Chasing Jillian: A Love and Football Novel (8 page)

Seconds later, the elevator stopped, the doors slid open, and they walked into the lobby of the gym, which looked like a spa instead of a place people went to sweat.

She shook her head a little. “Where are we?”

“We’re going to do something you told me you really love, but you haven’t had time to do in a while now.” He handed her the bag with her new swimsuit in it. “Go change. We have the entire place to ourselves for a couple of hours.” He pointed at the arrow on the wall with a sign overhead that read Ladies Locker Room. “I’ll see you out there.”

She took the bag from him and peeked inside, and her mouth dropped open. “That’s a swimsuit,” she said.

“Yes, it is.”

“We’re going swimming.”

“Yes, we are.” He couldn’t stop grinning. She was going to have such a great time, and he was so stoked he’d come up with something she loved to do.

She swallowed hard, gave him a nod, and turned the corner to the locker room without another word.

J
ILLIAN SANK DOWN
on the bench inside the locker room and pulled the swimsuit out of the plastic bag. He’d chosen a simple tank style in a shade between cobalt and purple. Despite her panic, she had to admit it was pretty. She grabbed the tag and looked at the size. He must have thought he was picking out a suit for his little sister; there was no way in hell this thing was going to fit her.

She dropped the empty bag onto the bench next to her and stifled a groan. She wasn’t sure what was worse—the day she’d had at work or the fact she might have to put on a swimsuit in front of another human being. Then again, she could handle the anonymous person she’d never have to see again. Seth was going to see it all, and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to at this particular moment.

She glanced around the locker room. Luckily, she’d have no witnesses if she at least tried the damn thing on. If it didn’t fit, she wouldn’t have to wear it. The gym wasn’t going to let her swim in her underwear (or nothing at all, which was even more terrifying). She’d be off the hook. She got up from the bench, grabbed the bag to put her clothes into, and dropped the suit on another bench inside of a curtained alcove.

She couldn’t believe he had no idea that most women would rather have a root canal with no anesthetic than be seen anywhere in a bathing suit. Maybe the women he knew thought it was fun and couldn’t wait to put on a bikini. She sure didn’t know any of those women. Kari was thin, and she wouldn’t wear a swimsuit in front of anyone but her husband. Then again, he’d seen her give birth. Maybe Kari forgot to feel shy about her body after that experience.

Seth was so excited, though, about bringing her somewhere he thought she would love. She knew he didn’t do it to laugh at her or to tell her all about her figure flaws. He wanted her to have fun. If she could get past the whole “Oh my
God
, I’m in public in a swimsuit, in front of a guy I really like” thing, it melted her heart a little to know he’d gone to so much trouble for this. He thought he was doing something good. So he was a little oblivious. She couldn’t be mad at him for it.

Jillian stripped off her clothes, folded them carefully, and tucked her socks inside of the flats she wore to the office. There was a full-length mirror in the dressing area. She’d looked at herself in the mirror over the vanity in her bathroom at home, but it wasn’t the same. Her body was changing. She was currently wearing the smallest size of pants she’d owned since she was in college. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe somebody slipped some type of mind-altering substance into the coffee she’d had earlier this afternoon too.

She grabbed the suit off the bench and stepped into it. “Breathe,” she told herself as she stepped into the other leg hole and started pulling the suit up over her thighs. She closed her eyes as she slid her arms through the armholes and yanked it up the rest of the way. She adjusted and wriggled.

The suit fit.

She would probably look like a miniature Buddha to anyone else, but she realized (through the fading haze of panic) she didn’t look too bad. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to be seen in the suit, but now she had no excuse at all.

“Here goes nothin’,” she muttered to herself.

She ripped the store tags off of the swimsuit, grabbed the bag with her clothes and shoes, and walked to the shower area to rinse off.

S
ETH’S PHONE RANG
as he pulled on the new pair of board shorts he’d bought for himself. It was Lauren, so he hit “Talk.”

“Where the hell are you? Owen, the chef, wants to know if you want dinner,” she said.

