me.”
The hurt in his voice made her meet his eyes, where suspicion lurked. “But you are that full of yourself, right?” she said, searching for their normal banter. “So you know that’s not true.”
“You don’t want to be seen with me because of the way it will reflect on you. How is that not being embarrassed by me?”
Shit. Not now. Don’t do this now. “My concerns are professional, not personal. Look, I know the world revolves around you,” she teased, “but this one really tiny thing is about me.”
They approached The Playroom, and Julia tried to smooth things over and give them both space. “I have a few friends here tonight, plus Finn and Jake. You don’t have to worry about me. Just do your own thing, and if you meet someone you like, don’t let me keep you from jumping in. You’re a free agent.”
Her door opened, and a man in a doorman’s outfit offered her his hand. But Noah put a hand on her arm to stop her. “What if the person I like is already staying in my suite?”
The raw desire in his eyes set her on fire. She smiled, trying to memorize his expression. It had been so very long since anyone had wanted her like he did in that moment, and it could very well vanish in a matter of hours.
She smiled and squeezed his knee. “Just have fun, okay? There will be no hard feelings between us, at least not on my part.”
Turning, she took the stranger’s hand and stepped out of the car. She paused to look around at the people milling outside the club, some whom she recognized from television and magazines, but no one she knew personally. She let out a little nervous breath and rolled her shoulders.
Noah came up beside her just as Annabelle caught Julia’s eye coming out of the club to meet her, the promised glass of wine in hand. She looked stunning in a sequined blue dress the color of her eyes, her blonde hair long and wavy. Her mountain of a husband followed, his wide, welcoming grin lighting up his handsome face. Julia’s stress drained, and she opened her arms to pull Annabelle into a hug.
“Oh my God,” Annabelle said in her ear, “you look better than ever, you bitch. Who’s the hottie you came with?”
She pulled back and smiled at Annabelle but kept her voice low when she said, “A client. It’s very important that it’s clear to everyone he’s nothing but a client.”
“Right, a client. But please tell me you’re lying through your teeth. He is way too good to waste.”
Nearby, Julia overheard Linc and Noah introduce themselves and chat about Linc’s recent trade to the Raiders and Noah’s upcoming X Games.
Julia glanced down the length of Annabelle’s dress. “You look like you should be at the Academy Awards. How are you?”
She leaned in with a giddy grin and whispered, “Pregnant. I’m pregnant.”
Julia gasped. “Oh my God. Congrat—”
Annabelle put her fingers to Julia’s lips. “Shh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. We just want to get past that precarious first three months before we let the secret out.”
“Of course,” Julia said, trying to keep track of the conversation between the men.
“Seeing Julia again is all Annabelle could talk about today,” Linc told Noah.
“How do they know each other?”
“Swimming. They were both—”
“Noah.” She turned to the men. “This is my friend Annabelle. And it looks like you’ve already met her better half, Linc.”
While Noah shook Annabelle’s hand, Julia moved around her friend to give Linc a hug and whispered, “Congratulations, Daddy.”
He laughed in that big bellowing way of his and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Jules.”
The three members of the Epic staff Julia had met in Noah’s living room approached the group. They nodded a hello to Julia, then surrounded Noah and peppered him with questions.
Which gave Julia the perfect opportunity to escape into the club.
Over two hours into the posh cocktail party, and Noah had schmoozed with Guru and Epic executives, bullshitted with previous teammates, been approached by half a dozen different sponsors and received twice as many offers to hook up tonight, some by women he’d bedded before.
In fact, he currently stood in a circle of people that included two previous hookups, the women now on the arms of other athletes while still flashing Noah that I-want-to-fuck-you look. One of whom had already slipped her room key into his pocket. Just how she thought that would ever work with the six-foot-seven, three-hundred-pound linebacker wrapping an arm around her waist, Noah had no idea. Nor did he want one.
While a cyclist in the group entertained everyone with the harrowing story of losing a wheel on the final climb of last year’s Tour de France, Noah glanced through the crowd, seeking out Julia again. He’d been giving her the space she seemed hell-bent on getting tonight, which was ironic considering he was usually the one wanting space from women.
He found her not far from the location he’d seen her last, now talking with one Portuguese soccer star who raked in fifty million a season and was renowned for his skill at getting women into bed. But by the way Julia had control of his arm, rotating it and pointing out areas of his shoulder, Noah doubted the guy was getting far in the womanizing department with her.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and sent her a text: He’s a dog.
After a moment, she released the soccer player’s arm and drew her phone from her purse. A smile lifted her mouth, and she tapped on her phone, then slid it away and continued her conversation with the group.
His phone buzzed with the return message: I know. I rehabbed his shoulder.
Noah glanced her way again, and his gaze snapped to hers. Her g
rin widened, and electricity zinged through his gut, making a smile creep across his own face.
“You’re gonna break your neck if you don’t stop craning it to look at her.” Finn’s voice came from his left, and Noah dragged his gaze away from Julia, just as she and the soccer hunk started laughing at something she’d said. “Are you going to go for her, or what? I’ve never seen you wait so long on a woman you wanted.”
“She has rules,” he said with a sigh. “Won’t sleep with me because we’re working together.”
“Smart girl.” Finn looked past Noah in Julia’s direction again. “I’m impressed at the way she’s holding her own in this crowd. I’ve checked in on her twice, and she seems to have this party by the tail.”
“I know. I’ve wandered past a couple of times too. Didn’t have the time of day for me.”
Finn chuckled and slapped Noah on the shoulder. “Having to work for it builds character, my friend. That’s why I’m so fucking awesome.”
“Right.” Noah’s gaze scanned the crowd again. “I can’t believe how many people she knows here.”
“Who?” A woman strolled up to Finn’s side, her appraising gaze on Noah.
“Our friend Julia,” Finn said, lifting his glass in Julia’s direction. “In the pink, purple, whatever hot color that is.”
“Fuchsia,” the woman said and offered her hand to Noah. “I’m Tiffany.”
Noah took her hand for a quick shake. “Noah.”
“I know. Snowboarders aren’t my thing, but if they were, you’d know me too.”
“What’s your sport?” he asked.
“Tennis.”
“Ah, Tiffany Zucker?” He didn’t know her, just her name.
“Bingo. Points for the hot snowboarding dude.” She flashed a sassy smile, then glanced toward Julia and lifted her glass to her lips for a sip. “She probably knows half the people in this room, more from her work than her swimming. She helped me with tendinitis in my rotator cuff. I’m a little surprised she showed her face here tonight, but that girl’s always had balls.”
