The Rookie: Book 2 The Last Play Series (14 page)

C
harity listened
to the hammering all morning. It was accompanied by Shelia’s ridiculous amounts of praising and periodic giggles from the girls as they followed Legend around the B and B handing him tools and striking ridiculous Victoria Secret poses.

It drove her so crazy that by eleven she had to get out for a run. She tried to slip out the back, but Legend was in the kitchen eating a sandwich and chatting with Shelia while the girls had gone out to do some shopping.

“Hey.” He lit up as she entered the room. Then he frowned eyeing her spandex running shorts and tank top. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She stuck her nose into the air, feeling suddenly very out-bodied by the other girls. “I’m going for a run.”

He slid the chair back, taking the napkin and dabbing the sides of his mouth before throwing back the bottle of water. “I’m coming too.”

“No.” She pushed out the door, starting into a trot. The last thing she wanted was him distracting her.

He was beside her in an instant.

“You’re in jeans and flip-flops.” She was annoyed by how much she wanted to reach out and touch that always perfect facial hair. “You want to show off?”

Turning around, he moved in front of her, running backwards. “You mean show off because this is what I do all day, every day?”

Not liking that he was taunting her, but liking that he was with her instead of the sorority sisters, she stared him in the eyes. “So Katrina magically appears the day before you sign for millions of dollars. What a coincidence.”

Appearing to let the observation roll off him, he smiled. “I don’t care about Katrina.”

“Mmm….hmmm.”

Turning back, he fell into a jog next to her. “Well, you see, I kind of like this one girl I met this week that fights with me all the time.”

Ignoring the stir in her gut that always came when he was around, she shrugged. “Why would this girl you like want to be part of all the catty girl fights and stupid competition for you football players? Seems like more of a hassle than it’s worth if you ask me. I mean, she’d always have to be going to events and strutting around as arm candy.”

Legend didn’t speak for a few minutes. “Yeah, I guess that would kinda suck for her unless…”

“Unless what?”

He stopped, taking her by the shoulders. “Unless I had someone that wanted to be with me. Like on a permanent basis.”

Clearly blind-sided, she sucked in a gulp of air. She glared at him. “What are you saying, Legend?”

He kept her against him, breathing harder and moving closer. She got sucked up in his smell, in his desire. “I’m saying I’m tired of games, Charity Agnes Saint, otherwise known as Rookie. Come to Dallas and be with me.”

She was kinda freaking out.

“Rook?”

How could she even be kind of considering it? Hyper manic panic shot through her entire body. “You know, and I now,
The
New York Times
is the gold standard.” She said on autopilot.

“So you’d never go to Dallas?”

“I’m going to New York.” She insisted. She couldn’t believe this. Abruptly everything felt crazy. She turned back toward the house her run forgotten.

“You don’t have to answer right now. Think about it.”

She glanced at him. At his beautiful gold-flecked green eyes. At the stupid grin on his face. “Why would I do that?”

His face sobered. “To be with me. To…marry me.”

Now all of her senses were on overload. M-marry him?

He laughed, and they turned the last block toward the Bed and Breakfast. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since you yelled at me on those steps.” He nodded to the house. “Something changed inside of me.”

She didn’t know whether to laugh or scream.

But she didn’t do either because when they turned the corner and started up the cobblestone steps…Paul was there.

I
t was
a mistake to go to the Karaoke place, Legend could feel it in his bones. Nothing had felt right since
he’d
shown up. Of course he’d invited Paul to come with them to Karaoke. What else was he supposed to do?

Katrina was hooked to Legend’s side. Their arms were linked, like he was some kind of possession that wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without her. She kept yip laughing with the girls, and they definitely did their part to fawn all over him.

Dislodging himself from Katrina, he chose a seat next to Charity. He grinned at her. “You look great by the way.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why we’re here.”

He took one of her hands. “Let’s leave,” he challenged.

Her cheeks blushed. “And take you away from the ex?”