“Aww, shit. I forgot to tell him I’m not going to be home for a while. If he wants to cook something, will you ask him to put it in the fridge for me? Of course he’s getting paid.”

“I’m guessing you have other plans tonight. So, where are you?” Lauren reminded him of . . . himself. Dammit.

“I’m at the swimming pool at Performance Gym in Bellevue.”

“Since when do you swim?”

“I’m taking Jillian swimming tonight.”

He heard a sharp intake of breath as she punctuated every word. “You’re. Taking. Jillian. Swimming. Are you insane?”

“She loves to swim.”

“She’s not going to want you to see her in a swimsuit! Seth, I can’t believe you thought this would be a good thing to do. Seriously?”

“She seemed like she was excited about it—”

“Riiight,” his sister said. “Okay. I have to go. I’ll see you later.”

He heard the click as she ended the call, and he sat in dumbfounded silence for a minute or so. He’d made a bad situation worse. What was he going to do now?

J
ILLIAN WRAPPED TWO
clean towels around herself as she walked into the pool area. She didn’t have a locker, so she left her belongings on one of the benches that ringed the pool. Seth wasn’t out here yet. Maybe she could get into the water before he arrived. That left the problem of how she was going to get out of the pool without his seeing her entire body, but she could come up with a strategy later.

She dropped the two dry towels over another bench and slid into the shallow end of the pool. Of course it was a little cold, but she’d feel better in a minute. She could wade out a bit and get used to the temperature of the water. She swished her arms around a little for additional warmth.

She preferred to believe that the cool blue water rendered her somewhat invisible. A girl could dream.

She turned around as she head Seth’s voice. He dropped his belongings next to hers on the bench. She heard the slap-slap of his bare feet on the tile surrounding the pool. She couldn’t stop staring at him. She prayed she wouldn’t start drooling.

He’d rinsed himself off in the shower too. He was tan. Drops of water clung to his dark hair and slid down his chest, trickling over his six-pack and heading lower. The board shorts clung to his hips and thighs. He approached the deep end and jumped in. Of course, he emerged looking even better than he had before he’d gotten into the pool. He slicked his hair back with both hands and pushed the water out of his eyes.

New life rule (at least for Jillian): never go swimming with a man who should have his own calendar. He was flawless, and she wasn’t. The self-confidence she’d felt when she realized the swimsuit actually fit was circling the drain. She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I’m not quite sure how to say this, Jill, so I’ll just spit it out,” he said as he approached her.

“You hate the swimsuit,” she said.

He moved a little closer. She told herself to breathe.

“No. You . . . it looks great on you,” he said. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something more but stopped. They stared at each other for a few seconds. “And my sister told me I’m an idiot.” His dark eyes were always intense, but tonight they were riveted on her. Her heart was going thump-thump-thump at his sweet compliment.

“Thank you,” Jillian said. He took another step toward her, and she swallowed hard. “What’s up with your sister?”

“I know you used to swim. You told me you really missed it. I thought you might like being able to try it again. I was stoked that we’d have the entire place to ourselves,” he said. “Lauren said that I should have asked you first, and that most women would rather die than be seen in a swimsuit.” He glanced away from her. “Is that true?”

She was shocked to see the normally confident Seth momentarily regressing to a shy high schooler in seconds. He knew he’d screwed up, but her heart melted at his obvious discomfort and remorse. She reached out to catch his hand in hers.

“I . . . I was a little scared about it . . . ” Well, a lot scared about it, but that would make him feel worse. “It’s just us. Not a big deal.” She shrugged her shoulders as he met her eyes again.

“Why do you feel that way? Any man would be attracted to you, no matter what you were wearing, Jill.”

Jillian saw the shock on his face as he realized what he’d just blurted out, and he glanced down at the water between them again. She told herself to breathe. She wanted to tell him everything in her heart, but right now, maybe keeping things light was the best way to proceed.

She splashed him a little. He let out a laugh.

“Want to swim with me?” she said.

She pulled away from him and threw herself into the water.

Chapter Eleven

N
EXT MORNING
, J
ILLIAN
could hardly move. She’d enjoyed her time in the pool last night, but every muscle she hadn’t used for several years was aching and sore. She shoved the front door to the Sharks’ practice facility open with her forearm and flinched.

