Changing the Game (24 page)

“Uh, Dedrick, I assume you know I’m not seeing Gavin anymore.”

“Yeah, believe me, we all know about that. He’s been moping around the clubhouse ever since you dumped him.”

“I didn’t dump him.”

“Whatever you say, honey. Look, I like you. Your shit with Gavin is between the two of you. I just want a good agent, and I think you’re a good agent. But if you think there’s a conflict because me and Gavin are friends . . .”

“I didn’t say that. I can meet with you after the game.”

“Shawnelle would be disappointed if she didn’t get to see you. You aren’t going to cut off your friendship with her just because of you and Gavin, are you?”

Now that he said it, it sounded petty of her. And selfish. “Of course not.”

“Good. I’ll leave a ticket for you at the box office, and I’ll see you after the game tomorrow afternoon.”

“That sounds fine, Dedrick.”

“And thanks for agreeing to do this on such short notice.”

“It’s no problem at all. I’ll see you then.”

She hung up, laid her phone down, and sat in her chair. Well, hell. She was hoping to avoid the Rivers—and seeing Gavin—at least until she could get her riotous emotions under control.

No such luck. She was going to have to suck it up. No way was she passing up on the chance to pick up another new client just because she might see Gavin.

Besides, he’d be out on the field. She’d be in the stands. It was unlikely he’d even be aware she was there.

IT WAS UNSEASONABLY HOT IN THE STANDS. SHE’D much prefer to be in the owner’s suite, where it was shady and airconditioned.

Then again, there was nothing like seats behind the dugout as far as the best view. And hanging out with Shawnelle and Haley again was wonderful. She’d missed her friends, and their excitement at seeing her again made her feel warm and gooey inside.

“We were afraid you had dumped us just because you fired Gavin and broke up with him,” Haley said.

Ah, nothing like the brutal honesty of youth. “I would never do that.”

“You haven’t been around,” Hayley said.

“I’ve been really busy.”

“Busy avoiding us and Gavin. You weren’t planning on hanging out with us anymore,” Shawnelle said.

“That’s not true.”

Even though that’s exactly what she’d planned to do. Now that she was here though, she was ashamed of herself for even thinking it. So what if she and Gavin weren’t together anymore? That didn’t mean she couldn’t have spa days with Shawnelle and Haley or have lunch with them or even go out for drinks and dinner once in a while.

She’d gone her whole life without girlfriends. And then she’d found a few in Shawnelle, Haley, and even Jenna. She didn’t intend to close herself off just because all of these women were in some way connected to Gavin.

She’d have to deal with it. And so would he.

It was nice to be at a Rivers game again. This was her home team since she’d moved to Saint Louis ten years ago, and she wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. Of course as an agent, she wasn’t supposed to have an allegiance to any professional team since she represented so many players from so many different teams.

But no one had to know the Rivers were her favorites, did they?

She ate a hot dog, had a soda, and enjoyed catching up with Haley and Shawnelle.

“Where are the kids, Shawnelle? I thought they’d be at the game today.”

“They came to the last day game, but they’re at the pool with my mom and dad today, while Dedrick’s parents get the house ready for his grandparents arrival. It’s one big coordinated effort for their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.”

“Awww, that’s sweet. And how nice of you to throw a party.”

“Dedrick loves his Gamaw and Paw-Paw. They were instrumental in helping him go to college, so he feels like he owes them. And they’re just so damn proud of him.”

“It’s nice to have that kind of family support, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And how about you, Haley? How have you been?”

“Great. Enrolled in school for the summer semester, and excited as hell about taking classes.”

“Good for you. Settled on a degree program yet?”

Haley grinned. “I want to teach. Elementary education.”

Elizabeth reached for Haley’s hand and squeezed it. “I can so see you as a teacher. That’s wonderful.”

Shawnelle nodded. “I told her she’d make a great teacher. She’s incredible with my two kids. She has more patience than I do.”

Haley laughed. “It’s always easy when they’re not your kids. You don’t have to keep ’em. But I do love children. Always have.”

Shawnelle nudged her. “Ready to have one of your own?”

“Nope. Not ’til I finish school. I’m still too young. Not ready to settle down and have a family yet. I have goals.”

“And maybe you also want to stick it to your family and home town?” Elizabeth suggested.

Haley arched a brow. “Maybe just a little.”

“Ahh, there’s nothing like a little vengeance to stir the juices of motivation,” Shawnelle said.

Elizabeth laughed. She knew all about that. Her family might never know what she’d amounted to, but she knew, and that’s all that mattered.

