To Win Her Back Page 7

  On second thought, clearing the air between them might prove more entertaining than he’d previously considered. He offered her his most innocent smile. “Sure. If I can tag along.”

  Surprise flashed in V’s eyes before she looked away and rose to her feet. “Lucy and I will be fine on our own if you have something you need to do here at the complex. We can meet you at the airport after the show.”

  “No need for that. With the team flying out this afternoon for their Thursday night game in Atlanta, the complex is empty and my time is free.”

  She jerked her gaze toward Caroline’s office. “But the contract—”

  “Has been signed.” Satisfaction surged in his veins, and he winked at Lucy. “Starting Monday, we’ll be New Yorkers, kid.”

  Lucy’s smile wasn’t as bright as it should be, and he hated that she still had doubts. However, there was nothing he could do about that at the moment. Only time would ease her fears. V, on the other hand, looked as if she’d just gotten a whiff of something foul.

  He was impressed at how quickly she wiped the distress from her face and twisted her lips into a totally fake smile. “I had no idea you were a ballet fan, Sam.” She added a suggestive hum. “All those men in tights.”

  Oh, hell yeah. Definitely entertaining. He answered her intended jab with a toothy grin. “Don’t underestimate men who make their living in tights. Tell her, Lucy. Ballet dancers train as hard as pro athletes.”

  “Harder.” Lucy smiled smugly and uncurled from the couch.

  A wrinkle creased V’s brow, and he could just imagine the strain on her brain as she searched for a valid excuse to leave him behind. He smiled, which no doubt added to her frustration. Color flooded her cheeks.

  “Well, then.” She glanced at her watch, then turned toward the hallway. “I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes.”

  “Where are you going?” he called to her back.

  “To my office. My coat and purse are there, and I need to call my friend about the tickets.”

  Sam rounded the couch, following her. “We’ll come along.”

  Lucy almost ran into V when she stopped short and turned her head.

  “Oh, I don’t think—”

  “You can show me my new office along the way.”

  From the flat line of her mouth, she’d rather show him the exit. She walked away, saying over her shoulder, “I have no idea where your office is. You’ll have to ask someone else.”

  Lucy shot him a confused look before hurrying to catch her.

  “Then I’ll have to be content seeing yours.” He could have sworn he heard a low growl. Choking back a pleased chuckle, he fell into step behind them.

  V led them past Caroline’s office to the end of the hallway and stopped before a closed door. Despite the tense line of her shoulders, she made her tone inviting. “Come on in.” Once inside, she crossed the room and rounded an antique oak desk. “Are you thirsty, Lucy? I have water and I think there might be some juice.” She lifted the handset from the desk phone and waved her free hand toward the mini-fridge in the corner.

  “I’m good.” Lucy wandered inside and plopped onto the floral print couch across from the desk.

  Sam propped a shoulder against the doorjamb and glanced around while V placed the call to her ballet contact. Smaller than Caroline’s sprawling owner’s suite, V’s office had a much warmer feel. Looking more like a personal den than a business office, the room was decorated in soft tans and burgundy. The deep couch and matching love seat must have cost a bundle, but the overall effect was one of comfort. There were plenty of personal touches as well, like the colorful throw pillows and the Oriental rug covering the floor. His gaze swung to the photographs crowding the credenza in front of the window overlooking the field.

  Jake and Gracie Malone were prominent in several, as were their kids. In one shot, Kevin Tucker, the Marauders’ number-one wide receiver and last year’s MVP, grinned at the camera. A petite blonde was tucked to his side, a chubby baby in her arms. Sam recognized country music legend, Jessi Tucker, and assumed the muscular tough guy at her side was her new husband. The center frame held a close up shot of Anita’s smiling face.

  None of the photos included V.

  “Thanks, Heather. I owe you.” V disconnected the call and punched in another number. Tucking the handset between her shoulder and ear, she slid open a desk drawer. “Yes, I need a car.” Retrieving her purse, she set it on the desktop. “Two passengers. Picking up at the Marauders’ Sports Complex. They’ll need to stop at their hotel on forty-seventh, then on to Lincoln Center.” She listened for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you. They’ll be at the front door of the complex in ten minutes.”

