Blindsided: A Sports Romance (10 page)

They all shift uncomfortably. I hadn’t meant to reveal my hand like that. He seemed drunk off his ass that night, so I’m surprised he remembers our conversation. He’s right, in a way. I told myself it was too soon to mention my kid. Is that the real reason I didn’t tell him?

I bend and kiss Sam’s head. I guess Jackson was right about one thing—Jake Thorne is a hero to these kids. I still feel guilty for dragging him into this, but knowing that makes it easier. Sam knows that this is all just a secret game. And maybe he’ll come out of this with a mentor.

No, scratch that. I don’t want my kid learning at the knee of a womanizing party boy.

I nod to Charlie and Kenny. Jackson brought me to meet them at the Grizzlies facility; to make sure I was suitable. They were thrilled, of course. Thought it was a genius move to enlist a broke single mom.

I can’t say I disagree with them.

My bank account is one million dollars richer as of this morning. If I see the agreement out, then I’ll receive the other million in six months. If I tell anyone apart from my mother, Van, or Sam, then not only do I forfeit the money, I risk being sued by the team for everything I own. Which right now is about a hundred bucks, a selection of old furniture, and not much else.

But I’m not giving up that million; no way.

“Hello, Rose,” Kenny nods.

“You remembered what we agreed, Sammy?”

He tilts his head back and frowns up at me. “Yes, Mommm,” he drawls, sounding bored. “This is our secret and I can’t breathe a word of it to anyone and we’re pretending to be a family and…” he stops and looks at Jake again. “Are you really Jake Thorne? Like
really
? You’re not some guy in a mask pretending to be him?”

Jake frowns and looks like he’s thinking hard. Then he reaches up and pulls at his face as if he’s trying to get a mask off.

Sam bursts into peals of laughter and even I struggle to keep a straight face too. I’m surprised. I didn’t expect Jake to be such a natural with him.

No, Rose.

He’s just charmed my son. My son who’s usually so hard to impress.

No. Stop this. This is a business arrangement.

“Hey Sam, why don’t you go check out the backyard? Jackson said there was a trampoline and tons of space to run around.”

He rushes toward the door and stops abruptly. “Hey, Jake? You wanna play?” he asks, almost shyly.

Jake beams. “Sure, little dude. I’ll follow you out, okay?”

Sam rushes off, yelling at the top of his voice. Kenny and Charlie stand slowly and look from me to Jake.

“You both know what’s at stake here.”

I nod. I don’t give a damn about their team, but that two million dollars is our ticket to a better life. There’s no way I’m risking that.

“Well then,” Charlie says. “We’ll leave you to it. Rose, we’ve just been talking it over with Jake here. He’s agreed to take the guesthouse and give you guys the main house. They’re interconnected so there’s nothing to worry about with paparazzi and such. Relax and make yourselves at home. My assistant will call you and work out the details of meal delivery and so on. Just remember—when the time comes and you’re out together in public, you’re a new couple. Shy. Not wanting to be seen. Jackson will coach you on how we want the story to progress, but for now it’s the most important secret you’ve ever kept in your lives. Got it?”

They walk out the door and we fall silent.

Jake watches me for a long time. “Thanks for agreeing to do this,” he says finally.

“I’m doing this for him,” I say, jerking my head toward the window. “Not for you.”

He flinches. “I get it. I do. Rose, listen. About the hotel inspector thing. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought… it’s not a slight on you. It’s… I can’t remember the last time I had a shot at a normal relationship. You…”

I hold my hands up. When that doesn’t make him stop talking, I turn and pace to the door. I can’t listen to this. I can’t. This only works if it’s a straightforward business transaction. This man stops me thinking clearly. I don’t know what it is about him, but he’s not good for me. I’ve already lost my job because of how I act around him. I can’t lose this chance too.

I thought I could do this, but every rational decision I make turns to dust around him.

“Rose, what’s wrong?” he asks, stealing up behind me and putting his hands on my shoulders.

Shit, I thought being around him was confusing—it has nothing on being in physical contact with him. My body flutters with need. My lips part. The memory of our kiss is seared into my brain and that’s all I want to do. Just kiss him. Just one more kiss.

Around Jake, I’m like an addict. Irrational. Desperate. Hopeless.

“No, Jake,” I whisper, pulling away from him. “Thanks. Appreciate the apology.” I sound like a jolly lady from an infomercial but I don’t care. I can’t.

“But, Rose,” he says.

I look away but not before his hazel eyes have seared a path into my soul. Does this man have any idea how hot he is?

“No,” I say, forcing myself to look away. Because I don’t trust myself around him. “Look, Jake. We need to forget what happened between us. Sam is my priority. My
only
priority. And it’s okay. I guess in a funny way, you were right. I
am
using you for money.” I laugh haltingly in a failed attempt to numb the pain. I don’t want to have to do this, but it’s the only way. “Not your money but the team’s. Let’s keep it professional?”

“Rose.”

I don’t look in his eyes, but I can tell from his voice that he’s hurt by my words.

Professional. I argued and protested that I wasn’t a hooker, but what am I doing now? I’m being paid a lot of money to pretend to be in a relationship with this man. Not only that, but I’m being paid to lie. I swore I’d never do that.

I walk silently to the floor-to-ceiling window. It looks out on the backyard. Jackson showed me pictures of the property, but they really didn’t do it justice. The yard is the size of a city park. It’s fully enclosed; a little boy’s dream—pond, trampoline, lots of grass to run around on. Compared to the miserable gray square of concrete that counted for outdoor space in our apartment building, this is a world away.

I swallow. All I want is a better life for my boy.

“Professional,” I repeat, more determined this time.