As the game got under way and the Rivers took the field, Elizabeth’s gaze was riveted to Gavin. She swore she wasn’t going to pay attention to him, but how could she not when she loved him?

As he stretched out to catch practice balls at first base, she sighed. She knew every inch of that man’s body, and it was absolute perfection. His uniform clung tight to his muscular thighs and stellar ass, and his biceps bulged out underneath his shirt as he pulled the ball from his glove and threw it to second base.

Shawnelle smoothed her hand over Elizabeth’s back. “You miss him.”

She nodded. “I do.”

“Then fight for him.”

She shook her head. “I tried. It’s over.”

“Who walked out, you or him?”

“I did.”

“Has he been trying to contact you?”

“Yes.”

“And you won’t let him.”

“No.”

“Then bullshit. If you still have this much feeling—and I know you do because there are tears you’re trying not to shed—then it’s not over yet. Whatever it is that he fucked up, and God knows men fuck things up all the time, give it another try. If he hasn’t given up, then why have you? It’s obvious you love him, honey.”

Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked, swiping at the ones that broke free. “It’s complicated.”

Shawnelle laughed. “Honey, love is always complicated. If it was easy, there’d be no fun when you win at the end.”

“What Shawnelle says is true, Elizabeth,” Hayley added. “There are so many pressures on a relationship sometimes. Often it’s outside stuff that has nothin’ to do with the two of you that gets thrown into the mix and can muck things up. Wade through it all, and focus on what’s important. If you love him and he loves you, isn’t that what’s really important? The rest of it’s just fluff.”

Elizabeth inhaled a shaky breath, feeling as if she were balancing on a high wire with no net underneath her.

Maybe she was being too stubborn, or too afraid. Maybe she should talk to Gavin and figure out if there was anything between the two of them. Maybe he was afraid, too. He’d come to her, had tried to talk to her, and had apologized. She hadn’t given him much of a chance. She’d decided his apology wasn’t good enough, had cut him off and walked out. That had been her fear and her anger preventing communication. So maybe she owed him—owed them both—another shot at this.

“Thanks, both of you. I’ll give it some thought.”

Shawnelle smiled and squeezed her hand. “That’s good enough. Now dry your tears, and let’s root these boys on to a win.”

Elizabeth did exactly as Shawnelle suggested. She shoved Gavin to the back of her mind and focused on the Rivers. By the seventh-inning stretch the Rivers were up by three runs, and Elizabeth was relaxed and into the game.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special announcement. One of our Rivers players has asked that instead of singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the seventh-inning stretch tonight, he be allowed to take the mic and ask a question.”

The crowd went silent. Elizabeth frowned and turned to Shawnelle and Haley. “What’s going on?”

Shawnelle shrugged. “No clue.”

Haley shook her head.

“Would Elizabeth Darnell please stand up?”

Oh, shit.

Shawnelle elbowed her. “Stand up.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Go on, stand up.”

She shook her head again. Vehemently.

Shawnelle and Haley both shoved her, then the people around her started clapping and yelling and pointing her out. She had no choice. She stood, and suddenly her face was beamed up on the giant JumboTron screen.

Oh, hell.

Then Gavin climbed up on top of the dugout, much to the raucous delight of the fans. He waved his hands down and the cheers subsided.

He found her in the stands and turned his attention on her.

“Elizabeth, you know the last time we talked things didn’t go so well.”

Good God, he had the mic in his hands, and everyone could hear what he said.

“And that was my fault. This time I hope I can be a little more eloquent.”

He wasn’t playing to the crowds. He was looking right at her. He came down off the top of the dugout and Shawnelle pushed her. She went to him and met him in the aisle.

He took her hand, and when she saw him swallow, she knew he was as nervous as she was. That gave her comfort.

“Elizabeth, I love you. I’ve loved you for a while now, but I was afraid to say it. Maybe I was afraid you wouldn’t love me back. But I’m not afraid anymore, and I need you to understand that. So I figured the only way to get you to believe me was to tell you in front of forty-five thousand people.”

And then he got down on one knee.

Oh. My. God.

Her legs were shaking.

“Marry me, Elizabeth.”

The chorus of awws and cheers was deafening.

But she only saw Gavin, only focused on Gavin. She saw the truth in his eyes. She saw the love.

This time, she believed.

She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

And then he kissed her. And oh, what a kiss. Her heart swelled with so much love she couldn’t believe it was real. Her fantasy, what she’d always wanted. The man she’d always wanted.

The cheers and clapping of the fans told her it was real.

He broke the kiss and swiped the tears from her cheeks. “Sorry, we’ll have to wait ’til later to continue this.”

She laughed. “Go win the game.”

“So does this mean you said yes?”

