The Hot Corner (28 page)

I rolled my eyes. “You, wrapped around a beautiful blonde, which we both know was your type, before and after me.”

“Well, as you can see, you’re much more Karina’s type than I am.”

I wrinkled my nose and Brad laughed.

“You should have seen your face when you realized she was hot for you. It was priceless.”

“Yeah, well, you could have clued me in
before
she violated me with her eyes.”

“No, I think you had it coming for assuming you were part of my, what was it? Harem.” He didn’t sound amused now.

“I’m sorry. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

The heat from his glare was enough to give me a sunburn. “So your default reaction is to assume I’m cheating on you? Or was I cheating on
her
with
you
? Do I have one in every city, Dani? I thought we’d gotten beyond this.”

If it had been just anger in his words, I could have dealt with it. The hurt, though, broke me. I put my hands on his handsome face.

“I’m sorry, Brad. I’m trying to let it all go. It’s hard. I came here thinking I knew what I would find, and it’s all turning out differently than I expected. In a good way.” I moved my thumb along his jaw, trying to soothe out the tension I felt there.

“Is my past going to keep getting in the way? I can’t take it back, no matter how much I wish I could.”

“I don’t expect you to. And that’s not it. At least, not all of it. It’s my past and our past, too. Everything gets mixed up in my head and I jump to conclusions. That’s on me, not on you.”

“Well, can you try to work on it? I swear to you that I won’t ever—”

I kissed him. I didn’t want oaths and promises. I didn’t need them. I just needed him to know I was in the wrong and, no matter what, I was going to trust him from here on out. We weren’t the same people we’d been back then. I needed to remember that.

“I’m sorry,” I said when we broke apart. “It won’t happen again.”

A slight smile stole over his lips. “Are you sure? I thought you were going to punch Karina in the face for a minute there. If you had, you might have been sued by several companies that use her for their ads.”

“It was close for a few seconds, but I decided it’d be more fun to hit you.”

“Is that so, champ?” Brad brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed them. “I have to admit, you almost got me.”

“I do have you.”

His smile flashed then. “That you do, Red. And I have you. Which is how I knew you were going to try to hit me.”

“Why is that? I’ve never hit you before. I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never done it.”

“Because if I came across you in some random dude’s arms, the first thing I’d do would be to hit the bastard.”

That jerk. “So you give me shit for assuming just like you would?”

He laughed. “No. I know you wouldn’t cheat on me. Didn’t mean the guy could touch you.”

“Possessive much?”

Brad’s hands moved around my waist and he squeezed my ass. “Yes, and I’m not remotely ashamed of it.”

“You know, all of this could have been avoided had you just told me this wasn’t your house and you borrowed it from a supermodel.”

His wicked grin flashed. “Really? That’s all it would have taken?”

He had a point. “All right, maybe you could have told me her name and showed me a picture or something.”

“You still would have assumed I’d banged her.”

Again, true. “And then you would have corrected me and had fun lording it over me for a while.”

He kissed my nose and I smiled. “Which I’ll be doing now instead.”

“You know, you could be a humble winner.”

Brad’s laughter was back and it made me happy. I never wanted to see him doubting us. I didn’t want to doubt us. We felt so real and so right, even when we were giving each other shit. Or maybe
because
we were.

“Where’s the fun in that? Winning is about being the best and lording it over everyone.”

I ruffled his hair, laughing at the utter bafflement in his tone. “You’re going to be insufferable if you win the World Series, aren’t you?”

“We’ll find out in six months, won’t we?”

His confidence was sexy. “Thirty-one other teams are thinking they have as good a chance as you do.”

He smirked. “But they don’t have me. Or my secret weapon.”

“Steroids?” I asked with a giggle.

He scowled. “No, Red, I’m talking about you. My good-luck charm.”

“I am not.”

He tilted his head and smiled at me. “How am I doing so far this season?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “You’re batting .388, flirting with .400, and the pundits think you might actually have a shot at it the way you’re swinging the bat. You’re second in the league with five homeruns and leading in on-base percentage and RBIs. You’re a lock for National League Player of the Month and early leader for MVP.”

Brad’s lips were on mine the moment I finished. We were both breathless when we broke apart.

“Well,” I said, pretty sure the top of my head had blown off from the heat of our kisses.

“Do you know how hot it is when you spout baseball terminology? Especially when it’s my stats?”

I felt the back of my head just to make sure it was there. “I’m beginning to get the picture.”

He laughed. “I’ll probably have you naked by the time I get to page five or so of your book. Just so you know.”

Imagining him reading my book with me in the room left me feeling both nervous and excited. I’d always imagined him reading it while I was all the way across the country, safely ensconced in my apartment. Then again, I’d imagined the story I was going to write to be very different from the one I found myself a part of now.

“I’ll look forward to that.”

He smiled. “Me, too. Anyway, before I got sidetracked by your sexy stat spouting . . .” We both laughed. “I was pointing out that I’m off to a hotter start than I’ve ever been before. I haven’t played at this level since college. What was the common denominator then and now?”

Me.

But still.

“You’ve gotten better every year without my being here, and plenty of people picked you to be the MVP in their preseason predictions.”

He smiled. “And maybe I could have done it alone, but I’m really glad I don’t have to.”

On that we could agree. “Me, too.”

Brad kissed me lightly before releasing me and taking my hand. “We need to get going.”

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked as we walked down the hallway.

“Yeah. We’re going to my house.”

