Chapter 18

Danny opened and closed the nightstand. LeBron/Michael/Magic/Kareem hit the back of the drawer with a dull thud, and the man with the real dick smirked. That was the most action Kate’s trusty vibrator had seen in a long time. He’d made damn sure of that. Sighing, he let his eyes skim over her long legs as he turned back to the television screen. The sound was muted, which was just as well. He was getting enough of an earful from his agent.

Traveling the path he’d worn in the polished hardwood, he headed for the bedroom door once more. On the threshold, he turned back. This was his favorite view. Kate, stretched out on her bed, wearing nothing but a faded athletic department T-shirt and a little popcorn butter on her chin. She had a sheaf of papers in her lap, but he didn’t want to think about those. He didn’t need to. That’s why he paid the guy currently reaming him out a hefty percentage of his salary.

“I know, Gene.”

He spoke the words by rote. He’d been chanting them like a mantra through three phone calls. Yes, he knew another scandal might make him unemployable, but there was no scandal here. He and Kate were both legal and unattached. There was no glaring age difference, no question of staff/student ethics or any conflict concerning parties in a position of authority over one another. Kate may be able to kick his ass in the record books and on the basketball court, but that had no bearing on his ability to lead a football team. It also helped shore up his ego that he knew exactly where and how to touch her to get her to admit he was The Man.

He stepped back into the room. On screen, the NSN anchors flapped their lips. A live feed of the Wolcott University media room showed only a blank backdrop printed with the Warrior logo. The ticker scrolling along the bottom of the screen informed viewers that they were awaiting a special announcement from Wolcott Athletic Director Mike Samlin. Danny scowled at Jeff Sommers’s ultra-high-tech media center. He couldn’t help but wonder if Kate and her ex had spent an equally disheartening evening awaiting the announcement of Ty Ransom as the school’s men’s basketball coach.

“Tell him to look at the second clause in section three again,” Kate said without looking up.

“Danny, are you listening to me?” his agent demanded.

“I know, Gene,” he answered automatically, then turned toward Kate. “Ask him to what?”

“I want him to read through the part about the buyout clause again. They might choose to pay you off,” Kate answered.

“You know,” Gene scoffed, the two of them talking over one another. “You can’t possibly know. I just told you.”

“Do they have to buy me out regardless of the reason for termination?” he asked his agent.

“There’s a buyout, and if they feel like keeping things cordial and low profile, they may pay part of it, but you’re in violation, so they can terminate for cause, and you get nothing,” Gene replied, his answer short to the point of rudeness. “Now, did you hear me about San Jose?”

At last, Gene’s information clicked. Danny turned away from Kate and her high-definition television screen. “San Jose? As in California?”

Gene blew out an exasperated huff. “Yes, the last time I checked, San Jose was in California.”

The papers crinkled again, but this time, he didn’t dare look at Kate. “San Jose is interested?”

“They’ve put out feelers.” Gene paused, and Danny could almost hear the smugness rolling off the man. “Idaho too.”

“Boise State?” Danny’s heart began to thrum. He might have to buy some special sunglasses to deal with the glare off that blue turf, but he’d—

“Idaho,” Gene repeated more forcefully. “As in the Vandals.”

“Oh.” Danny’s stomach dropped, but his heart continued its drumline cadence. “Nothing closer to home?”

“Home?” His agent repeated the word as if Danny had spoken in a foreign tongue. “What home?”

“Here,” Danny said, spinning on his heel and heading for the bedroom door on the first leg of what he was sure would be an epic bout of pacing. “Close to where I’m at now.” He paused on the threshold, closing his eyes as he awaited the answer he knew in his gut was coming.

“No. The only other nibble I’ve had was from UTEP, but I figured you weren’t hot to move back to the Rio Grande valley.”

“Not so much.”

