“It’s not what I set out to have with Lizzie. It was just supposed to be something fun.”
“Have you been having fun with her?”
“Yes.”
“So what happened?”
“No clue. I guess somewhere along the way something happened.”
“Something like . . . love?”
He’d never wanted that to enter the picture. Not with Elizabeth. But maybe it had, and he just hadn’t realized it. He sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it with his mother. “I don’t know, Mom. Honestly, I don’t know. I feel something for her. I don’t know what it is.”
“Maybe it’s time you stop running away from it and figure it out.”
“I don’t know if I want to. Elizabeth isn’t easy.”
She laughed. “Neither, my sweet boy, are you.”
THE SECOND GAME WAS WELL UNDER WAY BY THE TIME Gavin joined his dad in the living room.
They sat in silence and watched for a while. Mick and Tara had gone home, and Jenna was at the bar.
The Rivers were behind one run in the seventh inning. The middle of the order was up to bat.
“Your replacement is two for three so far in this game. Stole a base in the third, and drove in a run in the fifth.”
“That’s good. Let’s hope we can win.”
More silence while one player hit a grounder to third for the first out, and the second batter popped out to right field.
Stallings was up next. Gavin leaned forward to study the kid. Decent batting stance; wasn’t afraid of the pitcher’s curveball or his fastball. Wasn’t fooled easily as he took two balls and one strike. When a pitch came sailing over the plate, he launched it over the left field fence for a home run.
Shit. The kid was good.
“Too bad there wasn’t anyone on base,” his dad said.
“Yeah. Too bad.”
Gavin leaned back.
“Saw Elizabeth hightailing it out of here earlier. You piss her off?”
“No. Mick did.”
“About?”
“Don’t worry about it, Dad. You just need to rest.”
His dad leaned forward. “Stop treating me like an invalid. I never had high blood pressure so it’s not like I’m going to explode over here.”
Gavin glanced over to his mother, who was sitting in her chair sewing something by hand. She didn’t look concerned or give him a warning look. In fact, she didn’t look up at all.
“Well?”
“Elizabeth suggested I get back to the game. Mick accused her of trying to manipulate me for her own personal gain.”
His dad snorted. “Your brother isn’t thinking clearly where Elizabeth is concerned, and it’s damn time he got over it already. And didn’t I tell you the same thing? That kid is looking like a hotshot at first base. I’ll bet he makes a damn site less than you do, too.”
Gavin sank into the chair and didn’t say anything. The Rivers were out as the next batter swung on a good pitch.
“So what did you say while Mick was reading the riot act to Elizabeth?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re dating her, and you didn’t defend her?”
Gavin felt like he was eight years old again. Getting a lecture from his dad had never felt good then, and it didn’t now. “No.”
“Because you think she’s manipulating you, that she only cares about your career and not you?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“And here I thought I raised smart boys. Right now I’m thinking you’re both dumber than dirt.”
Right now that’s about how Gavin felt.
TWENTY-ONE
IF ELIZABETH WOULD HAVE HAD HER WITS ABOUT HER, she could have gone toe-to-toe with Mick. She never let athletes knock her on her ass. If they got in her face, she got right back in theirs. So why had she let Mick do that to her? She should have stood up to him and told him exactly how he was wrong in his thinking. And then told him to stick his opinions about her up his ass once and for all, because she was tired of hearing them.
Dammit.
It was because of Gavin. Okay, and also because she didn’t want to cause World War III at his parents’ house. Not with his dad recovering. She’d never do anything to upset him.
She pulled into the parking lot at Riley’s bar, not sure what the hell she was doing here. Hadn’t she had enough Rileys for a while? Did she need to get her ass kicked by yet another one?
Maybe she was a glutton for punishment. After all, Jenna hadn’t read her the riot act yet. Might as well let her have a turn.
It was mid-week, so a quiet night. She found Jenna at the bar tending to a few customers who seemed to be regulars. Jenna, dressed in a black tank top and jeans, was talking up her customers, so Elizabeth took a seat at the end of the bar. Jenna made her way over.
