CHAPTER TWO
The idea of not seeing Evan again sat in Chris’s belly like a rock. He had to see her again. So he fake-hobbled to the open door of her office and knocked, making sure to hang on to the doorjamb as he lifted his left foot off the floor.
Evan looked up from a chart she was holding and her eyes widened a little. “What happened?”
He grimaced, giving her his best embarrassed smile. “Sorry to bother you. You said to come back if my knee started acting up again.”
“Absolutely. Let’s get you to the table.” She walked over and slipped an arm around his waist, helping him walk.
Chris thought he did a pretty good limp, and he slowed down slightly so that he could savor her touch just a little longer. As she pulled her arm back, he felt the absence of it leave him cold where it had warmed his skin moments ago.
He hoisted himself onto the table. “It came on all of a sudden. I was just practicing, running across the field, and this shooting pain started in my knee.”
“Really.” She felt around, her brows knit together in concentration. “And there was no pain since you left here yesterday until then?”
“Yeah. It’s the damnedest thing.” He hoped she was buying this.
But a whisper of a grin on her lips told him that she might not be. “Well, it’s a good thing you came in to see me then.”
He smiled back at her, his heart swelling . That smile of hers went right through him. “Yeah. Sure is.”
She pressed her fingers gingerly around his knee. “Where does it hurt?”
He winced. “Right there.”
“Interesting,” she said. “Because the injury is over on the left side.”
He felt his face flush and he gave her a grin. The jig was up. Might as well cop to it. “Okay. You got me. I faked pain so that I could come in and see you.”
She straightened and gazed at him with amused eyes. “Now, why would you do that?”
He took a breath. Just do it. “Because I wanted to ask you if you’d grab a bite with me later.”
“Why didn’t you just come in and ask me?”
His words came out in a nervous rush. “I was arguing with myself. I didn’t know if it was a good idea. I mean, you work here, and I’m a player. And I focus so much on the game, you know. I try really hard to stay focused, and not get distracted.”
“Wow, you’re making a hell of an argument for hightailing it out of here,” she said.
He chuckled, feeling like an idiot. “The thing is, I can’t help being distracted by you. I really want to see you. I mean, out of the stadium. You know?”
She grabbed a pack of sticky notes from the countertop behind her and scribbled something onto it, and then tore the tiny piece of paper from it and handed it to him. “I do. I have a great little barbecue and a small porch with outdoor rocking chairs. Swing by after practice and we’ll grill something.”
Chris breathed out a relieved sigh and took the sticky note from her. “I’d love to grill something with you.”
He winced inwardly. Why did being around this woman turn him into such a dork?
She gave him the sexiest side smile he’d ever seen. “Good. I look forward to it.”
“Okay. I’ll see you around 7:30?” She was standing so close. He breathed her in and felt himself nearly swoon. Her powdery, jasmine and vanilla scent made him lightheaded.
“Perfect.” She stepped aside so that he could get off the table and make his exit. “You think you can make it to the door without too much trouble?”
He chuckled. “I’ll do my best. I don’t feel limp.” He grimaced. “I mean, like I need to limp.”
Evan laughed, a sultry, deep-throated sound that seemed to vibrate right through him.
“Not that I’m limp.” He felt himself redden. “I should shut up. I’m just making it worse. I’m gonna go now.”
“I got it.” Her eyes seemed to smile at him. “I knew what you meant.”
She made him feel light. Like he was floating. He slid off the table. Should he risk embarrassing himself further by speaking? He needed to offer to bring something. Right? It was the polite thing to do. “Can I bring anything?”
“Six-pack?” Her eyes flicked to his belly and then she seemed to catch herself and then looked back up at his face, her own cheeks turning a sexy shade of pink. She cleared her throat.
He gave her a nod. “Okay. See you then.”
This time he didn’t hobble, he walked, with a definite spring in his step, feeling like he was flying.
Until he glanced back at her and hit the trash can near the door.
“Careful there.” She giggled. “That trash can is lethal.”
“Right.” He navigated around the trash can and waited until he was in the doorway to glance back and wave.
She waved back. “See you later, Chris.”
If he didn’t trip over any other treacherous trash cans or other seemingly harmless items between now and then, she would.
