ROMANCE: SPORTS ROMANCE: Bad Boys of Sports: A Complete Collection (Alpha Male, Football, Hockey Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Sports Romance) (2 page)

Chapter Three

Emma

“Mama is pretty, like a princess.”

“Like which princess, sweetie?”

“Mmm..." Chloe scrunched her brows as though she was solving a problem. "Like Rapunzel,” 

I smiled, kissing her on the top of her head. Chloe’s compliment was the only one I needed when I left. Heading towards what might become the biggest mistake in my last four years combined, I wore my best outfit. It was a red dress that I’d found in a vintage shop, on sale, and it was just my size.

I checked my tousled waves, a product of a stressful hour in the bathroom mirror. Our meeting place, a quaint pastry shop, was close enough to walk to. Before getting my second job at the coffee shop, I’d thought about applying there. I clutched my nicest handbag to my side as I entered the shop.   

If there was anything that hadn’t changed about Caroline, it was her voice. It was bright and bubbly like cold champagne splashed all over this dusty town.

“Emma!” Her lovely hair of dark tresses was the first thing I registered as she enveloped me into a massive hug as soon as I walked in. I could barely make out her fiancé’s strained face as he glanced towards the other tables watching. He was top button proper, with thick-rimmed glasses that looked more expensive than my couch.

Caroline pulled away from me. The last four years had been kind to her, I thought staring at her shimmering with a California tan. College must’ve been good for her. Her eyes glittered as she took me in.

“Red has always been your color,” she said with a wink. My stomach flipped at her innocent comment. There was no way that she knew, I kept telling myself. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that we’re finally getting together.”

Her fiancé seemed less enthusiastic, but he shook my hand politely. Caroline had already ordered us a plate of fresh croissants with a pitcher of coffee to go with it. She knew I had a thing for French pastries.

“I just tried Turkish coffee last year and it’s changed me for good,” she confessed as she poured three cups out for us. “Andrew and I went all over Istanbul to try out a ton of different places. Drinking the regular stuff doesn’t have the same kick, but it’ll do.”

I blinked slowly, head nodding automatically as if I understood how fun trying coffee in another country was. The closest I’d come was trying flavored coffee.

The next hour taught me a lot. Andrew was in the film industry and as uptight as he initially seemed. His dismissive comments made me careful about my every answer to Caroline’s questions. Caroline lacked his pretentious nature, but she had a certain worldly vibe to her that seemed to elevate her far from my measly place in life. They were getting married at her parent’s new house. Her wedding invitation must’ve cost a tiny fortune to design and print.

When she presented it to me, I nearly choked.

“Come to the rehearsal dinner, at least.” Her eyes begged. “You have to; my family is dying to see you again too.”

I blushed, shaking my head to the side. “I’m so sorry. It’s just–I’m so busy.”

I could see that she’d prepared herself for that answer. Although the sparkle in her gaze seemed to darken a shade or two, she pressed through with a sweet smile.

“Please, keep it. Just in case your schedule changes.”

After we had said our goodbyes outside, I walked around the corner and nearly collapsed on a bench beside me.

How could I possibly go there? What if everyone found out? My cheeks burned painfully as images of Blaze’s devilishly handsome face swam into mind. Knowing that he was going to be there too twisted my stomach slowly.

My watch told me that I needed to walk back home to change before my afternoon shift began at the coffee shop, but my feet felt too heavy to move.

There was no way that I could go to her wedding.

“I won’t go,” I promised aloud. “I cannot go.”

The walk back home never seemed as long as it was that day.

Chapter Four

Blaze

Being a big fish in a small pond has its benefits.

My wrist was going to sprain if I have to wave at any more people while I drove towards the town’s upscale residential area. Women blushed and whispered as I passed down the street. I smirked in the rearview mirror at a pair, who saw my look and burst into excited giggling. Small towns were too easy.

Seeing the sprawling home that I’d bought my parents sent a rush of pride through me. After years of them pouring their working class paychecks into my practices and games, it felt good to see a physical mark of my attempt to repay them.