She took the mic from his hand. “I said yes.”

More cheers, and Gavin climbed back down to the dugout.

The rest of the game was a blur. The Rivers won. Even more shocking was seeing Kathleen and Jimmy Riley, Jenna, and Mick and Tara after the game. They had just been a few rows over. Gavin had told them his plans, and after he’d gone back to the dugout, they’d surprised her. She flew into Kathleen’s arms for a hug.

Even Mick hugged her and welcomed his new sister into the family.

“What if I’d said no?” she asked Kathleen.

Kathleen gave her that all knowing look. “You weren’t going to say no. You love my son, and I had every confidence he wasn’t going to screw this up.”

She looked to Mick. “So, you think we can put up with each other?”

“Hey, if I can put up with Jenna, I can put up with you.”

Jenna elbowed him in the ribs. “Jerk.”

Tara was thrilled for her. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

Elizabeth hugged her. “You’re the most forgiving of all, and I’m so grateful. I need family and sisters.” She hooked her arms with both Tara and Jenna. “I’m going to have sisters now. I’ve always wanted them.”

Jenna gave her a wry grin. “Be careful what you wish for.”

Elizabeth laughed.

After she said good-bye to the Riley family, she and Shawnelle and Haley headed down to the team locker room to wait for their guys.

Shawnelle told her Dedrick really did want to change agents, but it could wait. They’d been in on Gavin’s proposal, and it was Dedrick who came up with the idea to use his interest in changing agents to get Elizabeth there tonight.

“You are such a sneaky bitch,” she said.

Shawnelle just waggled her brows. “All in the name of love. And speaking of love . . .”

The door opened and Gavin walked out. The rest of the world ceased to exist as she walked into his arms and was greeted with a kiss that rocked her world.

“Uh-huh. I think we’ll leave these two alone, Haley. I’m going to go find my man.”

“Me, too,” Haley said.

“Talk to you tomorrow, girl,” Shawnelle said.

Elizabeth waved them off, her lips and her mind and her heart focused only on Gavin.

TWENTY-FIVE

SOMEHOW, GAVIN HAD GOTTEN IT RIGHT. HE’D MANAGED not to strike out when he’d gone up to bat in the most important game of his life.

Now he stood outside the locker room with his lips locked with the woman he loved.

He’d won the girl.

Elizabeth slid her fingers into his hair and curled her body against his. God, it felt like it had been months since he’d touched her, since he’d breathed in the sweet honeyed scent of her, since he’d been inside her.

They stood in a hallway outside the locker room in a baseball stadium, and he was getting a hard-on.

Not good. Not good at all.

He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes, still not believing that he’d been forgiven for all he’d fucked up, that she’d said yes. He still felt like he had so much to make up for.

Time. He needed lots of time.

“We have to get out of here. I need to get you alone.”

Her lips lifted. “That’s a very good idea.”

“Follow me home?”

She nodded. “Try not to break any speed limits, but hurry.”

HE STAYED AT OR JUST ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT THE entire way to his house, glancing in his rearview mirror every few seconds to make sure Elizabeth was right behind him. He kept expecting her to ditch him, that maybe he’d dreamed everything that had happened today.

They pulled into the driveway together and got out of their cars, and he linked his fingers with hers as they strolled up to the front door. He held it open for her, his heart pounding the entire time.

“Your hand is sweaty,” Elizabeth said after they stepped inside and he closed the door.

“I’m nervous.”

She arched a brow. “Why?”

“I keep waiting for you to bolt. I keep thinking this isn’t real.”

She turned to him, wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m not leaving you, Gavin. Not now, not ever.”

He laid his hands on her hips. “I messed up bad. There were so many things I wanted to say to you today, to make you understand how sorry I am for what I said. But there isn’t a decent excuse for hurting you the way I did.”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “And sometimes you just have to let it go. We could rehash everything we’ve both said to each other during our relationship, the stupid things we’ve said and done, but what would be the point? Every step we’ve taken led us here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love me, Gavin?”

“I do.”

“I love you, too. I’ve loved you for so many years, and I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid if I let you know how I felt about you, I’d lose you.”

“Why?”

She dropped her hands and stepped back. “I don’t know. The fact that I was your agent, that I’m a few years older than you, that you went through women as fast as you went through underwear.”

“Hey.”

She laughed. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

“I played the field a little.”

She cocked a brow. “A little? Gavin, you were all over women all the time. And that’s fine. It was good for your image and good PR. I played it up as much as possible.”

He stepped up to her, smoothed his hand over her hair. “And you loved me. Didn’t it hurt you?”