We’re so close to finding a way out. I just have to make sure I don’t allow Jake to distract me from my end goal.

I look her up and down in disbelief. “You’re going to have to work a lot harder than that if you want to stop me from being attracted to you.”

It’s true. She’s dressed in baggy sweats with her hair scraped back off her face. If her intention was to look like crap, then it’s not working. Her sweats don’t hide those curves—nothing could.

She bristles.

“I know, I know. Professional.” I sigh.

She shrugs.

“Is he asleep?”

She shakes her head. “No. It usually takes him a long time, but I think he’ll be asleep soon. He’s not used to this much excitement in one day. The poor guy’s exhausted.”

I smile. There’s so much of her in him that I can’t help but genuinely like the kid.

“I figure if we’re going to be living together for six months, then we might as well get to know each other. He’s got a good throw.”

Her eyes grow sad. “Don’t do that,” she whispers. “I don’t want you to get close to him and then abandon him when these six months are up.”

That cuts. “Who says I’ll do a thing like that? Jesus, Rose. I’m not an asshole.”

“Yeah, well,” she shrugs and shakes her head. “Wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.”

I don’t know how to respond. I never claimed to be a nice guy, but I also don’t understand guys who just ignore their responsibilities. And then an image of Darla crops into my head and I want to roll my eyes at my own smugness. I know exactly how easy it is to ignore something that’s too difficult to deal with.

When I look up, she’s watching me with an expression that says ‘see? You know exactly what I’m talking about’. I shrug. What do I know about kids? For all I know, she’s right—I’ll grow tired of the kid after we’re done playing happy families for a day or two.

“Maybe you’re right,” I say shrugging. “At least he knows what the deal is. I was surprised you told him.”

Her face turns to pure ice. “Of course I told him. You think I’d bring him here and let him pretend this was some dumb happy ever after?”

I wince. “You don’t have to make it sound so crazy. It happens all the time.”

She stares at me for a couple of moments. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I try to be honest with him. He’s a good kid. He deserves the truth, not some bullshit story.”

“Can he handle it, though?” It’s been bugging me since I found out he knew. Coach and Charlie don’t seem to have a problem with it, but that doesn’t make me relax. If the truth comes out, they’ll deny knowing a thing about this, and Rose and me will be left to pick up the pieces. I’ll end up playing for some minor team while working day shifts at McDonalds to try and pay off my debts before I turn eighty.

She glares at me. “Of course. He knows that when I tell him to keep something to himself that means he can’t tell anybody at school.”

“I thought you hated lying.”

She squares up to me like I’ve challenged her. Oh god, the things this woman does to me. I’ve never met anybody like her. Sparks fly when we’re together—I’d like it to be more sexual than angry, but I’ll take what I can get. “This isn’t lying. I never asked him to lie. I told him to keep the truth to himself. They’re eight-year-old boys. Nobody’s going to quiz him about the authenticity of our relationship.”

I can’t help feeling skeptical. “Rose, the kid just moved into a mansion with a Grizzlies wide receiver. This is kind of a… special situation.”

Her eyes narrow.

“Look, all I’m saying is that the other kids are gonna want to talk about this.”

“What because you’re such a hotshot?”

I shrug. “I never said I was a hotshot. But I’m a wide receiver for the Grizzlies. You may not have heard of me, but that puts you in the minority around here.”

“A little arrogant, don’t you think?”

I stare at her. She drives me fucking crazy, this pint-sized whirlwind. All I want to do is pick her up and carry her back to my bed.

“Not arrogant. Just speaking the truth.” I take a step closer. I’m painfully aware of the way her eyes wide when I invade her space. “Now, if I wanted to be arrogant, I’d tell you all about what I can do in the bedroom, not on the field.”

Her breath hitches.

I don’t move any closer, but I bend my head so our faces are only inches apart. “Or I’d tell you that what I said about having a massive prick? Well, I didn’t make that up, Rose.”

“Jake,” she murmurs, eyes glued to mine.

I tilt my head to one side. It doesn’t take a genius to see that she’s thinking furiously behind those baby blues. Why can’t she stop thinking and just give in to this thing between us? I open my mouth to tell her to go with it; to let nature take its course. I want to tell her that we’ll be married; that we may as well try to make it work. That I’m truly sorry I lied; I only did it because I’m sick of people using me for the money they think I have.

But I don’t say any of those things. Why? Well, how can I? The lie I’ve already told her is nothing compared to the secret I’m hiding from all of them. I’m not gonna stand here and tell her I’ll be straight up with her from now on, even though I’d give anything to have her in my arms.

“Rose,” I grunt, looking away. It’s hard to focus when she’s right there, looking so damn good.

“Yeah?” She steps closer.

I consider telling her everything. It seems so easy. She’s a smart woman—I’m sure she could help me figure it out. But part of me knows it’s not that simple. I can’t involve her like that. If I do, there’s a risk that the press might take it and run; make her look like some controlling bitch who stage-managed the whole thing.

I won’t do that to her. She thinks she’s seen my life; the fame and the money? She has no idea. She will soon, but I’m willing to bet that Coach’s staff will do their best to turn her into a media darling. I’m fine with that. But I won’t let the press tear her apart—not when it’s my problem.

I exhale. Am I an asshole for wanting to tell her exactly what she wants to hear so I can drag her back to my bedroom in the guest house? Because that’s all I want to do.

She stands there, watching me expectantly. She wants this as much as I do, my gut tells me.

Just do it.

Say something smooth.

But I can’t.

I close my eyes and turn away, telling myself that someday in the future when all this has passed, we might get a shot.

“I’m gonna go to the store. Get some protein powder. Who knows when they’ll show with the food delivery.”

Her face flickers with disappointment. Trust me, I know how that feels.