To Win Her Love (30 page)

In any case, no longer fearing discovery, the continued interest of the press wasn’t nearly as menacing. Unfortunately, she had a much more alarming issue to deal with, specifically, deciding what to do with her life now she’d lost the custody battle to the man she loved. Watching him with the girls on Christmas night, witnessing Angel’s ultimate surrender to his insurmountable charms, had been like taking a sledgehammer to the chest. Envy burned, yet, there was a certain relief in having the uncertainty behind her. Maybe she was rationalizing, but that was better than curling into the fetal position and howling out her despair.

The silver lining, because she believed in looking for one in every bitter loss, was the peace in her heart, knowing the girls would be settled and safe with Jake. They loved him and he loved them. They were family. She above most people understood the magic of that kind of miracle.

It wasn’t as if she’d be left out completely. The girls would always be a part of her life. As for Jake? When he moved on with
his
life, she’d have her memories. Including those she planned to make tonight.

She loved seeing the surprise on his face when she accepted his invitation to tonight’s gala fund-raiser—the very same fund-raiser Tuck requested she attend with
him
. She stomped a spiked heel down on a niggling kernel of doubt. Whether Jake truly wanted to spend an entire evening away from the farm with her as he claimed, or tonight was simply another salvo in his friendly competition with Tuck, in the end, it didn’t matter.

She loved Jake and their time together was running short. Less than forty-eight hours remained. She meant to make the most of them. Tonight she’d have her one and only date with him. The idea made her smile. Dressed in black tie and dancing the evening away in a ballroom packed full of muscled warriors didn’t exactly qualify as a normal first date, but in her case, the over-the-top scenario made sense. When a woman loved a larger-than-life man, the word normal
rarely came up.

She suspected tonight would be no exception. Any night that required making arrangements with a lawyer to extend curfew was anything but normal.

Amazing as it seemed, tonight she’d be walking out the front door of the farm without worrying her life was about to explode before her eyes. For the first time in months, she could finally relax and be herself without the specter of discovery hovering over her like a ghost from her past. She’d be spending a rare evening in the arms of the man she loved, building memories to last a lifetime, and if that weren’t enough, she was also looking at one hell of an added bonus. Though he’d never know it, tonight Jake would give her a gift she could never repay.

The league was the official sponsor of tonight’s event, which meant her father would be in attendance. She sucked in a bracing breath to ward off the sudden lightheadedness. Quite a trade-off. The loss of one dream for the realization of another.

Butterfly wings battered against the lining of her belly as she swept up her purse and turned to the girls. She tapped a fingertip to her puckered lips. “Am I missing anything?”

“Lipstick!” Angel bounced on the bed.

She laughed and her spiraling nerves settled some. A few moments later, they descended the stairs. All three of their smiles sported a slick application of dusky rose. Both the nerves and the lightheadedness came galloping back the moment she reached the landing and spotted Jake speaking with Mary in the foyer.

Oh, Angel, you’re wrong, baby.

Jake Malone in black tie wasn’t pretty, he was drop dead gorgeous. Tall and lithe, yet impossibly broad through the shoulders, he was the quintessential modern day warrior. Straight and proud, his muscled body exuded good health and power. Undeniably attractive, he was James Bond handsome and Chippendale sexy. And tonight, he was all hers.

He turned his head and his emerald eyes widened. His focused gaze slid down her body like a heated caress. Goose bumps popped and her girl parts puckered helplessly. When his gaze stalled at the silky straps crisscrossing her ankles and lower calves, and he swallowed convulsively, her lips tipped up in a smug smile.

Oh, yeah. A man’s healthy fetish did wonders for a woman’s ego.

Her smile skittered away when he lifted his head at last and his gaze locked with hers. None of the usual teasing humor she’d become accustomed to seeing lingered in his eyes. The twins were right. Something was off. Subtle tension rode his shoulders, stiffening them beneath his black suit coat. Intent and sober, his concentrated study held her pinned in place.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “How could anything possibly be wrong when I’m looking at you in that dress?” As he’d done several times before, he instantly shed whatever nerves hung over him. Dimples winked on with his smile. He folded his fingers around hers and held out her arm to give her another once over. He whistled through his teeth. “Wow. You’re beautiful.”

