Most of the partying in the stadium had calmed and people were flowing out of the stands. A lot of his teammates were gone to the locker room. He trudged that direction. As he entered the double doors, he smiled at the party that was going on—singing, joking, back-slapping. He walked through, receiving and handing out congrats and inflated praise.
Then he saw Hyde and his footsteps faltered. Did he dare ask for Sariah’s number? How did you tell a guy his future sister-in-law was destined to love you? No way. Too gutsy.
He wussed out and went to his own locker. He took his time showering and chatting with teammates. He headed out of the locker room, ready to find his family and fly to Ryder’s game tonight then on to Newport, Rhode Island, for a long-awaited family Christmas party tomorrow morning. He realized he was walking side by side with none other than Hyde Metcalf. It was a sign and he couldn’t ignore it.
“Hey, man.” He tilted his chin up. “Great game.”
“Thanks.” Hyde clapped him on the shoulder. “We couldn’t have done it without you. You’re a beast out there.”
“Thanks.” It was so like Hyde to shift the praise and not get caught up on himself. They were approaching the locker room door and Mack knew it was now or never. He put his hand on Hyde’s forearm and stopped walking. Hyde turned to him with a questioning glance. Mack shoved a hand through his hair. “Hey, um, your sister-in-law … Sariah?”
“Yeah?” Hyde’s glance wasn’t as friendly now. Suspicious, wary, concerned.
“You couldn’t, um, give me her number?” Why was everything coming out as a question? He was a Quinn. His brothers, sister, and mama would all disown him if they found out about his wimpy thoughts and actions tonight.
Hyde looked him over. “I can’t just give out Sariah’s number.”
“Oh.” Disappointment stabbed him. “Could you see if she wants my number?”
“How do you know Sariah?”
“I … I don’t. But she touched my hand tonight.” It was official. He was the most pathetic man in the world and he was revealing it all to Hyde Metcalf. He was going to get laughed off the field at their next practice.
Hyde’s eyebrows arched. “I’m sorry, Mack. You seem like a nice guy, but I don’t know you that well, and Sariah is … special to all of us. An angel really, with a funny sense of humor.” Hyde smiled briefly.
Mack knew that was true simply from looking at her. Pure goodness, light, and humor radiated from her.
“She lives in Denver,” Hyde continued. “So, it really wouldn’t work. Sorry, man.” With that he pushed through the locker room door and was gone.
Mack sat there staring at the door until some other players came up behind him and he walked woodenly through to avoid explaining why he hadn’t moved—he’d just had all his hopes doused in fire retardant and they would never burn bright again.
Chapter Two
Sariah Udy’s job of being Hyde’s mom’s companion was absolutely perfect for her. She was able to drive into Denver every weekday for her schooling as a massage therapist and nights and weekends she spent time with Teresa. Quite often Hyde and Lily or other members of her family would be with them. She also loved Teresa’s neighbor and spicy friend, Allie. It was a great arrangement, made even better by the fact that they flew to most Patriot games and she got the opportunity to watch Mack Quinn play football.
Mack Quinn. She loved to simply watch the man move. He was massive and not one spare inch of him was fat. Most people hardly noticed what the offensive line did at a football game. Sariah couldn’t pull her eyes off the offensive line. In her mind, Mack was poetry in motion and he never missed a block or other assignment.
Then there were the times before and after games when he met her gaze, his blue eyes warm and completely focused on her. She lived for those moments. On Christmas Day he’d come over to the sidelines and he’d not only wrapped his hand around hers he’d said, “Hi, pretty girl”. It was the most beautiful moment of her life.
Sariah knew nothing could come of her obsession. Someone with her deformity could never be with someone perfect, rich, and famous like Mack Quinn. She’d learned that lesson all too well from her high school boyfriend. The fact that she’d never do more than stare at Mack hurt, but she didn’t let herself dwell on it. She’d made a happy life for herself by simply putting a smile on her face each day and making it a great day. Falling in that campfire at five-years-old may have deformed her right ear and left her with horrific-looking scar tissue on her neck, shoulder, and upper arm, but it couldn’t take her down.
