The Last Honest Man: A Sports Romance (One Pass Away: A New Season Book 3)

by Mary J. Williams

  Eve’s observation was perhaps the most unique compliment he ever received; the beat of Dylan’s heart spiked upward.

  “I have a question.” Dylan cleared his throat. “More of request. A favor, to be honest.”

  “Since when do you hem and haw?” Eve asked with a quick smile that Dylan could only describe as a burst of sunshine.

  “Three,” he said. “And counting.”

  “What?” Eve’s head tilted slightly to her right. “Three what?”

  Smiles. All for me. Dylan hated living with regrets. But he would lament the fact that he wouldn’t have the chance to keep counting Eve’s smiles. If he were honest, he would wish for the day when he lost track. He hoped for a time when just the sight of him brought a smile to her lips.

  One day, Eve might find someone who opened her heart to love. But the man wouldn’t be Dylan. And that, he feared, might turn out to be his greatest regret.

  Dylan still had time to avoid one mistake—something to take the sting out of saying goodbye.

  “Daisy isn’t here, is she?” he asked.

  “I already told you that Mrs. Dowd is watching her while I pack.” Eve lightly rapped Dylan’s temple with her fist. “You should see a doctor, slick. Short-term memory problems are nothing to fool around with.”

  “My memory is fine,” Dylan assured her. Unwilling to let her distract him, he slid an arm around her waist.

  “Hey. What’s the deal?”

  Eve protested, but she didn’t move from his embrace—a fact Dylan found encouraging. Not long ago, she would have knocked him on his ass if he attempted to hold her close.

  “You said my lips look like pillows,” he said.

  “Did I?” Eve’s eyes darted away from his. “Are you certain? Someone told me your memory isn’t what it used to be.”

  “Unsubstantiated rumors.” Dylan chuckled. “Deny it all you want; I know the truth.”

  “If I did make such ridiculous comment, so what?” Eve lifted her gaze to his, her eyes defiant. “I stated an opinion. Big deal.”

  “The way my lips look and how they feel are two different things,” Dylan reasoned. “As a favor? Kiss me.”

  “So that I can tell you if your lips feel like pillows?” Eve scoffed. “Now who’s being ridiculous?”

  “Aren’t you curious? Where’s your sense of adventure?” Dylan taunted.

  “Daily life is all the adventure I need,” Eve told him.

  “Then why are you still in my arms?” Dylan tightened his hold in case Eve decided to bolt. She took a deep breath, but she didn’t move. He pushed his advantage. “In less than twenty-four hours we’ll say goodbye. Who knows when we might see each other again? Now or never is a bit extreme. But…”

  “What if you have a girlfriend the next time we meet? You could be engaged. Or married.” Eve didn’t seem thrilled at either prospect.

  Dylan knew that while Eve lingered in his thoughts, the chance of another woman slipping past her memory was slim to none. He kept the fact to himself.

  “You never know,” he said with a shrug. “I could turn the corner one day and meet the love of my life.”

  “Some chances never come around again.” Eve’s eyes dropped to Dylan’s mouth. “I am curious.”

  “Then kiss me.”

  When Eve licked her bottom lip, Dylan stifled a groan.

  “Should I?” she asked. “Do I dare?”

  Tension crackled between. In Dylan’s estimation, an eternity passed. Would she? Wouldn’t she? The ball was in her court. Hope died then was revived in his heart with every ticking second.

  “No strings?” Eve threaded her fingers through Dylan’s hair. “Just a kiss? Nothing more?”

  “If you throw me to the ground and have your way with me, I won’t object.” Dylan couldn’t resist putting the idea in her head—just in case. “But when you stop, so will I.”

  “Deal.” Eve gave a decisive nod. “One kiss.”

  Dylan almost collapsed with relief. Locking his knees, for a measure of extra support, he leaned against the counter. The movement brought Eve closer until their thighs touched and her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest.

  “One kiss,” Dylan agreed. Secretly, he wished for more.

  “Two wouldn’t be terrible,” Eve said, unknowingly fulfilling his heart’s desire. “Or three. Maybe.”

  Dylan smothered a grin. As his pulse raced with anticipation, he kept the tone of his voice as casual as possible.

