Offside (12 page)

They’d spoken before Patrick had put Casey to bed. Casey had cried, wanting her own bed. Her stuffies. Her mommy. Becky had heard Patrick in the background, losing patience, but his mother had taken the phone, promising to stay with Casey all night if that’s what it took. She’d called back to assure Becky that her daughter was fast asleep.

“Good. Nanny stayed with me all night,” Casey said distractedly. “We’re going to see a show with the dolphins now. Nanny told me I should call you to tell you how much fun I’m having.”

I love that woman.
Becky pressed her eyes shut and nodded. “I’m so happy to hear that. Call me tonight?”

“I will! Love you! Bye!”

Becky hung up, put her phone in her pocket, then lowered her head to her hands. She had a hard time believing everything was okay. She’d prepared for the worst and the relief lifted her up, making her dizzy. Maybe she didn’t have to feel guilty about enjoying herself while her daughter was gone. She smiled at Zach.

“That’s what I like to see.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Ready to go to the park?”

“Yes.” She glanced over to Zach’s bike, parked in front of the café. A man sitting at the table at the edge of the terrace, hands clasped around a large iced coffee, caught her eye. It was Scott. Dressed in a crisp new suit, looking like death warmed over. She hesitated, glancing back at Zach, who’d followed her gaze and gone perfectly still. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Zach groaned and tipped his head back, whispering a prayer to the frothy white cotton-clouded sky. “Probably. But you do know we’ll both regret this.”

“Maybe not.” Becky stood, easing her hand slowly from Zach’s. “I know we’ll both regret it more if we leave him here like this.”

“Would we? I was perfectly happy knowing I would spend the rest of the day with you.”

“You’re mad at him.”

“No. He’s made his choices. I’ve made mine.” Zach arched a brow at her doubtful look. “Becky, I try to keep my life as uncomplicated as possible. There’s nothing uncomplicated about Scott.”

“There’s nothing uncomplicated about a woman with a child.”

“It’s not the same. I don’t have to worry about finding you in the arms of another man. Of you telling me you want me one day, then leaving me the next.” Zach raked his nails over the stubble of hair on his scalp. Creases lined his forehead. “You know exactly what he’ll want from you. What he’ll want from us both.”

“Who says we have to give it to him? Who says that’s what he really needs?” Becky leaned over the table, close to Zach, and kissed his cheek. “I’ll pretend I didn’t see him if you ask me to, Sir. I’m happy spending the day with you, too.”

“But you’ll feel guilty.” Zach groaned. “And so will I. I suppose it won’t hurt to make sure he’s okay.”

Straightening, Becky nodded, then moved toward Scott’s table, feeling stronger with Zach behind her. There was nothing Scott could offer that she didn’t already have. But there was a lot that she could offer him. Someone to talk to. Someone who cared.

Why do you, though? The man’s selfish. Shallow. You don’t need someone like him in your life.

For some reason, none of that mattered. Overnight, Zach had given her a sense of stability that made her less afraid of the chaos that was Scott. Nothing he could say or do could shake her. She approached his table, then took the seat across from him.

“Hey, you.” She folded her hands on the table. “Having a rough morning?”

Scott snorted before sucking at his straw. He licked his lips, then shrugged. “No comment.”

Ugh. So much for being pleasant.
“I’m not a reporter anymore, Scott. This isn’t an interview—I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I’ll leave you alone if you don’t want to—”

“Wait.” He put his hand over hers, glanced at Zach, then drew it away. “Sorry, I’m in a mood. You don’t have to go.”

“Bad news?” Zach asked, dragging a chair up to the table to straddle backward. Becky couldn’t help but notice he’d set his chair close to hers, but not cutting into the small space between her and Scott. He rested his hands on his thighs. “You had that meeting with Keane today, right?”

“Yeah.” Scott put down his cup. The edges of his lips curled slightly. “Was all right. I’m not off the team.”

Zach grinned. “That’s awe—”

“
Yet
.”

“What do you mean ‘yet’? Don’t tell me the bastard’s trying to fuck around with your contract. Silver got you for a bargain.” Zach lowered his voice as a few of the other patrons glanced over. He hadn’t shouted, but the sharpness of his tone carried. “Your agent is an idiot if he’s letting this slide. Let me talk to mine. She’s a—”

Scott barked out a laugh. “She’s a vicious little thing. She’s also not taking on any new clients—Carter tried to hire her last year. I’m fine with my agent—he’s done everything he can for me.”