She shook off the subtle fingers of unease trailing down her spine and returned his smile. “You’re pretty
wow
yourself.”

He winked and leaned close to stare into her eyes. “Something’s different.”

She forced a smile. “Must be the contacts. Aren’t they fun?”

He nodded then lowered his head to brush his cheek against hers. “Nice, but I hope you don’t mean to wear them all the time. Your violet eyes drive me crazy, baby.”

He straightened and, as if noting the blush heating her cheeks, winked. She sucked in a ragged breath in lieu of fanning herself. He laughed and turned, crouching down in from of the twins.

His gaze bounced between them. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting either of you lovely ladies.”

Charlie immediately collapsed against his shoulder in a fit of giggles. Angel propped her hands on his hips and cocked her head. “We’re Angel and Charlie, silly.”

He jerked back and made a production of studying them. “No way! Angel and Charlie are only six. They don’t wear lipstick.” He shook his head. “You’re both
way
too grown up to be my sisters.”

Gracie’s heart squeezed. Did he realized this was the first time he’d formally recognized them as sisters? With no hyphens? No qualifications?

Angel giggled hard enough she could barely speak. “It’s us. Auntie Gracie let us try her lipstick, but we have to wash it off before we go to bed.”

“Which I’ll make sure they do.” Mary appeared at Gracie’s side. “Go on with you now. Have a good time.”

Jake straightened to his feet, accepting Gracie’s long dress coat from Mary. He shot Gracie a smile as he helped her into her coat, but the humor didn’t translate to his eyes. Unease chilled her. No matter what he said, something was definitely wrong.

One would think after spending the last three months in Jake’s presence, and experiencing the frequent visits of his famous teammate friends, Gracie would be immune to the spectacle of pro football’s most recognizable athletes mixing with famous faces from the entertainment industry, finance, politics, and the press. Not so. Busy searching the crowd milling about the atrium in the Metropolitan Museum’s Sackler wing for one particular famous face, she couldn’t stop herself from gawking.

It was difficult to tell who schmoozed whom as the players worked the crowd. They laughed, chatted, posed for pictures, and in the process, secured jaw-dropping pledges from star-struck, deep-pocketed patrons. Having witnessed Jake’s charm first-hand, she shouldn’t have been surprised at how good he was at this sort of thing but, holy cow. She’d nearly spewed champagne over the matronly wife of a retired Wall Street mogul when the diamond-adorned woman puckered her time-wrinkled lips to blow dry the ink before handing Jake her check for a cool half million.

After an hour of smiling at strangers as Jake worked his wiles, she left him to wring a bundle of cash from a senior congressman as famous for his watchdog interest in the spending of the people’s money as for his family name and fortune. Wandering around the edges of the crowd, she scanned the room for a familiar head of blond hair and a broad set of shoulders, but though her heart lodged in her throat several times, none of the big blond men she spied were the one for which she searched.

Disappointment settled between her shoulder blades like an overstuffed backpack. What if her father didn’t plan to show after all?

Spotting Dina Sutton scanning the room as well, she plucked a glass from a passing waiter and pushed through the crowd to pause at the foot of the Temple of Dendur. Considering the staggering amount of money changing hands, the grandeur of the ancient stone edifice was the perfect backdrop for tonight’s party. She stared up at the ornately carved columns framing the entrance to the temple porch. Sipping at her glass, she sensed someone at her side and turned her head. Expecting Jake, she smiled at Tuck.

He dropped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“You have? I thought you’d be angry with me.”

He cocked his head. “For turning me down tonight in favor of Malone?”

She nodded.

“Nah.” He sipped from his glass. “I forgive you for that. You’re living in the same house with him. I know how whiney he can be when he doesn’t get his way.”

She laughed. “Whiney?”

He bared his teeth in a leering smile. “What can I say? He’s a diva.”

“As opposed to you.”

He looked down his nose. “I don’t whine. I get even.”

