Sweet Spot (Summer Rush #1) (13 page)

“I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Stacey because of me.” She didn’t have many close friends since she tended to keep people at arm’s length, but her roommate had broken down most of her walls, working her way into Tenley’s heart without even trying.

“Nothing’s going to happen to her or you,” he said fiercely. “I can promise you that.”

Tenley tapped his chest as she slid to the edge of the bed. “You sound like you do on those TV interviews when you talk about getting in the zone. I always thought you were so sexy when I heard you talk like that.”

He gripped her waist before she could get out of bed. “That’s just my work. Sure, I take it seriously and I want to win. But this is my life, and there’s a hell of a lot more at stake here than money and accolades.”

“I know. Thanks for saying that.” She touched his cheek, appreciating that he cared enough to let her know that what was happening between them mattered to him. Maybe even more than what happened when he was on that mound.

She felt his eyes on her as she walked away, so she looked over her shoulder and winked at him. “Feel free to join me in the shower.”

***

Reese called out after slamming the front door, reminding Rowan that he needed to get his key back.

Scrambling to find his pants so he could meet Reese in the kitchen instead of inviting him into the bedroom, Rowan swore softly. He didn’t think Tenley would want him to know they’d slept together, and guarding her privacy was more important than answering to his little brother.

“Gimme a minute!” Rowan yelled, realizing he’d have to cross the room to grab a pair of sweats from the drawer.

Reese rounded the corner at the same time Tenley opened the bathroom door. Stark naked and dripping wet.
Shit.

“Whoa—” Reese said, pretending to cover his eyes, but not before he took a good long look at Tenley.

She squealed, slamming the door.

“Son of a bitch,” Rowan said, glaring at him. “Who do you think you are, letting yourself into my house like you own the goddamn place?” Holding out his hand, he said, “Give me my key back. Now!”

Reese grinned as he tossed the key at his brother. “That is one seriously sweet piece of ass, brother-man. Nicely done.”

“Shut the hell up.”

“What’s the problem?” Reese asked, leaning against the doorframe. “Not as good as you thought she would be?”

Rowan gritted his teeth, reminding himself Reese was family, so he couldn’t beat him senseless. “She’s perfect. And mortified, thanks to you. Now would you get out of here so I can put some pants on?”

“Sure, I’ll start breakfast.”

“No one asked you to stay for breakfast,” Rowan called after him.

He was sure that was exactly what Tenley would want, to sit across the breakfast table from the stranger who’d just seen her naked…

After the initial shock and embarrassment of being caught in her birthday suit by Rowan’s brother wore off, Tenley quickly warmed up to Reese. He was hilarious, making sport of ribbing his brother, which she thought was cute. Her brothers had a similar relationship and she felt at home with them, as though she were part of their inner circle.

“Wait ’til the old man meets her,” Reese said, sliding a stack of buttered toast in Tenley’s direction. “He’ll be all over you about settling down.”

Tenley smiled at Rowan’s reaction. It was the first time she’d ever seen him blush. “Your dad wants you to get married?” she asked, gripping his thigh under the table.

“He wants more grandchildren,” Rowan said, rolling his eyes. “A grandson, specifically. One he can take to ball games. Now that he’s retired, he has way too much time on his hands.”

“You said your sister has a daughter, right?” she asked, looking from Reese to Rowan.

“Yeah, but the guy she was engaged to left her just after Marley was born,” Reese said, sounding bitter as he snapped a piece of crispy bacon in half. “She should have known better than to have a kid with him if you ask me. He’s always been a loser.”

Rowan shrugged. “It wasn’t our call, man. You know that. Brit makes her own decisions.”

Alternating between bites of toast and forkfuls of scrambled eggs, Reese asked, “Your brothers ever try to prevent you from getting mixed up with some dirtbag, Tenley?”

She glanced at Rowan, who was frowning at his brother, before he said thorough clenched teeth, “Last warning. Mind your own business.”

“Hey,” Reese said, raising his fork as his gaze traveled between them. “What the hell did I say?”