Today was the last playoff game before the Super Bowl. The entire family was in Los Angeles, California, cheering for Hyde. He and Lily’s dream wedding was going to happen in March, after the season ended, and Sariah couldn’t be happier for them. If only she could have a dream one day, a dream like Mack Quinn. He seemed so kind, despite his strength. He looked just like Thor to her, a bigger and more approachable Thor. Sadly, he wasn’t attainable for her. His family were all superstars—a country singer, two professional football players, a fitness guru, a highly-decorated ex-Navy SEAL, and a media darling. The media would destroy Mack if he dated someone with Sariah’s deformity. She knew that from personal experience. It had been hard enough on Lily and Hyde to overcome the media’s scrutiny of the discrepancy in their financial stations. It would be even worse for her. As if a man like Mack could look past her mottled skin.
She touched her neck self-consciously, making sure the hair covered her scars, even as she rolled her eyes at herself. It was silly to even speculate. Since Christmas Day, almost a month ago, when Mack had actually approached her, stolen her breath away when he wrapped his strong hand around hers, and called her “pretty girl”, he hadn’t made any other move. He still caught her gaze before or after games but he kept his distance. She tucked her hair tighter against the right side of her face and around her neck. Had he seen her puckered skin when he got close? He hadn’t recoiled in disgust so she didn’t think so. Something was keeping him away from her. Maybe it was because she’d only been capable of saying hi when confronted with his perfect smile up close and personal.
Focusing on the game, she waited for even a simple glance. The smells of pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy floated around her. She loved football and the atmosphere. Mack played brilliantly and every time the offense ran off the field, she studied him and she could’ve sworn he glanced her direction a few times, but she could just be imagining it. The game ended with Georgia beating Washington 21 to 14. She cheered along with everybody and she waited and watched for Mack to look her way. Hyde ran over to them but he didn’t launch himself over the barrier like he had on Christmas. Lily bent over and he squeezed her hands and they talked excitedly.
Teresa watched them with a satisfied smile on her face. The future in-law relationship had a rocky start last spring, but almost a year later and everybody adored each other. Sariah loved Hyde and Teresa and really appreciated how good they were to her. Five more months and she’d be a licensed massage therapist. Teresa and Hyde had both expressed that they hoped she’d stay in the apartment above the garage at Teresa’s Golden, Colorado house as long as she wanted. The apartment was bigger than her family home in Georgetown, Colorado and nicer than any place she’d been in. She couldn’t see any reason not to continue the arrangement.
Her eyes strayed from her happy sister to find Mack Quinn. He was in a cluster of players about thirty feet away from her. He was chatting with all of them but his gaze was pinned on Sariah. She tucked her hair tighter to her face and neck. It was a nervous gesture she really needed to quit, but she wanted this man to get to know her before he was repulsed by her scars and ran away. She was so lame. He couldn’t run away when he’d never run to her.
Mack excused himself from the group and walked her direction. Her heart thudded quicker and quicker. Was he finally going to approach her again? It was what she’d been dreaming of. This time she had to be braver than to just offer her hand and say hi. How o
ld-fashioned was that? Guaranteed, Mack Quinn had gorgeous women pushing themselves at him every day and here she offered her hand to him? No matter how dumb it may have been, she’d re-lived the feel of his hand surrounding hers and loved each replay.
He kept coming, his gaze trained on her. Her legs were weak and she edged closer to the barrier in front of her and leaned against it. With every footstep that brought him closer, her heart seemed to be shouting, Mack, Mack, Mack. His blue eyes were bluer than the Colorado sky in the summertime, and even though his blond curls were matted to his head from his helmet, he looked unreal handsome. She could’ve sworn that he looked nervous. That couldn’t be. He was an enigma and she was a dirt-poor girl from nowhere.
His steps slowed as he approached her and his gaze darted to Hyde and Lily. Sariah focused on them also but they were so full of each other they wouldn’t have noticed if a bomb dropped in the stadium. The rest of her family was also focused on Hyde and Lily. Teresa was staring at Mack though, and she lifted a perfectly-formed eyebrow at Sariah. Sariah smiled at her before refocusing on Mack. He was right below her now, just like he’d been on Christmas Day.
