by Nana Malone
From the little Asha had heard from Dax's parents so far, she knew they were proud of their children's abilities and accomplishments, but there was something special about the tone with which Brent spoke about his youngest son.
"Hasn't he already got a dozen scholarship offers?" Dax scoffed. He turned to Asha to add, "Gage is on the high school basketball team. They've been scouting him since his freshman year."
That's right, Asha thought, as she nodded with understanding. Brent played basketball, too.
"He still needs to make his formal applications. And Fox…well, he'll show up as soon as the food's on the table."
There was a commotion from the main hall, and everyone craned their necks to see Bryce and Tami come through the front door into the foyer. Julia greeted them before excusing herself to go let the cook, Fox, and Gage all know they'd be sitting down to eat in a few minutes.
"Sorry we're late," Tami apologized quickly as she and Bryce glanced around the room.
Asha suddenly found herself at the center of attention again, when they both stared curiously at her. "Hi. I'm Damon's little sister," she said, reluctantly falling back on the easiest explanation.
"Damon?" Tami looked to Bryce.
"My best friend from college," Dax piped up, rising from his seat and holding a hand out to help Asha up as well. "We were on the same team, and now Asha and I are on the same team."
"I'm in the public relations and marketing department for the Thrashers," she said, shaking Tami's hand while the two oldest Coulter brothers engaged in that weird shoulder clap all the Coulter men seemed fond of using to greet one another. "I'm traveling with the team this road trip, and Dax thought it would be nice to give me the chance to escape my colleagues for a while."
Tami studied her closely. "That was…nice of Dax to bring you along."
Asha swallowed hard. "Yeah. That Dax. Forever nice."
Tami looked back and forth between them, and Asha flushed. She might have fooled the rest of the family, but Tami knew. Fantastic. Bryce handed his brother a drink, and Dax threw it back like a thirsty man.
Asha sighed. She certainly had her work cut out for her tonight.
Ten
Shoot him now. Dax was already one Scotch in, thanks to his brother. And thanks to his grandparents, he was working his way through the second. So far, he'd counted almost five off-color or racially insensitive remarks. Which, knowing his grandfather, was actually pretty good. The one he'd been surprised by was from his grandmother.
Everyone was incredibly polite during dinner, but he couldn't help but stiffen whenever someone directed a question toward him. He was good at game talk, though. Never reveal anything. Keep it surface. Thankfully, most of the discussion centered on Bryce and Tami's wedding preparations.
Asha handled it with grace. And a few times, she'd taken his hand under the table and given him a gentle squeeze to keep him from saying anything. More than once, he willed her to hold on just a little longer.
"So, why do you need to go in person to the country club tonight?" Echo asked.
"We can't decide how we want the tables arranged," Bryce said. "We need to see the space we're working with in person. It's like… working with building blocks."
"More like dominoes," Tami added. "We can't really settle on the seating arrangements until we know how the tables are going to be laid out, which, according to the wedding planner, also affects the flower arrangements somehow—"
"And the photographer and videographer will have to work around them, as well." Bryce picked up Tami's thread of the conversation.
"I don't understand all this fuss about a wedding," Fox muttered between mouthfuls.
They all just ignored Fox as Bryce continued. "It'll all be easier to figure out if we have some help. Like family help, I mean."
"Not Gage," Brent overruled before his youngest son could speak for himself either way. "You need to finish those applications. The deadlines are coming up soon, and you know they coincide with tryouts and your team's first practices."
There was a flash of irritation in Gage's expression, but as usual, his baby brother said nothing. Poor kid probably had other plans and zero interest in spending his Friday night getting caught up in wedding planning. But the fact he was now forbidden from going immediately made the idea appealing.
"I'm game," Echo volunteered quickly. "I'll give Jen a call, too. She was talking about looking for something to do tonight."
Fuck. Jen? With Asha right here? Together? His skin prickled with heat. Which was ridiculous, because there was nothing going on with Asha. Except for the masturbation habit he'd developed.
"I doubt this is what she had in mind," Dax quipped weakly.
"Do you not want me to invite her?" Echo met his gaze, her eyes full of challenge. She was fucking with him.
"Of course you can invite her," he said carefully. "I just don't think you should be surprised if she says no." Yeah, he was fooling nobody. Fuck, he was so screwed. Shit. Why was it so damn hot in here?
"How 'bout you, Fox?" Bryce prodded. "It'll be fun."
"The bunch of us in an empty room standing in for tables and guests while you and Tami use us like puppets?" Fox lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "Why does that not sound like fun?"
"Oh, the room won't be empty. There's some sort of reunion going on tonight. We'll kind of be crashing their party, but the manager said it shouldn't be a problem, so long as we don't make a nuisance of ourselves." Bryce grinned as Fox sat up with a smile. "What kind of reunion?"
As it turned out, it was a local high school's tenth reunion, and there turned out to be more than a few no-shows. Fox was in heaven with all the available older women in the building.
Dax couldn't help but keep an eye on Asha. She'd handled the relative formality of his family just fine, but in the new social situation, she was stiffer…more awkward. She kept looking over her shoulder, as though someone was going to come up behind them at any moment to physically remove them from the premises.