She shrugged. “A little. But I did my job. I did what was best for you.”

He inhaled, blew it out, took her hand, and led her to the sofa. She sat, and he kneeled in front of her. “I’m sorry I never knew, never picked up on it. What kind of man does that make me?”

“It makes me a very good agent who made sure you never knew.”

He didn’t smile. He lifted her hand. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Not necessary. I have you now. It’s all that matters.”

“I really don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, Gavin, you do. As much as I deserve you. We belong together.”

He lifted up and brushed his lips against hers, feeling like the luckiest man alive. His heart swelled with so much love his chest felt like bursting.

This was what love felt like. This feeling of joy, of knowing you’d never be alone again, never feel like something was missing from your life; the feeling that you now had someone to protect, to keep safe from harm.

He got it now; he understood where his brother was coming from.

He’d die to protect Elizabeth.

He pulled a box out of his pocket. “This part I didn’t want to do at the stadium. I wanted it just to be the two of us.”

ELIZABETH STARED AT THE BLACK VELVET BOX.

She hadn’t expected this. She raised her hand to her heart, then looked at Gavin.

“Oh.”

He opened the box and inside was a princess-cut diamond in a platinum setting. And wow. The diamond was huge, the band covered in tiny sparkling diamonds, too.

It was perfect. Gorgeous and everything she could have dreamed of.

“Oh, Gavin. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

He held her hand. “Elizabeth Darnell, I love you. I don’t care how old you are or how old I am. I want you to be my wife. I want to have babies with you if you want them, too. I want you to continue to love your career as much as I love mine. I want us to love and respect each other forever. Will you marry me?”

This time she didn’t try to fight the tears. She let them flow down her cheeks and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Gavin. I love you, too. And I’d be honored to marry you.”

He slid the ring on her finger and pulled her off the sofa and into his arms. On her knees, she met his lips with equal passion. Her carefully coiffed updo was gone in an instant as he pulled the pins from her hair and shook it out, his hands diving into the strands as he fell onto his back on the floor and pulled her on top of him.

God, it felt good to feel his body against hers again. She’d missed his touch, the way his hands glided over her back and to her hips, the way he dug his fingers into her as if he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

She’d missed his passion, his almost desperate need for her, because she always needed him. Would it always be like this between them? She hoped so.

She lifted, stared down at him, smoothed his hair away from his brow, and listened to his heavy breathing, felt his heartbeat jamming away against her chest.

He tilted his head and smiled up at her. “What?”

“I was just wondering if it would always be like this between us. This hunger we seem to have for each other.”

He cupped her face and brought it down to meet his. “Hell, yes.”

He kissed her with such deep longing that she had no doubt he was right. Her heart melted, and so did her panties as he lifted against her, his erection driving against her sex. She planted her hands on his chest and surged against him, the need so powerful to have him inside her she quaked with it.

He broke the kiss, and she was breathless, especially when she saw the passion in his eyes. She sat up and began to unbutton her blouse, her fingers shaking. Gavin watched her undo each button, and try as she might to be slow and sexy, all she could do was fumble it.

Maybe him lifting and teasing her with his hard cock had something to do with it.

“You’re distracting me.”

He cocked a brow. “Hurry up.”

“Trying.”

She let her blouse slip from her shoulders. His hands were on her breasts in an instant, his thumbs sliding over the swells, then her nipples. The silk of her bra was no defense, and her nipples hardened as he swept his fingers over her bra.

He sat up and undid the clasp, and she shrugged the bra off. He pulled her forward and caught one aching bud between his lips, suckling her and driving her mad with his tongue, teeth and lips while using his hand to roll the other nipple between his fingers. She tangled her fingers in his hair and tried to hold on through the myriad of sensations shooting pleasure sparks straight to her core.

This wasn’t happening fast enough. She pulled away and scooted down his thighs, reaching for the button of his jeans. He leaned back on his palms and let her unzip him, her knuckles brushing his erection, causing him to jerk against her in response.

Yes, he was as primed as she was. And she wanted him in so many ways, all at once. She pulled his jeans and shoes off and got them out of the way, then dragged his boxers down, too.

His cock sprang up, hot and hard and delicious. She circled it with her hands, loving the soft, steely feel of it, the way the skin moved around the erect muscle, the engorged head just begging for a taste. She bent over the shaft and put her lips over the wide purple crest and swept her tongue over it, loving the way Gavin thrust against her mouth and groaned, then grabbed a handful of her hair as if he couldn’t control his reaction.

She wanted him out of control, wanted to see how far she could push him.

“I haven’t come since the last time we were together, Lizzie. If you’re going to suck me, I’m going to come in your mouth.”