“Someone kick your puppy?”
“Your brothers suck.”
She snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know. What would you like?”
“A decent glass of wine. You choose.”
“You got it.”
Jenna poured a glass of red and set it down in front of Elizabeth. “Okay, I can give you a long list of why I think my brothers are assholes, but this isn’t my party. You tell my why
you
think so.”
She took a sip of the wine. “This is excellent.”
“Of course it is. It’s what I do. Now spill.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take their side?”
Jenna leaned against the bar and cocked a grin. “Rarely.”
“Gavin’s been restless since your dad’s surgery. Watching the game today, I could tell seeing that first baseman they brought up bothered him. The kid is talented, and I know Gavin feels threatened. Since your dad is recovering so well, I told him maybe he should go back to work. And Mick jumped all over me saying I had ulterior motives.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Isn’t he over that yet?”
“Apparently not. The worst part was that Gavin stood by and didn’t say a word while Mick was reading me the riot act about how I was only interested in lining my own pockets at Gavin’s expense.”
Jenna looked livid. “What a dick. You’re right. They both suck.”
Elizabeth laughed, raised her glass, and tilted it toward Jenna before taking another sip. “And here I thought I might be making a mistake by coming here and venting to you, since you’re their sister.”
“Hey, I’ll defend my brothers to the death when they’re right. Problem is, they rarely are. They’re men; therefore, they have the testosterone disadvantage. Screws them every time.”
“I hope that’s not a mark against everyone in my gender.”
Elizabeth swiveled on her barstool and grinned at Ty Anderson. “Hey, Ty. What brings you here?”
“Stopping in for a drink and spotted you right off. Can I sit down or is this a male-bashing party?”
Elizabeth looked at Jenna, who shrugged. “It’s your male-bashing party, Liz. They’re just my brothers, and I’m always happy to play along.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Ty, this is Jenna Riley, Gavin’s sister. Jenna, this is Tyler Anderson. He plays hockey for the Ice.”
“Ah. Nice to meet you, Jenna.”
Jenna studied Ty, then sighed. “Another sports jock. My heart goes pitter-patter.”
He grinned. “A fan, huh?”
“Yeah, you know it.”
Elizabeth laughed and turned to Ty. “I think she gets bombarded with all the players here because of Mick and Gavin.”
“Uh-huh. So I’m damned before I even start, huh?”
“Afraid so, cowboy. What’ll it be?”
“I’ll have a beer. Bottled. Not light.”
“Careful there, Ty,” Jenna said as she popped the top off and slid the bottle to him. “Don’t want to put on too much weight, or you’ll have trouble holding your stick.”
He grabbed the bottle and held it to his lips. “Never had any complaints about my abilities with my stick so far.”
Jenna arched a brow. “And you’re here alone? With that charm? Shocking.”
While Jenna went off to tend to one of her customers, Ty turned to Elizabeth. “Who pissed in her corn flakes?”
“She’s always tough on the guys in here. It comes from having famous brothers and fending off all the jocks, plus coming from a family that lives for sports. I don’t think guys like you are her type.”
Ty took a long pull from the bottle, his gaze trained on Jenna as she worked the bar. “Fine with me since she isn’t my type, either.”
“Is that right?” Elizabeth studied Jenna’s short dark hair, slender body, tattoos, and multiple ear piercings. She thought Jenna was sexy and adorable. “What about her isn’t your type?”
“I like them with big tits.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. From the way Ty hadn’t once taken his eyes off Jenna, she figured Ty was full of shit and just hadn’t enjoyed getting shot down.
“I think I’ll go try my luck with darts. See you later, Elizabeth.”
“Later, Ty.”
Elizabeth emptied her wineglass, and Jenna was there to refill.
“Another egocentric jock. Just what Riley’s needs.”
“Huh? Oh, you mean Ty?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s actually a pretty nice guy once you give him a chance.”