“Nothing,” Tenley said, offering Reese a reassuring smile. “Um, yeah, my brothers have always been pretty protective of me.”
More so now.

“So are they giving you a hard time about this guy?” he asked, nodding toward Rowan. “’Cause I wouldn’t blame them if they were. Trust me, I’ve known him all my life. Nothing but trouble.”

She laughed when Rowan scowled at Reese and said, “Why don’t you go eat breakfast at the diner and leave us the hell alone?”

“You’re supposed to go with me to see Dad today, remember?” Reese asked. “We’re gonna take him out for lunch.”

“Shit, I forgot about that,” Rowan said, checking his watch. “And I’ve got to train with Ace this afternoon.”

“It’s okay,” Tenley said, touching his arm. “Go grab a shower while I clean up here. If you could just drop me at home before you go and see your dad that would be great.”

“Why don’t you bring her along?” Reese suggested. “You know Dad would love to meet her. After that last gold digger you hooked up with, he’s started questioning your judgment.”

Tenley was sure Rowan could read the panic on her face when she said, “Um, I don’t think we’re there yet, Reese. Meeting each other’s parents is a pretty big deal, and your brother and I haven’t known each other all that long.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” Reese said, shooting a look at Rowan. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“What else is new?” Rowan asked as he stood, tossing his napkin on the table. “I’ll be back in a bit, babe. If this guy gives you a hard time, feel free to throw him out. It won’t hurt my feelings in the least.”

But she was worried
she
had hurt Rowan’s feelings by refusing to meet his father. She knew that family was important to him and his dad had clearly been a better parent than her mom had ever been, but she wasn’t ready to take on the role of his ‘official’ girlfriend just yet.

When they heard Rowan close the door to his bedroom, Reese leaned back in his chair, studying Tenley. “I know this is none of my business, but are you really into him, or are you just having fun?”

She didn’t think having fun would be possible in her current state of mind, but being with Rowan did make her forget about her troubles for a while. “Things are complicated, Reese.” She understood his concern for his brother, especially after Rowan’s last relationship, but she wasn’t going to bare her soul to a stranger. “Just know that I like your brother a lot.”

“Way to evade the question.” He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “You’re beautiful, smart, tough, and from what I can tell, cynical. You’ve been burned before?”

She didn’t want to talk about Justin, but she wasn’t willing to shut Reese down either. If she was going to continue seeing Rowan, she wanted to be on friendly terms with his brother. “My last boyfriend cheated on me, so I know what Rowan is going through. It isn’t easy to put yourself out there again after you’ve been hurt.”

“No, it isn’t.” He sighed, shaking his head. “He’s a really good guy, Tenley. He’d give the shirt off his back to a friend in need, and I know he may come across as this badass who doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyone, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“I can see that he’s a good guy,” she said, thinking about how good he’d been to her in the short time they’d known each other. “And you don’t have to worry. I have no intention of hurting him.”
If I can help it.

“Did he tell you about what happened to our mom?”

She nodded, offering him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you, growing up without her.”

“The old man really stepped up,” Reese said, rubbing his jaw. “I don’t know what the hell we would have done without him.” He smiled. “Rowan always promised Dad that if he ever made it big, he’d take care of him. And he made good on that promise. Before I started making real money, Rowan got his first decent contract. He worked like a beast, trying to be the best he could be for spring training and the whole time, he had his eye on the prize.”

“Making the team,” she said, knowing how hard it must have been for him to achieve that goal with so many talented men vying for the same spot.

“Yeah.” Reese chuckled. “The only thing that mattered to him was being able to do right by Dad. He was finally able to buy him a house and a car, which allowed Dad to retire. I’ve never seen my brother happier than when he handed Dad those keys.”

Damn, if she hadn’t already been falling for him, that story would have convinced her. “That’s so nice.”

“He’d never tell you that himself. He doesn’t like to take credit for any of his good deeds. I just thought you should know the kind of man you’ve got a chance with.”

“I’m not going to take him for granted or use him, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Tenley felt Reese’s love and concern, but she wasn’t offended by his subtle warning. She would have felt the same way if she saw one of her brothers falling hard for a woman and she couldn’t figure out her intentions.