“So I’ve heard.”

He chuckled. “Hey, there’re a lot of jealous people out there willing to spread lies. You can’t believe everything you hear.”

She turned away to study the hieroglyphics on the right column. “Then I shouldn’t believe Jake stole Daphne out from under your nose, or that you’ve stolen countless women from him over the years?”

His smile morphed into a wide grin. “Oh, you can believe the part about the countless women I’ve stolen, but the Daphne thing is patently untrue. Jake only
thinks
he won that round. I’d already dumped her for a curvy redhead.”

She shook her head and he dipped his head to peer into her eyes.

“Does the idea of me with countless women bother you?”

She smirked. “Get real.”

“Because, for the right woman, I’d be willing to change my wicked ways.”

“Why, Tuck?” She batted her lashes. “Are you saying
I’m
the right woman?”

He cocked his head and considered her face. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m willing to spend a few nights with you to find out.”

He grunted when her elbow landed solidly in his side, and she couldn’t help but join him when he chuckled.

He indicated the temple with his beer glass. “Cool, huh?”

“Very cool.”

“Ever seen this kind of stuff in person?”

She glanced at him. “You mean, have I been to the Middle East?”

He nodded.

“No. Have you?”

“Nope. The Marauders’ front office is filled with a bunch of tight asses. They insisted on including a safety clause in my contract. No base-jumping ski trips. No mountain climbing. Not even hang gliding, and no traveling anywhere I might say something that could get my head chopped off.”

They shared a grin and he tightened his arm around her shoulders. “However, the world is full of wicked old shit, uh…stuff like this. Say the word and we can be in the air in less than an hour.”

She grinned. “You do know how to sweep a girl off her feet, don’t you?”

He ran his fingertips down her arm and dropped his voice to a distinctively seductive murmur. “Your wish is my command, baby.”

Please
. Did he think she was buying his crap? She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Tempting, but my get out of jail free card from the farm expires at midnight.”

“Then we’d better get going. We can be at my place in ten minutes.”

“Be careful, Tuck. She may look like a princess, but she’s more skilled at bringing a man to his knees than her dog.”

She twisted her head around. Jake stood behind them.

Tuck spoke over her head. “I’m willing to take my chances.”

Jake bared his teeth in a taunting smile. “I’m not willing to
let
you.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She stepped clear of Tuck’s arm. “You sound like a couple of Neanderthals. Personally, I’m not interested in being the prize for either of you. No matter
who
,” she spun toward Jake, “wins this rooouuu…nd.”

Like lightning bugs on crack, pinpoints of light scrambled haphazardly across her field of vision. She swallowed convulsively as she stared at the two big blond men and the tall redhead who came to a stop behind Jake.

Doug Costa spoke with a distinctive sneer. “Sounds as if the two of you have finally set your sights on a woman smart enough to see through your games.”

Jake’s head whipped around. When he turned back, his eyes slid shut briefly. Beneath his tuxedo jacket, his shoulders went stiff and a muscle quivered in his jaw. Tuck’s indignant snort registered behind her, but their antagonistic reactions to the league commissioner’s statement weren’t her problem.

None of her daydreams throughout the years could’ve truly prepared her for this moment. This wasn’t how their first meeting was supposed to happen. Her father was supposed to pass by her at a distance. She’d look her fill, perhaps move close enough to hear him speak. Then he’d move on without them ever making eye contact, and her life would go on as it had before. Normal. Boring. Safe.

Unfortunately, normal had disappeared from her vocabulary the moment Jake arrived at the farm and this situation was neither boring nor safe. She struggled to control her erratic breathing and calm her roiling stomach. Jake wasn’t stupid. He was bound to put two and two together if she threw up on his shoes—a distinct possibility considering the churning in her belly. She glanced away, frantically searching the room for a possible escape route. None presented itself.

Jake closed his fingers around her elbow as Doug stuck out his hand. “Hell of a catch last week, Jake. We’ll be adding your name to the record books before the regular season is over.”

After Jake’s blatant refusal to meet with him when that damning photo hit the stands last week, the compliment made her blink.