She leaned over the barrier but didn’t put her hand out. This time she was going to try to at least talk to him. “You pummeled them,” she said.
“We do our best.” He pushed a hand through his hair. His voice was low and appealing but on the quiet side. She wanted to know so much about him. She wanted to listen to him talk for hours.
“It’s an impressive best.”
He smiled. “Gotta protect your brother-in-law.”
“Aw, that’s sweet. He hasn’t won the role of brother-in-law yet, but he keeps hoping.” She grinned at Hyde, Lily, and Teresa, who were all watching them now, along with her parents and siblings. Embarrassment filtered in. Would her family and Hyde’s be thinking, what is sweet little Sariah doing talking to the big, bad football player? She could never hope to date someone like him.
“We’ll see if he gets my stamp of approval before March.” She tried to act confident and not reveal to Mack yet how pathetic she was.
Mack chuckled softly and it was the most glorious sound. Sariah wanted to help him make that sound every day of his life. Whew, she was racing ahead of herself.
The rest of her family and Teresa were looking at the two of them with interested smiles. Well, except for her dad, but he was crazy overprotective of her since her publicized heartbreak and humiliation almost four years ago. Hyde looked … ticked. She tried to remember if she’d ever seen Hyde ticked. Even last year when Lily had been livid with him when she blamed him for Josh and Caleb’s accident and she’d slapped him across the face at the hospital, he’d responded humbly. Did he not appreciate Sariah teasing him? That made no sense, she always teased Hyde. He was the big brother she’d never had. She had plenty of younger brothers and they were great, but a fun-loving, bantering, and slightly overprotective big brother was amazing.
Her brow wrinkled and she tugged at her hair. Had she said something wrong? Had she exposed her scars? She turned her right side slightly away from Mack just to make sure. Normally she would escape the situation, but this might be her one and only chance to talk to Mack Quinn. She had to be bold and stay in it. Then she could live on the memories of the interaction for a long, long time.
“Hyde’s a good man, I’m sure he’ll get that stamp,” Mack said in his low, melodious tone.
Sariah absolutely loved Mack’s brother Kaleb’s, country music. She felt like Mack’s voice was very similar to his brother. Wouldn’t it be glorious if she could talk him into singing?
Instead of smiling at the interaction and Mack’s compliment, Hyde released Lily’s hands and gestured with his chin toward the locker room. “Let’s go,” he said shortly to Mack.
Mack studied him briefly, as if debating if he should tackle him or obey him. Hyde folded his arms across his chest and arched an eyebrow. Mack focused back on Sariah. “It was nice to see you,” he said.
“It was lovely to be seen.” She winked boldly at him. She hadn’t been bold with a man in years, but this might be the only chance she had to talk to him. She begged him with her eyes to ask for her number, or if she wanted to go for milkshakes after the game or something. Okay, maybe milkshakes after the game was a high school thing and would reveal she hadn’t dated since close to high school age, but she desperately wanted to extend their time together.
Mack gifted her with his melodious chuckle then he tossed an imperious glare at Hyde and strode past him to the locker room. Hyde gave them all a forced smile. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he muttered before storming after Mack.
“What was that all about?” Lily murmured.
“I’m as clueless as a man at a makeup counter,” Sariah said.
The family all laughed like they always did at her lame jokes then Josh and Caleb started recounting every play that Hyde had made today. Sariah watched Mack disappear into the tunnel that led to the locker room, Hyde hot on his heels. It was almost as if Hyde didn’t want Mack talking to her.
Sariah thought through and savored each word and smile. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, but she still wanted to talk to Mack more.
* * *
Mack rarely got upset, even when he’d been teased about a speech impediment as a child. He’d shut down and stopped talking, but he didn’t remember being mad. When he’d been kidnapped last spring as a ploy by a criminal to capture his new sister-in-law, Jasmine, he’d been uncomfortable, upset, and concerned but not outright angry. Right now, he was ticked. Hyde Metcalf had no reason to shut him down when he was finally having a conversation with Sariah. He’d respected Hyde over the past month and not approached Sariah, but he knew, knew that she stared at him throughout each game he played, and he could not get her out of his head. He’d had to at least try to have a decent conversation with her. Now he had and he wanted more.
