Dare To Love Series: Hot Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) (9 page)

“Let me see if he
’s available,
” the receptionist said.

Three verses of canned on-hold music later and Ian Dare picked up the line. “Colt, how are you doing?”

“I
’
m okay. The doctor says it
’
s just a sprain. I
’
ll have a brace for training camp, but it
’
ll be off before the season starts.”

“Excellent.”

He took a deep breath. He was breaking about a billion unwritten rules concerning the chain of command and Manny would be pissed as hell that this wasn
’
t going through him, but it needed to be done. “I need to talk to you about Angie Diaz.”

“That situation has already been taken care of,” Mr. Dare said. “We
’
re going to let her go.”

His grip on the phone tightened to the point that he heard a distinct crack. “It wasn
’
t her fault. I could have said no at any point.” The words rushed out.

“She was responsible for you on this cruise. I was against having an active player on it in the first place just in case something like this happened, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I see now that I shouldn
’
t have.”

Panic squeezed Colt
’
s lungs tight. He couldn
’
t let them fire Angie. She deserved better than that. They couldn
’
t bench—

That
’
s it
.

“Do you remember the Breakers game a few years ago when Coach Carter benched our quarterback in the middle of the first quarter because he was too jumpy to complete a pass? Everyone thought coach had lost his mind. The fans were booing. The players were whispering. The analysts in the booth said it was the dumbest thing that could ever be done. But coach kept his cool, and when he put the QB back in at the beginning of the second, that man was unflappable. Six touchdown passes, including a sixty-yard Hail Mary.”

“What
’
s your point, Colt?” Mr. Dare asked.

The Thunder owner was many things but mentally slow wasn
’
t one of them. The man knew exactly what Colt was trying to say, but if the boss needed to hear a little more pleading then Colt was ready and willing to make that happen.

“Angie
’
s the quarterback. There was a flub. You pulled a Coach Carter and benched her. When you put her back in the game, she
’
s going to be golden.” And she would. He didn
’
t have even the tiniest doubt in his mind. “The woman is good, really damn good.”

The silence on the phone weighed heavy on Colt
’
s shoulders. He couldn
’t fail.

“I
’
ll think about it,” Mr. Dare said.

It was yardage gained, but not enough. He wasn
’
t giving up until he crossed that goal line. “Sir—”

“You
’
re going to keep on my ass until I say yes, aren
’
t you?”

“Yes, sir.” And he would. Hell, he
’
d get Manny on it if he had to.

The Thunder owner sighed. “I
’
ll have Dylan give her a call and let her know to come in on Monday and we
’
ll work our way through this mess together.”

He let out the breath he hadn
’
t realized he was holding. “Thank you, sir.”

“See you in training camp, Colt.” The phone went dead.

He tossed the phone onto the bed and did a modified touchdown shuffle. One game down, now it was time for the championship—getting Angie back.

“Good to see your dance moves aren
’
t completely terrible,” Darius said as he walked in from the balcony. “You
’
re going to need them if Mystie
’
s plan is going to work.”

In
the two hours since Angie had left her initial message for her boss, video of the accident had gone viral and #ThunderCrash was trending—something she didn
’
t know until Dylan had unloaded on her with both barrels.

“What were you thinking, letting an active player go parasailing?” Dylan asked, the frustration in his voice coming through loud and clear over the phone.

Her gut twisted and she fought to keep her breathing even. Never in her life had she ever wished she could go back in time as much as she did at that moment, but damn it, she
’
d done her research. “The company came highly recommended and this is the first incident in its entire history.”

“
Incident?
That
’
s what you
’
re calling almost killing off a man who was one of the best linebackers in the league?”

“Is,” she snapped back.

“What?”

It shouldn
’
t matter to her what tense Dylan used to talk about Colt, but it did. A fact that had her sinking her nails into her palm so she wouldn
’
t start crying again. “He
is
one of the best linebackers.”

“Shit like that is not going to help you.”

