There’s a woman with a kid here looking for you. Why didn’t you tell me you had a baby mama?
Cameron Shaw sat on the edge of his destroyed bed as he thumbed through Blake’s text messages, ignoring the baby mama thing. He didn’t have one, that he knew of. Yeah, pretty sure.
His phone had started vibrating about twenty minutes ago, then turned to beeping when he’d been too preoccupied to answer. Blake was a needy bastard sometimes.
Cam thumbed his reply.
What the hell? Who are you talking about?
And why had she gone to the high school instead of his house?
Although, considering what he’d been doing twenty minutes ago, Cameron was glad the mystery woman hadn’t come knocking on his door. He’d been too busy digging his fingers into Tessa Monroe’s hips as she rode him.
Cam slid a glance at Tessa as she shimmied into a pair of black leggings, then snatched her bra off the floor.
“I have to go out of town next week,” she informed him.
Cameron’s phone buzzed again as Tessa continued dressing.
How the hell should I know? Some woman with a kid. Just get down here, practice is about to start anyway.
Yeah, practice. He knew he needed to get his ass moving. He’d gone out to run errands, then swing by home to pick up a few things. He’d been on his way home when he’d spotted the woman with blond hair struggling with her shredded tire. His first instinct had been to press harder on the gas and go about his day. But something about her caught his attention. Maybe it was the sight of her struggling with the wrench. Maybe it had been the way those jeans had fit over her very fine ass. Either way, he’d found himself stopping.
Christ, she’d been something else. First she’d pinned him with a pair of brown eyes that had dared him to tell her what to do; then she’d opened her mouth, and Cameron couldn’t decide if he wanted to strangle her or kiss her. She probably would have clocked him good.
But he’d seen the way the pulse at the base of her neck had fluttered when he’d grinned at her. Then the way her cheeks had flamed when he’d gotten an eyeful of a pink bra cupping a generous breast. She probably didn’t even know she’d missed a button.
Highlight of his day. Hell, his whole week.
Then Tessa had shown up and hadn’t wasted any time shoving him into the bedroom and stripping his clothes off along the way.
“Cameron, are you listening?” Tessa lowered herself to the bed and pulled her boots on.
Cam sent his reply to Blake.
On my way.
Tessa stood from the bed and jammed her hands on her slim hips. “Cameron?”
He tossed his phone on the dresser. “What?”
She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t heard a word I said, have you?”
He stood also and pulled his Blanco Valley Football shirt from the dresser. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” He’d been too busy thinking about a woman with a pink bra. He should feel like a bastard for thinking about the tire girl when his sheets still smelled like sex and Tessa. But he couldn’t muster any guilt. It’s not like Tessa was his girlfriend. She’d made it clear in the beginning that she wasn’t looking for anything serious or even exclusive, and she knew full well he didn’t want anything more either. She was just someone who occasionally scratched an itch whenever she happened to be in town.
Tessa ran her gaze over him. “I said I’m going out of town for a little while. My sister had a baby, and I’m going to visit her for a few weeks. So I won’t be around.”
Cameron tugged his shirt on, then swiped his cell off the dresser. “All right.” He grabbed his wallet and keys and pocketed them as well.
“Think you can get by while I’m gone?” she teased.
“I think I’ll manage,” he told her.
One of her brows arched. “Because you have a list of women you can call up, right?”
Was that jealousy he heard? “No questions, Tess. That was your rule, remember?”
She rolled one of her shoulders as though it didn’t matter either way. “Yeah, I know.” She dropped a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll call you when I’m back in town.”
Then she was gone, and Cameron stared after her. He hoped she wasn’t developing feelings for him. This arrangement between them was supposed to be casual. No expectations, no questions, and no attachments. Just sex.
Because that was the only thing Cameron had to offer a woman. He’d learned the hard way not to jump headfirst into anything. He’d been there, done that, bought the whole damn T-shirt factory, and it had bit him in the ass big-time. Since then he’d kept his relationships strictly casual. He didn’t take women on dates, and he definitely didn’t fall in love. He gave orgasms. That was it. And he was damn good at it, if he did say so himself. If he wasn’t, Tessa wouldn’t come knocking on his door every time she came into town to show a house to a potential buyer.
