PLAYERS: The Complete Series (Springville Rockets (Sports Romance Books 1-3)

by Daphne Loveling

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see three people come through the door of the community room. One is carrying a large mesh bag of footballs, one has an expensive-looking camera around his neck, and the third is lugging some lighting equipment. Jake glances briefly up at them but keeps talking to the kids, keeping them distracted as the photographer and his assistant set up the lighting and start snapping candids.

  “Who wants an autograph?” Jake says then, and of course all the kids go wild. He takes a marker from his back pocket and starts signing jerseys, hats, footballs, casts, and anything else the kids present to him. With each one, he writes something different, signing his name under their special message with a flourish. It goes on like this for over an hour, with the photographer taking photos and even shooting some video the whole time. By the end, I practically have to drag Jake away from the kids as they protest and clamor for him to stay longer.

  Jake eventually quiets the children by promising to come back and visit them very soon. A few of them come up to him for hugs. As I watch him embrace their small, fragile bodies, something tugs at my heart so fiercely that before I know it I’m on the verge of crying. I can’t imagine how it is that he’s so tender with them. The Jake Ryland I thought I knew until now seems like the kind of guy who’s never spent any time around kids at all. This one, though? It’s like someone switched the guy visiting little Jacob yesterday with his identical twin.

  We leave the McMarshall House, with Pam Turlington trailing after us to thank Jake again and again. The visit has gone better than I could possibly have expected, and I can see from the wide grin on Jake’s face that he think so, too. Even better, I’m sure the team’s PR people will have tons of great publicity shots with Jake and the kids to choose from. I should be thrilled.

  And I am, mostly.

  But lurking just underneath the sense of triumph that everything’s gone so well is something else. An emotion I can’t quite put a name to. Instead of feeling better about being put in charge of remaking Jake’s image, part of me is starting to feel even worse.

  Because today, I got a glimpse of a different side of Jake Ryland. A side that’s not a cocky, self-centered skirt-chaser. And weirdly, I think I was more comfortable with him when he was just an asshole.

  10

  Jake

  Okay. That wasn’t so bad.

  “I thought you said you didn’t know how to talk to kids,” Marinda teases me as we walk outside and back to my car.

  “That was different,” I say. “Crowds aren’t as hard as one-on-one. With a crowd, all you have to do is turn on the charm and work the room. It’s like a performance. You’re just projecting an image they want to see.”

  “Well, it went amazingly well. And, we have lots of photos and video to show for it. You completely and thoroughly charmed the pants off of all of them.” She flicks her eyes sideways at me. “Not to mention Pam.”

  I chuckle. “She was easy, too.” Older women dig me, what can I say?

  We get to the car and I open the passenger door for her, watching as she slides her tempting ass into the bucket seat. The dark red dress she’s wearing slides up just a little, revealing just a hint of her shapely leg above the knee. I imagine reaching down and sliding it up just a little more, to reveal the swell of her thigh, and my dick starts to harden in response. I wonder if Marinda “all business” Blake has any idea what a fucking stunner she is. Right now, I’d give just about anything to be able to slip my hand between those thighs. I wonder what sound she’d make. Would her breath hitch in her throat? Would those luscious lips part in surprise and desire? Would she moan a little when I slid a finger inside her panties, to find her hot, waiting center?

  By the time I shut her door and start over to my side, I’m fighting a rising erection, and I have to stop behind the car for a second to collect myself. When I do open the driver’s side door, she’s already engrossed in her phone, looking at her appointment calendar.

  I remember from looking at the schedule she gave me that the McMarshall House visit was the only thing on there for today, so she’s probably expecting me to take her back to the office and then be on my way. Suddenly, though, I’m not quite ready just drop her off.

  “Hey,” I say, nodding at the clock on the dash. “It’s basically lunchtime. Why don’t you let me take you out somewhere?”

