Before We Kiss

The high-pitched yell had him looking over his shoulder and then swearing under his breath.

“They’re ba-ack,” Ford said as he ran past.

Most mornings two old ladies showed up with lawn chairs and mugs of coffee. They sat and watched until the game was over, cheering both sides and often suggesting that shirts weren’t the only thing that should come off.

He had no problem with that. It was that one of the old ladies seemed especially interested in him and that was kind of weird. He’d run into her a few weeks ago at one of the town festivals and he would swear she’d pinched his ass.

Justice scored for the other team, then Jack stepped out of bounds to take the ball. Sam got into place and caught it, then passed it to a teammate. As they all moved up the court, he thought that if someone was going to go after his ass, he would pick Dellina. They’d only been together that one time, but it had been memorable. The way she’d kissed him, he thought as he turned and reached for the ball. Her mouth had made him—

He came to a stop involuntarily as his face made contact with something hard and sharp. Pain exploded by his eye, but before he even started swearing, he passed the ball to Clay. Only then did he reach up to touch the rapidly swelling lump that was going to not only leave a mark but give him a black eye. He turned to Consuelo.

“Seriously? You had to do that?”

“You weren’t paying attention. You know I hate that.” She sounded more defensive than contrite. Then she pointed to his face. “Your nose is bleeding, too.”

He rubbed his chin. Sure enough, his hand came away with blood on it.

“Man down,” Jack yelled, walking toward him.

“I’m standing,” Sam told him even as he headed off the court. Dripping blood would make the court slick. And he should probably get some ice on his eye.

“I’m not going to say I’m sorry,” Consuelo yelled after him.

He smiled. No, she wouldn’t, and he liked that about her.

Sam walked across the street. It was still before seven but when he entered the offices of Score he found Taryn in the foyer. She took one look at him and shook her head.

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not patching you up. And don’t bleed on the carpet.” She walked to the phone at the reception desk and picked up the receiver. A second later she said, “Sam got injured.” She paused and looked at him. “Black eye and bloody nose.” Another pause. “Yes, they are idiots.”

She hung up. “Larissa will meet you in the locker room.” She pulled a box of tissues from the reception desk and thrust it at him. “Use these. I swear, if you drip on our carpet...” she began.

He took the box and pulled out a handful. “You’ll what?”

“Be very angry.”

“Ooooh. I’m trembling.”

She glared at him, then stalked off. Considering she was wearing four-inch heels, the pace was impressive.

Twenty minutes later Larissa removed the ice pack to check the swelling. “You’re going to have a black eye,” she murmured. Her touch was light as she brushed her fingers over his cheek. “You want to go see a doctor?”

“No.”

“Typical. Use the ice packs for ten minutes on, ten minutes off. Don’t press hard.”

“I know how to do this,” he reminded her.

“You know what would be better than knowing how to treat a black eye? Not getting hit in the first place.”

He nodded. “Point taken.”

She started putting away her first aid supplies. “It’s not usually you who gets distracted. What happened?”

He’d been thinking about Dellina’s mouth. Not that he would share that with Larissa. “It was one of those things.”

“Poor Sam.” She picked up her kit, then paused. “I’ve been talking to one of my rescue groups about—”

He was already halfway out the door. “Good luck with that.”

“You didn’t hear what we want to rescue.”

“I know.”

* * *

FAYRENE HOPKINS WAS a big fan of having a plan. She knew exactly where she wanted her business to be by her twenty-eighth birthday. She understood the market in her town, the opportunities and had even been saving to buy a small apartment building. Because in addition to having her own company, she was going to start buying up real estate in Fool’s Gold. She had friends, family, a wonderful man who loved her and a plan. What she didn’t have was an engagement ring and not having it was killing her.

It wasn’t the ring itself, she admitted. It was what the ring represented. Commitment. Because as much as Ryan swore he loved her, he seemed in no hurry to pop the question. Fayrene was ready to get married and get on with the next phase of their relationship.

She sat on the stool in her sister’s spare bedroom. Dellina was on the phone, dealing with a client issue. Which left Fayrene alone with a dozen or so beautiful wedding gowns. Some were samples, others had been ordered for soon-to-be brides. Brides engaged to men who were willing to cough up a ring and set the date.

Fayrene sighed heavily. She knew in her heart she had no one to blame but herself. When she and Ryan had first met, she hadn’t been looking for love. She’d been interested in building her business. She was young and sometimes that meant she wasn’t taken seriously. She knew that for the other businesses in town to be willing to use her services and trust her to get the job done, she had to be willing to do more than was expected. Falling in love would only be a distraction.

Only Ryan had been so...nice, she thought wistfully. Sweet and funny. They’d met at Hendrix Construction. He’d been there as an engineer while she’d been filling in for the receptionist. She’d also been pet-sitting a pregnant cat who had chosen that morning to go into labor.

While she’d been running around like a crazy person, Ryan had calmed her down, checked on the cat and kept it all together. She’d been impressed. She’d tried to keep her distance from him, but she’d been unable to resist his charms. And when he’d kissed her...well, she’d been totally lost.

Now, as she picked up one of the dresses and held it against her, she supposed Ryan’s greatest virtue was that he was doing exactly what she’d asked. Waiting. When they’d admitted their love, she’d been scared about losing her chance at her business dream. Getting married would have been too much of a distraction. So they’d agreed to wait four years. One of which had passed, which left three more to go.

Only she didn’t want to wait anymore and she couldn’t figure out how to get that information to Ryan without telling him directly.

