MVP (7 page)

“I could see that being played on every sports show in America.”

“That would be something.”

“So.” Morgan crossed her arms over her chest. “You gonna throw me a real pass?”

“OK. I want you to go down to the twenty yard line. I’ll throw it to you and we’ll see if you can get to the end zone before I catch you.”

Morgan rolled her eyes as walked past him. “That shouldn’t be a problem. We’re already on the thirty yard line.”

Seth caught her hand. “The other twenty yard line.”

She squinted down the field. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I would never kid a beautiful woman, especially if she’s my wife.”

“I’m going to call a cab because it’s going to take me some time to get down there.”

“I have all day. Besides I get to watch you walk all the way down there.”

She turned and reluctantly started walking. “You know—”

“It’s good exercise. One of these days I will get you to jog with me.”

“Yeah, if I grow another five inches.”

Morgan didn’t have to call a cab, but she felt like she needed one. She called a time out every ten yards to catch her breath while Seth stood there laughing at her. She looked back at the end zone. Didn’t look too far away. She could do this.

“OK, big boy, give it your best shot,” she shouted down the field. “And remember I know how to catch so don’t chicken out and go limp noodle on me.”

“OK.” He nodded his head. “Why don’t we make it interesting?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I win, you have to get a tattoo just like mine.” He pushed up his sleeve to display his number twelve tattoo.

“Did you have any head injuries last season?”

Seth tapped on his head. “All marbles are in there and accounted for.”

“So, if I lose I get branded like one of the animals on your ranch?”

“I prefer to think of it as beautiful soulful expression of our love in permanent ink on your body.”

“And what do I get if I win?”

“What do you want?”

“If I win, I can give you a full body wax. Everywhere. Maybe we can give you a Brazilian down there.” Morgan smirked.

“Not on your life.”

“What’s the matter, pretty boy? Scared to take that last step into metrosexuality?”

“Just for that, I get to pick where you get the tattoo.” He grinned like a shark.

“Quit stalling and get ready for the hot wax I see in your future.”

Seth sent the ball soaring through the air like a little brown heat-seeking missile. Morgan kept her eye on the ball and anchored herself so she could firmly catch it and still have enough energy to run. She let out a celebratory yelp when she made contact with the ball, tucked it in to her arm and ran. She remembered what her brothers said about running with the ball.
Don’t look back unless you feel the heat on your ass.
She was mere inches from the ten yard line when she felt Seth closing in on her. She managed to make it to the five yard line before Seth scooped her up and carried her into the end zone.

Applauding erupted from the stadium, the employees cheering in the distance.

“Show off,” she managed to get out between pants.

“I know exactly where I want that tattoo on you.” He threw the football down and kissed her.

“Can we negotiate?”

“OK.” Seth reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. “How about you wear this instead?”

A lump formed in Morgan’s throat as she gazed at the black velvet box. “What did you do?”

“It took the jeweler a while to get the detailing right but I wanted them to be perfect. Two vines entwined for eternity.” Seth opened the box to reveal platinum wedding bands.

Morgan’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the etching on the rings.

“They’re beautiful.”

“I had yours inscribed.”

She smiled when she read the inscription. It read
Morgan, best tackle of my life
.

“I love it. I almost forgot how you almost mortally injured me.”

“Bruised rib.”

“Held me captive in your bungalow.”

“Romanced you until you saw things my way.” Seth slipped the band on her finger.

“You sure know how to put a good spin on things.” Morgan pulled him down for a kiss. He met her half way and picked her up, wrapping his arms around her.

* * *

Seth arrived early for the commercial shoot, anxious to get it over with. This would be his fourth endorsement deal and they were paying him a pretty penny. He liked that he believed in the product and had been drinking it for a while before they approached him with the deal. Things went much easier when he had practical knowledge of the product he was going to attach his name to, and he was a fan of FitPro sports drinks.