  Marinda glances up at me, looking startled. Her brow creases in an uncertain frown. “I don’t know,” she says, biting her lip. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be paying for lunch when you’re doing work for the foundation. I could probably expense it, though…”

  “Come on,” I laugh. “Don’t be so uptight. Don’t look at it as a business lunch. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. It’s lunchtime, we’re hungry, we have to eat. So, let’s go eat.”

  She still looks doubtful, so I decide for both of us. “Look, it doesn’t even have to be fancy. I’ll take you to this great hot dog place I know of.” I start the car and put it into gear, not bothering to wait for an answer.

  “Well…” she murmurs, “I suppose that would be okay…”

  We pull into a parking spot about a block away from Clancy’s Dogs. It’s not even noon yet when we walk in the front door, but already the place is filling up. Clancy himself is standing behind the counter when we walk in, chatting with an older couple who looks like they just ordered. “Hey, Jake!” he calls, raising his hand in greeting. “Long time no see!”

  “Hey, Clance!” I wave back. “How’s it going?”

  “Oh, can’t complain, can’t complain,” he says cheerfully. He rubs his bald head in a gesture I’ve probably seen him do a hundred times. “Who’s the little lady?”

  “She’s a friend,” I say easily. “I figured she needed to be introduced to a Clancy dog.”

  “Damn straight. Pardon my French,” he responds, winking at her. “So, what’ll you two have?”

  “I’ll take a Roadhouse Chili Dog and a Coke,” I say, and look at Marinda.

  “Well…” She looks up at the menu, which is printed in chalk above the register, and then looks back to Clancy. “What’s the best thing to have on my first time here?”

  Clancy grins at me. “I like that she says her first time here,” he cracks. “Well, little lady, you gotta try the Clancy Special. It’s my take on a Chicago dog. I make the pickles myself.”

  She nods. “Then that’s what I’ll have. And a Diet Coke.”

  “An excellent choice. Order up!” Clancy cries.

  I pay for our meal and tell Marinda to go find us a table while I wait for our food to be ready. A couple of minutes later, I find her at a booth toward the back and set the tray down between us.

  Marinda picks up her hot dog and takes an experimental bite. “Oh, wow, this is delicious!” she moans. “This might be the best hot dog I’ve ever had!”

  “I told you so,” I say with satisfaction. “I’ve been coming here ever since I got signed to Springville.”

  “Where’s home for you?” she asks.

  “Just outside Philly.” I take a bite of my dog and swallow. “Born and raised. Went to college at Penn State.”

  “You played football for them?”

  “Sure. All four years. Got the Davey O’Brien award my junior year, Heisman Trophy my senior year.”

  “Wow. Even I know what the Heisman is,” she whistles. “Did you sign with the Rockets right out of college?”

  “Pretty much,” I say. “Which means that I haven’t had a decent Philly cheese steak in years.”

  She laughs. “Well, at least you’ve got Clancy dogs.”

  “Thank God for that.” I take another bite. “What about you? You grow up around here?”

  “About an hour north of Springville,” she replies. “A small town called Holcomb. My parents and little sister still live there.”

  “Your dad a football fan?”

  She nods at me, an impish grin spreading across her face. “He is. When I told him about you doing some p
ublicity for the foundation, he told me I was going to have my hands full with you.”

  I laugh. “Yup, that’s about right. Luckily I’m so charming that it makes up for it.”

  She punches me lightly on the arm. “Please, nobody’s that charming.”

  As we eat, we fall into an easy banter that’s the complete opposite of the strained formality that Marinda’s been trying to maintain between us. When she doesn’t have such a huge stick up her butt, I start to realize, she’s actually pretty cool. Funny, even. I’m actually enjoying just hanging out with her. Which is pretty much a first. Usually, the women I hang out with fall into two categories: the ones I’m currently banging, and the ones I’m hoping to bang. With Marinda, I’d give my left nut to score, and I’m pretty sure she’s not completely indifferent to me, either. But technically, she’s off-limits since she’s trying to rehabilitate my image. Maybe that’s why I’m paying attention to her as more than just a hot piece of ass. But I’m not so sure. There’s just something about her that’s not like other women I know. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

  When we’ve finished our hot dogs, we hang around a little longer, just shooting the shit. Eventually, she looks around and says we should probably give up the table to some other customers. We walk back outside into a beautiful summer day, and I start trying to think of ways to keep from just taking her back to her office.

