The Jock (11 page)

Sam
was more than prepared for Gwenyth's anger. He knew she'd be mad, maybe even
irate. But that was okay. He'd let her have her say, rage at him all she cared
to, then he'd push her onto the nearest bed and thrust inside of her, putting
him back where he belonged. They could work out Gwenyth's anger together,
between the sheets. As a couple. The way all problems should be worked out.

The
thought brought a smile to his lips.

"Why
are you so happy?"

Startled,
Sam's head shot up. He grinned and patted Harry on the back. "The real
question, Bro, is why aren't
you
happy? Looks like this dinner is going
to be a complete success."

Harry
sighed. He took a moment to greet two enthusiastic constituents before turning
back to Sam. "Granddad will be the death of me," he admitted
dejectedly.

Sam
chuckled. "Aw come on, Willy's not all that bad."

Harry
straightened to his full six feet and one inch. He snorted incredulously.
"He just told the mayor he knew where he could buy a more realistic
looking hairpiece from."

Sam's
chuckle transformed into an all out guffaw. "No kiddin'?" At Harry's
worried look, he patted him on the back again. "Look buddy, Brian and I
will smooth things over in that corner. Don't worry about it."

Harry
shook his head, not understanding. "Brian?"

"Brian
Goodman. Pitcher for the New England Crusaders."

Harry's
eyes lit up like a little boy who'd just been handed a Christmas present he
could open up early. "
The
Brian Goodman?
He's
here
?"

Sam
frowned. "You didn't get all that fired up excited to see
me
again,
Bro."

Harry
waved his hand impatiently. "You're family."

Family.

God,
that sure enough sounded good to Sam's ears. Only he was certain he was
thinking in different terms than Harry was. Sam's thoughts as of late had been
straying toward the possibility of making himself a
true
member of the
Jones family, not just an honorary one. As much as he had run from the idea of
marrying a second time in the past, the thought wasn't at all scary where Gwen
was concerned. Of course, those other women he'd dated just hadn't been his
Cupcake.

Sam
had to wonder what Gwenyth would think about marrying when they'd only been
reunited for less than a week. Something told him she'd never go for it. Gwen
would have to go off somewhere and "think about it"... probably until
they were too old to enjoy the benefits of getting shackled. He mentally rolled
his eyes. He was getting damn sick of Cupcake's thinking.

"I
can't believe it," Harry enthused, breaking Sam from his thoughts, "
The
Brian Goodman. Here. At my campaign dinner." He shook his head. "Too
much good fortune to believe."

Sam
frowned, his Southern lilt carrying a hint of annoyance. "Alright already.
He's not that great. In fact, I'm beginnin' to like him less and less."

"What
did I do now?"

Sam
turned on his heel, then grinned devilishly at his buddy Brian. Brian Goodman
was probably the only other person on planet earth Sam cared for as much as he
did the members of the Jones family. They'd been close friends for five years
now, meeting each other when Bri had been traded to the Crusaders.

They'd
had a lot of good times together, the two of them. Brian was the only guy on
the team who got chased as relentlessly by the ladies as Sam did, so they
understood each other at many levels. Of course, at six foot two and muscled as
all hell to boot, the blonde ballplayer was a good lookin' son of a gun, Sam
supposed. Hell, he didn't know. Other guys didn't really notice shit like that.
"What
didn't
you do, is usually the better question where your
name's involved, Bri."

Brian
smiled engagingly. He extended his hand to Harry and shook it. "Brian
Goodman. It's nice to meet you at last. I've heard a lot about you from
Sammy."

"Harry
Jones. And the feeling is mutual. Sam's told me a lot about you as well."
Harry grinned, immediately liking the pitcher on the spot. "You have to
stay long enough to meet my sister." He glanced over Brian's shoulder and
smiled. "She's the one in the black dress, walking this way now."

Sam's
ears perked up. It annoyed him to think he reacted to Gwenyth's arrival as a
dog would after being separated from its master all day. The woman was driving
him crazy. Just call him Fido and toss him a bone.