Maybe stretching a little before the next time she got in the pool might help. Seth gave her the free membership pass to the gym when he brought her back to her car.

“Could I write you a check for this?” she said. “How much was it? And I owe you for the swimsuit you bought me.”

He waved his hand at her. “Your money’s no good here. It was free. It also covers stuff like the water aerobics classes or whatever. You could go swimming whenever you want to.”

She wanted to swim, but she wasn’t sure about a pool full of hard-bodies. That might take some getting used to.

“Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank the Sharks’ PR department,” he teased. He pulled up next to her car. “I’ll see you around, Jill.”

She didn’t quite know what to do, and he didn’t seem to know either. She reached out to hug him. She laid her cheek against his scratchier one.

“Thank you for the pass. I had fun tonight.”

“Me too.”

He waited until she got in and started her car. He followed her out of the Sharks’ parking lot and onto the freeway home.

It was her turn to suggest some activity he might enjoy, and maybe that would be a tiny payback for a free gym membership that was probably worth thousands. She wasn’t sure she was up to any mountain climbing, but maybe he’d like to come along if she attempted a short, easy hike on one of his days off. Maybe she could look up a few during her lunchtime today.

She walked into the administrative area of the building to start her workday.

Tom Reed, the Sharks’ QB, ran up to her. He was already dripping sweat from lifting weights. She wondered if any of these guys ever spent rainy days propped up in bed with a ton of pillows, reading a novel on their Kindles. Probably not.

“Jillian. I need your help,” he said.

“Tom, I gave up pro football a year ago. The groin pulls are such a bitch,” she said.

He gave her his thousand-watt grin and reached out to grab her forearm. “I gotta talk to you about this.” He walked her through the office toward the Sharks’ locker room.

“What do you need? Why can’t we talk in the lobby?”

“I’ll get a fine. Come on.” He shoved the locker room door open and tugged Jillian through it.

“I can’t go in here—oh my God! Are you serious?”

The guys who were attempting to change after practice continued doing what they were doing: namely, walking around in little or nothing after their showers. She glimpsed the Sharks’ star defensive end, Kade Harrison, naked as the day he was born. He was big all over. Her face was already getting red.

Kade didn’t seem to be alarmed that a woman was standing two feet from him with her mouth hanging open. He locked eyes with Jillian. “Well, look who’s here. How ya doin’?” Kade lifted an eyebrow.

She was incapable of answering him. He let out a snort and walked away. Of course, Jillian tried not to stare at his ass.

“Settle down,” Tom told her. “I know it’s shocking.”

“You’ll get a fine for talking to me in the lobby, but you won’t get one if I’m in the freaking locker room? Tom, have you lost your mi—”

“Shhh. Listen.” He pulled her down on the bench in front of his locker. “My publicist gave away a party for a kids’ sports team with me as the host. The publicist is pregnant and on bed rest. My wife is at her mother’s with our kids for a couple of weeks. I am not asking her to fly home for this. Can you help?”

“Sure. What do you need me to do?”

Tom looked a little wild-eyed. He was typically unflappable. She knew something beside the fact his wife wasn’t in town right now must have really rattled him.

“They drew a name out of online entries,” he said in the same tone that someone might use to say, “The accountant moved to Central America with all of your assets,” or “It’s triplets.”

She reached out to pat his forearm and did her best to ignore the half-dressed guys who wandered around the locker room. They were all staring in her direction.

“That’s not a problem. We’ll get some snacks, a few balloons. I’ll get some goody bags together. We can handle this, Tom. What’s the issue?”

“They drew a little girl. It’s a little girls’ soccer team. What am I going to do for two or three hours with twenty little girls?”

Jillian bit her tongue before the biggest smart-ass remark ever fell out of her mouth. To a man who had three sons and spent his days with fifty-two male team members, this was his idea of hell.

“So, when’s the party?”

“Saturday. Early afternoon.”

She had less than thirty hours to pull off a miracle or at the very least, something that wouldn’t get all of them arrested for child endangerment or something.