Fuck. She needed to put down the shovel before her hole got any deeper. “Sorry.”

“I went out on a limb backing your participation on this fan cruise,” Dylan said. “You promised nothing would go wrong. Now we have local and national media on our ass about something that never should have happened and a player who was finally back on the roster questionable again. I
’
m sorry, Angie, but this means the promotion is out of the question.”

She clamped her jaw closed and stared at the ceiling as if she
’
d find something there that would make all of this better. Her chin quivered and tears cascaded down her face. Wiping the moisture away with the back of her hand, she took in a shaky breath.

“
I understand.
” But that didn
’
t make it hurt any less. “I
’
m glad to still have my job.”

“You can thank Colt for that. He went to bat for you with Ian.”

It took a minute for the words to sink in, but they still didn
’
t make sense.
“Why?”

“You
’
ll have to ask him.”

That wasn
’
t going to happen. She was grateful for what Colt did but that didn
’
t change anything between them. It couldn
’
t. Believing that things could have ended any differently than ugly was just foolishness.

Chapter Nine

There
were clumps of people six deep waiting for the elevators. Sunburnt and cranky, every one of them looked about as good as Angie felt. Puffy eyes, an ache in her bones and a heaviness that made lifting one foot in front of the other a monumental accomplishment, the heartbreak flu was no joke. There was a bottle of red wine in her apartment that she couldn
’
t wait to unscrew and down with her quart of double chocolate fudge. She was classy that way.

The elevator started to hum, lighting up the numbers of the floors above her deck as it traveled down to her level. Everyone straightened and grabbed the suitcases resting by their feet, no doubt ready to rush into the elevator and off the ship—except when the elevator doors whooshed open, no one moved.

Darius Washington and Mystie stood in the center of the elevator, their faces pointed down to the ground and microphones in their hands.

Angie
’
s breath caught. If something else had gone wrong with this cruise, she was going to throw herself overboard. She
’
s was probably already out of a job and had sworn to a life of celibacy, what else could possibly happen?

The public address system crackled to life.

“This is going out to Angie Diaz.” Colt
’
s voice came through the speakers. “I
’
m not one for public declarations, but before you get off this ship, know that I
’
ll do whatever it takes to make up for being a total ass. So please, stop in the name of love.”

At that moment, Darius and Mystie lifted their heads. Mystie winked, but Darius was Motown smooth. The fans standing in line ahead and behind her counted to five out loud and dropped their suitcases.

What the hell?
She blinked in confusion and looked at the serious faces staring back at her. It was like being transported to another planet where the alien race was all super intense.

Just when she thought it couldn
’
t get any more bizarre, Mystie and Darius broke into the beginning of The Supremes
’
Stop! In the Name of Love
.

Angie
’
s suitcase slipped through her grasp and hit the floor in front of her with a solid thunk. Then, on the chorus, the crowd of Thunder fans around her followed Darius
’
s and Mystie
’
s lead by hollering out the chorus, complete with a choreographed spin move and synchronized hand motions. Someone stood in the corner with their cellphone held up high, catching the whole singing flashmob as if it was the grand finale of a Bollywood movie.

Her lungs squeezed shut as she searched the crowd. Colt had to be here.

As they started the second verse, Darius and Mystie strolled out of the elevator, revealing Colt, who stood there with his own microphone. His face was beet red, no doubt from embarrassment, but he still brought the microphone up and started to sing.

“
I promise I’
ll be good to you.” He sang the altered lyrics in an off-key solo as he closed the distance between them. “
I promise I’
ll be sweet to you.”

Everyone started to sing the chorus and going through their dance routine, but Angie couldn
’
t hear them—the only voice making hit through was that of the man she swore to herself she
’
d never hear again. She couldn
’
t decide if she wanted to smack him or kiss him. Despite her best efforts, her bottom lip shook and tears gathered in her eyes.

