Chapter 7—In the Crease

Vi woke after only a few hours of sleep. Her body ached in a good way, proof of the crazily insane amount of sex they’d had during the night. She glanced at the bedside clock, which read 8:00 a.m., way too early for her to wake up on a Sunday morning. Matt, on the other hand, probably woke with the birds. He seemed the type. She reached out and touched his naked body next to hers and smiled, happy to find him still there. Perhaps she’d worn him out as much as he’d worn her out. He was sound asleep, thanks to her special brand of sleep aids.

She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on an elbow, studying the man she’d had a marathon sex session with. She hadn’t done something like that since before—

Vi shook her head. The night had been too wonderful to think about those bad times.

Matt opened one brown eye and regarded her with a sleepy gaze. His other eye opened. He didn’t seem surprised to find her in bed with him.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice husky with sleep and a sexy smile curving his face. “What time is it?”

“After eight.”

His brow furrowed, and he appeared confused for a moment, as if he should be worried about something but couldn’t force himself to give a shit.

“Thanks for lovely night,” she said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and not sure whether to get dressed and leave or to wait around for a cue from him. He didn’t say anything, just stared at her face, as if he were looking for something.

“I guess I should go. You probably have to get to practice or something.”

He sat up and swung his muscled legs to the edge of the bed. “I have to work out and I want to spend some time with the boys. It’s Andy’s birthday.”

“You’re a good dad.”

He shot her an unreadable look. “I try. It’s tough doing it by yourself at times.”

He wasn’t doing it by himself. His mother lived with him, but she decided not to point out that small fact. He needed to get back to his family and do the birthday thing. She didn’t expect an invitation, yet some small part of her must have stupidly hoped for one.

Vi stood and gathered her clothes scattered from the door to the bed. She pulled them on quickly, her movements stiff and awkward. She couldn’t remember when a hookup that had felt this good ended feeling this wrong.

Matt heaved a sigh and yanked on his boxers and jeans, not bothering to zip them. He walked across the room to her and put his big hands on her waist.

“I want to do this again,” he said, studying Vi as if he half expected an argument from her. Silly man. No woman in her right mind would turn down mind-blowing sex with a hot athlete, but there was more to it than that, but she wasn’t going down that road. Vi didn’t need complications. Her life was complicated enough as it was. Nor did she need rejection. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime. A woman could only take so much before it broke her spirit.

Her strong instinct for self-preservation prodded her to turn him down, but she couldn’t. “Okay,” she said simply. He didn’t know who she was or what she did for a living. He didn’t know her background. He didn’t even know her real name. None of that had been important the first time or last night, yet somehow the facts seemed important this morning.

“Matt, there are things about me—”

“Look,” he said, his tanned face rigid and unyielding. “This is just about sex.”

“Of course it is.” She bristled, insulted even though she didn’t have a right to be. She regretted saying anything. Just insinuating she needed to explain made her vulnerable.

“Vi, I don’t need to know your deep, dark childhood secrets. I don’t need to know when and how you lost your virginity, and I sure as hell don’t want to know how many guys you’ve slept with. No need for true confessions. This is just sex. Nothing else. Right?” He studied her closely.

Vi nodded, relieved she wouldn’t have to a) lie, or b) face his disapproval. Regardless, she was irritated by his cavalier attitude. The dickhead. “And I don’t want to know about your problems with your ex-wife, your attachment to your mother, or the nickname you gave your penis.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed. “Are you insinuating that I’m a momma’s boy?”

Vi smirked at him, finding it interesting which of the insults he’d picked up on. “Your mother lives with you.”

“Only because I can’t find a nanny.”

“Whatever. She cooks, cleans, and launders your clothes.”

“And I pay her.”

Despite her ribbing him, there was something endearing about a man who took care of his mother. “I hope you do. Your boys aren’t the easiest kids to deal with.”

“So I suppose that means you aren’t interested in a nanny-with-benefits job?” The twinkle in his eyes hinted at his lack of seriousness.

She peddled backward several steps and put her hands over her mouth in mock terror at the suggestion.

“I guess not.” He shrugged. Was it her imagination, or did he look a little disappointed? Surely he hadn’t been serious? Everyone knew Vi wasn’t good with kids, especially him. And if he were privy to the rest of her story, he wouldn’t let her within a city block of his precious boys. “My mom wants to travel the world. I need to find a nanny.”

“Keep looking, because I’m definitely not nanny material.” She’d rather strip for a living than take care of kids—or so she told herself.

“Trust me, I know. I was giving you shit.”

“Of course you were.” She forced a smile, feeling oddly insulted even though she knew damn well that she sucked in the child care department. After all, she had crappy role models when it came to parents. Parenting? She shuddered at the thought. She’d never wanted kids, and nothing changed her opinion on that subject. “Is that all? I have a demonstration to attend against social injustice.” She stood near the doorway.

His dark eyes narrowed. To his credit, he didn’t roll his eyes, but he wanted to. Once again, she’d annoyed him without trying. She wasn’t sure whether to applaud her efforts or boo them.

“Pretty much, except for one more thing.” He looked sheepish, an expression she’d rarely seen on his face.