  Marinda is in the middle of telling me some cute anecdote from her childhood when she suddenly stops talking and stares. My eyes follow hers and land on a tall, scruffy-looking guy about our age who’s walking toward us on the sidewalk.

  “Rinn?” he says, a note of surprise in his voice, and something else that I can’t quite figure out.

  “Hey, Collin,” she replies flatly. Whoever he is, she doesn’t want to talk to him.

  Collin’s eyes flicker from her to me and widen in surprise. He clearly recognizes me. “What’s up?”

  “Not much,” she says. “You?”

  “Oh, just, uh, I had a delivery to make this morning.” He waves a hand toward the direction he’s coming from. He glances at me and I see him draw himself up to his full height. “I’m a local artist. A sculptor,” he says self-importantly.

  “I see,” I say in a serious tone. “Very impressive.”

  It doesn’t escape Collin that I’m making fun of him. With an irritated frown, he turns back to Marinda. “What, uh, what are you doing over on this side of town?”

  Something’s up, I can tell. The way they’re looking at each other, Marinda’s body language, tells me that they might be ex-lovers, or something. Which is hard as shit to believe, because Marinda is way, way hotter than this guy deserves. She’s holding herself stiffly, formally, even more so than she was the first morning I met her in her office at Give A Wish. Without thinking, I make a snap decision.

  “I just took her out for a special occasion lunch,” I say, putting one arm possessively around her. I stick out my other hand. “Hey, I’m Jake Ryland.”

  “I know who you are,” Collin says. His face reddens a shade or two as he takes my hand, and I make sure to squeeze just a little too hard as I shake it, suppressing a grin of satisfaction as he winces.

  “Well, Rinn,” I continue, looking down at her and doing my best lovesick face. “We probably better get going, babe. I don’t want you to be late getting back to work.”

  Marinda stares up at me for a second, and then I can see the click when she figures out my game. Cocks her head and giving me an adoring look, she coos, “Aww, you’re so considerate, Jakey,” and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from bursting into laughter.

  “Jake’s right, Collin,” she says, turning to him with an exaggerated pout and laying her head on my shoulder. “Sorry, we have to go. Nice seeing you, though.”

  Before he can answer, we’ve pushed past him, and continue down the sidewalk without a backward glance.

  “I probably shouldn’t have enjoyed that as much as I did,” she says quietly as we walk away.

  Sometimes revenge is the best medicine,” I murmur, leaning down so it looks like I’m kissing the top of her head.

  “You can take your arm away now,” she tells me.

  “Are you kidding me? Not until he’s completely out of sight.”

  Which is a good excuse, but that’s not why I’m keeping it there. It feels good to hold her like this. Probably too good. I don’t want to let her go. In fact, my dick is yelling at me to make a move. If the way she’s sinking into me right now is any indication, I don’t think she’d resist. I run my thumb softly across the bare skin of her upper arm. She tenses a little, but doesn’t pull away.

  Any other woman, and I would have already gone for it right now. So what am I waiting for? Why am I hesitating like a third-string QB who doesn’t know the game? Jesus, Ryland, just fucking kiss her.

  But I don’t. For some reason, I don’t want to ruin this moment of easy comfort with her. So I settle for keeping my arm around her for the rest of the walk, even though I know there’s no way that Collin guy can see us anymore.

  We wait until we’re back in the car with the doors closed to break character, and then both of us start laughing so hard I think we might never stop. Rinn’s shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Oh, my God!” she gasps. “Collin looked like someone peed in his oatmeal!”

