To Win Her Trust (25 page)

“I don’t want to impose. The couch in my mom’s suite will be fine for a few nights.” She cringed at the thought and he smiled.

“Jake and Gracie know all about being hounded by the press, and you heard Gracie yourself. They don’t consider you an imposition. Quit overthinking things, CC. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

Edward brought the car to a stop in front of the house. Tuck grabbed her hand and tugged her from the limo’s backseat. With hesitant steps, she let him lead her past the sunny-faced daisies lining the walkway. Hanging planters, overflowing with summer colors, hung from the railings. A pair of hummingbirds buzzed like miniature bell ringers as they flitted from bloom to bloom. The almost musical squeak of the screen door added to the sense of serenity as Gracie appeared on the porch.

She greeted them with a wide smile. “Welcome to the Malone anti-press bunker.”

At CC’s side, Tuck chuckled. “Thanks for letting us hide out for a while.”

Gracie grinned. “No problem. You’re not the first couple to take shelter here.”

Guilt poked at CC. “I appreciate this, Gracie. It won’t be for long.”

An airy wave dismissed her concern. “Stay as long as you need. We have plenty of room, and with Mary gone to Ireland for a month—she’s more of a friend than housekeeper—it’ll be nice to have another woman around.”

Linking her arm through CC’s, she led them inside. After showing them both to the suite upstairs where they’d be sleeping, together apparently, she dragged CC down to the huge family kitchen with Tuck following.

“Where are Jake and the rugrats?” He straddled a chair at the oversized table and sat. CC set her cell phone on the table and slid into the chair next to his.

Gracie crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. She handed it to Tuck, then ducked her head back into the industrial sized appliance. “When the girls heard you were coming, they insisted he pick up a couple of pizzas for dinner.” She emerged with a bottle of wine and a bag of frozen peas. A pair of wine glasses were plucked from a rack above the counter, and she turned. “Come on, CC. My office is more comfortable.”

CC darted a gaze at Tuck but rose to follow as Gracie strode from the room.

“Hey, what about me?” The chair legs scraped as he called to their backs.

“No men.” Gracie didn’t pause or even turn her head. “CC needs some girl time.”

“Gracie.” A warning rang in his tone.

She waived a hand over her head and kept walking. “Entertain yourself. Jake will be back in a few minutes.”

“I need girl time?” CC trailed Tuck’s friend like a baby duck after its momma.

“Yes, and I do, too.”

They stepped into a cozy den, and Gracie shut the door behind them. A cold fireplace took up most of one wall. A second was covered with shelves of books. Another held a poster-sized print that had graced the cover of
Sports Illustrated
earlier this spring a week after Jake had broken the touchdown record. The shot captured him, dressed in his Marauders uniform and stretched out in the air with a football an inch from his fingers. The large frame was surrounded by smaller pictures of Jake and Gracie, the twins, Tom Walden and his wife, and several other faces CC didn’t recognize.

“Here.” Gracie held out the peas. Her eyes widened when CC removed her melting ice pack to make the exchange. “Ouch! Do you need to see a doctor? The girls’ pediatrician lives about a mile down the road, and he makes house calls.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.” She winced as she pressed the frozen vegetables to her cheek.

“That’s one hell of a bruise.” Gracie settled onto the couch and tugged a corkscrew from the drawer in the white pine coffee table. She patted the cushion at her side. “Have a seat. Would you like a glass?” She held up the bottle of chilled chardonnay.

“Please.” Sliding onto the couch, she accepted the glass Gracie poured.

“You’re going to have an impressive shiner.” Gracie peeked sideways at her as she poured a second. “But I’d say that soul deep kiss Tuck laid on you at the stadium makes it worthwhile, don’t you?”

She plunked the glass down with a ringing thud. “You
saw
that?

A smile curved Gracie’s lips and she sat back. “Sweetie, about two
million
people saw that.”

“Oh my God.” Her eyes slid shut, and she swallowed against the nausea bubbling up her throat.

“I thought you knew. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

She opened her eyes to find confusion in Gracie’s.”