He was sure Tessa understood that, but if she had other plans, he’d have to set her straight.
Cameron turned to yank some socks out of his dresser drawer, and his gaze fell on the offer letter from Denver. A position as head coach for a 5A school. He’d received the letter a few weeks ago after interviewing with them over the summer. Their current coach had one year left on his contract; then he was retiring.
The letter had been set aside when the Bobcats’ season started a month ago, but the issue had been in the back of his mind. Every time he set foot on the field, every time he lectured, reamed, or pep-talked a player. He’d see their sweat-drenched faces and feel their frustration during a difficult game, and the nagging doubt would start.
Don’t abandon them, it would say. Those kids need you.
But Cameron wasn’t built to be an assistant, even if it was for his best friend. He wanted to go back to running his own team.
But at what cost?
Leaving his home? His friends?
Those questions had been keeping him up at night and pushing aside the initial need to strike out on his own.
Cameron folded the letter back up and headed out the door for practice.
Audrey had never liked football. Not only did she not like the grunting or the head-smashing, but she also didn’t understand anything other than get the ball to the end zone. She didn’t understand flags, or penalties, or gaining yards. Rushing was another foreign concept. If the team’s objective was to outrun the other team to the end zone, shouldn’t they be rushing anyway?
Give her a Jimmy Choo sale any day over this.
Watching a high school football practice for the past twenty minutes and waiting for Cameron Shaw to show himself hadn’t made her love the game any more. When she’d arrived, she’d approached a coach she’d immediately recognized as Blake Carpenter, the former NFL quarterback, and almost swallowed her tongue. She’d remembered hearing about his retirement, that he had accepted a job as a high school coach, but she hadn’t realized it was for this high school.
When she’d inquired about Piper’s uncle, Blake’s eyes had briefly narrowed, then flicked to Piper. For a moment Audrey had thought maybe Blake assumed Piper was Cameron’s kid. She’d resisted the urge to correct him, and then her frustration grew when he’d replied with a gruff, “He’s not here yet.”
Audrey had grabbed his arm when he turned back to his team. “Well, how will I know which one is him?”
Blake had chuckled. “Just look for the big surly guy.”
Um…okay?
So she’d been sitting on the bleachers for the past twenty minutes and looking for anyone who could be Piper’s uncle. Then ten minutes ago, the bleacher had tilted under her rear end when Gorgeous Baseball Cap Guy had come strolling onto the field with the same confident, loose-limbed grace he’d had earlier. He’d exchanged his worn blue jeans and sweatshirt for athletic pants and a black Bobcat Football T-shirt. A whistle hung around his neck, and the same ball cap was pulled low over his blue eyes.
Shit, there was no way that was Cameron Shaw. Just. No.
But Audrey’s gaze kept flickering back to him, alternating with annoyance and…well, something close to damn.
Because wouldn’t that be a perfect cap to a shitty day? Flat tire. Dumped via text. Then the man whose gaze had flickered to the gaping hole in her shirt while he argued over how to change a tire turns out to be Piper’s uncle.
The universe could not be so cruel.
Audrey turned around to the two women seated behind her. “Excuse me?” When they ceased their conversation to look at her, Audrey continued. “Can you tell me which coach is Cameron Shaw?”
The woman with teased auburn hair pointed toward the field. “That one standing on the forty-yard line.”
“The one with the ass like cement,” her friend quipped.
Yeah, as she feared. Gorgeous Baseball Cap Guy. Audrey laughed and turned back to the women. “That can’t be him.”
The brown-haired woman leaned forward. “Honey, I would know that backside anywhere.”
Meaning what?
The other woman nudged her friend’s shoulder. “My cousin Becky says he has the stamina of a porn star.”
Audrey resisted the urge to cover Piper’s ears, even though the child was too busy playing with Jellybean to pay attention to anything else. Or maybe Audrey should just cover her own ears.
Of course someone who looked like Cameron Shaw would be a god in bed. Did she expect someone who looked like an underwear model to be anything less?
Practice eventually ended, and she and Piper exited the bleachers, with Piper dragging Jellybean along with her.
