Jada was on cloud nine walking behind Reiner as they left the stage to the roar of the crowd. He had definitely taken her by surprise. She was in shock that he’d kissed her in front of the entire room. Her lips still tingled from where he’d pressed his against hers. Their entwined fingers kept them connected.
There were plenty of people bustling around them, but everyone ignored them. Reiner led her to a quiet corner.
“Jada, I can’t thank you enough,” he breathed, pulling her close to him.
“You’re welcome. I hope I didn’t go too high. I’ve never spent that kind of money anywhere on anything.” She laughed nervously.
“Don’t worry about it.” He waved her off as if she didn’t just spend one hundred thousand dollars of his money. She could barely catch her breath from the rush of participating in the auction.
“Don’t worry about it? I practically shit my pants!” She rested the back of her hand to her forehead.
“I think I’m worth it,” he murmured.
“Are you?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “I haven’t seen you in action yet so I wouldn’t know.”
“Really?”
He smirked at her, and it sent a shiver down her spine. She was mesmerized by the intensity in his eyes as they locked on her. She could see the competitor in him come forth at her unspoken challenge.
“I mean…I hear you’re a superstar but I’ve never heard of you?” She tilted her head to the side and knew she was playing with fire.
The corners of his lips tilted in a cocky smile.
“Okay. Let’s cash in the money I spent for you to win me,” he offered.
His voice dropped low, pulling her toward him. No longer was there any room between them. Her body molded perfectly against his, causing her heart to race.
“What do you have in mind?” she whispered. She was beginning to think that she was way out her league. She was a salon owner, she wasn’t used to dealing with famous sports celebrities who didn’t bat an eyelash at dropping a hundred grand. Trissa had told her that his contract for the upcoming year was for twenty-nine million dollars!
For. One. Fucking. Season.
“First, let’s start with your phone number. I refuse to let you out of my sight without us exchanging numbers. I could have kicked myself last week as you drove off from me.”
Her heart seemed to lodge itself in her throat at his words.
“I kicked myself, too, for being too shy to ask you for yours,” she admitted, brushing an imaginary piece of lint from his jacket.
A growl escaped from the back of his throat. His hand tightened around hers as she stared into his eyes. “So after getting my number, then what?”
“Well, I would have you clear your schedule for a day and whisk you away for a fun-filled date.”
Her eyes widened at the thought of being whisked away anywhere. The last few dates she’d been on included a cheap dinner, movie, and never hearing from the guy again.
Yes, she was clearly out of her league.
“Oh.” That was all she could muster as a response.
“So, will you?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
She swallowed hard as she returned his gaze.
“You did spend one hundred thousand dollars of my money to win me. Go out with me.”
She looked around and saw that no one was paying them any attention. It was just them in their own little corner of the world.
“I wouldn’t want you to waste your money.” She smiled up at him. How could she say no? That kiss alone out on stage had her knees weak. What the hell would happen if they were to go further? “Yes, Reiner. I’ll go out with you.”
The sound of Reiner’s cell phone filled the air as he entered the back door of his house. He had figured he would get up early on the quiet Sunday morning. Even though it was reserved as a personal day, he still took advantage and went for a run.
Sweat poured down his face and bare chest. He picked up a small hand towel off the counter and rubbed his face and body down. He reached for his cell phone, finding his publicist’s name displayed as the caller.
“Kennedy, how are you?” he greeted her. He walked over to the fridge and pulled the door open.
“Good morning, Reiner.” Kennedy Lambert had been his publicist for the last five years. Kennedy was a master at making him look good in the public eye. His image as being the country’s all-around Mr. Football was because of Kennedy. He didn’t like being in the limelight much but when he did surface, she made sure that the media treated him right.
“How are we going to spin this?” she asked.
Confused, he reached in the fridge and grabbed one of the ice-cold waters. He propped the phone against his shoulder as he twisted it open.
“Spin what?” he asked, taking a long draw from the bottle. He could practically hear her roll her eyes through the phone. Kennedy’s deep sigh filled his ear.
“What happened at the auction. My phone has been blowing up with the media asking about the mysterious woman who spent one hundred thousand dollars on my client, and get this—my client also decided to kiss said woman in front of a room full of people.”
“Just do as you normally do. Make something up that sounds good.” He chuckled. He had every bit of confidence in Kennedy.
“Next time you plan a publicity stunt, it would help that your publicist knows ahead of time.”
“You’re the best, Kennedy.” He disconnected the call and walked through his oversized mansion.
He wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking of when he’d made the purchase. It set him back a cool ten million dollars. The minute he had walked through the home, he had envisioned finding someone special to settle down with and fill it with the sounds of pitter-pattering little feet.
He walked through the family room that had a spectacular view of the back yard. He moved to the window, knowing that this was one of the features that he’d fallen in love with.
He imagined running outside in the yard with his own sons tossing the pigskin around. He smiled at fond memories of his father doing that same thing with him and his brother. He imagined his daughters playing in the pool while his wife lounged around on the deck.
Images of Jada filled his head, causing his heart to slam into his chest.
He knew he shouldn’t have kissed her in front of the audience at the charity event but he couldn’t help himself. Her golden-bronze skin called to him. Her dress displayed all the right curves, and his hands had refused to stay off her. Their single kiss made him realize one thing.
He wanted her, and what Reiner ‘The General’ Strickland wanted, he got.
He pushed away from the window and headed to his bedroom. He had a date to plan.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing as he arrived in his bedroom. He rolled his eyes and thought that word must have got out. Tempted to toss the phone onto his nightstand, he glanced at it first but then saw Mother displayed across the screen.
“Hey, Ma,” he answered.
Erna Strickland was a wonderful woman who had the privilege of raising two NFL stars and a daughter who was breaking into the world of journalism.
“Reiner Strickland. What is this I hear about you kissing some young black woman at a charity event?” her exasperated voice came through the line.
He chuckled as the tone of her voice reminded him of the countless times she’d yell at him and Andre.
“She spent a lot of money. It was the least I could do,” he joked, kicking off his shoes and taking off his clothes.
“Who was she?” Her voice held a tinge of curiosity, and he knew what that meant.
Shit. His mother’s future daughter-in-law radar must be piqued. Erna Strickland had been hinting at Andre and him to settle down and start producing her grandchildren.
“I met Jada when her car broke down on the side of the road one night.” He headed into the en suite and flipped the shower on to allow it to warm up.
He glanced in the mirror and saw the few days’ worth of beard covering his jawline. It didn’t look too bad. Maybe he would just let it grow out.
“Someone whose car broke down can afford to bid a hundred grand?”
“No. I paid the bill. I didn’t know she was going to be there. I was trying to have a backup bidder so I wouldn’t have to be won by a crazy stalker woman,” he explained. “I asked her, and she agreed to do it for me.”
“But why the kiss?”
He paused, confused on her line of questioning. It dawned on him at how she had asked her question.
“Is it a problem that she’s black?” He never thought he would have had to have this conversation with his mother. He had just realized how she had asked her initial question. He couldn’t care less that Jada was black and he was white.
“Of course not,” she rushed out, but there was a certain catch in her voice.
His eyes narrowed on his reflection while he braced himself against the counter. “But?” he urged her on. He knew there was a deleted ‘but’ from her sentence. Growing up, he’d had friends from all races. Some of his closet football buddies were a mix of races, and all had been to his parents’ farm back home in Texas. There had never been a problem before.
“Well, she just didn’t fit the type of girl you usually date.”
He tapped his fingers on the counter. Steam fogged the mirror in front of him as he counted to ten to keep from saying something that he would regret later.
“Are you really going to go there? You are throwing out the race card?”
“I’m just saying, she’s different. I’m not throwing out the race card. How do you know she’s not after you for your money?”
“I don’t, but Jada’s not that kind of girl. She didn’t even know who I was until the night of the auction.”
He knew that Jada was not a gold-digger. There was no way she was that good of an actress. He’d come across his fair share of money-hungry women who wanted nothing more than to dig their claws in him. It began in high school as the star athlete and followed him to college then worsened the minute he was drafted into the NFL as the number-one pick.
Jada was nothing like those women.
“Well, you know people are going to talk. I just want to protect you.” She sighed.
His heart softened a little at the sound of regret on her voice.
“You know I’m not racist, but people will talk. In my day, mixed couples had it bad. I don’t want that for you.”
“Mom, our society has grown since your day,” he said gently, not wanting to insinuate that she was old. He ran a weary hand along his face and blew out a deep breath. Their country had made strides in race relations. It was totally acceptable for people of all races to find love with whoever they wanted. “Society is more accepting of interracial couples.”
“Are they?”
He paused and knew deep down in his heart that he wanted to pursue Jada. He didn’t care what the world had to think. If something blossomed between them, then what was between them was their business.
Fuck the world.