And
when he spotted Gwenyth—
lord have mercy
—he realized he had more in
common with Fido than he first thought. His mouth all but salivated at the
picture she made.

Her
dress was long, black, and slinky—the kind of dress men fantasize about taking
a woman out of. As she strolled toward them, smiling and waving at people en
route, he noticed the slit up the right side that opened when she moved,
showing off a sexily tanned leg. The front of the dress was cut low, causing
Gwenyth's cleavage to spill out provocatively without looking trashy. Her hair
was loose around her shoulders, falling in the sexiest, strawberry-scented
ringlets Sam's eyes had ever beheld.

He
was hard as a rock.

Brian
whistled through his teeth.
"That's
your
sister? Damn! Introduce
me!"

Sam
shot the pitcher a look that could hurl daggers. Startled by his friend's overt
jealousy, Brian quickly took the hint, but he couldn't stop the knowing grin
that spread across his face. Sam Trevianni was falling fast and hard for a
woman.

Harry
chuckled as he watched his sister amble toward the three of them. He hadn't
caught the look that signaled Sam's intense interest in Gwenyth, so he said
what was on his mind. "My sister has that effect on men. The interesting
thing about it is that Gwen honestly doesn't seem to notice."

Sam
couldn't stop the spurt of possessiveness that rose up from Harry's words.
"What do you mean she has that effect on men?" he bellowed.

Shocked
by his burst of temper, Harry's head snapped around to regard Sam. Sam took a
deep breath when he realized Harry had guessed his proclivity right on the
money. He could see it in his old pal's eyes. The man might be a bit of a
prude, but he was hardly stupid. Sam had never met a more intelligent guy than
Harry Jones.

Harry's
eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you sleeping with her?" he gritted
out. Sam shuffled on his feet and blew out another breath.

"Sweet
Jesus I don't believe it!" Harry fumed in a heated whisper, not wanting a
reporter to overhear their conversation. "Some best friend you turned out
to be!" he hissed.

"Now
wait a minute, Harry!—"

"No,
you
wait a minute!" Harry ran an agitated hand through his tawny
hair so much the color of Gwenyth's. "That woman out there happens to be
my sister, Sam.
My
sister
! She's not some goddamn groupie you can
just fuck and cast aside!"

Sam's
teeth clenched. He wanted to yell at the top of his lungs, as angry as he was
that Harry could believe he'd ever do that to Gwen. But no matter how pissed
off Harry was making him, he'd never jeopardize his friend's chances of going
to Capitol Hill. "I assure you that where Gwen is concerned my intentions
couldn't be more honorable."

That
sentence alone caused Brian's eyes to widen and took the sails right out of
Harry's steam. Neither of them had ever heard Sam say something like that about
another woman. Not ever. Not even regarding Stacy. "Are you serious,
Sam?" Harry asked softly. "You plan to marry Gwen?"

"Yes!"
Sam stated emphatically. And the more he thought on it, the more he knew the
statement was true. So what if they'd only been reunited for less than a week?
He and Gwen had known each other for over twenty-one years. "Just as soon
as I can get Cupcake to say yes," he qualified somewhat sheepishly.

Harry
and Brian both laughed at that. Harry clapped him on the back. "In that
case, you're forgiven." He raised his eyebrows in a teasing gesture of
mockery. "And good luck with Gwen."

Sam
grumbled something unintelligible along the lines of
thanks, I'll need it
.

Across
the room, Gwenyth was morosely aware of the fact that the closer she got to
Sam, the faster her heart began beating. And he looked oh so fine in his tux,
so sophisticated and polished. As the memories of their heated lovemaking rose
to the forefront of her brain, Gwenyth's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. She
turned to Candy for moral support, but then remembered that her best friend had
gone off to the ladies room "to tinkle", as Candy had so eloquently
phrased it.