J
ILLIAN STOOD IN
front of a conference table at the team headquarters, loading goody bags. The food was taken care of. The cafeteria staff took pity on her when she told them Tom was being descended on by twenty little girls and came up with some extra-special party food. Jillian also spent some time recruiting Tom’s teammates to show up.

Kade of the birthday suit found this endlessly amusing. At least he’d put some clothes on before approaching her again.

“So, what’s in it for me if I join the party, doll-face?”

Brandon McKenna materialized out of nowhere. Actually, he walked around the corner of the weight room. He’d retired from the league a couple of years ago and gone into the broadcast booth for Pro Sports Network, but he still came in to lift when he was in town.

He gave Kade a hard glare. “How about a black eye? I could make that happen for you,” Brandon said.

The two men stood motionless, sizing each other up. Jillian wondered when one of them would start pawing the carpet and snorting like a bull. Kade had taken Brandon’s roster spot when Brandon retired from the league, but Kade was everything Brandon wasn’t—brash, arrogant, and egotistical. Kade was sufficiently good at his job to ensure the Sharks put up with his less than stellar personality to get the double-digit sacks he brought to the table each season. Brandon, however, did not need to put up with Kade’s BS on a daily basis and had shown before he would take action if he had to.

Kade glanced away from Brandon. Jillian pulled air into her lungs with relief.

“That won’t be necessary,” Kade said. “What time should I be here tomorrow, Jillian?”

“Eleven thirty. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” She patted him on the arm. He grinned at her and brushed the hair off of her shoulder with one big hand.

Brandon glared at him.

“You have enough guys, right, Jillian?” Brandon asked. “I don’t fly out to San Francisco to work the game until later tomorrow afternoon. Want me to stop by for a few minutes?”

Jillian resisted the urge to throw her arms around Brandon. “I would love that. I know the kids will love meeting you.”

“You’re good for my ego. This is the only part of the job I really miss, so you’re doing me a favor,” Brandon said. He shot her a quick grin and ambled away, pointedly ignoring Kade, who moved a bit closer.

Jillian took a few steps closer to the front door. Kade followed and rested one arm against the wall over her head.

“So, Jillian, you’ve seen me naked.” Jillian blushed to the roots of her hair. Her face was on fire as he continued. “Usually, that doesn’t happen until we’ve at least had dinner. Let’s go get some beer, and I’ll let you beat me at pool.” He typically looked ferocious, but the smile he was treating Jillian to at the moment made her think of how everything looked when rain clouds parted, displaying brilliant sunshine. “How about it?”

Jillian could not have been more shocked if Brad Pitt had just strolled through the front door of the facility, confessed to leaving Angelina Jolie, and asked her out. She was fairly sure she was the last woman Kade normally would have wanted to spend time with.

“I . . . oh, Kade, it’s really nice of you to think of me, but I’m . . . I’m not allowed to date the players.”

“You spend all that time with Taylor, and the two of you aren’t dating?” His lips twitched while his face registered disbelief. “Okay. We’ll call it pool, and we’ll go in separate cars. I won’t tell anyone if I happen to buy you dinner to go with that beer. Come out with me,” he said in what he probably thought was his most persuasive tone.

She was obviously dreaming. Even more, what on earth could Kade want to discuss with her? He wasn’t romantically interested in her. This couldn’t be a work thing. He obviously had something up his sleeve. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she had to get out of this as gracefully as possible.

“I’m really flattered, but I’m going to have to say no. Thank you so much, though.”

“Don’t give me the ‘I’m flattered’ stuff. Let’s go. I promise you’ll have fun,” Kade said.

“I’m sure I would, but it’s really not a good idea. Thanks again.”

She slipped out from under his arm and hurried away.

J
ILLIAN ARRIVED AT
the practice facility early the next morning. The cafeteria staff had worked wonders with the food for Tom’s party. She looked over heart-shaped tea sandwiches, a fruit tray so gorgeous it should be criminal to eat it, and shark-shaped sugar cookies decorated with pink frosting. She wasn’t sure little girls liked raw vegetables, but there was a selection of dips and dressings to go with them. She brought out a box of the goody bags she’d loaded the previous afternoon and set about decorating tables with a profusion of pink favors, a Sharks window cling, and a place card at each setting.