“And what makes you so sure Kate Snyder will go wherever you go? I get that the two of you are all cuddled up and shit, but unless you’re packing a magic wand in your pants, I don’t see her following you to the ends of the earth. Tough talk or not, she’s a lifer, Danny.”

As if taking her cue, Kate whispered, “It’s starting.”

Danny turned back in time to watch her exchange the copy of his contract she’d been dissecting for the remote control. A pair of green reading glasses with gold emblems on the earpieces held her hair back from her face. Green and gold. Warrior glasses. Her expression was all business as she pointed the control at the television and unmuted the sound.

Mike Samlin stood at the podium, his expression solemn, the lines bracketing his eyes and mouth more pronounced than ever. “On behalf of the Wolcott University administration, I thank you in advance for your time. I’ll be reading a brief statement, but I will not be taking any questions at this time.”

Danny ended the call with his agent without a goodbye and sank onto the edge of the bed.

“It was with high hopes and great expectations that we announced the addition of Danny McMillan to the Wolcott University athletic program. In the short time he has been on campus, Coach McMillan has already had a positive impact on our student athletes and staff. Unfortunately, circumstances have come to light which have placed our continued relationship with Coach McMillan in jeopardy. As of this afternoon, the administration has decided to release Danny McMillan from his contract. We will begin reviewing new candidates for the position immediately. On behalf of our players and personnel, we ask that the media refrain from speculation that may be damaging to either Wolcott University or Danny McMillan. Thank you for your time and your ongoing support.”

With that, Mike folded the statement in half and turned from the podium. He almost made it out of camera range before one of the press corps shouted, “Is this because of his relationship with Kate Snyder?”

Kate groaned. “Oh, you horse’s ass.”

A turbulent moment of confusion followed as the cameraman swiveled to find the reporter who’d asked the question. Within seconds, Jim Davenport’s supercilious smirk filled the screen. Danny shook his head, the urge to laugh bubbling up inside him. He had to hand it to the weasel. The man had his scoop, and he wasn’t about to give it up. But the moron squashed whatever grudging respect he might have mustered when he opened his big, fat mouth again.

“He’s been seen leaving her house in the early morning hours. Doesn’t Coach McMillan have a morals clause written into his contract? Seems to me there’s no need for further investigation. That is unless you’re hoping for video evidence.”

Danny was off the bed like a cannonball, his fingers curled into fists. “I’m gonna break that fuckin’ stick insect in half.”

“Ignore him. It’s his moment in the sun.” Pressing the mute button once more, Kate pulled her reading glasses down and picked up the contract. “Jim Davenport just delivered the only line of color commentary anyone will ever hear from him. Sad to be a one and done.”

Danny swung a hand in the direction of the television. “Don’t you want to hear what they’re saying?”

She shrugged. “I’ve heard all I need to hear.”

“Yeah. I got fired.”

Kate went back to perusing the codicils and clauses as if she found legalese the most fascinating thing in the world. “Not exactly a surprise.” She nodded to the television. The cameramen kept their lenses trained on Mike’s retreating back as he left the podium. “He doesn’t want you gone any more than I do.”

Danny swallowed the lump of uncertainty balling at the base of his throat. “I may end up on the West Coast.”

“I can’t really see that happening,” she said distractedly. “You’re not the granola type.”

He dropped down on the bed, purposefully jostling her to get her undivided attention. “I’m serious, Kate. The only interest I have so far is in California or Idaho. What happens then?”

She didn’t answer.

Terrified by her silence and unable to think of a thing to say, he looked up in time to see dozens of the candid shots Millie’d leaked to the press over the past couple of months flashing on the screen. The feed scrolling across the bottom included the words publicity stunt and media sensation. Finally, NSN’s Greg Chambers shook his head as the network showed the grainy photo Davenport had snapped of him kissing Kate goodbye at her door. Danny didn’t need to be an expert lip reader to catch the anchor’s incredulous, “Is this for real?”