“And that is?”

“Even though it’s just sex, I don’t share.”

“Well, there goes my threesome fantasy. I’d planned hot sex with you and Rush.”

If his scowl was any indication, he didn’t find her the least bit funny. “I mean it. As long as we’re fucking, no one else is fucking you.”

“Afraid you’ll suffer by comparison?” she prodded him, like poking a grizzly bear but a hell of a lot more fun.

“No, for what I have planned, I don’t want you wasting your energy on another man. You’ll need every ounce of it for me.”

“A little cocky, are we?”

“Maybe. But I’ve never had complaints.”

“I doubt you have.” She didn’t want to point out that his ex had left him for another. Vi might be a brat, but she wasn’t going to emasculate the guy she wanted to sleep with. She liked her men 100 percent male. Besides, she couldn’t imagine what woman in her right mind would cheat on Matt. His talents in bed far exceeded anyone she’d been with in the past.

“I haven’t, and I’ll prove it to you.” As if he hadn’t already been doing that?

“I’m looking forward to it.” Maybe a little too much, but he was safe. He didn’t want to know her life’s story, didn’t care about her past, he just wanted in her pants. She should consider herself lucky.

And she did.

 

* * * *

 

Matt came home to an oddly quiet house that morning. His mother was chopping veggies for a pot roast and his boys were sitting at the kitchen nook table studiously scribbling away.

They saw him and came running, wrapping their arms around his legs and shouting, “Daddy! Daddy!”

“Who loves you?” he asked, and he knelt for their usual group hug.

“You do!” they shouted in unison.

He got to his feet and lifted Joey skyward, swinging him in dizzying circles while he laughed and screamed. Andy watched with a grin on his face. His oldest had already declared himself too old for such things.

Damn, but they grew up too fast.

He put Joey down and gave Andy another hug. Andy squirmed out of his arms and ran to the table to hold up what they’d been working on. They’d been drawing. Neither of his kids had picked up their mother’s artistic gene, but he’d gotten good at deciphering their artwork. Andy had drawn the three of them on the boat on Puget Sound. Joey’s was a little harder to figure out, but he thought it was a house with four people standing in front.

“Nice,” he commented. “That looks like the Puget Princess,” he said, referring to his thirty-five-foot cruiser he’d bought last summer. The boys had inherited his love of boating, just as he had from his father.

Andy beamed at him, proud of his work.

“And this is us in front of the house.”

Joey nodded. “Yeah, that’s you, me, Andy, and Nanna.”

“We need new fridge art, don’t we, Mom?” Matt said.

His mother smiled, but her expression was oddly tense.

“Is something wrong?”

“We’ll talk later. After dinner.”

“Okay.” He didn’t like the sound of that.

His mom patted him on the arm. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing horrible. Just—just—well, you’ll find out.”

He breathed a relieved sigh. At least she wasn’t ill. Matt could tolerate anything as long as he didn’t lose the only parent he had left. He pushed her impending news to the back of his mind. He had Andy’s birthday to celebrate.

Much later after tucking the boys into bed, Matt settled in the living room with his mom.

“So what’s going on?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, and he held his breath. “You know that European cruise the Golden Girls are going on? The one I had to cancel when you lost your last nanny?”

His mother and her three best friends called themselves the Golden Girls. They’d been friends since childhood and found themselves single in their retirement years for various reasons. His mom missed out on a lot of fun with the other ladies since she’d been caring for his boys, and he hated to see the disappointment on her face when she turned them down once again.

“I’m sorry you had to miss that, Mom. I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

She wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Well, there’s been a cancellation. I can get my cabin back if I want it.”

“Oh, that would be—uh—wonderful,” he lied. “When would you leave?”

“Two weeks. I told them I couldn’t possibly do it.”

“No, Mom, you can do it. I’ll figure something out. I’ll put my agent on it. I’m guessing Amelia could help care for the boys on home game nights. I just need to make arrangements for road trips.”

“Matt, are you sure?”

Yeah, he was sure. His mother didn’t even put up a good fight, a sure sign she wanted to go on this trip. He and the boys couldn’t be the reason she turned it down. Not this time.

“Absolutely. I have a lead on a great nanny.”

She squinted at him. “No, you don’t, but good try.”

“I do.”

“Who?”

He searched his brain and said the name of the first woman he could think of. “Vi.”

“Vi? You pooh-poohed her when I mentioned her before.” His mother studied him long and hard, and he willed himself not to twitch or waver in his expression. She’d know if he did.

“Uh, yeah, Vi. I’ve thought about what you said, and I think she could work out. She’d like to earn some extra money for college. We’ve been discussing the idea.”

Skepticism shone in his mom’s eyes. “I thought Vi wasn’t comfortable with kids.”

“She did a good job with the boys that last time.” And the only time. She’d ignored his wishes, but he didn’t point that out.

“You complained about her not following your instructions.”

“She is a bit of a rebel, but we can work on that.”

“Matt, I think I’d better turn the girls down. There’ll be other times.”

“No, Mom. I’ve got this. Vi is excited about it.”

“Sure she is.”