He had no idea a crush could be so dangerous.
***
“I’m being cursed,” Sammy slurred into Chris’s ear.
Chris held his cell away and frowned at it. His uncle had really gone off the deep end. That’s what too many drugs will do to you.
He tried to choose his words carefully, but failed. “Sammy, are you high?”
“No, just drunk. But that’s neither here nor there. Listen, I’m being cursed, Chris. You need to come and help me.” The sound of ice tinkling against a glass, and then the glass apparently knocked against the phone as Sammy took another long gulp.
A confusing mix of irritation and concern went through Chris. He wasn’t supposed to be drinking. If he was drinking. Chris couldn’t dwell on it because then he might have to commit himself to going to Sammy’s house and checking on him, and he didn’t want to do that, for a variety of reasons.
Sammy had locked himself away in an old castle on an island in the Adirondacks. It would be at least a two-day trip. “Okay. I’ll come. But I can’t make it tonight.”
Even through the slur, Sammy’s voice was urgent. “No, no, Chris. That won’t work for me. I might be dead by then. Crazy things are happening, Chris. Crazy, crazy things. You need to come now.”
Chris looked at the time on his cell. He was supposed to be at Evan’s in an hour. “How am I going to get there so fast? I’ll have to catch a plane. It’ll take a bit of time.”
“You’ll take my helicopter. I’ve sent a car for you.”
“You what?” Chris gaped at his phone.
Amusement tinged Sammy’s voice. “Look over at the parking lot.”
Chris looked. A black Bentley waited, with Earl, Sammy’s driver, lifting a hand in greeting through the open driver’s window.
“Hang on a second,” Sammy slurred. Then his voice sounded a little farther away as he shouted into what apparently was a different phone. “Raise your phone up so I can wave to Chris.”
The driver lifted a cell phone into the air and the tiny image of Sammy Screech, faded rock star and the lunatic uncle who raised him, waved wildly. “Hi, Chris. I can see you. Can you see me?”
“I can see you. Look, Sammy. Not that I don’t care about your dire situation, but I had plans. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
“You had plans with a lady?”
“Yes.”
“Is she pretty?”
“She’s beautiful, Sammy. But that’s not—”
“Well, bring her along, then!”
Chris was speechless and mortified at the very idea of Evan finding out about who his uncle was. The horror. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh, it’s a fantastic idea. Bring her along. Come on, Chris. If you don’t, I’m going to keep on calling you and having Earl stalk you. He’ll wait outside, where ever you go.” He said this last bit in a sing-song voice.
Chris looked up at the sky and heaved a sigh. “I’ll call you back.”
“Wait, just go over to the Bentley. Earl will drive you.”
“Sammy, I can drive myself.”
“Just go. Come on, Chris. Humor me.”
“I’ve been doing that my whole life.” Chris walked toward the parking lot, eying the cell phone Earl held up. Even from this distance he could see Sammy’s shit-eating grin. When he finally approached the car, Sammy clapped in delight. “Chris, it’s so nice to see you again. It’s been so long. And I must say, your girlfriend is charming.”
Chris stopped dead in his tracks. No. “You didn’t.”
“I did.” Sammy grinned and pointed to the left, indicating the inside of the car.
Earl stepped out and came around to the passenger side, while Chris stood, paralyzed, his horror complete.
Earl opened the passenger door. Chris saw a pair of well-shaped jean-clad legs. He leaned down and peered into the car.
Evan sat smiling at him, a champagne glass in hand. She gave him a little wave. “Hi, Chris. You didn’t tell me that Sammy Screech was your uncle.”
With some effort, Chris found his voice. “It never came up.”
“I’m sure it would have.” She patted the seat beside her. “Let’s go. I’m a huge fan. I’ve got all of Sammy’s albums. I can’t wait to meet him in person.”
“Lift me up,” Sammy’s voice called from the cell in Earl’s hand.
Earl obliged.
“I can’t wait to meet you, Evan. I’ve got all kinds of hysterical stories of Chris when he was a little kid. You’ll love them.”
“I’m sure I will.” She grinned and looked at Chris. “Let’s get this party started.”
This was a nightmare. Chris managed a smile, but the butterflies in his belly had turned to a sickly, churning feeling. This wasn’t at all the way he had planned the evening.