“I’m here because my condo is being watched.” She tossed the peas to the table and swept up her glass. Swallowing a healthy gulp, she shook her head. “I knew the camera was on us when I saw my face on the big screen, but…” Another gulp drained the glass, and her breaths came in pants. She wiped her lips with her fingers. “I swear, my brain misfires when that man is around.”

Gracie grinned and picked up the bottle. CC nodded and golden liquid splashed into her glass. A crystal chime rang when Tuck’s friend tapped her glass to the rim.

Gracie sipped, sighed in appreciation, and lowered the glass to her lap. “It’s been my experience that the right man can definitely scramble a woman’s brain.”

Panic pulsed through CC’s heart. The
right
man? Oh, no. No. No. No! “That better not be true or I’m screwed.”

Tinkling laughter escaped Gracie’s lips. “I don’t see why. He’s single. Funny. Has a job that pays well. He’s gorgeous.” She ticked off her list of Tuck’s attributes with raised fingers and a wry smile. “And charming. Sometimes a little too much for his own good, I admit, but he obviously cares for you.”

CC wiped a damp palm on the thigh of her jeans, then shifted the glass to her other hand to repeat the process with the second. “You forgot to add he’s the most eligible bachelor on the East Coast and goes through women like drag racers burn through tires.”

“Both true, but that was before he met you.”

The heat of her blush intensified the throbbing in her cheek. “It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?” Gracie tipped the rim of her glass in CC’s direction. “I don’t know what that kiss looked like from your perspective, but from where I was sitting, I’d say his racing days are over.”

She groaned.

“I’m serious, sweetie. I’ve watched R-rated movies that didn’t contain that much heat.”

Her dried palms went dewy. If what Gracie was saying was true….

Hope she hadn’t dared allow before suddenly snuck in to steal her breath. Could Tuck’s friend be right? Did the passion in his eyes transcend the bounds of simple lust? The possibility both tempted and frightened.

Don’t be a fool, CC. He’s Kevin Tucker
. An expert player. A man who’s left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

What was she thinking? So they had passion between them. So did a pair of cats when the moment was right. And when the moment passed, they scratched and hissed and went on their way. Alone.

She shook her head. “He’ll be leaving for training camp in a couple weeks.”

“So is Jake, and they’ll both be back when camp is over.”

“Yeah, but Jake is…” She opened a flat hand and flicked it between them. “And you are…” A helpless sigh shuddered from her lungs. “Your situation is different.”

Gracie swirled the wine in her glass. “Not so different. You’re sort of preaching to the choir, CC. It wasn’t long ago I was making the same type of arguments, all of which turned out to be wrong.”

The hand dropped to her side. “I appreciate what you’re saying but, honestly, this thing between Tuck and me is only temporary.”

“Because of your agreement?”

She sat up straighter. Damn it. Their arrangement was a private affair, as were the many details she’d shared with him about her life. Her family. A chill raced over her. What else had he blabbed? “He told you about our arrangement?”

A nod was her only answer.

“Then you should understand.” She brought the glass to her lips, but only sipped this time. Gulping the first glass had left her a little dizzy. Did concussions make you woozy? Maybe she
should
see a doctor. Cool fingers brushed her arm, and she blinked.

“What I understand is that Tuck has feelings for you, and if I’m reading you right, they’re not one-sided.”

Feelings, not cared for. How did she know that? Had he shared them with his friend, and what type of feelings exactly? The kind a man had for a woman he was sleeping with or something more? A knock interrupted them before she could ask.

The door creaked open, and Tuck popped his head in through the gap. “Pizza’s here.” He held up the phone she’d left on the table. “And your mother called. She’s on her way.”

CC bobbled her glass onto the table and leaped to her feet. “What? Why did you answer, and why in the world did you tell her where I was?”

He pushed the panel open completely and straightened in the doorway. His sheepish smile resembled more of a grimace. “Sorry. Your phone rang, and I saw it was your mom. You answered her call the other day, and I figured…” Apparently, he didn’t enjoy sheepish. His brows drew together and his shoulders shot back. “Fine. I shouldn’t have answered, but once I had, I was afraid not to tell her. She saw a tease on the local news channel for tonight’s sports report, and she sounded hysterical. She kept babbling about emotional wounds and fatal mistakes and demanded to know where I’d stashed you.”