He made it into the tunnel leading to the locker room, made sure there were no press anywhere, and whirled to face Hyde. Hyde came up short and glared at him. “I warned you to stay away from her.”
“No.” Mack shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. A lesser man would’ve cowered at the sight of his cut and massive biceps. Hyde didn’t flinch. “You told me she was a special angel to all of you and that she lived in Denver. You didn’t demand I stay away.”
“You’re right.” Hyde pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Mack, I respect you and I like you, but I need to ask you to stay away from Sariah.”
“Why?” he demanded. “She’s an adult. She can make her own choices.”
“She can,” Hyde agreed. “And believe me this has nothing to do with you personally, but your family is well-known and Sariah just can’t be exposed to the media like that. She’s not ready for that emotionally. It would tear her apart.”
“Why?” Mack asked again.
Hyde blew out a breath. “It’s her story to tell, but please just listen to me. She’s been … injured in so many ways and she’s like the little sister I never had. I have to protect her.”
Mack hated, hated the thought of Sariah being injured. Some man had hurt her, or was it something else? He respected that Hyde wouldn’t share her secrets but how was Mack to find out those secrets from Sariah if Hyde wouldn’t condone him being near her? He tried to soften his stance, releasing his clenched arms and rolling his shoulders back.
“I would never hurt her,” he said softly.
Hyde looked him over. The moments stretched on too long and Mack thought he should put up a better argument. This woman was all he’d ever dreamed of and he needed the chance to get to know her.
“I’m not saying you’d try to hurt her, but I just can’t take the risk that you, or everything you would bring with you, wouldn’t inadvertently hurt her. You don’t understand Sariah. How sweet she is. What she’s gone through.” He shook his head. “If you respect me at all, please stay away from her.”
Hyde strode around him
and disappeared into the locker room. Mack called himself all kinds of names for not going after the guy and begging him, or pinning him down until he conceded. The problem was he did respect Hyde, and even though he didn’t know Sariah, he cared for her far too much to risk hurting her. Yet his mind whirled with ways to get around Hyde’s request and somehow talk to Sariah. The devotion he already felt to her meant he couldn’t give up, without her being the one to tell him to stay away.
Chapter Three
Sariah looked around in awe at the owner of the Patriots’ mansion. It looked like something straight out of Gone with the Wind only modernized and much, much bigger. The three-story mansion had the classic columns of a plantation home with a huge wrap-around porch encompassing the first and second levels. Sariah fancied herself sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the second story overlooking the tree-lined driveway and sweeping lawns and waiting for her love to ride up on horseback. The man she envisioned was large and had blond curls and bright blue eyes. She needed to stop her Mack Quinn fantasies. Mack hadn’t tried to approach her at the Super Bowl, not since the weird way Hyde pulled him away when he was talking to Sariah at the playoff game in California. She wanted to ask Hyde about it but he’d been understandably busy and there hadn’t been a conducive moment.
The party tonight was to celebrate the Patriots’ win over San Francisco. They were champions this year and Sariah’s youngest brother Josh couldn’t stop talking about it. He was adorable. Sariah had been invited to this party to accompany Teresa. She assumed it was because Hyde and Lily would be busy mingling and everyone wanted to make sure Teresa didn’t wander off or say something she shouldn’t. The lovely lady had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s last year and she was doing well, but sometimes she got forgetful or confused.
Teresa and Sariah wandered around the vast ballroom together, trying some of the food, talking, and mostly people-watching. There were a lot of well-known celebrities, in addition to all the football players who were famous in their own right. Sariah made sure her hair was in place. Self-conscious didn’t begin to describe how she felt in this situation. These were the shiny, happy people and she didn’t fit. Lily not only fit, she rose above others around her because of her kindness, natural beauty, and spunk. Sariah was so proud of her sister, and wished she could hide behind her.
Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection Page 17