“Why wait? Chris, take Earl’s phone and hold it up to the lovely Evan. I want to talk to her while Earl drives to the chopper. Have you ever been on a private helicopter, Evan?”
Earl handed his cell to Chris, who reluctantly took it and held it up toward Evan.
Evan’s face was lit up like a Christmas tree. There was no way he could take this from her now. She was about to meet one of her favorite musical artists. Chris would use the term musical artist loosely, but it was what the record companies and Sammy’s fans called him.
He’d just have to grin and bear it.
Evan gushed. “I haven’t. Oh my gosh, we’re going on your private helicopter?”
“You certainly are. And dare I say, you’re welcome on my helicopter any time. That chopper has seen many wild times.” Sammy winked. “If those seats could talk.”
Evan giggled. She’d turned into a gushing teenage girl. Chris wanted to be annoyed but he couldn’t be. He found her excitement and joy over Sammy to be adorable.
God, he had it bad for her. He was doomed.
Chris knew those seats well. He’d spent more time on that helicopter and on Sammy’s private plane than anywhere else, it seemed. He couldn’t deny that he’d had many fun times with Sammy. He’d seen things most kids could only dream of seeing, and had opportunities that most people would never have because of Sammy. He felt his heart stir for the man who had carted him along on almost every tour he’d had. He felt a soft smile cross his lips.
“Let’s see…let’s start with the time when Chris was about three years old and I brought him up on stage with me. Oh, he was so cute. Then he just ripped his pants down and crapped right on the stage. The crowd loved it. I’m sure there’s photos on the Internet somewhere if you Google it, but my assistant took a photo and I had it enlarged. It’s in my den. You’ll see it when you get here.”
Chris didn’t think it was possible to be more embarrassed and mortified than he was right now. But the day was still young.
And by the sounds of things, it promised to be a long night.
***
The more fun Evan had on the helicopter, speaking with Sammy Screech, the worse she felt about the entire plan. It had been more than she could hope for when Chris had come fake-limping into her office to ask her out—a move that, even in its deception, she found endearing. But it had been an unbelievable stroke of luck that Sammy Screech had sent his driver to invite her to his mansion in the Adirondacks.
Evan laughed at Sammy’s jokes—some of them well beyond appropriate—and enjoyed the close proximity of Chris next to her. The guilt she was feeling, though, grew in equal measure to the fun she was having. She hadn’t ever had this much fun in her entire life. And sitting next to Chris, breathing in the fresh soap and water smell of him, feeling the heat of his muscular thigh next to hers, and seeing the warmth of his deep-brown eyes each time he gave her that shy glance, stirred in her a dangerous feeling.
Evan found herself daring to entertain the idea of seeing him on a regular basis. She wondered what his full lips would feel like touching hers. She imagined feeling his hard body pressed against her skin. And beyond those longings, she found herself wishing for someone she could go to sleep with and wake up next to. She found herself yearning for someone to have breakfast with, and kiss good-bye, and then anticipate seeing at day’s end.
She wanted what normal couples had. Like watching TV on the couch and taking long showers together. And most of all, she wanted someone to laugh with. Evan had never laughed like this, and watching Chris laugh at himself along with her made her want these things all the more.
But Evan knew that she couldn’t have these things with Chris. How could she steal the puzzle box from his crazy-fun uncle and then build a relationship with him? Even if stealing the cursed puzzle box would save her from her mother’s blackmail, their entire life would begin with a lie. It would be hard enough to keep what her family had done, and what they’d forced her to be a part of, from him. But to steal from his uncle, the man who had loved him and raised him after his parents had been killed in the car accident, and then look into his eyes and tell him that she loved him…
Wait a minute. Where had that come from? Love? How could she possibly love him already? The answer was simple: she didn’t. And all of this daydreaming was for nothing anyway because there would never be any love.
Chris would never believe her. He’d never understand. How could he?
Evan took a breath and tried to focus on a plan. She’d get to the mansion, and then Sammy would certainly give her a tour of the place. She’d pay special attention to the layout, and even closer attention to where the puzzle box was located. He’d most likely have it on display somewhere. Especially if he’d posted the Throwback Thursday pic of the puzzle box and the obsessed fan who had given it to him—
“Hey, where’s that smile? I think I might be boring her, sadly,” Sammy said, making a mock sad face from the cell phone screen.