  “You’re in the driver’s seat,” he told her with a solemn nod.

  Gaze intently focused, Eve’s forefinger brushed his bottom lip. Standing on tiptoe, she did the same with her mouth. She barely touched, yet Dylan felt a jolt of electricity.

  “Soft,” she whispered. “More?”

  “Yes.” Dylan sighed. “Please.”

  Finally, Eve kissed him. Nothing tentative or shy. She kissed him. Full-on, no holds barred. Surprised—thrilled—Dylan kissed her back.

  Eve tasted like strawberries. Sweet with a kick of tartness that lingered on Dylan’s tongue. She was in charge, set the pace, but he couldn’t stop his arms from lifting her off her feet until her mouth was level with his.

  With a hum of approval, her lips curved into a smile seconds before she deepened the kiss. Seconds passed. Minutes? Dylan stopped counting.

  “Good?” Eve asked, lifting her head just enough to meet his gaze.

  “Mm,” Dylan answered. “Very good. May I have another?”

  “Oh, yes.” Eve cupped his cheek, the gray of her eyes almost silver. “I can’t stop at one.”

  Eve traced the curve of Dylan’s bottom lip with the tip of her tongue before her teeth followed, nipping lightly.

  “Stop teasing,” Dylan warned.

  “I’m not teasing,” Eve said with a husky laugh. “I’m tasting. You’re almost as delicious as a piece of cheesecake.”

  “Almost?” Dylan frowned. “You would pick dessert over me?”

  Eve’s answer was to cover his mouth. If kiss number one curled Dylan’s toes, number two seared his soul. He forgot his promise to be a passive participant. How could he remember when all cognitive thought stopped the second her lips touched his?

  Turning, Dylan lifted Eve. He sat her on the counter. He sighed his approval when her thighs gripped his hips, drawing him to the heat of her body.

  “Touch me,” Eve said, her warm breath mingling with his. “Here.”

  Dylan groaned as Eve initiated kiss number three. Her hand guided his, telling him what she wanted without words.

  Soft and firm, Eve’s breast curved perfectly into his palm. Through the thin cotton of her shirt, he found the hard tip of her nipple, his thumb teasing and caressing.

  “Good?” Dylan asked, echoing her earlier question to him.

  “No,” Eve gasped.

  “Bullshit,” Dylan said, tightening his hold just a bit.

  “Good?” Eve sighed, then bit at the curve of his jaw. “More like spectacular.”

  Dylan grinned.

  “Then I shouldn’t stop?”

  Before Eve could answer, a knock sounded on the door. She tensed, every muscle in her body stiffening.

  “Pretend you didn’t hear.”

  Dylan waited as he watched the indecision on Eve’s face. He could tell she was tempted. For a few passion-filled minutes, she lowered the wall she’d erected around herself and let him in. But when the knock came again, accompanied by the sound of Mrs. Dowd’s voice, he knew their brief interlude had ended.

  Eve’s feet hit the floor with a thud.

  Taking a shaky breath, her gaze rested on Dylan’s lips before rising to look into his eyes. He saw traces of lingering passion but most of all, he saw the sadness. He wondered if she saw the same.

  “What’s the verdict?” Dylan asked with a wry smile. “Are my lips pillowy soft or not?”

  “Two thumbs up,” Eve said. She didn’t return his sm
ile. “Thank you.”

  “Why?” Dylan shook his head. “I’m the one who received the favor.”

  “You gave me something to remember. Thank you for the perfect last memory.”

  Briefly, Eve’s hand lingered on his arm before sliding away. Turning her gaze from his, she walked away. Unknowingly, she carried a piece of Dylan’s heart with her.

  ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲

  EVE RESTED HER head on the wall. Eyes closed, tired, and sad in a way she didn’t fully understand, she listened to the silence of the room.

  Six meager boxes sat near the front door. The contents—almost a year of Eve’s life, was slated to be dropped off at the Goodwill.

  Daisy’s belongings were packed inside a small, pink suitcase that sported a picture of her namesake flower on the side. The little girl’s favorite teddy bear sat on the case, ready to provide love and comfort on the trip to Seattle.