  She replaced the handset, and Sam shoved off the doorjamb, moving into the room. “Change of plans?”

  “You’re not coming with us?” Disappointment was ripe in Lucy’s voice.

  V’s face softened as she looked at his daughter. “Of course I am.” She slid her gaze back to Sam. “I’ll meet you at the will call window. You can store your bags there during the show.”

  “Why aren’t we riding together?”

  Slipping her coat from the back of the chair, she hung it over one arm. “Because you need to pick up your bags and so do I. The curtain rises in an hour. We won’t have the time to stop by both your hotel and my condo beforehand, and we’ll be cutting things very close if we wait until after.”

  A logical explanation, but the way her eyes shuttered as he walked toward her said expediency wasn’t the only reason she preferred traveling in two vehicles. He was only too happy to derail her plans. “No problem. Our bags are downstairs at the reception desk.”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “You’ve already checked out?”

  “This morning.” He reached out his hand and couldn’t help his smile when she visibly tensed. Plucking the coat from her arm, he held it out and waited for her to turn around. He slid the material over her shoulders, stepping closer until his chest brushed against her stiffened back. Dipping his head, he spoke quietly in her ear. “Relax, Red. You’re safe…for now. Don’t you remember? I only bite during sex.”

  Her soft gasp sent an arrow of heat straight to his cock.

  New hard shell, hell. Like taking candy from a baby.

  Circumstances had conspired to send them back to where it had all begun. For the next few days, she’d be on his turf, and if he had to wade through the past to secure the promise of his future, he’d damn well get something in return. He’d be playing with fire if he acted on the enticing scenarios for evening the score that were playing through his mind, but what the hell? He could handle the heat and, at the very least, he’d be getting some answers.

  Chapter 8

  Sam pulled the truck to a stop in the driveway. His kitchen door opened before he’d even cut the engine, and TJ stepped outside holding tight to Daisy’s collar. Lucy climbed out the passenger door. Her stuffed backpack bumped against her spine as she hurried across the lawn to Daisy. Stretching his arm over the back of the seat, Sam grabbed his duffle bag and got out to join them.

  TJ met his gaze with an anxious frown, but spoke to Lucy. “So, Luce, how’d it go?”

  Lucy straightened from petting the whining dog and shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Sam found a house.”

  “We found a house,” Sam corrected behind her as he approached.

  “A house? Does that mean what I think it means?” TJ’s eyes were owl-wide and she held her breath.

  A helpless smile stretched Sam’s lips. “I start with the Marauders on Monday.”

  TJ squealed, let go of Daisy’s collar, and launched off the stoop. He stumbled back a step as she slammed into him, and wrapped his arms around her to keep them from tumbling to the ground. He laughed as she shoved out of his arms and swatted his shoulder.

  “You jerk! Why didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve been going crazy!”

  “I was kind of busy.” Hoisting his duffle ov
er one shoulder, he scrubbed a hand over Daisy’s head when she bumped against his knee. “Hiya, Mutt.” He straightened with a final pat and climbed the steps to open the door. “Did she give you any trouble?”

  Lucy followed him inside, with Daisy and TJ bringing up the rear. His cousin shut the door and turned. “Daisy’s a good girl. She never gives me trouble but, if you’re looking for some, your mom left six messages on your machine. Apparently, she saw you and Lucy on TV at the game Sunday.”

  Sam glanced at the answering machine on the counter and grimaced. “Shit. I need to call her.”

  “Ya think?” TJ arched a brow. “She doesn’t have your cell number?”

  He dropped his duffle next to the door. “It’s better for my sanity if she can’t reach me twenty-four seven.”

  TJ grinned and turned to Lucy. “So, did you do anything besides football stuff while you were in New York? I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted to see Manhattan.”

  “We went to the ballet.” Lucy dumped her backpack on the table. “We saw the Nutcracker. It was amazing.” She walked to the fridge and opened the door. “V got us tickets. In the second row!”