Piper gazed up at Audrey with eyes so green, like her mother’s, that Audrey felt the familiar pain in her chest. “Are we going to meet my uncle now?” the little girl asked.
“Yes, and he’s going to love you,” Audrey assured her.
Piper bit her lip and hugged Jellybean tighter. “I’m scared.”
Audrey forced the lump out of her throat and tried not to think about having to leave Piper. She loved that little girl as she would her own, and the idea of being away from her tore her guts up. There would be no more makeovers, no more whimsical stories, and no more sticky kisses. She took a deep breath, dropped to her knees, and forced herself to be brave—for Piper’s sake.
“I want you to listen to me for a minute,” she told Piper. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I’m sure your uncle Cameron is a good guy, and your mom trusted him, so that means we can trust him, right?” At Piper’s hesitant nod, Audrey continued. “I know you’re worried, sweetie, but I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Okay?” Audrey stroked Piper’s soft cheek and had to remind herself that Piper was just a little girl who didn’t know where she was or who she was going to live with. Just another reason to get those lustful thoughts of Cameron Shaw out of her head.
“’Kay,” Piper answered. “But what if he doesn’t like me? What if he doesn’t want me to live with him?”
Audrey shook her head. “That’s not possible. I know he’ll love you.” Audrey moved herself and Piper out of the way of people who were leaving the bleachers. “Do you remember when we went to the zoo last year and you didn’t want to feed the giraffes because you were too scared? Then you put your brave face on and walked up to the giraffe, and he took a leaf right out of your hand?”
Piper smiled, then giggled. “Yeah. He licked my hand with his tongue.”
Audrey grinned with her. “That’s right, he did. And you had nothing to be afraid of, right?”
Piper hesitated, then nodded.
“I need you to be that brave girl again,” Audrey told her. “Can you do that for me?”
Piper glanced at her feet, then at Audrey. “’Kay.”
Audrey stroked Piper’s hair, loving how soft and fragile the curls were. Then she pulled the child into a tight hug, reminding herself of how small and vulnerable Piper was, how much she depended on Audrey to keep her safe because Audrey was the only person in the world Piper knew anymore. Dianna hadn’t been close to any of her extended family, and her mother had died several years ago. Piper’s grandfather had been too old to care for a child, and hadn’t been that close to Piper anyway. Audrey was it, and she’d be damned if she’d let the kid down. She’d made a promise to Dianna, and she’d see it through to the end.
She let go of Piper and led the girl onto the field. Now wasn’t the time to think about wide shoulders or sexy voices or how Cameron Shaw awakened things inside her that had been dead for years. She was here for Piper, and it needed to stay that way.
When Cameron turned around and pinned her with those dark blue eyes, her stern talking-to evaporated.
“Did you come by to give a heartfelt thanks?” he asked, then strolled right past her.
Wait, what?
Audrey spun around, still holding Piper’s hand, and hurried after him. “Excuse me?” she called. But he didn’t listen. What a shock. “Can you please wait? Or at least slow down, because I’m wearing heels.”
He paused and glanced at her over his shoulder, while flicking a brief glimpse at Piper. “Look, I don’t remember you, but I always use protection.” Then he turned abruptly and kept walking.
Audrey could only stare because what?
Was this guy capable of saying anything polite?
Audrey stuffed back the bout of serious annoyance and plowed after him. Alexander Wang, Anna Sui, Bill Blass…
She reached him right as he approached the fence and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. His very bulky and muscular shoulder…No, she wasn’t supposed to allow those thoughts to interfere, and she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about how solid he was after what he’d said to her.
“What is your problem?” she demanded. “Piper isn’t your daughter, you ass; she’s your niece.”
Cameron turned fully to face her and jabbed his hands on his hips, and gave Piper more than a fleeting look. He gazed down at the child as though mentally trying to work through the knowledge in his head. “Come again?” he questioned.
Audrey stepped closer so Piper wouldn’t overhear. Unfortunately, all that did was give her a whiff of some seriously delicious stuff. Woodsy and spicy. “Your sister, Dianna—”
“I was sorry to hear that she passed away,” he admitted. Something flashed across his eyes. Regret maybe? Audrey couldn’t be sure, because it came and went so fast that she almost forgave him for his shitty attitude. “Dianna and I weren’t that close,” he went on.
