Rekindled (7 page)

Early morning sunlight shone through the
pine trees. Adam hurled a slider through the tire, then followed it up with a curveball.
He'd been outside since dawn, throwing pitch after pitch. He hadn’t slept well.
Dreams of Gemma taunted him. He’d woken up aching, reaching for her, and more
than disappointed when he’d realized she wasn’t there to hold.

He trudged across the yard and collected balls, then returned to
his throwing position. Confidence fired his muscles. Something had changed, he
could feel it. But would that stay when he faced down a batter in a game?

Eight hours later, he stood on the pitcher's mound of the Trappers’
baseball diamond. Three inches of snow covered the ground, but he imagined the
sun shining, the stands filled with people, the pressures of a real game
situation.

Connor stood at home plate, taking a few practice swings. Other
members of the Trappers waited in the dugout, and the first and third basemen,
along with an outfielder, took their respective positions on the field. His
crew members were more than willing to step in and help. Somehow, he’d have to
find a way to thank them.

Adam focused on the catcher. Every time his eyes landed on the
catcher's mitt, he thought of Gemma and what she'd done for him. All other
thoughts, all other worries, faded.

"Here's the wind-up, and the pitch…" One of the guys
commentated from the bench.

Adam fired a fastball straight over home plate. It landed in the
catcher's mitt.

"Strike!"

The grin spread across his face almost as fast as the pitch he'd
thrown.

Gemma's cheer erupted from the dugout. Bear joined in with a bark.
Having her there added a layer of comfort and a layer of tension. He wanted to
do well for her, to show her how much he appreciated her help.

He turned his attention back to Connor. Two strikes later, he
waited for another batter to step up to the plate. Pitch after pitch, strike
after strike, he worked his way through the batters.

The tire hadn't magically changed his game.

Gemma had.

When she smiled at him, he felt his heart turn over in his chest.
He wanted her with him. If he regained a spot in the majors, he wanted her by
his side, needed her there. She was his good luck charm, his secret weapon, his
everything. He needed to find out her plans for her career and if she would
return to L.A.

She and Bear walked onto the field after the game ended. The smile
she'd worn for the entire evening widened. "You did great."

Unable to resist, he slid his arm around her waist and drew her
into him. “I told you, you’re my good luck charm.”

“All I did was cheer you on.” Pink flushed into her cheeks. “We
should celebrate. How about a drink?”

The field lights flicked off. Darkness wrapped around them. His
body craved hers. He didn’t want to wake up without her in his bed again.
“Sounds great. How about my place?”

The only light came from the overhead lights in the adjoining parking
lot. Gemma bit her lip, but her body leaned into his. “I’ll have to bring Bear
with me.”

“That’s fine.” He traced his finger down her cheek and tried to
quell the aching need he had for her. “So what do you say? Come home with me?”

She studied him, her eyes swirling with nerves and needs. Finally,
her breath released on a sigh and she pressed her cheek into his hand. “Let’s
go.”

During the short ride home, she stayed close to his side, her
warmth seeping through his clothes. Adam kept her hand tucked in his as they
entered the darkened house. He'd been given a second chance with Gemma. Nothing
was going to get in his way.

After the confusion of getting Bear settled, he returned to the
living room.

"It's snowing." She placed her hands on the windowsill
and gazed at the sky. She looked so 
right
 there, so perfect.

He crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. With a
quiet sigh, she leaned against him. He rested his chin on her head. They
watched the thick flakes swirling through the shadows.

Four years wasted. Four years that could have been filled with
love and laughter. If he could turn back time, he’d do so many things
differently.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do about
Hollywood?" His fingers traced along her abdomen. Heat radiated through
the soft flannel of his sleeve as he brushed her side.

"I love acting, but I don't want to live as a struggling
actor anymore."

"What about living in L.A.?" He spoke casually, as if
her answer wouldn’t weigh heavily on his mind and heart.

"If I don't have acting, then nothing's keeping me
there."

His heartbeat ticked up a notch. She’d presented him with the
perfect opportunity. "You don't belong on the other side of the country.
You belong here with me. I want a second chance."

Turning in his arms, she faced him. Her mouth opened, then closed.
Her eyes gazed into his for a long moment, then she inhaled a shaky breath.
"For four years, I pretended to be fine and unaffected whenever anyone
mentioned your name. But inside, I was dying. I’d lost you. And I hated myself
for it."

