Playing Dirty (38 page)

Lily’s children seemed nice enough. The Vermont dairy farmer daughter and her husband were a touch odd, but she’d enjoyed talking with the psych professor son. Griffen, on the other hand, declared she was a bit unsure about the whole blended family thing. But then, Griffen never had been fond of change.

Griffen leaned toward her and eyed the bowl dubiously. “Your soup is probably cold by now.” She picked up the spoon and poked it into the broth. “You might want to skim that coating of grease off the top first.”
 

Mattie’s stomach rolled. “You hush,” she said, feeling green just thinking about food, then took a tentative sip of ginger ale.
 

Griffen rubbed her hand over Mattie’s shoulder. “Were you this miserable when you were pregnant with Phoebe?” Griffen asked.

“You mean the morning sickness?”

“No,” Griff said. “Although I imagine that has got to be horrible, especially as bad as you had it.” She gave her a wry smile. “Have it. No, I mean just generally uncomfortable. I haven’t seen my feet in a month. My ass has tripled in size. My boobs could be used as flotation devices, and I’m starting to look as if I swallowed a torpedo. And I still have six more weeks to go.”

Mattie managed a mild chuckle. “I was never quite that miserable,” she admitted. “But you are having twins.”

“I’m trying to hold out until after the Super Bowl, but I don’t think my doctor will let me go that long.” Griffen took a drink of water from the crystal glassware. “And since I’m complaining, how did you miss out on the fun?”

“What are you talking about?” Mattie asked.

“Twins are supposed to skip a generation,” Griffen explained. “You had just as good of a chance as I did spawning multiples.”

Mattie fingered the fringe on the black, lacy shall she’d worn over the deep-red, sleeveless dress to at least attempt to hide her baby bump. “Who knows what’ll happen next time.”
 

“You’re braver than I am. With my luck, I’d probably end up with triplets,” Griffen said. “
If
we have a next time.”

Mattie shifted her attention to Ford, still talking with Jed over by the bar. There would be a next time, because she and Ford had discussed it. She didn’t plan on waiting very long to add to their growing family, either. She knew better than most that nothing in life came with guarantees.
 

She supposed Shannon and Gus McMillan were well aware of that fact, too. Not privy to all the details, she at least knew the mission had been successful and Gus was now stateside. From the little Ford had been able to share with her, the government’s initial assessment of the circumstances of Gus’s captivity had been grossly inaccurate. Gus never had been a willing participant, but was indeed a prisoner of the war on terror. Their friend had a long road ahead of him, but he was home with his family and the healing process was underway.

Mattie leaned closer to her sister. “I heard from Trenton,” she said, keeping her voice low.

Griffen’s eyebrows shot upward. “Seriously? When?”

“Yesterday,” Mattie said. “A package came for Phoebe. One of those dolls they release every year. Ford was
not
happy.”
 

“Can’t say I blame the guy.” Griffen downed more iced water. “Don’t get me wrong. I adored Trenton, but even you have to admit, after five months he suddenly shows up? Not cool.”

“He didn’t
show up
,” she said. “He’d sent Phoebe a Christmas gift.” But she did understand her husband’s reaction. The subject of Trenton Avery was still a touchy one. After checking into it, she’d discovered Trenton had reserved the doll for Phoebe months ago. The company rep she’d spoken to had apologized because the doll was supposed to have been delivered in time for Christmas. “Ford was
not
happy when I called Trenton’s office, either, but I thought I should at least thank him. But when I talked to his assistant, she told me he’s been on sabbatical all this time.”

The stunned look on Griffen’s face matched her own reaction when she’d received the news. “She said she had no idea where he is, because apparently,” Mattie continued, “he’s taken at least a year off from the firm.”

“Wasn’t he close to making partner?” Griffen shook her head. “Why would he jeopardize his career like that?”

Mattie looked away. Despite knowing she’d made the right choice, guilt still weighed on her. She’d hurt Trenton, and for that she was deeply sorry. She wished him only the best and hoped that he would eventually find his own forever.

“Oh, Stinkerbell. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to imply...”

“It’s okay,” she told her. “I thought the exact same thing.”

“Any idea where he might have gone?”

“Not really.” She knew he owned a cattle ranch somewhere in the southern part of the state that apparently had been in his family for generations. As the sole living heir, the ranch had become his responsibility some years before. But he’d never been fond of the ranching lifestyle, so he’d employed people to handle the daily operations.
 

“They’re looking mighty pleased with themselves,” Griffen said, indicating Jed and Ford as they headed in their direction.
 

“Wonder what they’re conspiring this time?” Mattie asked. Her husband and Jed had become solid friends over the past few months. She figured their friendship worked because Ford couldn’t care less that Jed was once a hot shot quarterback, and Jed wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the fact that Ford was a badass Navy SEAL. As Griffen was fond of saying, their husbands’ friendship was a match made in testosterone.
 

Ford came up behind her as the DJ slowed things down with an older Tim McGraw ballad. He settled his hands on her shoulders and gently massaged. “You stop and I’ll have to hurt you,” she said, letting her head fall forward as he rubbed at the small knot of tension at the base of her neck.
 