Becky nodded slowly. She’d heard some rumors her first day at the office about Silver’s lawyer, Asher, acquiring an image consultant. No one could deny Scott’s value as a player, but he was also a liability. “What does Mr. Keane want you to do?”

“Short version?” Scott sucked his teeth. “Behave. I have to make the team and the fans love me.”

“Jesus,” Zach said under his breath. Becky smacked his thigh and he blinked at her. “What?”

“That’s not helpful.”

“Sweetheart, I’ll do whatever I can to keep Scott on the team, but there’s no use pretending it will be easy.” Zach turned to Scott, then reached out to clasp a hand around the other man’s wrist. “Tell me what you need. I’ll talk to the guys. Some of them are cool with you. We can work on the others.”

“Why?” Scott swallowed hard, his gaze locked on Zach’s hand. “You don’t owe me nothin’.”

“You’re my teammate. And more importantly . . .” Zach waited until Scott met his eyes, then continued. “My friend.”

This man is incredible.
Becky squeezed the thigh she’d smacked, smiling at Zach.

“Thanks, man.” Scott slid his wrist from Zach’s grip, then took hold of his hand in a way that was little more than a friendly handshake. He gave a wry grin, before pulling away and shook his head. “There’s not much to do besides listen to each and every thing my IC tells me to do. Like the suit?”

Zach arched a brow. “I noticed your shoes.”

“You would.”

“Fuck off.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “You clean up very nicely, Scott. The tie brings out your tan. But . . .” She glanced over at Zach, not sure if she was doing the right thing. Hopefully, he’d understand. “It’s too nice out for such a stuffy outfit. Maybe what you need is some time to relax. Hang out for a bit.”

“
I
noticed you’re not all primped and pressed.” Scott gave her an appreciative once-over, cheeks reddening slightly as he looked over at Zach yet again. He dropped his gaze to his drink. “I mean, you look nice. Hope you two have a nice day. I should—”

“Did you miss the invite, pal?” Zach laughed and punched Scott in the shoulder. “Becky wants you to come with us.”

“I didn’t miss it.” Scott returned the punch. “I was trying to discreetly excuse myself. You two don’t need me hanging around.”

“We wouldn’t have asked if we didn’t want your company.” Becky pointed out.

“He didn’t ask.
You
did.”

Zach stood slowly, leaning one hand on the table in front of Scott. “I’m asking now.”

Picking up the pastry boxes, Becky eased out of her chair, hugging the boxes as Scott pressed his eyes shut and rubbed his brow with his thumb and forefinger. He mumbled to himself, something like, “This is a bad idea.”

He was probably right. The invitation could mean a lot more to him than it did to either her or Zach. But, at the same time, she couldn’t stand seeing him like this. For some crazy reason, she wanted the aggravating, outrageously flirty Scott back.

Do you? Really?

Yes and no. She knew how to deal with that man. How to turn her back on him. But she couldn’t do the same when he looked so broken. So lost.

And he couldn’t seem to believe anyone would want him around.

But she did. She had a feeling Zach did too.

So she met Scott’s eyes and whispered, “Please?”

“Hell.” Scott rose and took the boxes from her. “Like I could say no to you.”

* * * *

The scream of little kids in the park across from the picnic area rose above the laughter of teens lounging around, smoking near the trees, and the light conversation from the adults seated at the table around them. Several young women had stretched out on blankets on the grass to tan, but Scott hardly noticed them. Damn it, it was almost impossible to look away from Becky, giggling as Zach fed her bits of pastry, making her close her eyes as he picked a new one each time. In the suits she always wore she’d been hot, but there was something sweeter, more approachable, about her in jeans and a T-shirt.

She was still sexy as hell. The way the white shirt molded to her breasts made his mouth water. Her jeans were nice and snug. She had an ass he just wanted to sink his teeth into.

But for the first time, he found himself drawn to her soft grey eyes, to her smile. She practically glowed every time Zach spoke to her, touched her. The two looked good together.