She’d known Dianna and Cameron hadn’t had much of a relationship because Dianna had said as much. But he’d known he had a niece, hadn’t he?
Cameron jerked his head toward Piper. “How’s she holding up?”
His concern for the girl managed to break through the gruff first impression he’d given. Though Audrey wasn’t ready to let him off the hook just yet. She spared Piper a glance; she’d tugged Jellybean even closer. She was practically strangling the cat. “Pretty good, considering.” She reverted her attention back to Cameron. “Dianna left her with you.”
Cameron blinked; then he scratched his square jaw, which was edging just past five o’clock. “Me?” he repeated. “For how long?”
Audrey paused before answering, preparing herself for whatever reaction he’d have. “Forever. You’re her guardian now.”
Cameron blinked again, and Audrey had the urge to knock her knuckles on the side of his head to see if he had anything going on up there. Then he laughed. As though he hadn’t been a big enough of an ass, he had the gall to actually laugh. That shouldn’t have been sexy but, dammit, it was. And a part of Audrey was more irritated with herself than the man towering over her with his form-fitting shirt, lean hips, and arrogant approach.
“That’s funny,” he stated. “But no.”
“What do you mean no? Dianna signed guardianship over to you, so it’s legal. Piper’s yours.”
“She can’t be mine now,” he argued.
“Well, she is,” Audrey insisted.
Cameron scrubbed a hand down his face, the sounds of his whiskers grating along his palm giving Audrey goose bumps on top of goose bumps. “I don’t understand,” he finally said. “Why would Dianna do this? We didn’t even know each other.”
Audrey had wondered the same thing for weeks. But she’d been too grief-stricken to question anything other than why Piper had been left motherless. “I don’t know,” she answered. “But she made her wishes clear. She wanted Piper to stay with family. She never told you?”
Cameron’s dark blue gaze bore into Audrey’s, making her squirm in her Manolos. He flicked another glance at Piper. “No. Isn’t there any other family who can take her?” he asked in a low voice. “Maybe someone who knows more about kids than I do?”
“There isn’t anyone else.”
“What about the kid’s father?”
Audrey peeked at Piper, who was picking at Jellybean’s ears. “He’s a shithead who took off when he found out that Dianna was pregnant. She didn’t have any siblings, and your father—”
“I know all about my father,” Cameron growled.
The ticking in his jaw gave Audrey the hint that his parent-son relationship with his old man was a sore one. Given how Dianna had come into Cameron’s life, Audrey wasn’t surprised.
“Okay, then,” she replied, trying to regain her train of thought.
Cameron blew out a sigh. “Look, I can’t have a kid in my life right now. You need to find someone else to leave her with.”
“I’m getting the impression that you think I’m asking you to take her,” Audrey snapped. “See, I have a document signed by Dianna and notarized stating you are Piper’s legal guardian until she turns eighteen. I don’t have the authority to ‘leave her,’” she said, using air quotes, “with anyone else. And even if I did, I couldn’t, because there isn’t anyone else.” She poked him in the chest with her index finger. “You’re it.”
“I’m sorry, but no,” he finally said.
Oh, dear God, the man was going to be the death of her. Like slow, painful, agonizing death, and he’d probably watch her go down with a smile on his too masculine, too handsome face.
Audrey pulled a deep breath and forced herself not to strangle his thick neck. “Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera,” she whispered to herself, hoping the gods of fashion could steady her boiling blood. “Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix…”
“Uh-oh,” Piper whispered.
Cameron shot an alarmed look at the kid. “Uh-oh, what?”
“You upset her,” she told her uncle.
Cameron scratched the side of his face. “I what?”
“Christian Louboutin, Coco Chanel…” Audrey went on.
“She says people’s names when she’s upset,” Piper explained.
Cameron turned his narrowed gaze on Audrey. “You know, most people just count to ten.”
“I’m not like most people,” she told him.
One of his brows quirked. “I’m starting to realize that.”