He had wanted Morgan to come with him but she’d been fortunate enough to get that meeting with the woman at the Rainbow Reading Initiative. He admired her tenacity and her commitment to literacy. He had gotten a kick out of seeing her strut around on the island wearing those catchy literacy slogans. She was, by far, the hottest nerd he’d ever seen in his life.

The setup crew was pretty laid back. No one accosted him for an autograph and everyone was very polite. The change in the air came when his publicist Vivian arrived. Vivian marched in and was sprouting orders like she owned the place, all without removing her sunglasses.

“So happy you could make it,” Vivian said in a clipped tone.

“Of course I would. You sent me twenty-four reminder emails.”

“I wouldn’t have to email you if you answered my calls.”

Seth took a deep breath and exhaled. He was not in the mood for Vivian’s theatrics today.

“Why didn’t you return my calls?” she repeated.

“You know I don’t answer calls when I’m at the ranch.”

“And I suppose doing damage control to salvage your reputation isn’t a priority?”

“There’s nothing to salvage. I told you Morgan’s ex-boyfriend and cousin were behind that story and it was no truer than Big Foot being spotted by the Liberty Bell.”

“And what about Melanie?”

Melanie? They hadn’t dated in months. Seth rolled his eyes. He had known right from the start that Melanie and Vivian were friends, but he hadn’t cared at the time.

“Melanie is in love with some European banker who is more than delighted to fork over his fortune to her. When I saw her at that fundraiser she looked happy. We wished each other well.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You know I’m just looking out for you, gorgeous. Four months ago you were dating models. I never thought when you finally got married you’d be settling for something a little more…home grown.”

Seth’s face burned and he clenched his hands into fist. “Home grown?”

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s not an unattractive girl but she’s hardly worth a second look. You need somebody who’s suited to your glamorous lifestyle. You need someone who is worthy of your image, not some common nobody who runs a small bookstore.”

“Vivian, you’re fired.”

Everyone around him stopped what they were doing and stared. He and Vivian had been together for many years. They’d had their fair share of disagreements in the past and they’d always patched things up. But Vivian’s remark about Morgan hit a nerve.

Vivian clutched her pearl necklace. “Seth! You’d pick some woman you just met over me?”

“Save it, Vivian. You don’t tell me who to love or who to marry. That’s not what I pay you for.”

Vivian stalked off in a fury. Seth looked at his entourage and decided it was time some boundaries were set.

“Everybody listen up, because I am only saying this once. Anybody who has a problem with my wife or how I live my life, I am happy to accept your letter of resignation right now. If I find anyone is responsible for spreading hurtful gossip about her, you will be terminated immediately.”

* * *

Morgan arrived at her appointment with Dana Schmidt early, eager to have no reason for the woman to reschedule. The Reading Rainbow Initiative had a far reaching hand in the community and would help tremendously to get the ball rolling again on the reading hour at the library. With funding getting cut left and right for city programs, Morgan prayed that the library would be spared and it had suffered several near misses in the past two years. But now, the reading hour for the toddlers and the book club for the young adult readers were on the chopping block.

She smiled, remembering the look on Seth’s face when she had emerged from the walk in closet in her power suit. Her best effort to look professional was met by a horny football player who wanted to play hide and seek before she left this morning. After promising to pick up where they left off, he had wished her luck and told her he loved her.

“Ms. Schmidt will see you now,” the receptionist said.

She escorted Morgan down a long corridor, the clicking of Morgan’s heels echoing through the sparsely decorated hall.

Dana waved them in when they reached the open door of her office. “Morgan, come in!”

“Thank you for meeting with me, Dana.”

“Thank you for being so committed. My goodness you’re not a teacher and you have this tenacious drive about the library’s programs.”

Morgan tried to hide a smile. “As a bookstore owner, I am still vested in education. Just like I am vested in this community.”

“Of course. I think it’s admirable that you want to keep programs going for our youth.”

