One would think a sleepless night would have left Peggy lacking energy, but it turned out, setting up an online auction with twelve items valued at over five thousand dollars apiece? Well, it was pretty damn satisfying. E-mails pinged on Peggy’s phone every few minutes, letting her know another one of Elliott’s—the Kingmaker’s—players had pledged an item to be donated. Autographed helmets, jerseys signed by entire Super Bowl–winning teams, game balls.
Until the wee hours of the morning, she and Belmont had reached out via e-mails and phone calls—depending on the player’s geographical location—with an explanation of Kyler’s plight. Understandably, the professional players had reacted with out-and-out horror at the idea of their revered coach’s star receiver being sidelined by his family issues, and generosity had poured out of them. Sage had woken up around six in the morning and stumbled into the hall, demanding that Peggy and Belmont come inside and continue, along with her assistance. True to form, the wedding planner had surpassed them in productivity after merely an hour. But ask Peggy if she was upset.
Hell nope. She was…revitalized.
It had been a long time since she’d felt so useful. Since she’d looked at the fruits of her labor and been proud to be a part of making something extraordinary happen. Had she ever gotten that warm, crowded feeling in her throat as a personal shopper? No. Even when someone looked truly boss in an outfit she’d styled, there was only a passing specter of satisfaction that sailed on as soon as it appeared.
What if she didn’t have to be a personal shopper once she reached New York? Sure, that had been the plan, but securing the same job she’d had in San Diego would feel like hopping back into the holding pattern in which she’d lived for three years. Raising funds for good causes wouldn’t allow her college degree to collect dust on the shelf anymore. She could finally put it to use.
Peggy took a deep breath and allowed herself to smile as she, Belmont, and Sage exited the hotel, to-go coffees in hand, intending to scavenge up some breakfast. They were all sick to death of hotel food at this point, and Peggy had remembered a little hole-in-the-wall from her college days that made the most insane pancakes—
Elliott’s appearance on the sidewalk ground her progress to a halt. Belmont and Sage moved to flank her on either side, as if they were a fearsome trio heading into battle. But apart from the definite flutter of feminine appreciation she experienced over a fresh-from-the-shower Elliott in jeans and a thick, gray, cable-knit sweater, she didn’t need reinforcements. She was just fine on her own. There wasn’t a woman alive that wouldn’t get a down-low tug at the picture he painted. Half distinguished, half rough, all male and very intently focused. On her.
Been there, done that, and stole the T-shirt, babe. This ship has set sail.
“I got this,” she murmured to Belmont and Sage, putting a little extra swing in her walk as she approached the coach. “Greetings, Elliott.”
“Peggy.” His hard gaze swept up her skinny jeans, lingering at her hips, before completing the final journey to her eyes. And okay, the chemical reaction that fired off was just as normal as admitting she found him attractive. Nothing to see here. “How are you this morning?”
“Fine as ever.” She heard another ping go off in her jacket pocket and breathed through a smile. “The online auction for Kyler is getting ready to start and we still have donations rolling in. E-mails are going out from the university this morning to major news outlets, letting the public know about the items and—”
“Peggy, it’s too late.” His face was grave. “I got a call from Kyler early this morning. The foreclosure is this afternoon.” He stepped closer, reaching out and letting his hand drop. “I’m sorry, baby. All this work you put in—”
“Don’t call me baby…out in the daytime like this.” The admonishment sounded incredibly lame, even to her own ears, but she was reeling. No. No way were they too late. They’d worked so fast and it couldn’t all be for just nothing. Heat pressed against the inside of her eyelids, the paper cup of hotel coffee all but forgotten in her hand. “What if we drive there and stop it ourselves? Items will have sold by then…we could have enough to hold them off. Once they see the potential to have the debt paid without evicting anyone, they’ll postpone.”
She felt frozen, standing there waiting for Elliott to make another placating statement. It was a good try, Peggy. You did your best, kiddo. Instead, he nodded and held up his car keys, jerking his head toward the truck idling at the curb. “If you think it’s worth a shot, I’ll drive.”
The world tilted. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll drive,” he repeated, his voice like gravel. “The university e-mails already went out and one of them landed in my in-box. Lord, Peggy, what you managed to do overnight…” He shook his head. “We’re not letting that go to waste. Not without trying.”
“Oh.” At a loss, she twirled a curl around her finger and swore Elliott’s eyes went soft. But that couldn’t be right. What the hell was going on here? A minute ago, her main focus had been pancakes, and now it felt like she’d stepped into a bizarre dream where nothing made sense.
Before she could address Elliott’s odd behavior out loud, the truck’s door opened and Alice stepped out, hands shoved into her hoodie pockets. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Peggy returned, the ground shifting beneath her feet. A voice in the back of her mind told her to flee. She’d just found her way clear of Elliott’s grasp and now he was here, looking at her in a new, discerning way and apparently flipping the script.
And she did not want it flipped. She was done.
If it weren’t for the project she’d taken on for Kyler, she would have turned on a heel and gone for pancakes. Left them right there in the dust, even if it would bother her to be cold to Alice. But there was something bigger than the rubble of her broken heart at stake. Something much larger. Not only saving someone’s dream, someone’s family…but finding out if she was capable of a new one as well.
“I’ll ride with Bel and Sage,” Peggy said finally, stepping away from an Elliott who looked determined to drag her back. So she held up a hand, warding him off. “We’ll follow you.”
Just before they pulled away from the hotel—Elliott and Alice in the truck, the rest of them in the Suburban—Peggy caught Elliott’s eye in the rearview and saw a promise there. One that said they weren’t finished just yet.
Peggy made sure he saw how much she disagreed.