They stared at each other for a moment, like two cage fighters waiting for the other to go down, the air around them crackling with the kind of crazy tension that would send some people running. Audrey had never been one to admit defeat, and she was starting to realize Cameron wasn’t either. So where did that leave them? Audrey couldn’t return to Boulder with Piper, and the little girl didn’t have anywhere else to go. Somehow she needed to convince Cameron to accept her.
He flicked a glimpse at his sports watch. “Look, I’m late for a meeting. Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll text you later.”
Audrey recited her number while he punched it into his phone. “But don’t text me. Just call.”
Cameron slid his phone away. “What kind of phone doesn’t have a texting feature?”
“Mine does,” she said. “I just don’t like to text.”
“But texting’s easier,” Cameron pointed out.
“I don’t like typing with my thumbs. It’s annoying. Just call me.”
One side of his mouth twitched. Was he laughing at her? “So what do you do when someone texts you?”
“I call them back.” Why was this a hard concept to understand? Then she stuck out her hand, determined to bring some sort of civility to this encounter. And also because she’d neglected to introduce herself or Piper. “I’m Audrey, by the way. I would say nice to meet you, but it really hasn’t been all that nice.”
Cameron glanced at her hand, as though he didn’t want to touch her, and after he wrapped his larger palm around hers, Audrey understood why. Holy mother of all tingles. The man had a firm grip with long fingers and a rough palm that scuffed against the softer flesh of her hand. While he held on longer than necessary, Audrey combated images of his hands sliding into her hair, or maybe skimming down her arms. Yeah, he probably knew how to use his hands to his advantage. Make a woman’s breath hitch, or her eyes drop closed.
Stamina of a porn star.
The women’s conversation slapped Audrey with a reality check. The fact that two strangers so freely discussed Cameron’s bedroom performance spoke to what kind of man he was. A man whore, as her best friend Roxy would say. As in, trouble. As in, Audrey needed to stay the hell away.
But how was she supposed to when he looked at her like he wanted to smear whipped cream all over her?
“No, you’re right,” Cameron responded, shattering Audrey’s thoughts. “It hasn’t been nice.”
Audrey gritted her teeth against his sarcasm and shifted her attention to Piper, who’d been unusually quiet. “And this is Piper.” And then she added with a whisper, “Don’t talk about her mom.”
Cameron squatted to Piper’s level. “Hi, Piper,” he said to the girl. “I’m your uncle Cameron.” Piper nodded, and Cameron reached out to finger Jellybean’s scruffy leg. “And who’s this?”
Piper hugged the stuffed cat closer. “Her name’s Jellybean. She’s a cat.”
Cameron offered a smile, and Audrey’s heart just about flipped out of her chest. “Is she your travel buddy?”
Piper nodded again. “She’s my best friend.”
Audrey’s heart went from tumbling all over her chest to constricting with pain. Jellybean had been with Piper since she’d been a baby, and now was the most constant thing in the child’s life. The knowledge that a stuffed cat was Piper’s best friend only reminded Audrey of how much the little girl had lost. Her mother, then moving away from her neighborhood and friends. Now her only friend in the world was a stuffed cat that smelled like chicken nuggets.
No, she has you.
“She keeps you safe, huh?” Cameron questioned.
Piper blinked those big green eyes, then gave a tiny nod.
Cameron pinched Piper’s chin. “She’s a special cat, so keep her close.”
Piper nodded again, and Cameron stood. But the man didn’t just stand. He unfolded with a gentle grace that shouldn’t exist in a man of his size. His muscles shifted and flowed with his movements as easily as water cascading over a boulder.
And why did she keeping thinking things like that instead of reminding herself of how annoying he was?
“I’ll be in touch,” he informed her before turning and stalking away.
Audrey stood on the now empty field, gaping after the man who’d visibly softened for his niece, giving her a moment’s hope that he wasn’t the ogre she thought he was, then dismissing them with a single curt statement. The man was probably used to giving orders and people jumping to do his bidding. She had no such plans to do any bidding for Cameron Shaw. The only thing on her agenda was getting Piper settled with him so the girl could work on healing and realizing she still had family who loved her.
She took a hold of Piper’s fragile hand and led the two of them off the field. “See?” she asked the girl. “That wasn’t so horrible, was it?”
But Piper didn’t respond, and Audrey had the feeling that she’d been just as horrified as Audrey had.