He shrugged. “You know I don’t want her. Where’s
your
ex by the way?”

Shaking her head. “I don’t know if he’s coming.”

Legend had officially shaken Paul’s hand. What he’d really wanted was to crush it into little bitty bones, but he’d refrained. Then he’d excused himself and told her he’d see her at eight.

Charity had looked like she’d seen a ghost at that point, only nodding to him and staring at Paul. At least she was letting Legend hold her hand right now, but he wondered what had happened with Paul.

She kept her eyes on the table. “He says he’ll do anything I want. He wants me back.”

Unnerving anger washed through him. “And what did you say?”

She grinned, her eyes glowing with pride. “I told him to kiss off, and it felt great.”

Legend laughed, relief pouring into him. “You did?”

She let out a sigh. “Ya know, I got stuck being Paul’s girlfriend for eight years. I finally told him what I should have told him a long time ago.”

“What’s that?”

“He wasn’t worth it.”

Another laugh slipped out of him, and he squeezed her hand. “Nice, Rook. I mean, if you would have added one of your patented slaps, that would have been good, too.”

She rolled her eyes and grinned. “I didn’t get to slap you.”

He chug laughed. “Well, when you have reflexes like superman, nothing gets past you.”

“Arg. Here we go,” She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t contain a laugh.

He stared into her eyes. “I’m happy for you, really.”

“I’m finally just starting to realize all my hopes, all my dreams.” She let out a breath. “I have something I want. For myself. Without him.”

“
The
New York Times
,” he muttered.

“Exactly.”

He felt like he was watching everything precipitously unravel. The ball was being thrown to the wrong player. It wasn’t right. “But…” He stared at her face. So beautiful. He saw her blue eyes and the determination in them. He’d seen that look everyday when he’d looked into the mirror. “I get it.”

“You do?”

He let out a breath. “And I think you should do it.”

“You do?”

He grinned. “Finish the article. Go work at
The
New York Times
. If that’s what you want.”

Her eyes fluttered like she was trying to figure everything out.

“We’ll make it work. I want to be with you.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I couldn’t do that to you. Long distance relationships are hard.”

Staring into her eyes, he shrugged. “I could make a trade.”

After giving him a wide-eyed look, she scoffed. “No you couldn’t.”

“I could if I wanted.”

“Yeah, if you wanted to commit career suicide.”

“You’re not the boss of me Charity No Middle Name.” He winked. “But let’s not put the whole trade thing in the article quite yet, I have to make some calls first.”

She laughed. “Is this really happening between us?”

Excitement filled him. “Do you still have the ticket for next Saturday?”

“Yes.”

“Good, meet me then, and we’ll celebrate and talk more about everything.”

“Legend, I don’t know if I can get away with everything that’s going on here.”

He shook his head. “I got it covered. I talked to Shelia already. She’ll take care of the Bed and Breakfast. Plus, your grandpa thinks you should go too.”

“What?”

Liking this feeling of having her grandpa on his side, he wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ve discussed it. Apparently, he heard more when he wasn’t waking up than we thought.”

She laughed. “Shut up!”

He laughed, loving being with her.

“Legend!” Three of the girls plus Katrina moved to him and pulled him up on the stage.

“Hold up.” Legend stopped their progression, turning to Charity and putting out a hand. “We have to do this first one together.”

He motioned to Charity to go up with him. “I called ahead to get this one first.”

Shaking her head, she joined him on the stage, unable to contain her joy.

The music blared out. “
It’s been a hard day’s night
…”

She laughed and took a mic, and they both sang along. All Legend knew as he watched her was that he would be with her if it was the last thing he did.

Then, without warning, a loud screeching sound came over the stereo, and Legend felt like he’d been sucker punched. Over the speakers came the song he and Katrina had called ‘their song.’

Out of nowhere Katrina came out to the middle of the stage, easily taking Charity’s microphone and insisting he sing with her. Not wanting to make a scene, Legend agreed.