  TJ’s head snapped around to stare at him, and he ground his teeth. Shit. He needed to explain about V and Caroline’s demands, but he’d prefer that conversation happen when Lucy was out of earshot. He shook his head slightly and squinted at TJ in warning.

  Her lips flattened in a tight line and she turned back to Lucy. “V?”

  Lucy shut the fridge and screwed off the top of her water bottle. “She works for the Marauders. Her real name is Victoria, but she likes V better. And she’s Miss Anita’s daughter. You know. My ballet teacher?”

  TJ shot him a sidelong glance. “I know Miss Anita.”

  Lucy scrunched her nose and cocked her head. “Then you must know V. She grew up here.”

  “We’ve met.” TJ’s smile was strained, but if Lucy noticed, she didn’t say.

  “Well, V has a friend who works at the Lincoln Center and she said she can get me tickets to the ballet whenever I want.”

  “That’s great, Luce.”

  Lucy turned to Sam, hope shimmering in her eyes. “Do you think she’ll come see me dance while she’s here?”

  TJ made a choking sound. Sam refused to look her way. “If you ask her to, yeah. You can do that tomorrow, but it’s late. Time to hit the hay, kid.”

  Lucy glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. “It’s only ten-thirty.”

  “Yeah, but we’ve got a lot to accomplish in the next few days, which means no sleeping in. I’m counting on you to help with the packing.”

  He expected an argument, but to his surprise, she strode to the table and scooped up her backpack. She did, however, get in the last word. “He thinks I’m slave labor.” She tossed TJ a rare grin and swept from the room with Daisy on her heels.

  He delayed looking at TJ until he heard Lucy shut her bedroom door. Facing her, he wasn’t surprised by TJ’s crossed arms. He sighed. “Thanks for not flipping out in front of her. Regardless of what you and I, or anyone else, think of V, Lucy likes her.”

  TJ glanced down the hallway before meeting his gaze with an unhappy frown. “That’s obvious, and understandable considering V bribed her with ballet tickets. God, that woman is something else.”

  An image of V hurrying down the hallway toward her office flashed in his head, and he couldn’t disagree. She probably considered the navy blue business suit proper armor for a woman in her position, but the tailored cut did little to disguise her luscious curves. Shaking his head, he did his best to banish the enticing vision of her fine ass and toned legs beneath that pencil-slim skirt.

  As for TJ’s charge of bribery, from what he’d seen, enticement had nothing to do with it. However, TJ would never attribute a simple act of kindness to V. Arguing the point would be a waste of time.

  He cleared his throat and opened the fridge. “You want a beer?”

  “Don’t you have anything stronger?” He grinned, and she flopped into one of the kitchen chairs. “What’s going on, Sam? When is she arriving and why?”

  “She’s already here. She flew in with Lucy and me.” Plucking two long necks from the fridge, he approached the table, handed TJ her beer, and slid into an open chair. “Taking care of our move was part of the Marauders’ incentive package. V’s here to expedite the process and handle any unexpected details.” He twisted the lid off the beer bottle and grunted. “Among other things.”

  TJ’s eyes went hard. “What other things?”

  After taking a long slug from his beer, Sam leaned on the table and filled in TJ on Caroline Wainwright’s not-so-veiled demand.

  “So much for requesting V be fired,” TJ grouched when he’d finished.

  He chuckled and sprawled back in his chair. “That was never going to happen.”

  TJ sighed. “What are you going to do?”

  A slow smile tugged at his lips and he couldn’t help teasing her. “What do you think? I’m going to sleep with her, of course.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  He grinned at her disgruntled tone and sour expression. “Caroline is concerned the tension between us will affect our ability to work together. Haven’t you heard? Sex is a great tension reliever.”

  “Yeah, well, sex between the two of you didn’t work out so well the last time.” Her scowl disappeared behind the beer bottle she brought to her lips.

  He chuckled. “Relax. I was kidding. This isn’t about sex, it’s about putting the past behind us once and for all.”

  She huffed, and he sobered.