There were half a dozen other cars in the driveway. I frowned as I climbed out of my truck and headed towards the door. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

“Honey! You’re here!” My mother’s hug could rival my strongest teammate’s tackle.

Caroline popped up in the kitchen after I escaped Mom’s grip, who went off to grab Dad.

“Hey big guy,” she said with a smile. “How was your drive?”

“Long and boring,” I told her with a shrug and looked around. “Where’s Director Fiancé?”

“He’s a producer,” she corrected with a sniff. “He’s talking to the landscape architect.”

“Landscape?”

“We want to trim the hedges into our initials.”

“Money doesn’t buy taste, I guess,” I muttered. She narrowed her eyes at me, but she was smiling. That’s my sis, always able to take my punches.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Blaze. It’s going to look spectacular. We want our wedding to be absolutely perfect.” Her eyes seemed to darken after she spoke. “Well, as perfect as it can be.”

I groaned. “As long as I don’t have to dress in some ugly penguin suit.”

She laughed. “Not likely, but can you try to talk to Andrew a little? He’s not much of a sports guy, but he likes making movies about them.”

“That’s two very different things.”

“Is it really, though?” she mused and went to grab her glass of wine on the counter of the massive marble island that sat in the center of the kitchen. “Do you want a glass?”

“I’ll go for a beer.” I strolled over to the fridge and grabbed one from what I knew was my father’s stash – basic and local, no frills about it. I popped open the can with a grateful sigh. As I finished a huge swig, the weight of my sister’s eyes tugged at me. “Yes?”

“You seem on edge,” she said.

“I’d like to see your job on television,” I said, changing the subject.

Another laugh. “Okay fine, I get it. You don’t want to talk about. What else is new around here?”

Silence passed between us as I looked around at the kitchen’s interior. No expense had been spared for my parents, but they were still stubborn with a few decorations from our childhood home. I grinned at a hanged picture of Caroline and me in overalls, splattered with mud, and grinning like the day we were born. When I turned to mention it to her, I noticed she was staring at a different picture.

It was a candid picture of Caroline and Emma from their high school days. They’d been laughing at something. I think Caroline was dating some photography dude at the time. The photo was in black and white. Emma’s dimpled smile was in focus, but Caroline was a blurred splash of flying hair as she’d been laughing.

“I really miss those days,” she said softly. “I finally got to see Emma today.”

“Oh yeah?” I tried to push the excitement from my voice. “How was she?”

“Good. She looked great, as beautiful as I remembered her. A little tired maybe, but she’s always worked hard on her music.”

“She’s done with school?” I asked.

She shrugged, swishing her wine around with a thoughtful look. “I’m not sure, actually. She didn’t say much, and our meet up was over before I knew it. She’s a little reserved now. I kind of wish I met her alone, just the two of us for some girl talk, but I was dying for her to meet Andrew too.”

I licked my bottom lip and leaned forward with a feigned casual air. “Yeah, it’s hard to beat you when it comes to mindless chatter, sis.” Caroline threw a pillow at me for my cheeky comment.

But my mind was elsewhere. Emma was in town, and that pang of regret whenever I thought of her surged with passion. I could finally ask her about how she’d just ended things without a real explanation. If I found her, I could make her realize what she was missing, something that would make her regret whatever music nerd boyfriend she’d snagged.

“It was really nice to see her, though. I miss having her in my life. I want the old Emma back.”

“She’s living here?” I tried to keep my voice even.

Caroline went to refill her glass with more wine. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders, a sure Hadley sign that her mind was somewhere else, on her wedding, most likely.

“Maybe,” she answered, but it was dazed.

The sound of our father’s booming laughter approached. I grinned, pushing the thought of Emma down. Family, first. Emma, later.

It was a small town. I was bound to come across her.

Chapter Five

Emma

This shirt definitely shrunk in the wash.