“Want some?” Becky giggled, rising up on the bench across from him, holding half a rum ball between her fingers. His brain didn’t kick in until he’d latched on to her wrist and drew her hand closer. The rich chocolate filled his mouth. He groaned as he sucked some from her fingers. Her eyes widened.

“Fuck.” He pulled away, chewing and swallowing, hardly tasting the treat anymore. Tension gathered between his eyes as he glanced over at Zach, whose expression was carefully neutral. After the way he’d treated the man, the last thing he should be doing now was hitting on his woman. Even unintentionally. Not if he valued their friendship. Which he did. “Sorry.”

Zach shrugged, picked up a croissant drizzled in chocolate, and eyed Scott, as though considering something very serious. He tore a big chunk of the croissant, leaned over the table, feeding it to Scott when his lips automatically parted. “Not sure I’ve ever heard you say that before. It’s all innocent fun. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.”

Innocent?
Scott gulped down the croissant without chewing. “You’ve gotta test me?”

“You’re supposed to behave. Consider this me helping you out.”

Thanks, buddy.
Scott shifted, trying to adjust his rock-hard dick without making it obvious. Becky and Zach were like a bundle of temptation, wrapped up in a great big hellish bow. He wasn’t used to teasing and flirting directed at him when he couldn’t do fuck all about it. So much for being a third wheel. The two of them seemed to have made an afternoon sport of driving him completely insane.

He took off his suit jacket, laid it neatly over the bench, then stood. Zach had brought a football from his car, so he picked it up and slapped it between his hands. “We didn’t come here just to stuff each other’s faces, did we?”

“Nope.” Zach stepped over the bench, wiping his hands on his jeans. He rolled his shoulders, and all the tight swell of muscle under his black tank top strained against the material. Scott lowered his gaze so he wouldn’t be distracted by the sight, but seeing Zach just as hard as he was beneath his jeans didn’t help much. He was on a strict no-man diet—being close to Zach made him want to fucking binge. He bit the tip of his tongue to stop himself from making a million promises, saying anything the man needed to hear to take him back, even though he knew he couldn’t keep a single one.

Zach deserved better. Had better. All those sappy songs talked about . . . about loving someone enough to want the best for them. Or some shit like that.

Scott couldn’t say he loved Zach, but he cared about him enough not to push. Not to lie. Zach was being a good friend, and Scott would take what he could get. Show the self-control everyone was demanding from him.

“So how we playing this?” Zach moved closer to Becky, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her forehead before holding his hand up for the ball. After Scott tossed it to him, he handed it to Becky. “Every man—and woman—for themselves? Make it to the tree line for a touchdown?”

“That means no passing. Which sucks.” Becky wrinkled her nose. “How about we pass back and forth. Start close, then move farther apart after each round. We switch spots every second round, and only the person the farthest from the goal can go for it. Two points each touchdown. The first to ten wins.”

Zach gave her a crooked smile. “You’ve done this before.”

“Of course. Landon and I used to play with our cousins all the time, but there were rarely enough of us for a real game. So we made one up.”

“Touch or tackle?” Scott asked, then inwardly cursed himself. Neither would do much for his restraint right now. If he got his hands on either of them . . .

Not that there were any other options. At least with touch he might be able to contain himself. A little. Maybe.

“Tackle of course.” Becky sniffed. “Just don’t crush me. You two are huge, and I didn’t have to worry about my brother hurting me when we played. He was a scrawny kid.”

“Really?” Scott laughed, trying to picture the hulking goaltender as a boy, playing a rough game of football with his older sister. “I’d love to see pics.”

“I’ll show you after I unpack.” Becky rolled her shoulders. “So are we clear? I don’t want to be sore tonight.”

Christ. Please stop talking.
Scott thought of all the ways he wanted to make her sore, none of which she’d regret the next morning.

“Neither of us would ever hurt you, Becky,” Zach said softly. “Thank you for not trying to be all tough. We won’t forget we’re playing with a woman.”

Becky backed up about ten paces, letting out a light laugh as she threw the ball to Zach. It spiraled perfectly, and Zach grunted as it hit him hard in the gut, barely moving in time to catch the hard pass.

“Don’t take it
too
easy on me.” Becky cracked her knuckles over her head. “I won’t be taking it easy on you.”