Seth walked through the space, and her heart skipped a beat. She wished she had a little more control over her emotions. She attempted an unconcerned facial expression.

“Hey, event planner.”

“So, you’ve decided to join us, huh? Don’t eat that,” she said. Her palms were getting sweaty. It might be easier to resist Seth if he wasn’t so cute.

He hovered over the food table. “Just one.”

“No. Unless you’re a five-year-old girl, it’s off limits.”

He rolled his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. “I’m the entertainment. Someone should feed me.”

“What are you talking about?” Jillian frowned at the contents of one of the goody bags that had been haphazardly stuck into the box. Either she dropped some of the stuff she’d already loaded in it on her way up here, or there was a problem. It was full of gift cards. “What the hell is this?” she muttered to herself.

“Oh. Oh. Give me that.” Seth crossed the room, holding out one hand. “I’ll take care of that.”

“What’s with the gift cards?”

He shook his head and wagged one finger. “If I tell you all my secrets—”

“Come on, Seth. Tom’s really nervous about this party. What are you up to?”

Seth shoved a raw carrot in his mouth and talked around it. “Oh, Tom knows.”

“Why won’t you tell me, then? I’d like to know.”

Seth swallowed the mouthful and took the bag from Jillian’s fingers. “The little girl who won the party—her dad’s been out of work for a while. Tom offered to catch them up on their bills, but the guy wouldn’t accept the cash. So a few of us got together and bought a couple of gift cards. We’ll put it in her stuff and send it home. What’s he going to do?”

A “couple of gift cards”? Jillian’s mouth dropped open. “How many are in there?”

“More than ten, less than fifty. The coaches chipped in too.” Seth gave her a lazy grin. “So are you going to feed me? I understand we’re playing soccer later. A man’s gotta eat.”

“The chef made some food for the adults that should be ready in a few minutes.” She flicked through the gift cards. The little girl was going to need a ride home in an armored vehicle if the amounts she was seeing were accurate. It was a very sweet gesture, but she needed to get this equivalent of a bag of cash into a safe place before the party started.

“Want me to get you something to eat too?” Seth called out as he walked into the kitchen.

“That would be great,” she said. “Thanks.”

J
ILLIAN TRIED TO
pretend like having him around wasn’t a big deal and that she was paying attention to the party and the group of girls more than she was tracking Seth as he moved around the room, teasing the little girls and giving his teammates crap. Instead of showing up and standing on the sidelines, Seth was doing his best to interact with the party guests. She was doing her best not to dissolve into a puddle of goo as Seth coaxed and charmed.

He dropped to one knee in front of a shy little girl who was still clinging to her dad’s pant leg.

“You’ll teach me how to play soccer, won’t you? I don’t know how.”

The girl let out a giggle. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? What can I do to change your mind?” He gave her a heart-melting grin. “I know. I’ll bet you want another one of those pink shark cookies, don’t you?”

The girl nodded.

“Well, then. I’ll work on that. In the meantime, would you like to play?”

The girls who’d formed a knot around Tom Reed drifted slowly in Seth’s direction as their friend let go of her dad’s pant leg and reached out for Seth’s hand.

Jillian glanced over after refreshing some of the food platters to see that another girl had whipped the pint-sized plastic-and-rhinestone tiara she’d received in her goody bag off her head and held it out to Seth.

“You want me to wear that?” he said, widening his eyes in mock horror.

“Yes!” six little girls shouted.

“Well, okay. Just this once,” he told them. He put the tiara on to a cacophony of giggling. “Do I look silly?”

“Yes!”

“I thought I looked nice. You’re not making fun of me, are you?”

“Nooooo.”

Another little girl had Brandon McKenna by the hand and tugged him over to the group. The grin on Brandon’s face told Jillian he loved every second of the attention. While some of the other Sharks were milling around in the kitchen or standing a distance away from the girls, any much-larger male showing interest at all was dragged into the midst of the fashion makeover.