Change of Hart (28 page)

I groaned.

“Where are you headed?” Deuce asked as he threw some clothes on. Somehow, he had gotten out of doing a press conference tonight so he was already showered and ready to go home.

“I forgot about this red carpet event I told Sara I’d go to,” I said, stripping myself of my sweaty clothes.

“Did you tell Addison about it?”

“Of course not. I forgot about it myself,” I answered as I headed toward the showers. “I guess I’ll see you at home, brother. Looks like tomorrow’s weight lifting session is out since I won’t be home until about four-thirty.”

“No worries,” he called after me. “I’m sure my little nesting doll will have me moving furniture all over the house anyway.”

“Ok, be safe,” I yelled as I stepped into the steaming water. It’s not that I minded hanging out with Sara tonight. I hadn’t seen her for a long time so it would be good to catch up. We had been friends for several years and we were just comfortable with each other. We could just be ourselves and let our hair down.

It took me less than twenty minutes to get showered, dressed, and ready for a night out. As security walked me through the stadium and to my waiting car and driver, I tried calling Addison again. I assumed she didn’t hear her phone ring over the party when it went to voicemail again. They could be a rowdy bunch.

Me: Hey. I have to stay in NY overnight. Flight lands at around four-thirty. I’ll stop by for a bit when I get home.

I pressed send as I got in the car and slid to the middle of the back seat. Hopefully I’d catch her before she went to bed, but with the time difference and me being with Sara all night, I had a suspicion I would probably miss her.

I put the thoughts out of my mind when we pulled up to the curb a few blocks away. We were eating at Peter’s, or Pedro’s, or Piedro’s. Hell if I knew. I didn’t make the reservation, I was just along for the ride, supporting Sara on her big night. As I got out of the car, I saw her.

Sara Perez was probably one of the most gorgeous women in America. At roughly 5’ 8”, she was what many considered to be the perfect height. She had light skin for a Hispanic woman, like she had a perfect summer tan all year long. Her long chocolate brown hair fell in waves almost to her rear. And she was curvy in all the right places. On top of all that, she was one of the sweetest people I knew.

“Jason,” she squealed as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me square on the lips, Hollywood style. “I’m so glad to see you! How are you, my friend?”

I hugged her back tightly before putting her at arm’s length and looking her up and down. “Look at you! You look beautiful! I see the movie industry is treating you well.”

She blushed and wrapped her arm around mine as we strolled into the restaurant.

“It really is,” she said. The hostess didn’t even wait for us to speak when we got to the stand. She took us straight over to our table in the back. “Oh Jason, I can’t wait for you to see this film. It’s so unlike anything I’ve ever done. I’m so nervous! And so excited!”

“I’m sure you are brilliant in it,” I said as I pulled out her chair for her to sit and pushed it back in. “Your big break is coming. These parts just keep getting better and better for you.”

“I know,” she said with a deep breath. “It’s surreal how fast the ball seems to be rolling now. I’m already lined up for two more movies this year and a few directors have called my agent asking
me
to audition. Can you believe it?”

We chatted more about the projects she was working on and she poked fun at me about the game. I didn’t let most people heckle me about football, especially after a loss. But Sara wasn’t a hard-core fan at all. In fact, she didn’t even live in New York full time. I was just impressed she knew there was a game at all, let alone what the score was.

After the waiter took our orders, we relaxed into our conversation more.

“So, where’s Elaine?” I asked, taking a sip of my water.

“She’s back at the house. There are a zillion things to coordinate for my schedule right now, so as much as she wanted to come to dinner with us, you know how it goes. When a manager has to choose between fun and organizing a project, they always go with the project.”

I grinned. It was true. Elaine had been Sara’s manager for a long time and kept her as organized as she could. Sometimes her OCD was a bit out of control. But hey, I was OCD about my job, too. So I wasn’t judging.

“So,” she said, leaning forward on the table, smiling sweetly. “I’ve seen it all over the internet. Tell me about this woman you’re seeing.”