I shot him a look. “Is it actually your house, or is it a house belonging to another leggy model that I may or may not need to smack around?”

He chuckled as he opened the door. “It’s my house, I swear.” Brad pressed the button for the elevator and squeezed my hand. “I’ve never taken anybody there. You’re the first.”

A warmth stole through me. I loved that he wanted to share his home with me. “I’m honored.”

“Good. Let’s go home, shall we?”

Home. I loved the sound of that.

Chapter 24

“So where is this house of yours?” I asked as Brad drove. We were getting closer to the ocean—I could smell the salt in the air.

“Malibu.”

“On the beach?” I asked, barely containing the excitement in my voice.

He glanced over at me and grinned. “Yes, on the beach. I bought it a little over a year ago.”

I resisted bouncing in my plush leather seat, but only barely. “Why don’t you stay there?”

“During the season, it’s just easier to be in LA. Less of a commute, closer to come home and crash after a night game, you know?” He shrugged. “So I either rent a place or sublet, like I am now.”

“So that’s why the place didn’t look like yours.” It was just another hotel for him.

“Well, the office is the only room I truly spend time in when I’m not sleeping, so it’s the only one I have stuff in. At least it was.” His smirk said it all. The place looked plenty lived-in now.

“I hope Karina doesn’t think I’m a slob and a bad influence.”

He chuckled as he turned left. “I think she’s more focused on your other attributes.” I slapped his arm, and he laughed harder. “That’s the first time I’ve ever been jealous of a girl touching you.”

“Welcome to the club,” I muttered.

He just shook his head and turned into a driveway.

“Holy shit!” I shouted.

Brad laughed, but I ignored him, staring at the big white house. This was a mansion. On the water. With two big pillars holding the upper floors off the ground, and two garages below.

I was out the door before Brad could come around and open it. “Is this for real?”

“I take it you approve?” He stood with his hands in his jean pockets, sunglasses over his eyes, and a serious look on his face.

“What?” I asked, coming back to him even though every part of me was dying to get inside. The waves were crashing behind the house, and I wanted to see the view.

He brushed a finger over my cheek. “I’ve never brought anyone here before, and I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s on the beach! You could have a tent here and I’d be perfectly happy.”

He laughed and tugged me into his arms. “So that’s how I can get you to go camping again? Stick a tent on the beach?”

I’d endure it for him, but I’d rather have the house. “Couldn’t we just build a bonfire on the beach and sit there for a while before heading inside to the bed?”

He laughed and kissed my cheek. “I can do you one better than that. Come on.” He held my hand as we walked up the stairs. He unlocked the door and stepped aside so I could enter. “Ladies first.”

I didn’t have the words for the sight that awaited me. My eyes were drawn to two walls of windows, clear glass with the sun shining through and the ocean looking like it came right up to the floor. I gasped and walked over, bracing my hands on the wooden beams on either side of a window, barely resisting pressing my nose against the glass.

“This is amazing,” I breathed. I could practically feel the water washing over my toes. “How do you live anywhere but here?” I felt Brad behind me and leaned into him as we both looked out at the waves crashing on the shore.

“I come back whenever I have time off,” he said, nuzzling my neck. “It’s a great escape for me. It’s a big house, and when I’m here it doesn’t feel like there’s anybody within miles of me.”

I could see that. While he did have neighbors, they were hardly close by, and the beaches must have been private because I didn’t see anyone out there.

“That sounds lonely.”

His arms flexed around me. “Sometimes. Other times it’s just a place to come and clear my head. I can always get in the car and head back to the city if I want company.”

“Why haven’t you ever brought company here?”

“Never wanted to. This is my place, the place where I come to just be me, not Bradley Reynolds, superstar.” I turned in his arms. He took off his sunglasses and fixed his green gaze on me. “You know the real me,” he said, answering my next question without my asking. “And you need him for the book, right?”

“Yes, but—”

He silenced me with a kiss.

“Let me give you the tour, and then we’ll get to it.”

This was his show and I wasn’t going to argue with him. As much as I wanted him to open up to me completely, a part of me was terrified, because then I’d have to open up to him. All the answers were coming, and I had to be brave enough to face them. I wasn’t sure if I was.

“Fireplace,” he said and pointed.

I looked to my left and let out a little moan at the marble fireplace with the big wooden mantle over it. Here was the first sign that I was indeed in Bradley Reynolds’ place, because on the mantle was a picture of him as a kid, maybe five years old, wearing his baseball uniform and a gap-toothed smile and holding a metal bat tightly in his hands. His father was behind him, an arm around his shoulder, wearing an identical smile, so proud of his son.

“That was the first day of Little League,” he murmured, his eyes on the same picture. “I managed to hit the ball back to the pitcher, who couldn’t field it, so I got a single on my first at-bat.” He smiled. “Dad made them switch balls so he could keep it.”

“Do you still have it?”

Brad nodded. “Yeah. Dad put it in one of those collector cases and got a gold plate for it, commemorating my first hit and the date. He kept it all these years.” He shook his head. “It’s in the library.”

“You have a library?”

He rolled his eyes. “I do read, you know. Of course I have a library.” He took my hand and led me down the hallway of gorgeous wood floors. “The guest bathroom.” He nodded to a side door.

I didn’t contain my squeal. “Oh my God! Look at this clawfoot tub!” I wanted to take a bath, and light a fire in the fireplace, and sunbathe, and basically just live here forever. It was like he’d plucked my dream house right out of my head and put it here in the perfect spot.