“One of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Not my type.”
Grateful to be discussing something other than herself and her miserable relationship with Gavin, Elizabeth asked, “Oh, really. And what is your type, Jenna?”
She laid her palms against the bar. “I like them cerebral. Poetic. Book smart. Lyrical. Musical. And interested in anything other than sports. Growing up with sports and being surrounded by them in this bar, I prefer to be with a man whose focus is on anything but.”
“I can understand that. So you go for the office types or the teacher types. Or maybe a lawyer.”
“I don’t care what he does for a living as long as we don’t have to talk about sports when we’re together.”
But Jenna’s gaze strayed to Ty while she wiped down the surface of the bar. Elizabeth turned and watched Ty, now involved in a game of pool with a few other guys. His jeans stretched across his mighty fine ass as he leaned across the table to take a shot. His tight T-shirt showed off his bulging biceps, and Jenna would have to be dead not to notice.
As Elizabeth turned to face the bar, it was clear Jenna was noticing.
“Ty’s not your type, huh?”
Jenna shrugged. “He has a great ass and that bad boy look that gets my panties wet. It’s been a dry spell. I’m human. But I still don’t date jocks. Too bad, because I could definitely take someone like him for a spin.”
“I’m sure he’d take you up on your offer, too. He was giving you the eye when you weren’t looking.”
Jenna gave him another quick glance, then sighed. “Why does this place attract so many guys like him? Maybe we should do some kind of promotion to attract the men I want to date, instead of the ones I don’t.”
“That’s a good idea. You should come up with something.”
“Yeah,” Jenna said, her lips curving. “In my spare time.”
“I could help you. I’m kind of good with promotional stuff.”
Jenna leaned over the bar. “That’s true. It is your area. But you’re probably busy.”
“Not that busy. I’d love to help.”
“You’re just trying to avoid everything Gavin.”
“You’re right. I am.” She lifted her glass and took a drink.
“So how are you going to solve that particular problem?”
“I have no idea what to do. I don’t think he trusts me. And I don’t honestly know how he feels about me. Being his agent and being in love with him is screwing everything up, both professionally and personally.”
“How so?”
“As his agent, I should be kicking his ass back to the game. He’s been gone way too long. As the woman who loves him, I understand how he feels. I’m empathetic to his concern about your dad and his need to be here.”
“My dad is recovering just fine, getting stronger every day. This whole thing scared the shit out of all of us, so we’re naturally hovering.”
“That’s to be expected, I think. It scared me, too. I love your parents.”
Jenna smiled and reached for her hand. “I know you do. You’ve been family for a long time.”
“But he is recovering well, and you all take such good care of him. And Gavin’s restless. I can see it, can feel the tension in him. He watches the game and he knows he needs to get back to it, but something’s holding him back. A sense of responsibility coupled with the fear that if he’s gone, something bad will happen.”
“So go put your agent hat on and kick his ass back to work. You’re just going to have to realize that sometimes you can’t be both girlfriend and agent. Sometimes you just have to be his agent and make him see that it’s time to do his job.”
She sighed. “Or I might find out that I can’t be both at all, that I’m going to have to choose one. Or he’ll choose one for me.”
Jenna gave her a straight look. “Yeah, that might happen. If he loves you, it won’t matter.”
“And if he doesn’t love me at all, it might matter a lot.”
“Are you afraid to find out?”
“I think that’s the million-dollar question.”
TWENTY-TWO
GAVIN AND MICK WERE CLEANING OUT THE GUTTERS when Gavin saw Elizabeth’s car pull up in the driveway. A twinge of guilt and something else pulled at his gut. His dad was sitting out on the back patio, watching them. It was a perfect day. The sun was out, a nice breeze blowing. Mom and Tara were out shopping.
“You know why she’s here.”
“Leave it alone, Mick.”
His dad stood when Elizabeth came through the back door.
“Front door was open.”
“Hi, Lizzie.”
She gave his dad a hug and sat down with him, not even acknowledging Gavin and Mick.