I leaned back in my chair and smiled. “Addison? She’s great. What do you want to know?”

“Well, how did you meet her?”

I chuckled. “That’s actually kind of funny. I met her son first, at a pep rally at a local elementary school. He and I sort of hit it off. I met Addison when I invited him to come tour the stadium with me. And that was it.”

She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. “That was it? What does that mean?”

I took a deep breath and thought for a minute. “I just don’t have any interest in anyone else, Sara. You know me. I’m so wrapped up in football that no woman has ever kept my attention for long.”

Sara raised an eyebrow at me and cleared her throat.

“Don’t go pretending to be all offended,” I joked. “You know you’re different.”

She smiled at me as I continued.

“But with Addison . . . I just can’t get her out of my head, ya know?” I leaned forward on the table so she could hear me without the people at other tables being privy to our conversation. “I just . . . I don’t know, Sara. I think she’s it for me.”

Sara’s eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open, right before she squealed and grabbed my hand. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you!”

I laughed and squeezed her hand back. “I so, so am. Can you believe it?”

She pulled her hand away and started clapping her hands excitedly. “I knew it!” she said, trying to keep her excitement somewhat contained. She liked her privacy as much as I did and didn’t like making scenes in public. “I told Elaine, I said, ‘Jason is never seen with a woman more than once. And he
certainly
has never called one his girlfriend. He’s in love, Elaine!’ I did! I said it! You can ask her!”

My smile widened as she spoke. “So I take it you’re happy for me?”

She leaned forward and grabbed my hand again. “So, so happy for you, Jay. You are a wonderful man. You deserve this.”

I kissed her knuckles in appreciation as the waiter came over to deliver our appetizers. I hadn’t had anything to eat since before the game, so I ordered several to tide me over until our meal came.

Sara and I continued to talk about anything and everything. It really was nice to be around her again. She was one of the few people that seemed to stay genuine despite her fame. I honestly couldn’t wait for Addison to meet her. I knew they’d get along just great.

On our way to the movie theater, I realized Addison had responded to my text.

Addison: I’m kind of disappointed you won’t be home tonight, not that we would have seen you until tomorrow anyway. Hope everything is ok.

I tried calling her again but still didn’t have any luck.

Me: Yeah, it’s fine. Just some publicity stuff I forgot about.

“Everything ok?” Sara asked as she reapplied her lipstick.

“Yeah, I just forgot I was staying here tonight,” I said, locking my phone and shoving it in my pocket. “Addison and I are playing phone tag about it now. No biggie.”

She closed her lipstick and put it in her small purse, while chastising me. “It’s a good thing you have Adam to keep you straight. You would never remember anything without him. I hope you gave him Addison’s birthday so he can remind you to get a present.

My eyes widened. “Oh, shit. I don’t know when her birthday is!”

Sara just laughed as we pulled up to the curb. We could see the flashes of all the cameras through the dark tint of the car. “Told ya. You may want to get on that when you get back, stud,” she said condescendingly as the driver opened the door. “Get that look off your face. It’s show time.”

As soon as she exited the car, questions started being shouted her direction, which she handled like a champ. She was a pro after all.

For the next several hours, I played the role of perfect escort. I guided her to all the staging areas of the red carpet for all her pictures. I smiled for the cameras. I even held her purse when she took individual shots for all the fashion critics to judge tomorrow. When one of the reporters started asking me questions, I politely declined to answer, reminding him that this was Sara’s night, not mine.

Yes, she and I had done this more than once, which is why I was her go-to man whenever she needed a date for something like this.

After the movie was over, we hobnobbed for a while. Sara had to make conversation with her director and producer, as well as all her co-stars. They always say, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” and that couldn’t be truer in Sara’s chosen field. So I let her talk to anyone and everyone she wanted to without complaint, even though I was exhausted. Game days were tiring, anyway. Not just from the physical exertion, but from the adrenaline as well. You can run high on that stuff for several hours. But once the game is over, your body crashes and crashes hard.