"No." He cupped her face in his hands. "We lost
each other."

A frown creased the smooth skin of her forehead. "What
happens now? What about spring training? What about when you're on a
team?"

"Come with me.”

Her hands curled into his shirt, pulling him in closer. “But we’re
not the same people we were back then. What if we’ve both changed too much?”
She bit her lip as she studied his face, her eyes wide and focused on his, her
posture straight and body leaning into him.

He soothed her lip with the pad of his thumb. “I need you. That
hasn’t changed. I’m asking now what I should have asked you four years ago.
Will you come with me?"

Tears glistened in her eyes but she blinked them away. A wide
smile spread across her face. Eyes sparkling, she nodded.

Warmth radiated out from his chest to his limbs. Things were going
to be all right. He had his game back, thanks to his girl. His secret weapon
would be with him every step of the way. But more importantly, he had his girl
back in his life.

Sleek, toned arms wrapped around him so tight he had trouble
breathing. "I'll follow you to whatever team picks you up, wherever it
is."

With a groan, Adam crushed his mouth to hers and lifted her off
her feet. Gratitude meshed with need. He’d take all night to show her how much
she meant to him, how much her decision meant to him. Her lips opened under his
and her hands slipped over his shoulders, holding on tight. He deepened the
kiss, his lips demanding and coaxing, his tongue rubbing and teasing. On her
sigh, his arms tightened and locked her to him. Her body rubbed against his in
a seductive swirl.

He swept his arm under her legs and carried her up the stairs.
When they reached his bedroom, he set her on her feet and switched on a lamp
next to the bed. Her gaze locked on his. Her smile, part sultry, part sweet,
destroyed him.

In the dim light, he removed her shirt. His fingers brushed her
newly exposed skin. She sighed and her hands mimicked his movements. Breath
backed up in his lungs. The feel of her hands on his skin drove him crazy.

He trailed his fingers over the sensitive skin from her wrist to
her elbow. Her breath caught. Slowly, so slowly, he traced a path back to her
palm. His thumb rubbed in a slow circle before he lifted her hand to his lips
and pressed a kiss to its center.

"Adam." She directed his lips back to hers and wrapped
herself around him. His blood pumped at the skin-on-skin contact of their
torsos.

More
.

Soft denim slipped down Gemma's legs, giving him a private striptease.
Her purple lace bra and panties matched the color of her eyes.

She shivered.

"Cold?" He drew her against him. "I'll keep you
warm."

She rose onto her toes, dragged his head down to hers, and paused,
a breath away. “You always did take care of me.” The lace scratched against his
skin, creating an erotic friction.

"You're beautiful." He traced his fingertip over the
swell of her breast. The softness of her skin was engrained in his memory, as
was how perfectly she filled his hands. She moaned when he stroked over the
lace, and again when he stripped it away.

"I could say the same about you. I love the way you
look." She cupped his face with her hands and nipped at his lower lip. Her
fingers trailed a line down his abdomen. He sucked in a breath when she reached
the waistband of his jeans, then ranged lower.

Hating to break contact, Adam let go long enough to kick out of
his jeans. Gemma's hands pulled him close again. Her eyes glowed with passion.
She linked their fingers and her lips sought his in a deep kiss that scrambled
his thoughts.

He continued to kiss her as he backed up, still holding onto her
hands, until he felt the bed against the backs of his legs. Trailing kisses
across her face, he eased her onto the bed, and then covered her body with his.

Finally
.

She was back in his bed, back in his life. And this time, she was
staying.

Her hair fanned across his pillow, jet black on stark white. His
fingers traced patterns on her skin and toyed with the lace riding low on her
hip.

On a low moan, she shuddered and arched against his hand. Then,
she rolled to her side, and with lips and fingers, brought him close to the
edge of his control. He tore the lace off her legs and removed his boxers.

Need spiked his blood and shredded his control.

He slid inside. Heat enveloped him. Her softness against his
hardness drove desire into a frenzied pace. Gemma's hands fisted in his hair
and her hips urged him on.

Looking into the eyes of the only woman who'd ever mattered, he
sought to give her every pleasure, and rode out the wave of passion until she
tightened around him. Her release flung him into the most intense burst of
satisfaction he'd ever experienced. Adam claimed her lips as his heartbeat
slowly returned to normal.