“Oh, no. Not at all,” Evan said. “I don’t think it’s possible for you to be boring. I was just thinking how amazing this day is. One minute I’m walking out to my car, and the next I’m being approached by Sammy Screech’s driver and being swept away to his mansion on his private helicopter. I’m a little overwhelmed, I guess.”
Sammy’s bright, little boy smile was back. “Overwhelmed is good. Bored is not. So I’ll make sure to keep you on your toes when you get here.”
“Sounds good. I could use some excitement.” Funny, all she had wanted up until now was lack of excitement. She’d wanted boring and normal. And if you took away the whole robbery plan, she was having a blast.
“And here we are.” Sammy clapped his hands like an excited child.
The chopper dipped and began its descent, and Evan was startled to realize they were flying fairly low over water. “Is that Lake George?”
“It is,” Chris said. “Are you familiar with Lake George?”
“I’ve been on a dinner cruise. It was nice.” Except for the glamoring and stealing she’d had to do for her mother on that particular cruise.
“Then you’ll feel right at home here,” Chris said.
Evan looked out the window again and noticed the small island with a lavish-looking castle sitting on top of it. The place had been built in the tradition of Scottish Gothic castles, complete with turrets and arching double windows. Her breath caught in her throat. “This is incredible.”
“You have no idea,” Chris said, his tone edged in irony.
She felt a jab of guilt for blindsiding Chris by accepting Sammy’s invitation. But then the splendor of the view below her made her forget.
Evan watched, awestruck, as the mansion grew bigger and bigger as the helicopter lowered closer to it. The chopper seemed to be moving too quickly. She braced herself for a rough landing.
Chris placed a hand on her forearm. “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
The pilot, a fifty-something man with a warm smile and cheerful eyes, expertly lowered the chopper onto the landing pad with barely a bump in the ride.
“Magnificent! I’ll see you in a moment.” With that, Sammy ended the call.
The pilot helped Evan step down onto the mansion’s landing pad, which happened to be built onto the mansion itself, and Chris thanked him. “It’s good to see you again, Angus.”
“Same to you, young Master Hajek.” The pilot’s Scottish accent was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Your uncle built this place?” Evan felt her eyes grow wide as her gaze took in the view. The mansion was far bigger now that she was on top of it than when she was up in the air looking down at it.
“Actually, no. It used to be a posh luxury hotel back in the day, but the owner died, and Sammy bought it from his family. They didn’t want the burden of running the place. As you can imagine, it would’ve been a lot to handle.”
“Yes, considering that you can only get here by helicopter or by boat.”
“Right. The more reclusive Sammy became, the more he wanted to live in a place that was isolated from people. He thought this place would be perfect for him.” Chris’s face seemed to darken a little.
“You don’t think it is?”
He paused. “I think that being isolated is driving him batty. He needs human contact, not to lock himself away in an old castle.”
Sammy came running out the front doors and toward them wearing only a purple velvet housecoat tied at the waist with a thick gold rope belt. His long, tangled dark hair was streaked with gray and billowed behind him as he barreled toward them. “You’re here. I’m so glad.”
Evan accepted his bear hug and almost choked on the alcohol fumes from his breath. He offered her his arm, and she slipped hers through his, allowing him to lead her to the mansion. “This is amazing. Just gorgeous.”
“It is,” Sammy agreed. “But it’s not worth a plug nickel without people to share it with. Being alone in this damned fortress is quite lonely. And my Internet connection sucks. Playing Beer-Pong alone to pass the time is not much fun. There’s nobody to hold your hair back while you puke.”
“I could see where that would be trying,” Evan said.
“But that’s not the worst of it,” Sammy said, looking at her with huge, solemn eyes. “The worst of it is that I’m cursed.”
Excitement quickened Evan’s pulse. “What makes you say that you’re cursed?”
“I keep falling down the stairs. And I also fall up the stairs. I bang into walls, and I trip over nothing just walking across the room.”
Chris said, “Sammy, are you drinking at the time of these mishaps?”
