Rushing Amy: A Love and Football Novel (26 page)

Amy sat up straighter in her chair. “I—I have my own goals. I’m working toward them every day.”

“Talk’s cheap, Amy. If you let him rescue you every time things fall apart, then I’ll know you’re no different than the rest of them. If you make it on your own, I’ll know you are. He needs someone that’s as strong as he is.”

Amy wasn’t sure if Pauline was insulting her, or giving her advice. She really wasn’t sure what to say. She took a deep breath and clasped her hands on the tabletop.

“I think you’ll find I’ll succeed on my own, Pauline. I wouldn’t even let my family help me.”

“Every last one of his girlfriends and his ex-wife ran to him when things weren’t going well, sweetie. He likes to take care of the people he cares about. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal. It is, though. He doesn’t let them make their own mistakes, and he won’t let them stand or fail on their own, either.”

Pauline gave Amy a nod and started stacking the trash from the table on the tray the food had arrived on. Amy took one last swallow of soda, wrapped her leftovers in a napkin, and rose to dump it in the garbage can. She dumped the tray’s contents as well. Pauline studied her for a few seconds, and rose from the seat. The stacked bracelets she wore jingled in the momentary silence.

“Let’s go find Matty. He’s probably asking the bartender at the restaurant if they have wheatgrass juice or some damn thing.”

The car ride to Claim Jumper was mostly silent, but Amy knew she had to speak up before they rejoined Matt.

“Pauline, there’s some things you need to know about me.”

She pulled into a parking place in front of the restaurant, shut off the car, and turned to Amy. “Okay. Shoot.”

“I’m Emily Hamilton McKenna’s sister, and Brandon McKenna’s sister-in-law. My sister is a diva. She’s internationally famous. I’ve been living with her success for years now.”

“I know Brandon. I haven’t met your sister yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll understand when I say I have lots of experience with family members who have huge personalities and sign autographs as part of their jobs. I’m happy for Emily and Brandon, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I was a CPA before I started doing this. I saved until I could start a business with my own financing. More than anything else, I want something that’s mine.” She stared into Pauline’s eyes. “I care for your son. I’d like a partner in life, too, and I want someone who’s as self-motivated as I am. He’s pursuing me, not the other way around.” Amy paused to take another breath before she continued, “I don’t need to sign autographs or show up on TV to feel good about myself and my achievements. I’d like to think that you and I could be friends, especially if I’m going to continue seeing Matt.”

“It’s not just Matty,” Pauline said. “It’s Samantha, too. They’re a package deal. Can you handle that?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Amy said. She reached out for the door handle, and got out of the car. “Let’s go get some onion rings. My treat.”

Chapter Twenty

C
RAZY
D
AISY WAS
insanely busy with upcoming wedding orders and the usual business, but Amy had a very special invitation: Samantha had asked her to come to her basketball game this afternoon. Matt had sweetened the deal by inviting her out to dinner afterward, too. They’d been officially dating for one month today. After making sure Estelle could handle it on her own for a couple of hours, Amy savored the idea of a little free time and Samantha’s elation when she said, “I’ll be there.”

She and Matt were currently walking through the parking lot of the same school he’d also attended, once upon a time.

“The gym’s over this way,” he said.

Matt’s fingertips closed around Amy’s elbow. He didn’t seem to notice some of the other parents turning to stare at him, or the flirtatious smiles from women who seemed to have nothing better to do than to give him the eye. He was with her. Obviously, they’d seen him before today.

“If Emily was here, she’d be laughing at them,” Amy muttered, realizing one second too late she’d spoken aloud.

“What’s that, Fifi? Talking to yourself again?” he joked. She curled her lip in response.

“They had their chance,” she said.

Matt laughed out loud. More people turned to stare at them. She wasn’t going to put the smackdown on the women who obviously found Matt fascinating, but she pulled her elbow from his fingers and took his hand instead.

He squeezed her fingers in his. “Holding my hand?”

She tilted her chin up. “Maybe.”

He grazed the top of her head with his lips and slid his arm around her shoulders. “That’ll fix them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re giving those women over there with their mouths hanging open something to stare at, aren’t you?” He pulled her a little closer. “I like it. Let’s make out.” They came to a halt a short distance from the gym doors, and Amy leaned into his chest.