“She’s playing you, man. Just like she manipulated me. And Tara and Nathan.”
Gavin glared at Mick. “This isn’t about you. Not everything is about you.”
Mick shrugged and directed the hose into the gutter while Gavin grabbed a pile of dead leaves out of another section. Mick climbed down off the ladder to move it, and Gavin inched his way across the roof, trying not to focus on Elizabeth and his dad, who were engaged in conversation and laughing together.
“Hey, boys, Lizzie’s going to take me for a little walk. Be back soon.”
“I can do that, Dad,” Gavin said.
“I think she can handle it. Just clear out the gutters. We’ll be fine.”
Gavin looked at Mick, who frowned, but they finished up the gutter, and by the time Gavin climbed down the ladder and went in search of his dad, he was in the living room with a glass of water, his feet propped up on the ottoman. Elizabeth was in one of the chairs next to him.
Damn, she looked good in her cream-colored suit with a pale blue silk blouse underneath. Her heels showed off her killer legs, and he wanted to eat her up from top to bottom. He suddenly wanted to be alone with her, to talk to her, to get past this distance between them, to figure out what had gone wrong. But he just . . . couldn’t. There were things she just didn’t understand.
She looked up at him and offered up a smile, but it wasn’t the kind of smile he wanted to see from her. She was holding back, just like he was. “Your dad is doing so well. He walked all the way down to the corner and back.”
His father grinned. “Going to be kicking your ass in a game of hoops in no time, especially with that horrible diet of chicken, turkey, and fish your mother is making me eat.”
Gavin smiled. “It’s good for you, Dad.”
“Yeah, whatever. I miss French fries.”
“You’ll get over it,” Gavin said. “And you’ll lose that beer belly.”
“I miss beer, too.”
“You’ll get over that, too,” Mick said. “I did.”
“Get those gutters done?”
“Yup,” Gavin said. “All cleaned out.”
“Good. Mick, how about you and I go rustle up a turkey sandwich? I’m hungry.”
“Whatever you want, Dad.”
His father got up and followed Mick into the kitchen. Gavin took a seat on the sofa across from where Liz sat.
“He looks good,” she said.
“Yeah, he does.”
“He’s been home for a week and a half, Gavin. Your father is progressing remarkably well.”
“Yes, he is.”
“It’s time for you to get back to the game. You’ve missed enough.”
His smile died and he stood. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
She stood, too. “I’m your agent. It’s my job to tell you what to do. You don’t want to miss too much baseball. Your team is counting on you. You’re paid to play, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything. The Rivers said I could take as much time as I needed to. Why are you pushing this?”
“I’m pushing because you don’t need to be here anymore. Mick and Tara are here to watch over your father and help out your mom. Jenna is taking care of the bar. Your father’s health is good. Half of your games are local, and you can check up on your dad when you’re here for home games. Your delay tactics are only hurting your career.”
“I’m not ready yet.”
“You’re not the one who had a heart attack and surgery, Gavin. It’s time for you to get back on the field.”
“And I’ll let you and the team know when I’m ready to get back on the field. Today isn’t the day.”
“Why are you being so stubborn about this?”
“Why are you being so insistent about it?”
“I’ll tell you why. Because she’s manipulating you for her own gain.”
Gavin shifted his focus to Mick, who leaned against the doorway to the living room.
Elizabeth did, too. “You stay the hell out of it. This is none of your business.”
Mick’s lips curled into a sneer. “When it affects my brother, it becomes my business. And I won’t let you do to him what you did to me.”
“Butt out, Mick. This doesn’t concern you. Gavin is my client, and I’m trying to get him to see that he needs to get back to work.”
“Oh, right. Like your only concern is Gavin. Please. I know you too well, Liz. I know you’re scared to death that you’re going to lose another moneymaker, that if he doesn’t get back to the game the Rivers might not pick up his next option, might not pay him so much money next time.”