Sammy threw him an indignant look. “Yes, but that has nothing to do with it.”
“Of course not,” Chris said, opening the front door and holding it open for them.
“I’ve fallen into the lake. Angus had to fish me out. I’ve also burned my finger.”
“How did you do that?” Evan asked him.
“When I burned down the pool house,” Sammy said, as if this should be obvious. “Did you know that even if you light something on fire while you’re in a swimming pool, you can burn something down? I had no idea.”
Angus had fallen into step behind them and followed them into the mansion. “That’s because you were in the swimming pool trying to BBQ with a huge pile of magazines and record albums nearby, of which there was a trail leading directly to the pool house.”
Sammy gave Evan a crooked grin, his voice turning wistful. “Do you know how many times I’ve been featured in Rolling Stone? My dashing face has graced the cover of many a magazine. Ah, the 80s were lovely. I do love having my magazines and record albums near me.”
“That’s putting it mildly. He even sleeps with them in his bed,” Angus said.
“I do, but only the platinum records, and Rolling Stone and People magazine. They help keep me warm, all these cold, lonesome nights. It took forever for the fire department to get here.”
“That’s because there is no fire department anywhere close to here,” Angus quipped. “I’m the fire department. I put out the fire with a hose.”
“Oh yes, Angus did save the day. But it took him long enough. My favorite swim trunks were in that pool house.”
“You don’t wear swim trunks,” Angus said, and looked at Evan. “Remember that little tidbit when he asks if you would like to go swimming. He’s like a child who won’t keep his clothes on. Good thing there are no neighbors close by.”
It seemed that Sammy Screech was a handful, and Angus was at his wits’ end.
As if reading her mind, Angus said, “However, on that subject, Master Chris, it might be a good idea to hire some more help. I’m only one person and sadly, I don’t have eyes at the back of my head.”
“It’s fun keeping Angus on his toes. I keep him from getting too bored. Let me give you a tour of the mansion. Would you like that?”
Evan gave Sammy a smile. “I’d love it.”
***
Chris had a vague sense of alarm and disquiet as they began the tour of the enormous mansion. It was surreal that he was walking beside Evan Meadows. He’d been agonizing about asking her out, trying to talk himself out of it, but in the end he hadn’t been able to stay away from her. He was drawn to her, like some invisible force was trying to bring them together and he was helpless to fight it.
He didn’t want to fight it.
Still, he felt exposed, as the uncle who had loved and raised him, as unorthodox as that upbringing had been, led Evan around with her arm linked in his, telling her story after story about his life. He’d spent so long trying to keep his upbringing with his crazy famous uncle under wraps that he honestly didn’t know how to act with Evan right now.
He’d been so focused on his football career that he’d had little or no time to entertain the idea of telling a special girl about his life. Chris had liked it that way, because he’d dreaded the idea of telling a woman his story. Now here Evan was, and he’d been spared the task. Sammy was telling her everything, showing her pictures, telling her all about Chris.
There were photos of lavish birthday parties he’d thrown for Chris. School photos. Photos that Chris hadn’t even realized had been taken. There was a giant mural on one wall in the main living room of two figures in silhouette. A man with spiked hair, which looked like a wild halo back lit by a brilliant sunset, holding the hand of a small boy on a beach. Both were faced away from the camera, looking toward the ocean. Chris remembered the feel of Sammy’s large, warm hand wrapped around his tiny one.
He remembered that trip. Sammy had taken him to Hawaii while he was on tour, and this had been a late, dusky walk on the sand in front of the private beach house Sammy had bought. He’d taken him to the beach house at least once a year until Chris had become too busy to go with him and had started turning down his invitations.
Looking at that photo, Chris felt a deep ache in his chest and his throat closed over a lump. Sammy had loved him. He’d had fun with him. Somewhere in some distant part of his heart, Chris had always felt that he’d been some kind of charity case. But it hadn’t been so. Sammy had loved him as if he’d been his own son.
And Chris had spent years avoiding him. That was the thanks Chris had given him.
Shame bloomed inside him and he felt his eyes grow wet. He blinked away the threatening tears and took a steadying breath.
“He was always so smart. Did very well in all of his classes. And as you know, he’s a magnificent athlete. I don’t think there is a single thing he isn’t good at.” Sammy was going on about him, like a proud parent.