“That must be what the kids are calling it these days,” she said.

She took a deep breath. He smelled like clean skin, freshly washed cotton, and a hint of outrageously expensive cologne. She rested her cheek against his, feeling the scrape of his omnipresent five o’clock shadow. This was a little public for the kind of spit-swapping Matt had in mind.

“Then again, if I get into some kind of clinch with you on school grounds, the nuns will kick my ass,” he said.

“You were in the NFL for eleven years, but nuns scare you?” Amy watched Matt glancing around as if he expected a ruler to hit his knuckles any minute.

“Oh, hell, yeah. My mom had a rough time paying for a private all-boys school, but she was determined I was going to stay away from girls long enough to actually learn something.”

“So, did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Learn something,” Amy said.

His voice dropped. “I’ll show you later.” She shivered a little.

He reached out to pull the gym door open for Amy, and they glanced around the bleachers. Laura Stephens stood and waved at them.

“Come on. She’s saved us a seat.”

Amy wasn’t sure about sitting with Matt’s ex-wife, but it appeared she was going to be doing exactly that. Matt and Laura seemed to be friendly. If she wanted to spend time with Matt, she’d be dealing with not only Samantha, but her mom, too.

Amy had never dated anyone before who had a child from a previous relationship. It was an adjustment which sometimes left her bewildered. She spent most of her time with Matt when Samantha was visiting her mom. It seemed he’d like to slowly bring his daughter into the mix, and Amy hoped Samantha would see her as an ally and friend instead of competition for her dad’s affections.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Amy said into Matt’s ear.

Matt tugged her up the bleacher stairs. He stopped next to Laura, kissed her on the cheek, and pulled Amy forward. “Laura, this is Amy.”

“We’ve met before. It’s good to see you again, Amy.” Amy wasn’t sure what to expect, but Laura reached out to give her a hug. “Samantha really likes you.”

Amy hugged her back. “I like her, too.”

Matt was glancing around for Samantha. “Where’s my little girl?”

“Chill out, Dad. She’ll be here in a minute,” Laura said.

Amy crawled over Matt’s knees to sit down on his other side. The gym smelled like any other gym she’d ever been in—musty, with an overlay of cleaning products and sweat. She was favorably impressed at the sheer numbers of parents who’d turned out to see a junior varsity game.

Laura pulled a video camera out of her purse, switched it on, and trained it on the basketball court where both teams were warming up. Samantha seemed to be pointedly ignoring her parents as she trotted around the court. The whistle blew, and she glanced into the bleachers as she sat down on the bench, surrounded by her teammates.

“She saw us,” Matt told Amy. “She’s pretending like she’s not happy we’re here.”

“Does this happen often?” Amy asked. She was a little mystified. Samantha invited her to come to the game, and now she was ignoring the adults? Maybe it was a teenage thing.

Matt and Laura looked at each other, and Laura reached out and patted his knee.

“It depends on the day. Her friends are embarrassed that their parents are here, so she’s embarrassed, too.” Laura rolled her eyes. “When we go home later, she’s going to snuggle up with me on the couch and watch TV.”

The teams assembled on the court. Samantha snatched the ball, dribbled down the court, banking the ball off the backboard and into the hoop like she was trying out for the WNBA. Matt beamed.

“One scholarship to UConn, coming right up,” he said.

“You’d have heart failure if she chose that school,” Laura told him. “She’s not going anywhere outside the state of Washington.”

“Don’t you want to see our little princess in March Madness?”

“Again, you’re on drugs, Matt Stephens.” Laura leaned forward to lock eyes with Amy. “There will be significant financial bribery to keep her here, at least through undergrad.”

“That’s not true,” Matt assured Amy. “I want her to pick the school she wants.”

Laura let out a snort but concentrated on her video camera. Amy watched Samantha and her teammates run up and down the court. It was already looking like a rout. The girls from Samantha’s school were scoring at will, were bigger, and were defending their end of the court with ease.

“Isn’t there some kind of mercy rule?” Amy asked nobody in particular.

“The coach will slow this down,” Matt assured her. The coach in question had just gotten to his feet and gestured to the referee for a time-out. “They don’t allow the 67-10 beatings we took in middle school basketball anymore.”