  “Did I do enough?” Eve whispered as her gaze wandered to the sofa where Daisy slept. “I know you won’t remember our time together. But I want you to know, I tried my best.”

  Eve rubbed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat. She would have happily cried, but the tears weren’t there. All she could do was sit and wait and wish for some relief from the weight of sadness resting on her chest.

  In a few hours, Eve would be on her own again. Free to come and go as she chose. If she wanted to leave at a moment’s notice, no one would care. She should have been elated. The responsibility of caring for someone else had been lifted. No more responsibility. No one to worry about but herself.

  No more Daisy. That was the problem. Much to Eve’s surprise, from the start, taking care of the little girl was more of a joy than then a burden. She would miss Trident, New Mexico, and the small group of friends she acquired.

  For the first time in Eve’s life, she had people to miss. She thought about the phone numbers and addresses she’d stored in her phone. As she went around and quit her jobs, everyone made her promise to stay in touch.

  Maybe, for once, Eve would.

  Now what? Eve was at a loss about what to do and where to go. North? East? Should she take out a map, close her eyes, and point? Not so long ago, the prospect would have excited her. New horizons to explore, new faces to see. Why was the prospect so freaking depressing?

  Give yourself time, Eve thought. She was bound to adjust. In no time, she would be back to her old self. After a month, or two, when she raised her face to the breeze and breathed in, her blood would race as she was filled with the familiar call to see what lay over the next horizon.

  A light knock at the door broke into Eve’s somber musings. Looking at her watch, she frowned. The knock sounded again. She glanced at Daisy, relieved when the little girl didn’t stir and rolled to her feet. Cautiously, she cracked open the front door.

  “Dylan?” Eve slipped into the hallway. “What are you doing here? Your plane doesn’t leave until this afternoon.”

  “Eve—”

  “I want to spend some time alone with Daisy.” Eve heard a note of desperation creep into her voice. She didn’t care. If she had to beg, she would. “You get her for the rest of your life. Can’t I have a few more hours?”

  “Come with us.”

  “What are you talking about?” Eve asked. “Go where? Who is us?”

  “To Seattle,” he said. He took hold of her arms. “With Daisy and me.”

  Yes. The word popped into Eve’s head without a second thought. Or a first. Looking at Dylan’s messy hair and the dark circles under his blurry eyes, she wondered who was the crazy one. Her? Or him?

  “If you were influenced by what happened yesterday, snap out of it.” Instead of a slap across the face, she pushed at his chest. He dropped his arms. “We shared one kiss—”

  “Three,” he said. “We shared three kisses.”

  Eve didn’t think Dylan’s reminder was necessary—or timely. As for the smirk on his pillowy lips? Unbelievable. The jerk Maybe she needed to slap him after all.

  “Do you honestly believe I would ask you to come with me—to my home—because of a kiss?”

  Three kisses, Eve thought, then mentally rolled her eyes. Okay. Maybe she was the one who needed a good slap.

  “You tell me,” Eve countered as she tried to keep her wits about her. “Why would you suddenly come up with such a preposterous suggestion?”

  “I didn’t just come up with it,” Dylan explained. “The idea has been percolating in my brain for a couple of days.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything before now?” Worried she might wake Daisy, Eve forced herself not to shout the words. “You wait until the eleventh hour to drop a bombshell on me and what? I’m supposed to swerve right when I planned to go left?”

  Eve saw no reason to tell Dylan that she had no idea what she would do next with her life. She felt pathetic enough standing in the hallway, her hair uncombed, a slight fuzzy feel to her teeth. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was at loose ends—even if that was exactly her situation.

  “I would have asked sooner but I didn’t think you would agree,” Dylan said.

  “What’s changed?” Eve crossed her arms. “Why ask me now?”

  “Panic set in last night. I didn’t sleep a wink.” Dylan scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know Daisy is young. In time, she’ll adapt to her new family. However, right now, she’s about to be uprooted by a man she just met. New city. New house. New bed. Everything is unknown.”

  Eve’s eyes grew damp, the tears she couldn’t cry before on the verge of falling.