  If Jake was right—and after spending the last few days with V, Sam was beginning to believe he might be—he’d been reading the situation wrong all along. From the beginning, V had experienced the same unprecedented pull as he. The stark awareness in her eyes as he’d whispered in ear yesterday proved that hadn’t changed.

  Jake claimed she didn’t date as a rule, which fit the woman Sam remembered. She’d also never been the kind of woman to grab at cheap sexual thrills. For V, sex had gone hand-in- hand with her heart. She may not like it, may be fighting it for all she was worth, but after all these years, a spark remained.

  The realization had hit him like a blitzing linebacker and, while his head insisted he was wrong, his gut disagreed. As for his heart….

  He swallowed. Put the past behind them? How could they…shit, how could he when those embers that had burned so fiercely years ago insisted on flaring in the present?

  The fact was, he couldn’t. Not without knowing the truth, anyway. The question remained, why would a woman who reacted to a man so completely and honestly, disappear without a word? The only logical answer was something had spooked her, and whatever it was had been enough to make her turn her back on them. It was time he found out what that something was.

  V had made it clear she intended to avoid him once he and Lucy were settled in Manhattan, but if he was to find a way past the protective walls V had erected, he couldn’t let that happen. Ironically, Caroline had provided the perfect solution to the problem.

  Professionally, he had nothing to worry about. He’d double-checked his contract and, barring unsatisfactory performance or any dangerous or destructive behavior toward the organization on his part, his position with the team was iron-clad. Caroline obviously knew that. The contract was hers, after all. Yet, she’d been the one to inject a personal agenda into the situation by insisting he and V work out their issues.

  That was exactly what he was going to do. Sitting forward, he leaned his elbows on the table. “If I have to make nice with V to…ensure the future, then that’s what I’ll do.” He bumped his chin in TJ’s direction. “And you’re going to help.”

  She choked on her beer, then dragged her hand across her mouth. “Me?”

  “Yes, you.” He sat forward. “From what I’ve seen, V is as uncomfortable with the situation as I am. I don’t expect an argument fro
m her, especially when I explain Caroline’s concerns, but easing the tension between us won’t work if she has to deal with hostility from everyone else in town. Most importantly, Lucy cares about Anita and, by extension, V. I don’t want her exposed to misplaced aggression over an event that happened years ago and has nothing to do with her feelings for either of them.”

  “I would never do anything to upset Lucy.”

  The hurt in TJ’s eyes stung, and he sighed. “I know you wouldn’t. Just promise you’ll be on your best behavior while V is here. It’s only for a couple days.” She nodded without hesitation, and he smiled. “It will go a long way toward convincing the people of Barlow that V and I have settled our differences if they see you’ve forgiven her, too.”

  “Now you’re pushing it.”

  He smiled, relieved at her grumbled complaint. “The two of you used to be good friends. How hard could it be to pretend you are again?”

  “Really pushing it.” She cocked her head. “You’ll owe me.”

  Tapping his beer bottle to hers, he laughed. “Add it to my tab.”

  * * * *

  V picked up a box full of linens and headed down the hall toward Sam’s living room. The movers she’d hired before leaving Manhattan wouldn’t arrive until Friday morning. They would handle the furnishings and incidentals, which left Lucy and Sam’s personal items. V and Lucy had made an impressive dent in that chore over the past five hours. Tomorrow was Christmas, which meant they’d lose an entire day, but with a little luck and perseverance, V would be back in Manhattan earlier than she’d predicted.

  Her departure couldn’t come soon enough, but not because of the nasty welcome she was bound to receive from the residents of Barlow. Booking a room thirty miles away in Tyler had delayed word of her return from getting out so far, but she could handle the dirty looks and even the insults once it did. The Marauders’ new offensive coordinator was another matter.

  Since meeting with Caroline to sign the Marauders’ contract, Sam’s entire demeanor had changed. V wasn’t sure why and didn’t like it. Broody and suspicious she could deal with. The sexy smiles and charm he’d been employing for the past twenty-four hours made no sense and knocked her off balance.