Gwenyth
bit into her lip apprehensively. She'd have to approach the trio of men alone.
The two fair-haired men, including the one she didn't recognize, didn't
frighten her in the least. But the dark-haired, sinfully sexy one in the middle
certainly did.

Good
grief.

That
flight to LA couldn't begin boarding soon enough.

As
Gwenyth drew closer, she smiled warmly at the three handsome men, leaning up to
kiss her brother's cheek once she stood before him. "Congratulations
Harry. This evening is wonderful already."

Harry
smiled lovingly down at her. "Thanks for putting off the Vantrys long
enough to be here, Gwen. It means a lot to me."

Gwenyth
nodded then turned her gaze toward Sam. There was something belligerent about
his appearance tonight that reeked of danger, of possessiveness. He smiled down
at her, but the gesture didn't quite make it to his eyes. "You look
beautiful tonight, Cupcake."

Gwenyth
could feel herself blushing. She'd never gotten embarrassed when Sam called her
by his pet name for her in the past, but now that they had been sexual
together, the name seemed to take on a more intimate meaning. "Thank-you,
Sam. You look pretty handsome yourself."

Sam
inclined his head, then motioned to the stranger standing beside him.
"Gwen, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine. This is Brian Goodman.
He's a pitcher for the New England Crusaders. Brian, this is Gwenyth
Jones."

Brian
held out his large, callused hand and grasped Gwenyth's smaller one in it. He
gallantly raised her hand to his lips and kissed it sweetly. "A pleasure
to meet you, Gwenyth."

Gwenyth
grinned, already disarmed by the charming, handsome man. "Likewise. And
please, call me Gwen."

Sam's
eyes narrowed into menacing slits. Gwen only let people she liked call her by
the shortened version of her name. Unable to control the primitive need to
publicly brand Gwen as his own, Sam wrapped his well-muscled arm around her
shoulder in a gesture of unmistakable territorialism. "Are you hungry,
honey? It's almost time to eat."

Gwenyth's
eyebrows flew up in surprise. Sam was all but declaring them a couple before
her brother. She glanced nervously at Harry, but saw nothing condemning in his
expression. In fact, he looked rather pleased. "Yes, I am a bit
hungry," she stammered out. "But we have to wait for Candy before we
take our seats. She should be back any moment now."

Sam
caressed the nape of Gwenyth's neck in a way any outsider would have taken as a
symbol of normal affection for a girlfriend. Harry and Brian knew better. They
realized it for the possessive action it was. "Whatever you want,
Cupcake."

Sam's
jealous.

That
thought, as ludicrous as it would have seemed to Gwenyth only a few short days
ago, now seemed the highly probable answer. The skittish side of her nature
rebelled at the possibility that Sam was publicly staking claim to her. The
romantic, hopeful side of her nature was giddy with excitement about it.

Gwenyth
concentrated on steadying her breathing. She looked around the ballroom for
Candy to distract herself from the butterflies in her stomach. "There she
is." Gwenyth stood on tiptoe and waved across the ballroom to her best
friend.

Candy
waved back, then glided quickly toward them. She was all black hair and slinky
red dress. And she had Brian Goodman's undivided attention.

"Sam
Trevianni! Is that you?"

Sam
grinned at Candy as she came barreling toward him. He'd always liked Gwen's
best friend. She was a feisty little thing, and as good a friend to Gwen as any
person could ever be. "Well Candy Crawford, look at you." He released
his hold on Gwenyth's neck long enough to hug the romance author. "You grew
up to be as purdy as I don't know what."

Candy
kissed him on the cheek then turned to Harry and offered him the same greeting.
"Congratulations," she murmured before turning back to face Sam.

"What?"
Sam teased in mock horror, placing a hand over his heart. "Do my eyes
deceive me or are you actually
not
chewin' gum?"

Gwenyth
giggled. "I made her spit it out before we walked in."

"Ahh,
that explains it."

Candy
glowered at him, though her semi-smile made it impossible for him to take her
stern look seriously. "Married any emaciated women lately?"