As they waited in the foyer of the club for both Jen and the manager to meet them, Dax nudged Asha and nodded his head in the direction of the name tag table. "We could always do this undercover," he joked.
Asha giggled and smacked his arm. "I doubt it would help the situation if someone spotted the lot of you."
"You're here, too," he pointed out. "Whatever happens to us, happens to you. Our fates are forever intertwined."
"I'm not a Coulter. Nobody wants pictures of me."
His gaze swept over her. Even in the prim skirt and blouse, with those heels, she looked amazing. Classy. He wanted to make her…less classy. "I doubt that."
She ignored him. "And if that does happen, and a story about you crashing a high school reunion goes viral, it'll be my ass on the line at work," Asha emphasized.
"Oh, Coach Mills would be sure to punish me in practice, rest assured," Dax promised. "And, if anything, it would give you the perfect means for demonstrating your skills. Say it goes viral. First of all, I'm not the only Coulter here. And with Bryce and Tami here, they'd be the real story. Second, the club here would put out a statement that I'm sure you would help them write. Explaining how we aren't, in fact, crashing the event, but are here in regards to my brother's approaching wedding."
"The press does love a good love story," Asha agreed.
"And in that case, I'm here not as a troublemaker but as my brother's best man. My opinions on these matters are vital to the success of this wedding."
They both laughed at that. God, she was pretty when she smiled. "Hey, so I was think—" But he didn't finish the thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Jen. He immediately put distance between him and Asha, stepping forward to give Jen a quick hug. Was it weird he didn't get that same spark of insta-lust when he touched Jen? Whatever. Asha was clouding his brain.
"Jen, this is Asha Wix. She does PR for the team and I played with her brother in college. Asha, this is Jen Atwood. She's a longtime family friend." The
hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention, and he could practically feel Echo watching him. More than once, when he showed interested in someone new, she'd call asking him all about his flavor of the week. It was disconcerting how she could sense it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Asha said with a sunny smile. Great. Of course Asha was being nice to her. The woman he was currently obsessed with—who he shouldn't be obsessed with, and who he couldn't have—making nice with the woman who was supposed to be his future…someday. Maybe. One day. Totally normal. Not stress-inducing at all.
As the manager let them in, Jen turned to Echo and started chatting.
Bryce and Tami followed the manager for a few minutes. Echo started angling herself and Jen toward him and Asha, and he knew an ambush was imminent. As the three women spoke, he tried to take part in the conversation, but he was too aware of Asha. The way she moved, the way she angled her head. More than once, Jen or Echo asked him a question, and he was busy staring at Asha.
Jen, dipshit. Jen is the prize.
"It was good of you to agree to help with this," he said quietly, while Echo and Fox were busy playing twenty questions with Asha.
"I didn't have anything better to do on a Friday night," Jen shrugged. "What does that say about me, huh?"
"Still, this'll be fun. Now that you're here." Lame. Why did he sound so lame?
Jen came close to snorting with laughter. "Please, please stop, Dax," she begged. "It's a joke that's gone on way too long. You, pretending to hit on me."
He frowned. What? Pretending? He had game. So much game. "What if I'm not joking?"
Her brows shot up. "Not joking?"
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, what if I want to stop joking?"
She crossed her arms. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Do you even like me?"
Huh? "Of course, I like you."
"No, I mean in a meaningful way. Are you even attracted to me?"
He flushed. What was she asking? "Of course. You know you're beautiful."
"Yes, Dax, I'm pretty. But do you actually feel anything for me? Or do you just think it would be a great idea to date me? I'm safe. In with the fam."
"I—" He frowned slightly.
"Because since I've been here, you can't seem to take your eyes off of Asha. And you have never looked at me like that. "
This conversation was getting away from him. "She's just a friend. More like my friend's sister."
"You look at her with more heat and interest than you ever have with me. I adore you, but I want to be with someone who looks at me that way. And not just because I'm a good idea." She patted him on the chest and walked away to join a laughing Asha and Echo.
Dax followed behind, kicking himself for managing to royally screw up that conversation. She didn't know what she was talking about. Except, if he really stopped to think about it, she was right. He thought she was beautiful, but she didn't pull at that part of him. He loved women, so of course, he wanted her. But she had a point. She didn't occupy his mind. Didn't keep him up at night. Asha did. And that was just one big problem.
"You okay? You seem tense," Asha asked.
He nodded stiffly. "Fine."
"Well, come on, then." Asha pulled him out toward the edge of the dance floor. "If we're going to crash this party and risk our necks, let's do it right."
His lips twitched. "You like to dance?"
"Don't let my good-girl look fool you. I love to dance."
The DJ was only playing songs that came out during the high school years of the reunion attendees. Clusters of people filled the dance floor. Some were moving halfheartedly, still afraid after all those years to look foolish in front of the cool kids, while the majority seemed to be truly enjoying themselves. Asha dragged him to the edge of the dance floor. Someone bumped into her, pushing her into him. Repeating the way they'd been pressed together at the club.