She held the dress in front of her again. From what she could see through the protective plastic, it was a beautiful strapless gown with layers of—

“Leave that dress alone!” Dellina walked into the room and put her hands on her hips. “Fayrene, that’s either a special order or a sample. You can’t mess with the merchandise.”

“If it’s a sample, I can.”

“Then go to Paper Moon and try it on in the store like a normal person.”

Fayrene returned the dress to the rack and sighed. “I’m not normal. I’m an idiot. Ana Raquel was smart. She realized she loved Greg and got engaged immediately. They moved in together.”

“They also eloped.”

Fayrene wrinkled her nose. “I wouldn’t want that. I want a big wedding.” With all her friends there. She wanted to walk down the aisle and see Ryan at the other end. She wanted a church ceremony and a backyard reception.

“Fayrene, I love you like a sister,” Dellina began.

“I am your sister.”

“I know. You’re a smart businessperson, but when it comes to love—specifically with Ryan—you’re making this way too hard. Tell him how you feel.”

Fayrene shook her head. “The guy is supposed to propose.”

“That’s unbelievably old-fashioned.”

“I don’t care. When I’m telling my daughter a bedtime story and she asks me how Daddy proposed, I don’t want to tell her he didn’t. That I had to ask.”

It was more than that, she thought sadly. She wanted Ryan so swept away by love that he couldn’t help himself. That he didn’t care what she wanted. That being with her was the most important thing in the world and he would ask her to marry him no matter what. Only that didn’t seem to be happening.

“Maybe he doesn’t love me anymore,” she said with a sigh.

Dellina leaned against the door frame. “Kill me now.”

“Before your big party?”

Her sister straightened. “You’re right. The party is huge and I’m going to do such a good job that people will be talking about it for weeks. You still up for being my head babysitter?”

“You bet. I’m looking forward to it.” As a rule, Fayrene liked kids. She would also like the big, fat check she would earn for just three days of relatively easy work.

“Good. By the way, you don’t happen to know how long it takes to play a round of golf, do you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never played. Four hours, maybe.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’ll do some research online and then talk to someone at the golf course. I’m planning the events for the weekend. I have to present the schedule to Sam tomorrow.” She tilted her head. “Don’t take this wrong, but what are you doing here?”

Sulking, Fayrene thought. “I was hoping we could brainstorm more ways to get Ryan to propose,” she said, pointing to the dry-erase board.

Dellina walked toward her and put her hands on Fayrene’s shoulders. “You’re my sister. I love you very much. I would step in front of a bus for you.”

“But?”

“But you’re going about this all wrong. Tell him how you feel. And if you won’t, comfort yourself with the knowledge that Ryan will propose.”

Fayrene groaned. “In three years.”

“Which is exactly when you told him to.”

CHAPTER THREE

DELLINA ARRIVED AT the office of Score five minutes before her appointment with Sam. While she knew where the offices were, she’d never been in them before. Now as she walked through the glass doors, she took in the open foyer with the two-story ceiling. A big reception desk stood in the center. There were stairs to the left and an elevator beyond that. But what really caught her attention was the nearly life-size pictures on the wall.

Sam, Kenny and Jack stared down at her from all angles. There were photos of the guys in uniform, in shorts and T-shirts, standing around and working out. There was one of Jack about to throw a football, another of Kenny jumping to catch. One showed Sam in that last nanosecond before he kicked the ball.

She turned slowly, taking in the various poses and expressions. In the back, by the stairs, was one picture showing all four partners together. In her heels, Taryn was the same height as Sam. Jack was an inch or so taller with Kenny a couple of inches taller than him. The guys were in suits and ties and Taryn had on a long-sleeved black dress that showed every skinny inch of her body. Dellina immediately sucked in her stomach.

A middle-aged woman walked toward her. “May I help you?”

“Dellina Hopkins. I have an appointment with Sam.”

The woman smiled. “Yes, of course. This way, Ms. Hopkins.”

“Dellina, please.”

She was led down the hallway. Signed jerseys and trophies lined the walls. The receptionist stopped in front of a partially open wooden door.

“Thank you,” Dellina said before she stepped inside.

She found herself in a large office. One end had a big desk with a computer. There were windows, a long leather sofa and, at the far end, a small conference table.

The square footage probably came close to that of her house, she thought with amusement. Ah, to be a rich, famous football player, she thought. Talk about serious perks.

A door by the conference table opened and Sam walked into the room. Her girl parts cheered, her breath seemed to catch and she wondered if it was just her or if the sun was shining just a little brighter now. He smiled when he saw her.

“Right on time.”

She was about to ask if there was a private restroom or if he and the other guys had secret passages back and forth between their offices when she took a look at his face. His left eye was slightly puffy and there was a deep violet and red bruise from the bridge of his nose to his cheekbone.

“What happened?” she asked, instinctively stepping toward him.

“You should see the other guy.”

“You got in a fight?”

The smile returned. “No. I played basketball and got in the way of Consuelo’s elbow.”

“Consuelo did that to you?” Dellina cleared her throat and lowered the pitch of her voice. “On purpose?”

“That second question is harder to answer. She would tell you it was my own damn fault and she would probably be right.”

“You have a black eye.”

“That seems to be the consensus.”

She was only a few feet from him. For a second she thought about moving closer and lightly touching his skin. While the idea was tempting, she couldn’t figure out an excuse. It wasn’t as if she had magical healing powers. While being around Sam made her think of tangled sheets and soul-stirring kisses, the information wasn’t relevant for their current discussion. Or any discussion. Because what had happened that night had been an anomaly. Given the choice between the job and man, she would take the job.

But being with the man had been very, very nice.

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