  “Daisy will wonder where I went,” Eve said, swallowing a sob. “She’ll think I abandoned her. Then, she’ll cry. You don’t know how to console her. You don’t know what she needs.”

  “I know. I know!” Dylan handed Eve a handkerchief. “What was I thinking? Uprooting a little girl from the only home she’s ever known? Taking her from the person who keeps her world steady and safe? I’m not an uncle. I’m a monster.”

  Dylan’s image wavered before Eve’s tear-filled eyes. Was he about to cry? He couldn’t, she thought as she wiped her face. One blubbering adult was more than enough.

  “Doing what’s right doesn’t make you a monster,” Eve told him. “I know you care about Daisy.”

  “I love her,” Dylan said. He shrugged when Eve blinked her surprise. “Have you seen her? Blonde, and sweet, and adorable. My heart isn’t made of stone. The second she looked at me, I was hooked. She called me Unc-D and I turned into a puddle of goo.”

  “I know the feeling,” Eve said in commiseration. “Daisy collects admirers without even trying. When she’s older, there will be teenage boys lined up around the block.”

  “Teenage boys are the worst. I know. I was one.” Dylan shuddered. Suddenly, he brightened. “I can lock Daisy in her room until she’s thirty. No. forty.”

  “No, you can’t,” Eve told him with a watery chuckle.

  “Crap.” The light went out of Dylan’s eyes. “See why I need you to come with us? I haven’t a clue about how to cope.”

  “And I do?” Eve shook her head. “I flew by the seat of my pants with Daisy. Believe me, I made plenty of mistakes.”

  “Daisy is perfect,” Dylan said. “Because of you.”

  “Don’t give me too much credit,” Eve warned. “Sometimes I feel Daisy is so smart, she was the one who raised me.”

  “You can downplay what you did for her. I know the truth,” Dylan said.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Dowd.” Dylan smiled. “They are a couple who like to talk And, their favorite subject is you.”

  Afraid the waterworks might start again, Eve breathed deeply, in and out. She hit the jackpot when she moved in next to the Dowds. True, the couple could be a little bossy. And they didn’t know the meaning of the word boundaries. They were also supportive, caring, and unfailingly reliable.

  Without t
he Dowds, Eve would have fallen apart the first week.

  “You told me your mother is excited to welcome her granddaughter to the family. Daisy will live with her, right?”

  “Eventually.” Dylan sighed. “Tanner is still in hiding. If he shows up, we’ll figure something out. Mom agreed that Daisy will be better off with me for the time being.”

  If Eve had her way, Tanner Montgomery would be castrated, tarred and feathered, and sent to a monastery somewhere in the Swiss Alps.

  “Kind of an extreme solution,” Dylan said when Eve shared her fantasy.

  “Maybe you’re right.” Eve pictured Tanner with a circle of his hair shaved from the top of his head. Smiling when she imagined his lack of balls. “Maybe not.”

  “Your idea of justice scares the crap out of me,” Dylan said.

  “Don’t seduce, impregnate, and abandon anyone and you’ll be fine,” Eve assured him.

  “Since my testicles have shriveled to the size of frozen peas, I don’t see myself procreating any time soon.” Dylan grimaced. “Just in case, I may never have sex again.”

  “You’ll understand if I don’t believe you,” Eve sneered, unimpressed by Dylan’s declaration of celibacy. “The first time some buxom brunette or leggy blonde sashays past, you’ll be back in business faster than you can whip out your condom of choice.”

  “Ouch.” Dylan clutched his hand to his heart. “At least you give me credit for using protection.”

  “No glove, no love.”

  When Dylan laughed, Eve realized how much better she felt. She wasn’t ready to run a marathon, but her energy level was up. Close to a full charge.

  “We strayed from the original subject.”

  “Just a bit,” Dylan agreed, nodding. “Give me—give Daisy—a month. Time for us to settle into each other.”

  Eve knew she would say yes. From the moment Dylan asked, her answer was inevitable. Yet for some reason, she felt the need to make him work a little harder.

  “I don’t know,” Eve sighed. “A clean break might be best.”

  “You’ll have a room to yourself. Free run of the house. You can ask my housekeeper to buy anything you want to eat.”