She must have recognized that I didn’t have as much energy as normal because she tore herself away from someone important, an executive or businessman or something—I don’t know, they all kind of look alike to me—and she made her way to my side.

“You look bored,” she whispered in my ear as she threaded her arm through mine.

I smiled down at her. “Nah, just really wiped after the game. But I’m good. How many more people do you need to talk to?”

She looked around the room. “Um . . . I think I hit up everyone I needed. Shall we go? We’ve got a private party to get started at my place.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I chuckled. “You’re a mess. Let’s go.”

We said our goodbyes and made our way over to the waiting car. Once we got settled in, I pulled out my phone again. This time, there was no response from Addison. So I tried calling her again.

“Still no answer?” Sara asked after the phone rang twice on Addison’s end and went to voicemail. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah,” I said, feeling a little deflated. “She and Jax are at her father-in-law’s anniversary party. I guess they’re just partying a little harder than I realized. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“You really like her kid, don’t you?” she asked with a look of understanding on her face.

A small smile played on my lips as I thought about the message Jaxon had left me earlier. “Yeah. He’s a great kid. No matter what’s going on he
always
brightens my day. I really just love him as much as I love Addison. In a totally non-creepy way, of course.”

“You love him like a dad,” she said.

“I . . . I wouldn’t . . . I mean,” I stumbled over my words.

“I don’t mean you’re trying to be his dad, Jason. Don’t get flustered. I just mean, you love him like a dad would love his child. That kind of love. Not the creepy kind.”

“Oh,” I said, relaxing a little. “Yeah. I guess that’s about right.”

“It’s normal. I mean, you’re gonna be his stepdad so it stands to reason you would love him like that.”

My head whipped in her direction to look at her. “Whoa there, Sara. It’s a little too early to be talking about me becoming his stepdad. I mean, I’ve only been dating his mom a couple months. It’s too early to pop the question.”

As we pulled up to her building, she turned and looked me dead in the eyes. “Is it? She’s the one, Jason. You said it yourself. So I’m not sure it’s too early for anything.”

With that, she opened the door of the car and stepped out, only to find more paparazzi standing on the sidewalk talking pictures. I climbed out after her, still a little stunned by her words. Was it too early to be thinking about marrying Addison? Could I really have her as my wife so soon? I mean, my mom had always told me that she and my dad were married within nine months of meeting. But I always chalked it up to it being a different era back then.

Huh
, I thought to myself.
Maybe Sara’s right
.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when the elevator doors opened to one of the three penthouses in this building. Sara had told me at dinner that since her next two shoots were both set in New York, it made sense for her to buy something here and build the equity. It was a nice place. Huge open floor plan with a living room, dining room and kitchen overlooking some great views. It was definitely bigger than my place, but cost a whole lot more, too.

“Well, look who finally came for a visit.” I looked over to the left to see Elaine coming down a hallway that I assumed led to the bedrooms.

“Hey, girl! How the hell are you?” I asked as she kissed me on both cheeks, European style, and pulled her in for a tight squeeze.

“Busy,” she replied, squeezing me back before pulling away and waving us to follow her into the kitchen. “This one has been keeping me on my toes,” she said, pointing her thumb at Sara. “I swear, every time I think I’ve got her calendar organized, her fan sites sorted out and her shoots scheduled, she goes and finds another project to throw into the mix. How was the movie, anyway?”

“It was great,” Sara said, plopping down on a bar stool and tossing her purse on the counter. “Jason was a great date, as always.”

“She really did a great job in it,” I said as I pulled my tie loose. “Did you know she was gonna go all psycho on her best friend at the end? I didn’t see that coming!”

Elaine chuckled. “It’s great, right? Best ending to a chick flick I’ve ever seen.”

“I hope you make it through our private party, Jay,” Sara said as she took her shoes off and dropped them to the floor under the stool. “He’s looking awfully peaked. I’m not sure he’s gonna last.”

“Don’t you dare bail on us, Jason,” Elaine said sternly. “I got popcorn and chocolate chip cookie dough and those nasty Pico de Gallo chips you like so much.”