G
etting shoved
out of the spotlight had been more of an inconvenience. What did Charity care if Legend’s annoying ex wanted to steal the stage? She was fine waiting until the song was over.

Charity hopped off the front of the stage, slightly annoyed at Katrina, but not worried that Legend even liked her.

“Hey.”

Startled, Charity registered Paul in front of her.

“What are you doing here?”

Paul’s hair had grown longer. Now it hung down into his eyes and the sides were shaved. He was extremely tan and seemed to have shed twenty pounds within the last eight months. He looked good. “I was invited.”

Like she could brain erase the vision of he and that local girl in a full on lip lock. She frowned. “I told you I’m done, Paul. Consider yourself uninvited,..”

He caught her wrist just as she pushed through the crowd to get away from him. “I’m sorry, Charity. I came to apologize. I know you’re over me, but I wanted to make things right.”

Flinging back, she stared at her wrist. “Let go,” she commanded. Then she glanced up at Legend. He and Katrina were all out singing, and he was smiling down at her.

A weird shiver pulsed through her. Jealously. At that moment she was completely jealous of Katrina.

Then it got worse.

The next thing that happened made Charity wish she’d never written any articles about Legend George James.

The song ended, and Katrina turned, pulling Legend into a kiss.

Knowing their history, and the kind of girl Katrina was, would have been enough for Charity to believe that it was all her. And then it got worse because Katrina pulled him closer and he didn’t seem to mind at all.

The crowd, especially all of Katrina’s friends, cheered as if the Berlin Wall had come down and people were being set free.

Her heart began to pound, and for a second, she felt dizzy. It was as if everything Legend had just told her was a lie. The past week, being with him… All she saw was betrayal. She pushed through the crowd until she got to the front door, unable to be in that room one more second.

Paul followed her out. “Wait!”

Tears burned her eyes. Tears that she hated, tears that were a complete farce like the rest of her love life.

“Wait!”

She flung back. “Go away!”

He pursued her anyway. “Charity, what’s wrong?”

Going into a full out run, she got three blocks away before Paul caught her.

“Are you with that guy?”

She quit running, putting her hands on her head and ignoring Paul.

“Charity!”

She glared at him. “It doesn’t matter.”

Paul took her by the shoulders. “We were friends a long time before we were together, and you will always matter to me.”

Her heart pounded into her ears. Confusion filled her. Legend had just asked her to marry him. Was it all some insane lie? Her reporter brain took over. Why had he stayed in Park City with her? Why had Katrina been staying at her Bed and Breakfast? None of it made sense.

Paul took her hand. “He hurt you, didn’t he? Who is he?”

Leave it to Paul not to recognize Legend James. This made her let out a ridiculous scoff. “The only person on the planet that wouldn’t know would be you.” She didn’t yank her hand back. Paul had been her friend forever.

He put her hand between both of his. “I’m sorry for what I did, Char. You have to believe it when I tell you I’ve tortured myself these past months.”

She looked down at her hand in his. So many nights she’d dreamed of him coming back and apologizing and wanting her back. So many times she’d woken in the morning with tears and a headache. She’d loved him. There had only been him.

He was here and it was happening, but it felt wrong now. This wasn’t her dream anymore. Her new dream had just become her old nightmare, and the stabbing pain in her heart was back. She put her hand on her chest. “Paul, everything’s different now.”

Tugging her into a hug, he took her hair and pulled it back from her face and then held it behind her back. It was something he’d always done, and with that gesture, it all came rushing back to her.

Him. Loving her. The safety she felt with him.

“Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s okay, Char. Shh.” He began kneading her shoulders and neck, as he always had, following a path down her back.

Her eyes were closed, and she was trying to shuffle through her mind, decipher truth from this messed up reality. “I can’t do this, Paul.” She needed to get home and get in her bed.

The adage ‘the sun will come up tomorrow’ ran through her mind, and she began crying harder.

Legend. Pain burned into her. Had she really just fallen in love, trusted someone, and been cheated on all over again?