Danny grabbed the remote and jabbed the power button. The screen went dark, and the soft hum of the surround-sound speakers filled the room. “Well, that’s the nail in the coffin.”

“What is?”

“The kiss. Mike and I managed to leave the bit about Davenport’s pictures out of the conversation with Chancellor Martin.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when his phone rang. Danny glanced at the display, then held it up to show Kate the caller’s name.

Swiping his thumb across the screen, he managed a brief, “Hey.”

“I’m afraid I’ve been instructed to contact Gene to let you know we’ll be terminating your contract for cause,” Mike said in a stiff, formal tone. “The termination papers will be drawn up within forty-eight hours.”

Danny heard the hitch in his old friend’s voice. “Yeah. I caught that. Hey, thanks for trying, man. For everything.”

“I wish…” Mike paused for a second. “Well, I was going to say I wish things were different, and in this case I do, but only some things.”

His friend’s circular reasoning made him smile. “I’m gonna pretend that made sense.”

“Be happy. That’s what I was trying to say.” Mike chuckled. “But I guess you already made that choice.”

“Yeah, I did.” Danny glanced at Kate and found her watching him with a worried frown. Shifting closer, he pressed a tender kiss to the lines between her brows, then turned his attention back to the call. “I’ll be in tomorrow to clean out my office.”

Mike snickered. “Should be fairly easy, since you never unpacked.”

Danny thought about the cardboard boxes he’d methodically emptied and flattened that afternoon. So much for his rebellion. It was a damn good thing he hadn’t been ballsy enough to haul the pile of cardboard out to the Dumpster. All he needed was a roll of tape and he’d be good to go. Again. “Piece of cake.”

Flashing a weak smile in Kate’s direction, he ended the call. “They’ll have the papers ready in the next forty-eight hours.”

Pink lips set in a thin line, she nodded once. “Two days. Got it.”

“Kate, sweetheart…” He tucked her hair behind her ear and ran his knuckles down the soft slope of her cheek. “It’s done.”

“Nothing’s done until the papers are signed.” The gold flecks in her eyes shone warm but dull, like the ancient track-and-field trophies tucked at the back of the lesser display cases.

“I want to ask you a question,” he said.

Her startled gaze met his. Those pretty pink lips parted. He saw the hope flare in her eyes and wanted to gut himself with the ballpoint pen she’d been using to mark up his contract. More than anything, he wanted to cash in on that unspoken invitation. Right there and then, his future—or lack thereof—be damned.

A marriage proposal tingled on the tip of his tongue, but he pressed his lips together until the urge passed. He didn’t know exactly where the impulse had come from, but he knew he couldn’t blurt “marry me” and expect her to jump at the offer. He needed to think things through. He needed to have a plan. But the realization that she was it for him wasn’t surprising. He’d been feeling this…rightness…since the moment they first touched. And now he was about to lose it. Lose her. No, he needed a more solid play. She deserved more than a Hail Mary proposal from a guy who didn’t know where he’d land next.

“What question was that?”

Danny hesitated only a moment. He might not have been prepared to throw for the win, but he could test her defensive line. “The West Coast,” he managed at last, quirking a brow. “California? Idaho? Would you consider going?”

She wet her lips and looked down at the papers in her lap, her disappointment palpable. “You said San Jose or Boise State?”

“University of Idaho. Not Boise.”

Like a switch had flipped, the teasing light flashed in her eyes. “Wow. Not even Boise? You really are in trouble, aren’t you?”

“Hey, it beats Rio River College.” He tried to fix her with a stern stare, but he couldn’t hold on to it. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I’ll have Jonas test the waters in the Bay Area.” She wrinkled her nose, tapped the rumpled printout of the contract, then picked it up and tossed it to the floor. “But I have to tell you, I’m not giving up yet. I like my house, I like my bed, and I like the way you look in it.”

Danny allowed her to push him back onto the pillows she pummeled and plumped each morning. “You’re kind of a female chauvinist pig, you know?”

