Payoff Pitch (Philadelphia Patriots) (44 page)

Teddy and Noah had made that decision nearly four weeks ago after she’d taken the LSAT. He knew how much law school meant to her and how hard she’d been working to get herself in a position to apply. She, on the other hand, knew how important it was to him to keep playing as long as his arm would allow, and hopefully right here in Philadelphia. If Teddy could make a wish come true, it would be that Noah could pitch several more seasons for the Patriots and finish about the same time as she was getting her law degree from top ranked Penn or, if she didn’t get accepted there, from Villanova or from Temple, where she would get her undergraduate degree sometime in the next year.

Still, hearing Noah make that declaration to his father and brother thrilled her beyond anything she could describe in words.

Adam gave a little shrug. “Yeah, not like your old man, huh? Hell, I was so busy running around the country that I didn’t see much of your mother and you, did I? Looking back, I have to admit it might not have been the best way to do things. I made a lot of money and built a great company, but the family had to make a lot of sacrifices because of it.”

Noah and Levi looked at each other but neither said a word.

Teddy jumped in. “Before you go, I wanted to say that the next time you’re in town, I’d like to make dinner for both of you at our house.” Saying
our house
sounded pretty great, although it still took some getting used to. “I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, but Noah and I would really like it if you’d come.”

“You bet,” Noah said. “And, by the way, she’s a
great
cook.”

Adam’s smile looked warmer and more genuine than any Teddy had seen so far. “It would be my pleasure, Teddy.”

Levi gave her an approving smile and nod.

“Be forewarned, though,” Noah said with a sly grin. “We’ll be serving water straight from the Marcellus Shale. With a twist of lemon, of course.”

Adam rolled his eyes and Levi chuckled. And when Noah pulled Teddy close and kissed her again, she knew that everything was going to be just fine
.

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Please turn the page for an excerpt from Curveball, Book Four in the Philadelphia Patriots series.

Taylor Page never wanted anything but a career in major league baseball, and hard work and talent have finally landed her the job of Assistant General Manager to the Philadelphia Patriots. Too bad most guys in baseball still don't take a woman exec seriously, especially a thirty-year old blonde with no on-field experience. She needs to do something big to convince her bosses she has what it takes to run a team.

Veteran Pittsburgh outfielder Ryan Locke's career is in jeopardy when rehab fails to correct a suddenly unreliable throwing arm. A single parent with a troubled daughter and an alcoholic mother to support, retirement just isn’t on. Ryan's best hope is for a trade to an American League team as a designated hitter, allowing him several more years of play.

When Taylor needs a replacement for an injured first baseman, she comes up with an innovative but risky idea: convince her boss
and
Ryan that he has what it takes to play first base for the Patriots. With Ryan dead-set against that plan and both their careers on the line, neither Taylor nor Ryan can afford the explosive physical attraction between them. But Ryan is intent on seduction, and Taylor soon finds she can’t resist playing his game.

What the hell was up with Taylor Page, anyway? It seemed like every time Ryan glanced her way, she was looking straight at him with those piercing baby blues of hers. Even weirder, every time he caught her, she immediately swung her attention back to Joe Ridge, who must have wondered why his dinner companion’s gaze was centered just over his left shoulder. Two other guys were at their table, but they were in the process of leaving.

Okay, Ryan
was
pretty much directly in Page’s line of sight. So if she looked past Ridge and straight across three other tables at the Summer Moon, she was naturally going to be staring right at him. And he was sitting in front of floor-to-ceiling windows that gave out onto a spectacular nighttime view of the Gulf of Mexico. Still, he would bet a thousand bucks that her attention on him wasn’t a figment of his imagination, and it was probably no accident that she showed up at the bar tonight, either. Checking him out at batting practice, drinking at the same bar, eyeing him repeatedly—it added up to a big mess of
something’s going on, babe
.

Ryan enjoyed hanging out at the Summer Moon during spring training. Shooting the breeze with other players and having a few brews helped him unwind after a game, and was usually good for a few laughs. There was an easy camaraderie that disappeared once the regular season got underway and the pressure started to ratchet up. And Ryan needed relaxation a lot more than usual. The gut-tightening tension that came from being showcased for a trade wasn’t going to fade until something happened, one way or the other.

He gave it ten more minutes, but Taylor kept sneaking glances his way. Enough was enough, and it was time to confront the issue or drive himself crazy wondering what the hell she was up to.

After draining the last of his beer, he got up. “See you guys later,” he told his tablemates. “I’ve gotta check something out.” He tossed a twenty onto the table. “That’s in case I don’t come back.”


“Check something out? Like that blond hottie sitting at Ridge’s table?” Hornets’ pitcher Chance Baptiste said with an exaggerated leer. “The one that keeps giving you
the look
?”

Baptiste obviously hadn’t recognized Taylor Page. Ryan wasn’t particularly surprised. Not everybody followed the comings and goings in baseball front offices—at least not as closely as he did. Then again, most players didn’t share his ultimate aim of moving into the executive suite himself. “Just thought I’d go say hello to that table for a minute,” he said casually.

When he approached Ridge from behind and tapped him on the shoulder, his GM almost jumped, then twisted around. “What the fuck, Locke? Don’t sneak up on a guy like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Taylor’s pretty pink mouth had dropped open when she figured out Ryan was heading straight for her table. She finally managed to snap it shut but her eyes were still rounded with surprise.