“She’s coming over for dinner tomorrow night to discuss details and talk to you about the boys’ schedule. Go ahead. Tell your girlfriends you’re going.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Well, then—okay.”

Matt gave his mother a hug.

He’d dug himself a deep hole; now to convince Vi to go along with the entire thing temporarily, while he busted ass to find a nanny before his mother left because God knew Vi wouldn’t be interested in being a nanny.

* * * *

 

On Monday, Matt asked Vi to meet him in a coffee shop near the campus. Seeing him again so soon wasn’t a good idea, but she did it anyway.

“You told your mother what?” Vi’s voice raised to a shrill shriek. All around them, people turned to stare, despite their relatively private table in the back corner of the coffee shop.

He shot her a glare and leaned forward. “People can hear you.”

“I don’t give a fuck. I’m not a nanny. I have never been a nanny, and I never will be a nanny.”

“I know. I know. Just play along until I can get someone hired. I’ll find a person before Mom leaves. You’ll never have to work one minute as a nanny.”

Vi wasn’t convinced. “I want to remind you that I have a night job. I can’t babysit.”

“You won’t have to. This is just until I find someone.”

“You want me to lie to your mother until you find a real nanny?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite that strongly.”

“How would you put it?”

He shrugged. “Look, one of my mom’s lifelong friends is celebrating being cancer-free. But you know how that goes, it could come back at any time. I want her to have this trip in case she doesn’t get another chance.”

Vi wasn’t a bad person. She understood cancer and what it could do to a person and a family. She also knew how quickly it could come back. “Are you certain I’ll never have to babysit even one night?”

“Positive.”

Vi bit her lower lip. “Matt, I’m not nanny material. Your mother is going to see right through us.”

“Maybe, but she wants to go on this trip so badly, I think she’ll ignore her misgivings.”

Vi hoped his mom didn’t run a background check and find Vi’s alias along with the unsavory parts or her past and present. If only stripping were the least of her problems.

“So you’ll do it?”

Vi frowned. She didn’t remember saying she’d do it. “Matt, I—”

“I’ll owe you one. You know how much you like it when I’m in debt to you.”

She couldn’t recall him ever being in debt to her, but he was right, she did like the idea.

“I’d be glad to compensate you for your trouble.”

She bristled. “I don’t need or want your money.”

He jerked back as if she’d slapped him. Maybe her tone had been a little harsh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.”

She did things for money she wouldn’t do if she had other means, but she was not ashamed of her exotic dancing. She enjoyed it, and she had her scruples. She didn’t sleep with any of the patrons or do lap dances. She was strictly an onstage-look-don’t-touch dancer. To be paid to lie to his mother went against her moral compass.

“It’s okay.” He looked so adorably contrite she couldn’t hold him responsible for his offer.

“So you’ll do it?” He grinned like a little boy begging her to make a batch of his favorite cookies. A naughty little boy with a filthy streak a mile long. She loved that filthy streak.

“All right. I’ll do it. Against my better judgment.” But when did she ever have better judgment? In fact, bad judgment was becoming the norm when it came to this man. She couldn’t get more involved, especially not with her heart. He’d never be interested in anything other than the physical, especially once he knew her secrets, but he’d never know. She’d see to that. They wouldn’t get that close. They didn’t have that kind of relationship.

“Vi?”

“Yes.” She held her breath.

“There’s more.”

“What?”

“I need you to come to dinner tonight and talk to my mom about the boys, their routines, stuff like that.”

“Matt, I don’t want to—”

“Please,” he begged.

This was getting more and more complicated, but she, who swore she’d never again let someone talk her into something she didn’t want to do, caved. “Okay, but what’s for dinner?”

“Anything you want.”

She grinned wickedly. “How about an eggplant lasagna and kale salad?”

He grimaced. Vi had correctly guessed something he would hate.

“Yeah, sure. If my mom knows how to make it.”

“I’ll text you the recipe,” she said helpfully.

He shot her a death glare.

She laughed. “Let me guess. You’re a meat-and-potatoes guy.”

“Yeah.”

“How did I ever figure that out?”

He rolled his eyes and scooted his chair closer. His eyes darkened. “I have an hour before practice. Why don’t we seal the deal in the back of my SUV?”

She leaned in and put a finger under his chin, drawing him closer until his lips were an inch from hers. His mouth quirked upward.

“Sorry, I have a class in thirty minutes.” She stood so abruptly, his chair almost tipped over. He glowered at her. Vi leaned down and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. “This’ll have to keep you until the next time I get you naked.”

“I don’t think I can wait that long,” he groaned. “Come to my game Thursday night.”

Vi jumped as if he’d slapped her. Matt’s eyes grew big, giving her the distinct impression he’d spoken before he’d engaged his brain.

“This is just sex, remember?”

“Uh, yeah. I thought we could get together after the game.” He was backpedaling.

“I don’t think so. I work Thursday through Saturday.”

“What if I leave the outside French doors on my bedroom unlocked?”

She considered his proposition for a split second. “You’ve got a deal.” She didn’t wait to hear his answer or see his expression. She flounced off and didn’t look back.

Even though she wanted to.