Seventeen
Hank’s daughter had pink hair. Will wasn’t sure why he found that fact so disconcerting, but he did. The Blaze GM was a taciturn, studious man who managed the team like the former military officer he was. It was hard to reconcile that personality with a father who’d tolerate his teenager dyeing her hair . . . pink.
Yet there Hank stood in Will’s great room, a bemused expression on his face as he watched his daughter coo at Owen. The baby was fascinated with her, studying the scene intently from his grandmother’s lap. Even more confusing, Sophie with the pink hair seemed very familiar with Will’s mother, as if they were long-lost friends. For her part, his mother chatted warmly with the girl but avoided making eye contact with Hank.
Damn it! Will slammed his bottle of beer down on the end table. Could Julianne be right? Was something going on between Hank and his mother? He needed to have a serious talk with the team’s GM, and it needed to happen now.
He wandered across the room. “We need to talk.”
Hank’s cool eyes assessed him. “Yes, we do.” He followed Will to his study.
Will wasted no time getting to the point. “What are you doing in Chances Inlet, Hank?”
The GM leaned against an old pie keeper Will’s mother had lovingly refurbished, his hand shoved into the pockets of his khakis. “There are some pretty nasty rumors going around, Will. Tales of defensive players being paid to deliberately injure their opponents. Your name keeps coming up as one of a short list of individuals who can corroborate those rumors.”
Will stood stone faced, saying nothing. He’d already had this discussion with team management a month ago, and his position hadn’t changed.
Hank sighed and sat down in one of the leather chairs. “Look, Will, I know you’ve never been paid to take out another player while you’ve been with the Blaze. You’re one of the most respected guys on this team, not only for your play, but for your integrity.” He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose. “But if you know something, for Christ’s sake, Will, cooperate with the league. The commissioner is going to come down hard on both players and teams. He won’t be so forgiving if you hold out on him.”
Will played with an old Hot Wheels car on his desk. It was one of the few toys he’d had as a child. Owen would have mountains of Hot Wheels and trucks and other toys to play with; Will would make sure of it. “I already told you, Hank. I don’t know anything.”
“Damn it, Will! You need to think about protecting your reputation. If you won’t do it for your team, do it for your wife and your son. And your mother,” Hank added.
Will spun around. “Ah, yes, my mother! Let’s talk about her. What exactly is going on with you two? I didn’t even know you were acquainted with her beyond a casual hello at a game. You and your daughter seem pretty cozy with my mom out there, though.”
Hank leaned back in the chair and peered at Will over steepled fingers. “Your mother is a very kind woman. She met Sophie at your wedding and they’ve become friends.”
Will was sure he would have remembered a girl with pink hair at his wedding, but he’d had other things on his mind that day. It also didn’t surprise him that his mother would bond with the girl. They were kindred, free spirits. But Hank was giving off a predatory vibe when it came to his mother. And Will didn’t like that one bit.
“And you?” Will asked. “Are you and my mother . . . friends?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know Hank’s answer.
“Whatever is or isn’t going on between your mother and me doesn’t affect you.”
“The hell it doesn’t! If you’re cozying up to her to get information about me, don’t.”
Hank rose from the chair. “If I want information about you, Will, I’ll ask you directly, as I have been doing over the past month. My advice to you would be to decide where your loyalties lie, before it’s too late.” He paused in opening the door. “And I’d never insult a beautiful woman like your mother by using her for anything. Not when she deserves a lot more.”
Will stood in the center of his study, dumbfounded. It wasn’t enough that he had a wife and child he hadn’t expected. Or a scandal of epic proportions hanging over his head. Now he had to worry about his mother and whatever Hank Osbourne’s interest in her was.
Julianne poked her head around the door. Her smile was radiant as she basked in the excitement of hosting a dinner party. Will would rather stick a hot poker in his eye right now than sit down to dinner with Hank and a petulant Brody. But one look at his wife and he realized he couldn’t deny her a thing.
“Dinner’s ready.” Since her confession earlier this afternoon, she’d seemed happier, more focused. But now, she looked at him shyly as if she were unsure how to deal with him. She held out her hand. “Come on, let’s eat.”
Will’s fingers grasped hers before he could think. Maybe it was better if he didn’t think but just enjoyed the feel of her hand in his.
• • •
Annabeth chewed her dinner without tasting it. Somehow, she’d assumed Julianne’s dinner party would consist of Gavin and his mother, Patricia. Will was very selective about who he socialized with and who he let in his home. It was just another example of her naïveté that she hadn’t suspected Hank, one of her son’s bosses, would be joining them for dinner.
Her entire day seemed to be thrown off balance with Hank’s arrival. He’d made his intentions clear to her in the shop. She just wasn’t sure how she wanted to handle it. Annabeth had been in relationships before, but not with men of Hank’s caliber. Mostly, she’d been with men who needed fixing or a rebound after a relationship gone wrong. Nothing about Hank Osbourne needed to be fixed. He was the most self-assured man she’d ever encountered—a fact that intimidated her but aroused her at the same time.
Hank raised his wineglass in a silent salute when he caught her surreptitiously looking at him. She quickly glanced around to see if the others noticed, but there seemed to be three separate acts going on at this crazy dinner party. Brody was doing his best to engage Sophie in conversation, teasing her about some event at the Blaze holiday party. And Will and Julianne, seated at opposite ends of the table, seemed to have eyes only for each other. In and of itself, that alone was a stunning development.
The scene she’d walked in on earlier this afternoon hadn’t really surprised Annabeth; she’d had an inkling there was more to this pretend marriage than either spouse believed. Truthfully, she was glad Will had feelings for his wife. Owen deserved a shot at the happy family she hadn’t been able to provide for Will. But the marriage wouldn’t survive if neither partner could trust the other, and Annabeth was nervous that building that kind of trust would take them longer than the few weeks they’d been married.