She lifted her gaze to him, then took his cock all the way in her mouth. He thrust, giving her more. She took it, wrapping her hand around the base of his cock, stroking him as she wound her tongue around his shaft, dragging her tongue down the underside and licking him all the way down to his balls. She took them into her mouth and flicked her tongue over them. Gavin let out a guttural groan.

She swept her tongue up his shaft again, then took it between her lips.

“Suck it. Suck it hard.” She pressed his cock between her tongue and the roof of her mouth, and gave him the suction he asked for, cradling his balls in her hands and massaging them.

He tightened his hold on her hair. “Yes. God, yes. That’s going to make me come, Lizzie.”

She bobbed up and down on his shaft, her hands on his thighs, feeling his muscles tighten, feeling the sheen of perspiration coating his skin as he thrust upward into her throat.

“Yeah, like that. Suck me. I’m coming.”

She loved listening to him, loved knowing she could give him this pleasure. And when he let out a wild groan, his whole body jerking as he jettisoned into her mouth, she swallowed, gripping his thighs and taking all he had to give her.

He smoothed his hand in her hair, and she licked his shaft, then moved up to kiss his belly. She rolled his shirt in her hand as she kissed up his abdomen, loving the rock-hard feel of him. He lifted and allowed her to pull his shirt off, then surprised her by rolling her over onto her back and laying a deep, penetrating kiss on her that left her breathless. He plundered her mouth, licked against her tongue, rubbed his lips against hers until she was mindless and her bones felt like butter.

“Now it’s my turn,” he said, kissing his way across her neck, her collarbone, and when he got to her breasts, he licked her nipples, taking his time to enjoy both until each peak stood hard, wet, and aching. Her body vibrated from his touch and his kisses as he moved down her body, dragging her Capris down until all she wore were her panties.

“These are pretty,” he said, kissing her hip bone where one of the ties of her cream silk panties lay.

“Thanks.”

“It’s like a present for me.” He untied one of the bows, kissing her next to her sex, then went to the other tie and undid the bow, pulling the material free and baring her sex to him.

She shuddered. “Gavin, I haven’t come either since the last time we were together.”

He lifted his gaze to her. “I’m going to fix that right now.”

He pressed his mouth to her pussy and laid his tongue on her.

“Oh,” was all she could manage, because he moved his tongue across her clit and any coherent thought was gone. Now she was merely a center of pleasure, focused on everything Gavin’s hot, wet tongue did to her as he glided across her sex.

Tension built in a hurry, and as he slipped a finger inside her, she quivered and knew she wasn’t going to last long. It was amazing the way he knew her body so well and could take her right to the edge in minutes. He pumped his finger in and out of her and moved his tongue in a slow circle over her clit. The sensation was like a lazy Sunday afternoon; her reaction anything but.

“Harder. Faster. Take me there, Gavin.”

He listened, inserted another finger inside her, pumped up the tempo, put his lips around her clit, and sucked.

“Yes. That’s it.” She arched against him and came, the torrent of sensation almost unbearable because it was just so damn good. She thrashed against him, and he placed a hand on her belly to hold her in place as he continued to lick her while she climaxed on his face and his fingers, rolling from one orgasm right into another in an endless stream of pulses that left her weak and shaking.

And when he hovered over her, smiling down at her, she reached for him, and he covered her with his body and his lips, rolling them over again while he was kissing her, placing her on top once again.

His cock was hard, and she slipped it inside her still-pulsing pussy, then sat up, linking her fingers with his as she surged against him, burying him fully inside her.

His gaze narrowed, and he lifted against her. “Ride me.”

She placed her hands on his chest and leaned forward, then lifted, setting the pace as she fucked herself on his cock, drawing out each movement for maximum sensation, loving the feel of his cock thickening inside her.

Gavin reached up and grasped her breasts, sliding his thumbs over her nipples. She arched into his hands, filling them with her breasts. He rose up and took alternating nipples in his mouth, sucking them deeply, making her shudder at the shock of pleasure that shot straight to her pussy.

Connected to him like this was a slice of pure heaven. She wanted it to go on forever, but as she rode him, rocked against him, and felt the stirrings of orgasm once again, she couldn’t help but drive toward that finish, only to back off, to pull away, and pause just to look at him. She tried to memorize his face, the way he looked when he was buried inside her. His muscles tightened and strained as he clenched his jaw, his heavily lidded gaze seemed so intently focused on her, yet he held her gently in his grasp. His fingers flexed and unflexed against her hips as she surged forward and then back. His hair had fallen over his forehead, and she brushed it away, then leaned down to press a kiss to his lips.