She whirled on Mick. “You know what? That’s exactly right. And you know who that’s going to hurt? It’s going to hurt Gavin. And you know what else? If you’d pull your head out of your ass and stop thinking of yourself for one goddamn minute, you’d see that your brother is miserable and has been, that every time Stallings gets up to bat it kills him, that he wants to be on that field so bad it physically hurts him. But no, you’re so happy that he’s battling me that you can’t see past your own anger and spite to what’s best for Gavin. You only want to continue to get back at me, and by doing so you’re sabotaging your brother’s career when what you should be doing is kicking his ass right out of this house and encouraging him to get back in the game where he belongs. I’m ashamed of you, Mick. I thought you loved your brother.”
She turned to Gavin. “Look, I don’t know what your hang-up is about all this, but I love you and only want what’s best for you.”
He stared at her. “So do you tell all your clients you love them to get them to do what you want them to do?”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“You heard me. Is that your newest form of manipulation? A declaration of love? How many of them did you sleep with to get your own way?”
She went pale, and even as the words fell from his mouth, he couldn’t believe he was saying them.
“Gavin, you should know better. I have never slept with a client before. But you know what, this was a mistake. Everything about us has been a mistake from the very beginning.”
She cut her gaze to Mick. “Is that what you wanted? Well you know what? You got it. You win. I concede. Give Don Davis my regards when he signs Gavin.”
She shifted her gaze back to Gavin. “Gavin, I can no longer represent your interests since it’s obvious you want something other than what I can give you. At your earliest convenience please find other representation. I’ll follow this up in writing immediately.”
She turned and walked out the door before he could form a coherent response.
What the hell had just happened?
She’d told him she loved him, and he’d accused her of sleeping around with all her clients?
And then she’d fired him.
Of course she’d fired him, because he was a dick.
He fell into the chair and listened to the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway.
“What the hell was that all about?” his father asked as he came back into the room and took a seat.
Gavin couldn’t form words to explain to his father what he’d just done.
“Did I hear correctly, or did Elizabeth just fire you?”
“You heard right, Dad,” Mick said.
“And what part did you play in all of this?” his father asked Mick.
“A lot, I think.”
“Michael, I try not to interfere in your life, and I understand that Elizabeth made some mistakes with you and with Tara and Nathan, but don’t you think it’s about time you got the hell over it already? I’ve never known you to hold a grudge.”
Mick sat and put his hands in his hair. “I was mad. Really mad. I love Tara and Nathan like I’ve never loved anyone in my life. And what Elizabeth did, the way she manipulated them, hurt me. Hurt them.”
“And she apologized and made it right, didn’t she?” his father asked.
“Yeah, she did.”
“But you couldn’t let it go.”
“I was afraid when Gavin started seeing her.”
Gavin lifted his head, turned to Mick. “Why?”
“Because I was afraid she’d hurt you.”
Gavin let out a laugh. “You didn’t think I could take care of myself ?”
Mick shrugged. “You’ll always be my little brother, no matter how old we are. I was trying to protect you. I guess I overprotected. Shit. I fucked this up bad, man. I’m sorry. I have to fix this.”
Gavin shook his head. “No, I think you’ve done enough. I’m the one who has to fix this. But I’m not sure I can. The things I said to her. She said she loved me, and I stabbed her in the heart.”
“You realize she was only looking out for your love of the game.”
Gavin looked at his dad.
“She knows you love the game. We talked about it on our walk. She sees what I see, how much you love baseball. It’s never been about the money with you, ever since you first started playing. You would have played for nothing. Fortunately, you had Elizabeth in your corner to negotiate a good contract, because you would have signed for nothing. She told me she’d never known anyone else who would have played for the pure love of the game. And watching you the past couple of weeks has killed her, just as it’s killing me, because the light has gone out of your eyes. She wanted you back in the game because your joy is gone. I told her to do whatever it took to convince you to get back to work.”
Gavin stood and dragged his fingers through his hair, the burn in the pit of his stomach so intense he didn’t think he’d survive it.