Oh, God. Her soft body pressed deliciously against him. She smelled so good… She stumbled back a step and he held his breath. Her pupils dilated. Shit. Could she feel this too? "Asha–"
The voice of the deejay came over the speakers, cutting him off, looking for the class prom king and queen to share a dance in the center of the floor and the music softened.
Dax held his breath. She felt so damn good in his arms. It seemed like she was holding her breath too, but when she finally exhaled, her body melded to his. For several moments they danced to the music, him more than hyper aware of how close they were. He could kiss her she was so close.
His gaze pinned on her lips, and he wanted to slide his tongue over her bottom lip. But then, she suddenly backed away and cleared her throat.
"We should uh…we should go find the others," Asha suggested, sliding her gaze away from Dax, who still had hold of her hand.
He didn't want to let her go.
"Yeah," Dax agreed, his voice low. He cleared his throat as he stepped back and let go of her hand. "I uh—Echo's over there waving for us. They're probably—"
"We're holding them up," Asha agreed before Dax could finish. "We were supposed to be helping them."
"Right. Let's…" He was in trouble and he needed to find some way to get her out of his head or he was going to do something really stupid.
"You should be careful with him," Tami said quietly on Asha's right, as Dax went to stand in next to Bryce.
"Oh, don't worry. I've got my eye on him," she answered, without really thinking. "That didn't come out right," she added quickly as Tami laughed beside her. "I just…I mean…Dax didn't want anyone to know this, but… I had to come with him tonight. No, literally," she asserted when she saw Tami's good-natured smile shift to confusion. "It's part of my job with the team. We've been paired up with players to help evaluate their behavior and figure out the best ways to manage them. To market them…"
"Ah," Tami blinked. "That must be it, then."
"Must be what?"
"The way he's been reacting to you tonight. He just seems… I'm not the best at reading Dax—or any of the Coulters yet, except Bryce, of course—but he seemed to be… Well, I thought he was trying to provoke you, with Jen there—that he was trying to make you jealous," she said.
"Make me jealous," Asha repeated without inflection. That couldn't be right. But maybe that was what she'd felt earlier in the lobby area, while they were waiting for Jen to arrive. She'd been fidgety in a way that was both familiar and foreign—it was similar to the way she felt when an achievement was within reach and she felt threatened.
Perhaps that fidgeting had been more than just worrying about being so close to making it through the night without incident? Maybe it had to do with the warmth that had run through her with Dax's hands on her while they'd been dancing. His strong hands holding her fingers loosely while she twirled, pressed against the small of her back as he reached around to pull her closer to him, the way they rested lightly on her waist…the way those beautiful eyes focused on her like a hawk.
"Guess I was wrong," Tami was saying. "Well—not entirely. He was probably trying to provoke you, just not for the reason I thought."
Yes, and why does that bother you so much?
Eleven
Right before leaving, Dax pulled Bryce aside.
"You're sure about all this, then?" Dax couldn't help asking Bryce.
"About marrying Tami? Of course I'm sure," Bryce said, laughing. "And it's a little late for you to be having this talk with me, don't you think?"
"No, late would be asking when you're waiting for her at the altar," Dax muttered. "And that's not what I meant. I was talking about me being your best man. Are you sure?"
Bryce’s voice softened. "Sorry, Dax—no backing out now."
"At least admit it, all right? Admit that you would have asked Echo first, but Tami called dibs on her."
His brother shook his head. "No. You want to know why I asked you?"
"Yeah."
"Because you were the first person to notice. To ca
re enough to give me the heads-up about the family when Tami and I started. And you're my brother. I love you and shit." He paused, raising an eyebrow at Dax and grinning. "You're not gonna make me hug you now, are you?"
Dax couldn't believe it. Bryce actually wanted him as best man? Was it possible he'd looked at their relationship the wrong way all these years?
"Okay. I'll call you about the bachelor party. I need to get out of here."
Bryce nodded. "You okay? You seem off."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Later." All he had to do now was survive the tension in the car with Asha for the next hour.
Asha drove as far over the speed limit as she was comfortable, heading back to the W Hotel downtown. His parents' house was on Rancho Santa Fe, so nearly an hour out of the city. Luckily, it was late enough in the evening for most of the traffic to have cleared, so they made good time.
Aside from a few obligatory comments about how good dinner had been, and that the country club seemed like it would be a wonderful venue for Bryce and Tami's wedding, they rode in silence. But she could practically feel him thinking next to her.
Tami's words of caution haunted Asha. Be careful with him. Which way had she meant that? Be careful with him, as in don't hurt him? Or be careful he didn't hurt her?
She shook her head to clear it. It didn't matter how Tami had meant it. To even think about Dax that way was not okay. He wasn't spending time with her because he wanted to. Even if it was a possibility. No. No more venturing down fantasy alley, imagining Dax could possibly want her. No more focusing on the way he watched her like a hawk with its prey. And definitely no thinking about what his voice, smile, or laugh could do to her body. She didn't have much experience with guys. Hell, any, really. Dax Coulter was not one to cut her baby teeth on.
Known player, check.
Too good looking for his own good, check.
Football player that could ruin her career, check.
The only man to really make her want to break every single rule she had, check.