Chris cleared his throat and found his voice. “I have Sammy snowed.”
“There’s not a thing about you that I don’t know, Chris. Not one thing.” Sammy’s eyes were soft as he looked into Chris’s face.
Chris grinned. “We’ll just let you keep thinking that.”
They walked into the library, which served as Sammy’s den. It was filled with old, rare books. Four walls were covered in shelves from floor to ceiling. Every shelf was jammed with books.
Still, Sammy had found space for an easel which held the extra large framed photo of Chris squatting on the stage, pants down, face scrunched up with the look of a small boy pushing one out. At least nothing was showing, as the photo was taken from the side view and Chris’s butt was hidden in the backsplash of stage lights. But the look on his face was clear as day.
“Nice, Sammy.” Chris felt his face heat up with embarrassment.
“Oh, come on now. It’s my favorite. That moment was a classic.” Sammy waved a dismissive hand at him.
“It really is,” Evan said. “You were so cute.”
“I bet he still makes that face when he’s pooping,” Sammy said. “Chris, next time you make a deposit, take a pic of your face and send it to my cellie so I can have it enlarged and placed on an easel next to this one.”
“No, I’m good. Thanks for the thought, though.” Chris couldn’t help chuckling. The man was as crazy as a coconut. Always had been.
“This is incredible. Do you like to read, Sammy?” Evan gazed over the shelves, stepping forward and gently running her fingers along the spines of several books.
The room smelled of dust and loneliness.
“No. I just like to look smart.” Sammy snickered.
Evan stepped over to the desk, and gazed down in awe at an old puzzle box, a gift Sammy had received forever ago. Some crazed fan had given it to him. Chris remembered that show. The woman had been a little wild-haired and creepy.
“May I?” Evan pointed one long, slender finger toward the box.
“Most certainly,” Sammy said.
She carefully picked up the box, as if she were afraid that it would break, or that it held all the secrets of the world. Maybe the box was darkly enchanted and that’s why Sammy was certain that he was cursed.
“That was given to me by a nutty fan. I do tend to attract the odd ones. I’m not exactly what you’d call an average, regular guy.” Sammy stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back as he eyed the box. “She said it was a magical box, and that if I fooled around with it too much, it might evoke dark magic.”
Evan briefly glanced up at Sammy, and then looked back down at the box, like she had trouble pulling her eyes away from it. “Do you believe her?”
“No. She was clearly one beer can shy of a six-pack. But I think it’s unique, and adds to the mystique of the place, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” Evan seemed slightly breathless.
“Come, I’ll show you the rest of the house and then the grounds. I have a ten-person hot tub. We can have cocktails and a nice, long soak.”
Evan continued staring at the box. Her voice sounded far away. “I don’t have a swimsuit with me.”
Sammy chuckled. “I never wear swim trunks.”
“I think I’ll pass on the hot tub, but I’ll accept drinks,” Evan said, giggling, but still carefully turning the box over in her hands.
“Ah, a girl after my own heart. Fine, then. If you don’t want to have a hot tub with my wrinkled old ass, I can’t say I blame you. But you’re welcome to it any time. The hot tub, I mean. And the wrinkled old ass. You can even close and lock the door for privacy.” He held out his arm. “Shall we continue?”
Chris noted that Evan seemed reluctant to leave the box. He decided that he’d offer to pay Sammy for it. Evan was so taken with it, he wanted to give it to her as a gift, on some occasion. Assuming she kept him around after learning everything about him thanks to Sammy.
After almost reverently placing the box back in its place on the desk, Evan seemed to hesitantly pull her gaze from it, and then linked her arm with Sammy’s again. “We shall. Where to next?”
“Oh, I think you’ll like it. It’s the ballroom.”
“Fancy. I’m not dressed for a ball.”
Sammy laughed. “You’re dressed fine, and trust me, you’ll have a ball.”
Chris grinned, remembering the ballroom. He found himself excited at the idea of visiting it again. He never would’ve imagined he’d allow a woman he was interested in to visit the ballroom. But Evan was different. He thought that she would have a blast.
“I can’t wait. Let’s go.” She smiled.