He leaned down and his warm breath fanned her neck, sending a delightful shiver chasing down her spine. “Up for a little dancing? I feel the need to hold my wife.”

“I’d love to,” she said and stood. “But no fast moves, sailor. In my current queasy condition, I won’t be held responsible for the continued good health of your shoes.”

She left her sister and Jed at the table as Ford guided her onto the dance floor, his hand resting on her lower back. Careful not to spin her around too quickly, he pulled her to him and held her close. He reached for her hand, but she looped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. “Before much longer, this kind of close won’t be possible,” she explained.

“Guess we’ll have to get creative,” he said as they swayed gently to the music.
 

“Did you call the sitter?” she asked him.

“I did,” he said. “The house is still standing, all glitter remains locked away, and believe it or not, our daughter was sound asleep before ten o’clock.”

“The babysitter deserves a raise. Seriously, the house is still standing? That alone is a miracle. What about Sophie?” Sophie was the newest addition to their family, a sweet-tempered, two-year-old Golden Retriever they’d acquired from an airman deploying to Afghanistan.
 

“Where she is every night. Asleep on Phoebe’s bed.”

She looked at her husband, at the desire starting to simmer in his piercing eyes, and her heart swelled with emotion. “I love you,” she said, then urged his head down for quick kiss.
 

Mattie knew in her heart she and Ford were truly fortunate. Regardless of the difficulties and emotional challenges, her husband hadn’t only come home to her, he’d come home whole. Not every military spouse was so lucky, and her heart went out to the ones whose forever had ended far too soon.
 

She and Ford were lucky. Their lives had only been derailed temporarily. Regardless of the pain, the darkness, the heartache they’d each suffered, she’d never stopped believing in their own happily-ever-after. She’d never stopped believing in forever.
 

* * *

Look for Trenton’s story in 2016

PLAYING ROUGH
A Texas Scoundrels Novel
Book 3

Don’t Miss Jed & Griffen’s Romance in

PLAYING FOR KEEPS
A Texas Scoundrels Novel
Book 1

ANY GAME WORTH PLAYING…

Bad boy quarterback Jed Maitland is on a downhill slide. After an injury threatens to end his superstar career, his lucrative endorsement deals are drying up and his coach is after him to train his replacement. And then Jed is sacked with the biggest surprise of his life—the son he never knew existed.

…IS WORTH PLAYING FOR KEEPS

Facing bankruptcy after her ex-husband wipes her out financially, Griffen Somerfield is convinced her life can’t become any more complicated—until she’s forced to deal with her adopted son’s biological father. The last thing she needs is a live hard, play harder legend turning her world upside down, but when Jed turns on the Maitland charm, Griffen finds it impossible to maintain a strong defense. After all, if Jed knows anything, it’s how to score.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ever since she heard her first fairy tale, Jamie Denton has been a staunch supporter of happily-ever-after. For her, there's nothing quite as heart-warming as the happy ending for a hero and heroine who overcome the odds. At the age of sixteen, Jamie married her high school sweetheart. Still happily wed nearly forty years later, she still recalls the first time she saw her future husband and knew, even at
that
tender age, he was
The One
. With a history like that, what else could she write except romances?

Jamie and her hero live with two very hairy Golden Retrievers in rural Pennsylvania. When she’s not writing, Jamie also works for a small law firm as a Paralegal, a job she loves almost as much as writing. She refills her creative well with gardening plans, a needlework project or trying out a new recipe in the kitchen. Occasionally, she can even be found curled up with a book (what else but a romance?) and her two fur-babies, Dudley and Maggie.

Visit Jamie’s website,
www.jamiedentonbooks.com
to read more about her books, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter. You can also find Jamie on Twitter @JamieDenton or
Facebook
.
 

MORE TITLES BY JAMIE DENTON

Texas Scoundrels

Playing for Keeps
Playing Dirty
Playing Rough (coming soon)

Educating Eden
Spellbound

Bliss, an Anthology

Berkley Publishing

The Promise of Love

Kensington Brava

How to be a Wicked Woman
The Matchmaker
Remain Silent

Dead Stop
Bodyguards in Bed

Harlequin Blaze
Sleeping with the Enemy (The FBI series)
Seduced by the Enemy (The FBI Series)

Stroke of Midnight (The NYE Series)

Ready to Wear (The NYE Series)
Absolute Pleasure (The FBI Series)

Hard to Handle (Lock & Key Trilogy)
My Guilty Pleasure (Martini Dares Series)

Harlequin Temptation

Flirting with Danger
The Seduction of Sydney
Valentine Fantasy (Fantasy for Hire Series)
Rules of Engagement (The Rules Series)

Breaking the Rules (The Rules Series)

Under the Covers
Slow Burn (Some Like It Hot Series)

Heatwave (Some Like It Hot Series)

Under Fire (Some Like It Hot Series)

Light Her Fire (Some Like It Hot Series)

Harlequin American Romance
The Biological Bond
 

Harlequin Duets
Making Mr. Right

Harlequin Superromance
The Secret Child