“I didn’t think these lead feet of mine could sneak up on anything, Joe,” Ryan said, taking a relaxed stance. “You must have been so entranced by your beautiful friend that you couldn’t hear anything.”

Ridge snorted, but Taylor’s lips curved into a suddenly welcoming smile—one that put Ryan on full alert.

“Why don’t you introduce us, Joe?” she said in a voice that contained a tiny bit of hesitation and a whole lot of honey. “I recognize the gentleman, of course, but we’ve never met.”

“Locke, this is Taylor Page. Taylor, Ryan Locke,” Ridge said in an oddly neutral voice. “Taylor’s a new AGM with the Patriots.”

Ryan fixed his gaze on the woman, not Ridge. “I know exactly who Taylor Page is,” he said to her. He couldn’t tell for sure in the dim light, but he thought she blushed.

“Well, I guess I should be flattered,” she said. “At least I hope so.”

Her gaze drilled into him, as it had all night, but now it contained something playful, too, and Ryan found himself drawn in by it. Though he’d intended to ask her why she’d been visually stalking him all night, Ridge or no Ridge, the question died on his lips as he searched for a response.

From a distance, he’d found her a total babe. From up close, Taylor Page took his breath away. She wasn’t model beautiful, by any means. Most models had huge, deer-in- the-headlight eyes, shampoo commercial hair, and cheekbones that looked carved out of polished marble, none of which applied to Taylor. But the woman was strikingly attractive, nonetheless. Her smooth, pale complexion and silky white-blond hair suggested her family had Nordic origins, as did the eyes that reminded him of a clear blue sky on a crisp fall morning. She wasn’t tall, but her curves were generous and her body looked toned and glowing with health.

And although he tried to avoid staring at them, her breasts could only be called
outstanding.
Her pink, scoop-necked tee shirt revealed more than enough cleavage to get his hormones paying very close attention.

“I keep up with what’s going on in the front offices,” he finally said with what he hoped was a casual shrug.

Ridge gave him an off look before suddenly rising. “I’ve got a meeting tonight with our minor league staff so I’ve really got to get going. It was great seeing you again, Taylor. Let’s make sure we connect again sometime during the season.” He turned to Ryan. “And as for you, Locke, we’ll be taking care of the busted cooler.
And
the Gatorade,” he said with no trace of humor. “But you’ll be getting the bill.”

Ryan tried to hold back a grin. “My little contribution to improving the facilities at Cal Torrance, boss,” he said in a solemn voice.

Taylor held a hand to her mouth, clearly hiding a chuckle. “Thanks for dinner, Joe,” she said with a smile to the GM. “My turn next time.”

“You’re on,” Ridge said with a wave.

Ryan thought it a little weird that Ridge would just take off like that, meeting or no meeting, since he’d left Taylor all alone at the table. He wondered what she’d say if he suggested that she join him and Baptiste.

Taylor raised her three-quarters full glass of beer. “Since I suddenly find myself bereft of a drinking partner, would you like to keep me company while I finish this, Ryan?”

That sounded
so
much better than going back to drink with his teammates. “Why not?” he said, glancing over at Baptiste, who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So, what did you think?” he said as he took Ridge’s seat and held up his index finger to Lucy, one of his regular servers. Lucy nodded an acknowledgement of his usual order.

Taylor arched her elegant brows. “What did I think about what?”


“About how I played today, or was I just fantasizing about you checking me out?” Taylor’s lips formed a startled little “O”. Ryan found it cute has hell.

“Ah, fantasizing?” she said. “Such an interesting choice of words.”
Though her face gave little away, her eyes gleamed with interest. At least it sure looked that way to him.

“You mind if I call you Taylor? Though I suppose it really ought to be
Ms. Page
, or maybe
ma’am
. What with you being a big time senior executive and all.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled. “Taylor will do. Formality might give me a swelled head. I suspect you aren’t about to entertain the possibility that a baseball executive might
not
have an inflated ego.”

Ryan laughed. “Like players don’t?”


“You’ve got a point.”


She hadn’t taken a sip of her beer yet. Maybe she thought it was impolite to drink while he was still waiting to be served. Taylor did seem like a class act, and spoke like she’d probably graduated from some fancy schools. They hadn’t taught him to talk like that at his Jacksonville high school.

It sure wouldn’t be a chore chatting with her all night, but not unless he got what was bugging him off his chest. “I really handed you guys a cheap win today, didn’t I?”

Okay, so tell me what you think of my arm
.

She gave a shake of her head, enough so that her fine hair brushed her cheeks. “It was just one play in a meaningless game. And I must say I found your assault on the big cooler to be rather charming in its youthful vigor.” She pursed her lips in a sweet gesture that seemed to mock and commiserate at the same time. Her easy charm could suck even the most hardened cynic right in.

“Instant stress relief,” he joked. “But are you going to answer my question? Were you scouting me today or not?”

She hesitated then said, “Given that the Hornets left you out there for the full nine innings, it would be my guess that there were more than likely quite a few people scouting you today.”

Huh. Talk about a non-answer.

Maybe she’d just been staring at him at the batting cage because she liked the look of his ass in a uniform.
Yeah, that’s it.

He decided to take a different tack. “Did Ridge tell you I was on the trading block?”

Lucy thumped a Jai Alai IPA on the table, giving him a knowing look. She probably thought he was finally about to score tonight for once, instead of sticking close to his buddies as usual.

Taylor’s poker face was thoroughly in place. “You know I can’t answer a question like that. But I will say that Joe and I go back a long way.”