“Oh, dear Lord.”

Closing the distance between them, he held out the phone. “Call her back. Tell her you’re okay.”

She slapped a hand to the top of her head. “Like that would do any good.” She turned to offer Gracie a sick smile. “I’m so sorry. My mother can be a little…intense. She’ll insist on hovering. It would be best if I just checked into a hotel.”

“Nonsense.” Gracie rose to her feet and headed for the door. “We have plenty of room. Come have some pizza before Jake and the goblins devour it all.”

“We’ll be out in a minute.” Gracie paused at Tuck’s comment. He bumped out his chin. “Close the door behind you, will you?”

She nodded.

He cupped his fingers around CC’s neck the second the door clicked shut. “I’m sorry.”

She found it impossible to be angry with him when he was touching her. “No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

He slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “You’ve had a hell of an afternoon. You’re entitled to a little…
snit
.”

She snorted a laugh, and he tightened his arms around her. She dropped her forehead to his chest with a smile.

“That’s better. Now, what was your mother talking about with wounds and fatal mistakes? She didn’t seem to be making any sense.”

A groan gurgled up from her belly and spilled from her lips. He reared back and tucked a finger under her chin, lifting her head until he could meet her gaze.

“My mother often doesn’t make sense.” She shot a glance at the closed door. “I shouldn’t tell you this, wouldn’t tell you normally, but since you’ll be meeting her in a little while, I think you should know.”

Apprehension crossed his brow. “Know what?”

She looked him dead in the eyes. “If you tell anyone what I’m about to say, I’ll deny it.
After
I kill you.”

He grinned, and shifting one arm to release her, he slashed his finger over his chest, crossing his heart.

“Okay, but I mean it. Not a word.”

He nodded.

Her chest heaved on a deep, hesitant breath. “My mother thinks she’s psychic.” She jammed her eyes closed briefly on a wince.

“You’re kidding?”

“I wish. She gets some pretty kooky ideas, and she’s a bulldog about seeing them through.”

He laughed. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Ha! You say that now, but you’ll be singing a different tune when she pulls out her Tarot cards and starts in on you about your perfect mate.”

“Okay. Now I’m scared.” The twinkle in his eyes belied the sentiment.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose, and a subtle whiff of sawdust flared her nostrils.

Oh, no
.

He turned and pulled her to the door.

She sawed at her lower lip with her teeth and stopped him before he could open it. “Would you do me a favor?”

He turned to face her, and his laughing eyes were suddenly serious. “I’d do anything for you.”

An internal whimper caught in her throat before it could escape. Well, shoot. She’d think about what he meant by that later.

She cleared her throat. “Would you take a shower before she arrives?”

Chapter 21

“Um. I need to tell you something before my mother gets here.”

CC curled her restless fingers into fists on the tabletop and darted a nervous glance around at the curious faces. With her mother soon to arrive, the secret of her identity would be out in a few minutes anyway. Though Natalie Calhoun no longer walked the runways, her famous face, and her connection to Curt, were well known. A preemptive strike seemed the wisest course.

Gracie’s gaze dropped to the hand Tuck laid over CC’s, and she pushed back her chair. “Girls, how about you take your plates into the den?”

“Like a picnic?” Charlie’s eyes lit with pleasure.

“I get to pick the movie.” Plate in hand, Angel scooted off her chair and darted for the hall.

“You picked last time,” her sister called, scrambling to follow. Murphy trotted after them.

“I’ll be just a minute.” Gracie gathered their glasses and a handful of napkins and disappeared through the kitchen door.

Tuck squeezed CC’s hand. “What’s up?”

She shook her head without meeting his gaze. Her identity would forever be tangled with the stories of her kidnapping. Other than with Tuck and a handful of doctors, she’d never willingly opened the topic up for discussion. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t do so now, but if she was going to bare her soul to his friends, she’d rather have to say it only once.

Jake pushed his plate forward and propped his muscled forearms on the table. “Why is it I have a bad feeling in my gut?”