I restrained a glare at the teenage boy who was ogling my chest. When Chloe grows up to be a teenager, I hoped she’ll have better dating prospects. It wasn’t even like the shirt was low-cut. Every barista wore a black V-neck as part of our uniform.

Mercifully, the boy moved along.

“Your patience is astounding,” my manager, Jennifer, said with a sly grin. Her eyes traveled past my shoulder. “I should’ve known that hiring a pretty face would distract customers. There’s another one.”

Another one? I turned to see where she was looking.

The mug in my hand nearly dropped, but Jennifer was quick with her reflexes.

“Blaze,” I breathed. “He can’t see me.”

She cleared her throat. “Um, you do realize that’s one of the hottest football players ever staring right at you, don’t you? Not to mention a hometown celebrity for the fact that he grew up around here.”

“No, he can’t see me,” I hissed at her.

She furrowed her brow at me but glanced at the clock. “You sure you don’t want to take your break right now? I’ll cover for you.”

But, it was too late. Blaze Hadley entered The Bean Factory on the corner of Fourth Street and marched right up to the counter.

“Hey there.”

As if it was only yesterday that he’d seen me last. His voice was as rich and delicious as I remembered. My cheeks felt warm as his dark eyes focused on me.

“Can you talk?”

He wasn’t about to leave. The patrons in the coffee shop were beginning to recognize his face. A whisper of his name erupted across the sea of people. Eyes darted out from behind books. And I was almost positive that there was a chocolate syrup stain on my shirt. This. Could. Not. Be. Happening.”

It was my manager who spoke for me. She coughed. “You’ve only got a few hours left in your shift. Why don’t you leave early?”

I knew she was only doing that because Blaze Hadley wanted to talk to me. If it had been any other guy, she would’ve told them off without a hint of regret.

But she and I both knew he wasn’t just any other guy.

“Do you want to grab a drink?”

That was the first thing he asked me when I finally emerged from the back. I’d tried to get out as much of the blotch on my shirt as possible. With my apron neatly folded underneath my arm, I nearly shrank away from him as his towering frame greeted me.

“How did you even find me?” I asked and glanced at the coffee shop.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. I watched his muscles underneath his fitted t-shirt. He was outrageously handsome to begin with, and now, he’d come back with an even sharper jawline.

“I asked around,” he said.

“Oh.”

“Did you want to go for that drink?”

“I can’t,” I muttered. “I should get home.”

He frowned, and my heart leaped at his handsome face twisting. Was he asking about me? The memory of the yearbook out on my coffee table sent a shiver through me. There was not a chance that he was even remotely interested in me. Not now. He was famous. Maybe he just wanted a small town hookup, I wondered.  Just like the last time.

“Someone told me,” he said slowly. “I heard that you’ve been working here for a while…” My stomach dropped.

A silent tension rose between us. I sucked in a deep breath.

“School didn’t work out. I missed home,” I said as casually as I could as if it were no big deal. Saying it out loud didn’t sound as bad as it had when I rehearsed it over and over again in my mind. I’d always imagined that it would’ve sounded more dramatic, more depressing.

But it was hard to think about anything when I was staring at him. His eyes were colder than I remembered, but they sparked with something – something that made a person want to know about.

“I miss this place sometimes,” he said with a growing smile, a hint of wickedness at the corner. “Well, not everything about this place, but certain people. Like you.”

His gaze was melting me. My body flushed with heat. Was Blaze Hadley flirting with me? Not that he hadn’t before, and it had the same effect as before.

His face from that night, the sound of his voice, the feeling of his hands… The way we’d talked in stolen moments for a month leading up to that party. Nobody knew he liked to read. Or that I laughed harder with him than with anyone else. He liked my violin, and I liked his sweet voice.

A vision of a tabloid threw cold water on my rising nostalgia. I bit my lip. The headlines were always clear. I’d seen the pictures, and I pushed them away because that wasn’t an idea I could entertain.

“I need to go home now, Blaze. I’m sorry.”

Fame changes people. He used to wear a smile, but it’s a smirk now.