Morgan handed her a proposal. “Not just our youth readers. Although, I do think it’s crucial to get them interested at a young age. My youngest attendee at the reading hour is two years old. But there are still a number of adults who do not know how to read because of things like learning disabilities that weren’t detected when they were younger and they’re too ashamed to admit it. And people who are new to this country that have difficulty learning English. There should be an outreach to people of all ages who want to read.”

“So what do you propose?” Dana flipped through the file.

“Keeping those programs funded at the library is a start. Then we could have other outreach organizations build a small platform within their community.”

“We need something to spark an interest. How would you feel about incorporating a celebrity to endorse this?”

“That would be great. It definitely wouldn’t hurt.”

“You’re married to Seth Blake aren’t you? Do you think he would consider being our celebrity endorser?”

Morgan shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “My husband and I don’t get involved in each other’s work lives.”

“But surely he would do it for you. The two of you being married must have been the best kept secret in this city. I met him a few years ago at a charity event, and he is off the charts gorgeous. He said hello and I got heart palpitations.”

Morgan’s fingers itched to grab the proposal out of Dana’s hand and cram it down her throat. She didn’t know what enraged her more, the fact that Dana talked about Seth like he was a piece of meat or that he would readily be the poster boy just because she was married to him. And Dana’s transition to girlfriend mode so swiftly while Morgan was trying to achieve something good was unprofessional.

“I’m afraid coming here was a mistake, Dana. I had assumed after many months of trying to contact you that you wanted to talk about something more worthwhile than my personal life.” Morgan jabbed her proposal back into her briefcase and walked out.

* * *

Seth wanted to be in a better mood before he went home to Morgan after the commercial shoot, so he dropped by to see his friend Patton. Seth was still seething from Vivian’s remarks. When did he hand over control of his life to people like Vivian? Between pushy publicists and old flames popping out of the woodwork, he was praying none of it scared Morgan away.

“Thanks, man.” Seth took a swig of the beer Patton had handed to him.

Patton gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “You know Vivian is crazy. She was always pimping girls to you.”

Seth chuckled. “You would think that.”

“It’s not like you can’t pull the ladies by yourself. But she pretty much wrapped Melanie up in a bow and handed her to you.”

Seth nodded in agreement. One day Melanie had appeared at his front door wearing a slinky black mini dress, with a bottle of champagne in her hand. “Yeah that was creepy.”

“But you hit that anyway.”

“I said it was creepy but it worked.”

Seth and Patton both erupted in laughter.

“Now, look at you a year later.” Patton took a sip of his own beer. “Married.”

Seth smiled. “Yeah. I didn’t see that one coming.”

“I think you did. One minute you’re trying to sneak off the island, the next I see you two parasailing.”

“The minute I laid eyes on her getting off that plane I knew…”

“I’m happy for you man. When you were with Melanie, you did not look as content as you are right now. I hope you and Morgan have a great life together.”

“Thanks, man.”

Patton nodded and took a swig of beer. “Did she like the ranch?”

“She loved it, especially the horse I bought her. I think she loves him more than me.” He laughed. “So where is the lovely Nina?”

“She’s out shopping. Retail therapy is her way of dealing with the baby thing.” Patton sighed.

“Still having a hard time?”

“Yeah, that last miscarriage just before the Super Bowl took her over the edge. She refused to go on the team vacation. She couldn’t possibly redecorate one more inch of this house, and she’s booking party planning events every week.”

“It’ll happen soon for you two. She just needs some time to grieve.”

Patton took another swig. “What about you? Plan on making me a godfather any time soon?”

“I can’t wait. As soon as Morgan says the word, I’m ready. In the meantime we’re getting in a lot of practice.” Seth smirked and waggled his eyebrows.

Patton spit out his beer. “Oh shit!”

“What?”

“You play like my grandmother when you get laid on a regular basis.”

“That’s a damn lie, Pat.”

“Why do you think we’ve won two Super Bowls?”