  “Who is that guy, anyway?” I eventually manage to ask.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” she chokes out. “Cheating ex-boyfriend, to be precise.”

  Aha. “Well, clearly he’s an asshole then, but to be honest he did you a favor. He clearly doesn’t deserve someone as hot as you.”

  I don’t really mean to say it — I mean, I am supposed to be on my best behavior and everything — but I don’t regret it either. Rinn turns to me and gives me a funny look.

  “I suppose I should probably be pissed off and say that looks aren’t all that matter in a woman,” she murmurs.

  “They aren’t,” I agree. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re way out of his league. And it goes without saying that you’re a better person, too. You’re successful and you do important work that changes the lives of kids. And you’re not a cheating asshole.”

  She laughs softly. “Very good points.”

  “See? You should probably send that guy a fruit basket for showing you he’s not worth your while.”

  She looks over and smiles at me. “Thanks.”

  I turn the key in the ignition and shrug. “Not saying anything that isn’t true.” I pull the car out of the parking spot and head back in the direction of the Give A Wish offices.

  For a few seconds, we don’t speak. “You know,” she says then, “That night when we met, at Centro? That was the day I found out Collin was cheating. It was my birthday.”

  “Wow. That’s one hell of a birthday present.” Man, this asshole makes me look like a freakin’ saint. At least I don’t make any promises I don’t intend to keep.

  “Yeah.” She pauses, then says thoughtfully: “But like you said. Maybe that was the best present Collin could have given me.”

  11

  Marinda

  I never would have thought that Jake Ryland would be the one to comfort me after running into my asshole ex-boyfriend on the street.

  Not to mention that as much as I hate to admit it, it was one-hundred percent awesome to have Jake pretend to be my boyfriend in front of Collin. How he was perceptive enough to figure out the situation so quickly, I have no idea, but he played his role like a master. Even now, just thinking about the look on Collin’s face when Jake put his arm around me and called me “babe” makes me want to giggle like a schoolgirl.

  Plus, if I’m honest with myself, it didn’t do my ego any harm to have Jake Ryland call me hot just now. Because let’s be honest — Jake Ryland is hands down the hottest guy I’ve ever actually seen in real life. Maybe the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, period. He even gives Liam Hemsworth a run for his mo
ney.

  And sure, he can be a cocky jerk. Hell, if you typed “cocky jerk” into Google, he’d probably be the first result. But he was really nice today. And he didn’t have to be. I actually had fun with him at lunch. Maybe helping him remake his image won’t be all that bad after all. I mean, yes, it would be easier to ignore how good looking he is if he would keep being a self-satisfied douche. But considering how much time I’ll be spending with him, all things considered it’s probably better for both of us if I don’t actually hate him.

  I’m a mature, professional adult, after all. I can keep my physical attraction to him under control. Right?

  When Jake pulls the Camaro up to the offices of Give A Wish, I actually feel a little sad that we’re done for the day. But there’s nothing else on our agenda, and I have to go back to work.

  “Okay, then. This was good!” I say chirpily, and open up my phone to my calendar. “We should be getting some information soon on when your PR people plan to do their press release from the photo op today, but I’m sure it’s going to be great for you. And your next event is…” I start flipping calendar pages, disappointment rising a little bit each time. “Not until Friday. Another individual hospital visit.”

  “Oh, great,” he mutters, shaking his head.

  “No, it’ll be okay,” I reassure him. “The visit’s planned for later in the day. We’ll have some time for me to talk to you about some of the things to remember about how to talk to sick kids. Relax. If you just remember a few key things, you’ll do fine, Jake. I promise.”

  He looks over at me. “Okay. Hell, it can’t go worse than the last one. But I’ll take your word for it, Rinn.”

  I can’t help but laugh to hear him call me that.

  “What?” he asks, cocking his brow at me. God, he’s stupid sexy, even when he looks confused. How does he do that?