Gemma flowed into him until all his senses were full of her.

Joined together, he felt complete.

Gemma woke with Adam's arm wrapped around her waist and his warmth
lined up against her body. She turned her head and her lips grazed the
underside of his jaw.

"Good morning." His mouth met hers in a kiss that
swirled sensation from her head to her toes.

Soft whines and the sound of paws scratching against the door
interrupted the quiet morning. She lifted her head. "Bear needs to go
out."

"I'll take him and stay with him the entire time he's
outside." His lips quirked, then he dropped a kiss at the corner of her
mouth. "Be back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere."

She laid against the pillows, snuggled in the big, soft bed, and
listened to him talk to Bear as he headed down the hall. Unable to stop her
smile, she stretched and then hugged his pillow to her chest. Even the sunlight
pouring in the large windows shared her happy mood.

A few minutes later, footsteps padded down the hall, accompanied
by a jangling collar. Bear trotted in at Adam's side and settled on the floor
by the foot of the bed. Adam held out her phone. "It chimed when I came
back inside. I didn't want you to miss anything important."

She squinted at the screen. Several missed calls, plus a
voicemail, plus a text from her agent.

As soon as you get this, call me ASAP.

Adam sat beside her. "Everything okay?"

Knowing he was thinking of his dad, she grasped his hand.
"I'd better find out."

Liz answered on the first ring. "Great news. Lori MacDonald
backed out of 
Starlight
. She just found out she's three months
pregnant and won't be able to complete the project or its sequel. They're
filming both simultaneously. You were their next choice. So you're in. The
part's yours."

"Are you serious?" Her heart beat like a drum. She
squeezed Adam's hand. 
Two
 movies.

"I wouldn't be talking to you at four in the morning if I
weren't."

Gemma glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table and cringed.
"I forgot about the time difference."

"Get yourself to the airport. I booked you on a flight
leaving at eleven-thirty. You need to be in Seattle by this evening. You start
shooting tomorrow."

"But wait, that's hardly any time."

"Things happen fast. I'll email you with all of the
details." Liz ended the call.

"Oh my God." Energy filled her limbs. She dropped the
phone and hurled herself into Adam's arms. "They gave me the role. The big
role. Opposite Tyler Gregson." Clutching him tight, she blinked away the
tears streaming down her face. "Finally. This is the chance I've been
waiting for. And it happened two weeks before my deadline."

"I could hear everything she said." His hands rested on
her back for a moment, then fell away.

A million details raced through her mind. "I have so much to
do. Packing, printing out the boarding pass, calling my parents."

She pulled back. The high-flying exuberance crashed to a halt.
Taking the role would take her away from him. Just the thought of being
separated again formed a hole in her soul. How could she leave? "We need
to talk."

Adam watched her with a carefully blank face. "Let me guess,
you're not coming with me to spring training."

"I know I said I would, but…."

"But now you have a better offer." His mouth twisted
into a grim smile.

"It's not like that." She grabbed his arm. "You
know it's not."

"Isn't it?" He flicked a glance at her phone and stood.
"Hollywood called and you answered."

"I can't turn down the role. This might be my last shot at
making it. I've waited for so long. Someone finally wants me." Finally, she
had her chance.

 
"I
 want you. I thought you wanted me,
too." He exhaled a long, low breath and his hand tightened into fist.
"Was I the consolation prize?"

"How could you think of yourself that way?"

Tension tightened his features. "It's not too hard when you
look at the situation from my angle. Maybe you only wanted me when things
weren't going right for you."

"No. That's not—"

"Maybe you were settling for a second-best life with me
because that's all you thought you could get." He tensed and the muscles
in his arms stood out.

"No. I swear—"

"But now that you have a chance at your career again, you're
dropping me like I mean nothing, like 
we
 mean nothing, in
favor of something better."

She shook her head and fought the wave of desperation rising in
her chest. "That's not true. None of that's true. Acting was all I had for
a long time. I’ve worked so hard for this opportunity. I have to see if I’ve
got the chops, if I can cut it.”

“I know you can cut it. You’re damn good at what you do.”

“All I want is a shot at my dream."

"Me, too.” He turned and slammed his fist into the wall.
“What happens if I get to spring training and my pitches are off again? You've
been there for all of the good ones. What if you're the reason?"