“I’m just not sure that I’ve seen him as hung up on a woman as he is on you.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “That means you could be the best or worst thing that ever happened to him, depending on how this plays out.”

“And that scares you?”

“Hell, yeah. I don’t want to see him get hurt. After what went down with Elle, he swore off women for a while.”

Tenley wondered about the woman he’d been with the night he drunk dialed her. “Except for hook-ups?”

“Well, yeah,” Reese said, smirking. “He is a guy.”

She nodded, understanding perfectly. She’d grown up with two guys just like Rowan, who’d had no problem separating love and sex.

“What kind of bullshit has he been feeding you?” Rowan asked, curling his arms around Tenley from behind.

She jumped, laughing self-consciously when she realized he’d probably overheard part of their conversation. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

When he kissed her neck, she closed her eyes, inhaling the spicy scent of the same body wash she’d lathered herself with in the shower.

“Sorry,” she said, standing. “I promised to clean up, but Reese and I got to talking.”

“No problem,” Rowan said, stacking the plates. “I can take care of that.”

In spite of Rowan’s protests, Reese and Tenley both helped with the clean-up, and they were all out the door twenty minutes later. On the short drive to her apartment, they talked about music, alternating between different radio stations until they all found songs they liked.

They were laughing as they pulled into her parking lot, but her amusement died when she spotted a black car with tinted windows parked at the curb in front of her building.

Obviously Rowan noticed it too because he jumped out of the truck, telling his brother he was going to walk Tenley upstairs.

“You think it’s him?” Rowan asked, leaning in close to Tenley as he gripped her hand while they both tried to get a look at the person or people in the running car.

“I don’t know,” she said, her heart hammering. She knew so little about Justin’s life now. She didn’t know if he had friends on the outside or whether he’d kept in touch with any of the people they used to know when they were a couple.

She practically sprinted to the door. “I just want to get upstairs and make sure Stacey’s okay. I didn’t see Ace’s car in the parking lot. Did you?”

“No,” he said, shooting a look over his shoulder. “But maybe they’re out together.”

Tenley hoped so. She didn’t want to think of her friend being alone and caught off guard if some stranger came to the door looking for her. Her hands were shaking as she tried to fit her key in the lock.

Rowan took them from her, whispering, “Relax, babe,” as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside.

“Hey, you two,” Stacey said, smiling at them from her post on the couch where she was painting her toenails. “What’s up? Did you have fun last night?”

“Uh, yeah.” Rowan kissed Tenley’s cheek when she sagged against him with relief. “It was great. You want me to stick around for a bit, Ten? I can text Reese and tell him to come up.”

“No.” She patted his solid chest as she came down from the adrenaline high that had propelled her up three flights of stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. “I’m okay now. I need to talk to Stacey, and you need to see your father.”

“You said you’re working at the studio this afternoon?” he asked, looking as though he’d rather stay than leave as he reached behind him to grip the doorknob. “Then at the club later?”

“Yeah, I have classes at one, three, and five. Then I’ll be heading to the club ’til close.”

“I’ll pick you up at closing time.”

“You don’t have to do that. You need your sleep.”

“Making sure you’re safe is more important to me than sleep,” he said, lowering his voice when Stacey shot them a curious look. “Don’t argue with me about this. I won’t sleep until I know you’re home safe and sound. Unless Ace plans to stay with Stacey again. Then you can come back to my place.”

“No.” It wasn’t that Tenley didn’t want to spend another night in his arms. She did. More than anything. But she couldn’t afford to get too comfortable in his posh home. If she did, she’d feel like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight when they eventually broke up and she had to return to her own modest digs. “I have an early class in the morning.”

He frowned. “You’re closing at the club and opening at the studio? What the hell? So you’re only going to get a few hours  of sleep?”

She rolled forward on her toes and kissed him. “You’re sweet to worry, but I’m just filling in for a friend tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ll come home and take a nap before I have to go back to the bar. I promise.”