“My compliments to the chef.” Hank raised his wineglass to toast Julianne. “If you ever decide to give up designing, you could open a restaurant.”
Brody choked on his wine.
“Thank you.” Julianne shot a look at Brody. “Cooking is as much a passion as designing is. Sophie, I understand you design jewelry?”
Sophie beamed beside Annabeth. “It’s nothing fancy. Annabeth is selling it in her store.”
Will’s eyebrows rose a fraction.
“It’s been very popular,” Annabeth said.
“She is?” Julianne smiled at Annabeth. “In that case, I’ll have to come have a look. I love to wear jewelry that’s unique and one of a kind.”
“I’m going to work in the shop this weekend, aren’t I, Annabeth?” Sophie asked, and Annabeth nodded.
“How long are you planning on staying?” Will directed the question at Hank.
Hank didn’t take his eyes off Annabeth as he answered. “Through the weekend.”
Annabeth grew warm under both Hank’s and her son’s gaze.
“Well,” Julianne piped in, “that should give me plenty of time to shop at the House of Sophie.”
Sophie clapped her hands together. “Oooh. That’s my goal, to have my own jewelry design house.”
Annabeth didn’t hear whatever Sophie said next because the dueling gazes of her son and Hank were making her increasingly uncomfortable. Unable to take it anymore, she excused herself to go check on Owen.
She had no sooner reached the nursery when she heard the echo of a pair of footsteps following her. She prayed it wasn’t Hank. Or worse, her son. Instead, it was Julianne who followed her into the room where Owen slept peacefully. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved. Definitely, she was surprised.
“Is everything okay?” Julianne asked as she gently adjusted the blanket covering her son.
“I thought I heard him crying, but he seems fine,” Annabeth fibbed.
Julianne glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “I meant, is everything okay with you?”
Her daughter-in-law was perceptive. Annabeth had tried not to form too much of an attachment with Julianne, knowing that she’d be gone from Chances Inlet in a matter of months and would probably never be back. But it was clear there was something more than just Owen pulling Will and Julianne together. She only hoped they both figured it out before it was too late.
“I don’t want to like you,” Annabeth blurted out.
Julianne’s eyes went from quizzical to sad, but she acknowledged Annabeth’s admission with a firm nod. “You don’t have to like me,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. “As long as you always love Owen.”
Shame brought a flush to Annabeth’s face. “That was hateful of me, wasn’t it?” she whispered.
“No, it was fair.”
“No!” Annabeth shook her head vehemently. “It wasn’t. I’m the last person who should be judging any woman. You’re Owen’s mother, and whether this marriage lasts three months or thirty-three years, that’s not going to change. At the very least you deserve my respect. But I think it would be hard not to like you, too.”
A slow grin spread over Julianne’s face. “I’d really like that.”
Owen rustled in his crib. Julianne put a finger to her lips and motioned for Annabeth to follow her into the adjoining bedroom.
“Let’s start again,” Julianne suggested. “You rushed out of the dining room like you were upset. Is there anything I can do?”
“You could not invite Hank Osbourne to dinner.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“Aha!” Julianne bounced down on her bed. “At the risk of sounding thirteen again, I think he likes you.”
Annabeth picked up a pillow and, under the guise of fluffing it, gave it a firm punch. “He’s made no secret about that.”
Julianne sat Indian style on the bed, her chin resting on her hands and a broad grin on her face. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Why not?” Julianne protested. “He’s a very handsome man. And he’s got all his teeth and all his hair.”
Annabeth threw the pillow at her.
“Seriously, Annabeth. You’re a beautiful, financially independent woman with no one but yourself to answer to. Hank’s a pretty good catch, by all accounts. My friend Carly used to work for him. When I talked to her this afternoon, she described him as a very loyal, caring man who’d be devoted to any woman lucky enough to catch his eye.”
Annabeth was mortified. “You talked to your friend about this?”
“Well, I didn’t name any names, if that’s what you mean. But I wasn’t going to invite some man over here to leer at my son’s grandmother without knowing something about him!”
Annabeth didn’t know whether to smack Julianne or hug her. “How did you know there was any interest on his part, anyway?”
Julianne picked at a string on the bedspread. “I might have seen you two in the shop this morning.”
Annabeth plopped down on the bed beside her. “Does Will know?”
Julianne snorted. “I mentioned it, but he’s a bit obtuse. He believes what he wants to believe.”
Annabeth laughed at that. Her son would not be able to steamroll over his wife.
“He’s only in town for the weekend, Annabeth. There’s no harm in enjoying his company and enjoying his attention. You deserve it.”
She was right, Annabeth thought. She couldn’t get her heart broken in three days. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to discover all her faults in that short time.
There was a knock at the door followed by Sophie’s voice. “Annabeth?”
Julianne pulled open the door and smiled at Sophie. “Oh gosh, we left you defenseless down there with the NFL’s finest, sorry.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “I’m used to it. Hey, Brody says there’s a great little ice cream stand a few blocks from the inn. It’s called the Patty Wagon. It’s named after the innkeeper. Isn’t that cool? Daddy and I are going to go check it out. Do you guys want to come with us?”
Julianne gestured to the nursery. “Owen’s down for the night; I need to stay here. How about you, Annabeth?” Her smile held a challenge in it.
Annabeth wasn’t sure she was being wise, but there was something about Hank Osbourne that she wanted to explore. Perhaps, if she kept their encounters light, they could be friends. He was Will’s employer, after all. And Sophie’s father. She enjoyed knowing his daughter and wanted to keep that relationship intact.
“I think that sounds lovely.” Decision made, she linked arms with Sophie and headed out the door.