God, he’d hurt her. He was so afraid of leaving his dad, so afraid of losing him. What if he wasn’t here and something happened?
And yet his dad and Elizabeth had pegged the loss he’d been feeling.
He missed the game.
He had to go back.
He turned to his dad. “I have to go back.”
His dad smiled up at him. “I know you do. I want you to. It’s what you do. It’s what you love. I’d be disappointed in you if you stayed here because of me.”
He went to his father and kneeled down in front of him. “I was afraid something would happen to you again if I left.”
His dad leaned forward and touched his shoulder. “I’m gonna be fine, kid. I’m not made of iron, but I’m not made of Jell-O, either. I had my wake-up call. I’ll take care of myself, and I promise not to fall. But you can’t watch me every second of every day. You have to let go.”
Gavin shuddered in a breath and stood. So did his dad. They fell into a hug, Gavin careful not to squeeze his dad because of the incision.
“I’m not gonna break, kid.”
Gavin fought back the sting of tears, then pulled back and nodded. “Okay, time for me to go back to work.”
“Gavin.”
He turned to Mick.
His brother looked miserable. “I’m sorry. I fucked this up, made it worse.”
“You did. But that’s on you, and between you and Elizabeth. And I have to take the blame for not stopping it when I should have. I let it go on too long.”
Mick quirked a grin. “You can’t stop me when I’m being a bullheaded ass.”
Gavin smiled. “True.”
“I’ll fix it. At least my part of it. So you love her?”
Gavin had thought he’d hesitate when it came time to say it out loud, but the words fell from his lips. “I do love her. So you’re going to have to live with that.”
Mick grasped Gavin’s shoulders. “I can live with it if she can put up with me. Now go get your girl. And get your ass back to work.”
Gavin left his dad’s and went back to his house. He’d called the Rivers and told them he was ready to play. They’d be back in town from their road trip by the weekend, so Coach told him to be ready to suit up then. In the meantime, he was going to Elizabeth to fix things between them.
He called her. She didn’t answer. He called again, left a voice mail, and waited. She didn’t call him back. He called her again. And again. She wouldn’t pick up.
Dammit.
He drove to her house, knocked, but got no answer. Maybe she’d gone to her office, so he tried there, but the receptionist said she wasn’t in, which meant she either really wasn’t in or she was refusing to see him.
He checked the parking lot and didn’t see her car.
Well, hell, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him, was she? Then again, after what he’d said to her, he didn’t deserve easy. And he damn well wasn’t going to apologize via cell phone or text message. This had to be done in person.
He drove back to her condo that night and didn’t see her car parked in the parking lot, and there were no lights on inside. He waited like a damn stalker in her parking lot for three hours, calling her cell several times, but she still didn’t answer.
And she never came home. He waited until one in the morning before giving up and going home.
It was going to be hard to apologize to her if he couldn’t find her. Her office was no help, refusing to tell him where she was, and the next day she wasn’t at work, either.
He had one more day before he had to report back to the team, and he couldn’t find Elizabeth.
But he knew someone who could help.
GRATEFUL FOR THE TRIP OUT OF TOWN, ELIZABETH stared out the window of her New York hotel room. Contracts and negotiations for a potential new client had kept her busy for the past two days, and she was so damn glad for that, too, because the last thing she needed was surplus time to think.
Time to think meant time to dwell on Gavin, and she’d already wasted too much time on that man.
She crawled onto the bed and picked up her laptop, putting the finishing touches on the contract language for her new client, an up-and-coming NBA player for New York. Not quite as high profile as Gavin, but a couple of more players added to her roster would make up for what she lost by dumping Gavin. She’d put some feelers out and gotten the line on a few guys unhappy with their current representation, and she was well on the way to evening out the loss with some stellar gains. First the basketball player, next up was a running back for Baltimore she intended to meet with the first part of next week. And that guy was a moneymaker. If she could sign him, she’d not only have a coup, but a laugh at Don Davis, his current agent.