"That's ridiculous. I'm not the reason. You're being
superstitious." She dragged her hand through her hair. And then paused as
a horrible idea planted itself in her mind. “Wait. Is that why you asked me to
go with you—because you think I have some magic powers that control your
pitches?”

 His gaze darkened and his voice pitched low. “I want you
with me regardless of your effect on my pitches.”

But now that the idea had taken root, shaking it free was
impossible. “I wish I could believe you.”

In three strides, he reached her, and caged her with his arms. “I
don’t lie.”

She took in his glittering gaze, the harsh lines on his face. He’d
never been less than honest in the past. She desperately wanted to believe him.
“Okay.”

He pulled back and rubbed his hand over his face, then paced the
length of the room. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'll be in Seattle three months, maybe a little
longer."

"Maybe up to six if they're doing both movies. Where are you
going after that?" With stiff movements, he pulled on jeans and a shirt.

Wrapping the sheet around her, she searched for her clothes. It
was too soon to know how the movie would go, how her life would be affected.
"Back to L.A., I guess."

"Back to L.A." Mouth firm, jaw as set as stone, he
lifted his brow. "For how long?"

"I don't know." She couldn’t afford to jet all around
the country, catching flights back and forth from L.A. to wherever he ended up.
She needed to save as much money as possible and be available for her agent and
for auditions. The last four years had shown her one thing, she had to rely on
herself.

"For good?" His body stilled, his focus clear and direct
on her face, as he waited for her answer.

Saying yes would mean heartache, but saying no could be a lie.
"We can make this work."

"How? By you flying in for an afternoon a few times a year?
By me swinging by for a night or a weekend when I'm in town on a road
trip?" A vein in his neck pulsed.

Sickness coated her stomach, like something vital was slipping
through her fingers and she couldn't grasp hold. "I want more than that. I
want us to be together."

"Pretty damn hard to be together when we're living on
opposite sides of the country. I don't want to have to fly for six hours every
damn time I want to see you."

"Neither do I, but what am I supposed to do, ask you to skip
out on baseball and your family and move to L.A.? Or, would you ask me to give
up my dream?" She'd worked too hard, she'd fought too long. He had, too.

His fist slammed onto the top of the bedpost. "No, but I want
to see you every day, and I want you lying next to me every night." 

"Don't you think I want that, too?" She wanted him as
much as he claimed he wanted her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hands over his face.
"I don't know anymore. Maybe you exaggerated your feelings for me because
it suited you at the time."

"You really think I can fake my emotions that way?"

His brown eyes pinned her with a heated stare. She could almost
feel the flames. "You’re a damn fine actress. Would it really be a
stretch?"

She gasped and put her hand on her stomach. If he'd hit her, it
would have hurt less. “If that’s the way you feel, it’s probably best that I’m
leaving now.”

“I’ll drive you to my sister’s.” He strode to the bedroom door.
Bear barked and padded to his side. Adam turned back, his hand on the dog’s
head. "What are you going to do with Bear while you're in Seattle?"

Her mind spun. She took a deep breath and grasped for a rational
thought. "My vet's office has a small boarding section but I don't have
time to go to L.A. first. Maybe—"

"You can't leave him with the vet for months. His separation
anxiety will skyrocket. I'll keep him."

"You can't keep him." She motioned for Bear and wrapped
both arms around him.

"He's familiar with me. It's the best choice for him."

Swiping away her tears, she stared at Adam's hard expression. Bear
would be happier with Adam, but…she couldn't let him go, that was too much. Too
much responsibility for Adam and too much loss for her to handle. She couldn't
lose them both.

"I just can't give him up. I love him."

A pained expression shot across his face, then disappeared.
"I'll get him to you once you're back in L.A."

He didn't say he'd be the one to deliver the dog.

If he told her he loved her, she would have done anything for him.
But he hadn't said the words.

Thinking of a life without him gutted her. Suddenly cold, she
wrapped her arms around her body. The alarm clock ticked away another precious
minute.

"So this is it." She wasn't ready to say goodbye. Tears
clogged her throat. She pulled on her jeans and reached for the dog.

Life wasn’t fair.

Why did the realization of one dream have to result in the
destruction of another?

When she looked up, Adam was gone.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that once she left, she’d never see
him again.