“Yeah, I got my butt kicked in basketball, too.” Amy leaned forward. “Hey, Laura, did you play?”

“I was a cheerleader. My boyfriend was on the team, though.” Laura fiddled with the video camera. “I thought I charged the batteries in this thing . . .”

Matt took it out of her hand. “Let me see.” He flipped it upside down, pulled the battery out, put it back in, switched the device on and handed it back to Laura. “Fixed it.”

“Thanks.” She resumed filming.

Matt turned to Amy.

“How do you feel about seafood?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Great. We’re going to the Brazilian steak place.” He turned back to watch the game.

S
AMANTHA’S GAME ENDED
with a final score of 45-20. The last several minutes consisted of her team dribbling up and down the court, and the starters sitting on the bench. Even though it was a bad loss, the other team exchanged fist-bumps and hugs with Samantha and her teammates.

Laura, Matt, and Amy left the bleachers and waited on the court for Samantha to sidle over to them. She wrapped her arms around her dad’s waist.

“Can we go to Pagliacci Pizza? Please? It’s sick.” She rubbed her face against Matt’s shirt. “You like the chop-chop salad, too.”

“Not tonight, princess. You’re going home with your mom, and we’ll spend some time together tomorrow.”

The previously excited Samantha’s face fell like the Dow. “I thought I was coming to your house tonight.” She fixed Amy with a stare. “We were going to go to Frankie’s Pizza and Pasta when we talked about it.”

Laura reached out to rub Samantha’s back. “We can stop at the Dilettante Café on the way home and pick up some dessert for after dinner. How’s that?”

Samantha didn’t respond to her mother. She was too busy looking up at Matt as if he’d just run over her designer handbag. “But I thought I was going home with you,” she protested.

Laura reached out for her daughter as Matt detached himself from her.

“You’ll see me tomorrow night.” He ruffled her hair. “We’ll have fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m staying over at Cindy’s tomorrow night!” She was getting progressively more agitated. Her mom was saying something into her ear; Samantha pulled away from her and folded both arms over her chest.

Matt’s voice was hard.

“I understand that you are disappointed, Samantha, but you will not be rude to your mother. You need to apologize.”

Amy watched the typically smiling and confident Samantha regress into someone much younger in seconds. “But I miss you. I haven’t seen you for a week.” She glared at him. “You’re going out on a date. What about
me
? Aren’t I important, too?”

Matt pulled his car keys out of his pocket and put them into Amy’s hand. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes. I’m sorry for the wait.”

Laura glanced over at Amy and shook her head. Laura’s eyes said it all:
Teenage tantrum. It’ll pass.

“Laura, it was nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you, too.” Laura watched her daughter with a bemused expression. Amy remembered being a teenager. She also remembered the punishments she got when she acted out. It seemed Samantha was about to receive one, too.

Samantha was in the midst of what looked like a fairly serious whispered conversation between herself and her dad; she stomped her foot, and Matt took her elbow in his hand. She was about to be escorted out, it seemed.

“Goodbye, Samantha. Great game,” Amy called out to her.

“Bye, Amy,” she responded.

Her expression spoke louder than anything she could have said. Amy knew Samantha wanted her dad to find someone special to fall in love with and maybe give her a few siblings while he was at it. At the same time, she’d had her dad’s undivided attention for the past fourteen years. It was a big adjustment, and it might take some time.

It looked like the next few minutes weren’t going to be fun for Samantha. Her face registered such hurt and anger. Anything Amy said or did wasn’t going to help. Then again, she could try.

Amy had been heading toward the double doors that led to the school’s parking lot. She spun on one heel and walked back to Samantha. Samantha, Laura, and Matt stopped talking and glanced over at her.

“Hey, Samantha, I have an idea, if it’s okay with your mom.” She jingled Matt’s car keys. “Maybe we should go out for pizza and invite your dad along. What do you think?”

Laura and Matt exchanged glances. He didn’t look especially happy, but he let go of Samantha’s elbow. The smile spread across Samantha’s face like sunshine after a torrential downpour. “Best idea
ever
! Let’s go.” She reached out for Amy’s hand. “I’m starving. Are you hungry? They have this really sick pizza that’s all white.”