Regret burned in his blue eyes, turning them as bright as a summer sky, and he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I
’
m hoping you
’
ll forgive me for being such an asshole on the boat and think of this as a new start.”

The hope growing inside her hurt her chest almost as much as a heartbreak. “A start for what?”

“Us.”

She searched his face for signs this was just a cruel joke, but all she found was the Colt who
’
d made her laugh, brought her to unbelievable highs and challenged her tightly controlled world. “You are completely deranged.” She half-laughed, half-sniffled back her tears.

“According to Darius, that
’
s a direct side effect of being a natural-born asshole whose falling in love and doesn
’
t know what in the hell to do about it.”

Her heart slammed against her rib cage. “Love?” She barely managed to get the single word out.

“You think I would voluntarily do this,” he gestured toward the Thunder fans watching them with rapt attention, “if it wasn
’
t?”

“But—”

He brushed a kiss across her lips, stopping her protests. “It
’
s a lot and it
’
s happening real fast, I know. I don
’
t expect you to say you feel the same way too, but I
’
ve always known what I wanted and fought like hell to make it happen as fast as possible. It
’
s that stubbornness that helped me make my dream a reality when ninety-eight percent of players never get this far.”

He inhaled a ragged breath and shoved a hand through his short hair, watching her as though she
’
d disappear if he even so much as blinked. “And football was enough until I fell for a tiny little slip of a woman with an attitude bigger than the Thunder Dome. Being with you is the first thing I
’
ve ever wanted more in my life than to put on a pair of pads and tear it up on the football field. I
’
m ready to do whatever it takes—including, obviously, making a public spectacle of myself—to get you to give me another chance. It
’
s fourth and twenty here, I know that. But I
’
ve never given up even when the game clock was ticking down. I hope you won
’
t give up on us either.”

He took her hand and kissed the center of her palm, then placed it over his heart. “Angie, honey, say something.”

Fighting through the emotion squeezing her throat closed, she managed to get one word out. “Never.”

The hopeful expression on his face cracked like broken glass and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Never?”

Angie stepped onto her suitcase, bringing herself eye to eye with him, and took his face between her hands. “I
’
ll never give up on us. I love you.”

She pressed her lips to his to seal the promise, feeling the all-too-familiar zing that nearly set her hair on fire. Kissing Colt was like coming home after a long trip away. Familiar and new at the same time, with enough promise of forever to make her never want to stop.

He wound an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, deepening the kiss and making plenty of promises of his own. He was hers. She was his. And together, they were something more. By the time he pulled away, she was lightheaded with lust and hope and anticipation of what was going to happen next.

The fans cheered around them and there were plenty of catcalls.

Colt turned another five shades of red at being the center of the crowd
’
s attention, but he didn
’
t let her go.
“You get me to do the craziest things.”

“How did you even make this happen?” She looked around in awe. There had to be a hundred people who
’
d been in on the whole thing.

“I have Darius and Mystie to thank. They sent out a Thunder Dome Crew SOS and well,” he shrugged, “you see how it all turned out.”

He grabbed her suitcase with his good hand and led her to the elevator as everyone shouted their approval. The doors opened and they dashed inside, waving to Darius, Mystie and the fans as the doors closed. Finally alone, she turned and looked up at him. He was fabulous. A big public display like that couldn
’
t have been easy for a guy who hated groups of more the five people, but he
’
d done it
—for her. If she hadn
’
t already fallen for Colt, she would have in that moment.

She trailed her fingers up the inseam of his jeans and raised herself up to her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “So what do you do for an encore?”

Turning to face her, his delicious mouth only millimeters from hers, he flashed his best wicked grin. “How about we go back to my condo and I give you a private show—a command performance.”

Her hand rested on the growing bulge behind his zipper and she gave him a squeeze. “
Big words.
”

“You think I can
’
t?” He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, making her skin sizzle, then followed the path of her jaw to her ear. “That sounds like a dare to me.”

“
A hot dare.
” And one she didn
’
t mind accepting today, tomorrow and forever.