“Oh, I know.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “It’s one of the things you like best about me.”

“Damn straight it is.” Grinning up at her, he counted down from three in his head, then flipped her over with practiced ease. Pinning her hands high above her head, he leaned in close and dropped his voice to a whisper. “But right now, it’s time to show your man a little sympathy and consolation. Stand by me like a good little woman should.”

“I’ve never been called little, but I’ll give it my best shot.” Kate raked one hand through his hair and slid the other down his belly. “Oh, poor baby,” she purred, stroking him through the slick nylon of his gym shorts. “Does this make it better?”

He closed the distance between them, capturing her lips and stretching the kiss out slow and deep. Her body bowed beneath his, and he took the kiss deeper, hoping she could taste the promises he wanted to make. Trusting she’d choose him the way he’d chosen her. Praying she’d never want to stop touching him. Wanting him.

Loving him.

* * *

Kate paced her office from window to door and back again. The next time she made the turn, Millie rolled the desk chair over just enough to stick a leg out and block her path.

“I’m gonna put you in a kennel if you don’t stop it,” she threatened.

Kate had to admire her friend’s powers of concentration. Millie’d pulled the whole maneuver off without tearing her eyes from the computer screen. Tapping a bright-coral nail to the glass, she drew Kate’s hopscotching attention to the monitor.

“This is still my favorite,” Millie said. Kate squinted at the photograph someone snapped the day she’d crashed Danny’s introductory press conference. Her hair flew wild around her head, but her jaw was set and her eyes were locked on her quarry. “You look like you belong on the prow of a ship.”

Unimpressed with her friend’s idea of a compliment, Kate rolled her eyes. “Great. Just what I was shooting for that day.”

“She’d need bigger boobs.” Avery didn’t look up from the papers in her lap. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she circled a section of text. “No such thing as a flat-chested figurehead. You know those suckers were carved by men.”

“Thanks for that,” Kate said with a snide smile. “Reading anything good?”

Avery held up her hand. “I’m not done yet.”

Kate turned to stare out at the quad. The space should have been deserted, but it seemed that every sports reporter who wasn’t covering baseball was on campus, hoping to catch her and Danny together. She was all for giving them what they wanted. After all, Danny was being terminated. They had little to lose. But he wouldn’t do it. For once, he was the one reminding her about her own contract negotiations and playing it cautious, claiming they needed at least one steady income to keep them both in Tiger Balm.

She glanced at the contract in Avery’s lap, hoping her friend might use her experience as a former paralegal to confirm what Kate already suspected. They might have a way out of this mess.

Maybe. Possibly. With a little luck, a giant leap of faith, and some skillful loophole diving.

She hadn’t said anything to Danny that morning. He had his hands full as it was. His agent was due in on a midmorning flight. His voicemail had gone to overload within minutes of Jim Davenport’s accusation. He’d come in early to beat the press, wanting to talk to Mike face-to-face one last time. Now, he was down the hall, packing his things. For either California or Idaho.

He’d asked her a question, but it was one she didn’t want to answer.

Which was ridiculous, considering she’d threatened to do exactly what he was asking her to do. She was already putting her career on the line for a man. One who shouldn’t have any claim on her but somehow did from the minute she met him. After just one night with Danny, she knew they were right together. She knew it the same way she could tell if a shot was good the second it left her fingertips.

But she’d been wrong about one thing. She’d thought he was going to propose to her when he said he wanted to ask her a question. And in that magical moment, every princess fantasy she’d stowed deep down inside her sprang to life. It was a damn good thing she’d been speechless.

Idaho, for cripes’ sake. What does someone say to that?

But oh, she’d wanted him to pop the question. She’d wanted a poofy dress and a tiara and a bevy of woodland creatures to help her dress. She’d wear high heels so she’d tower over him as they said their vows. He’d like that, perverse as he was. She wanted a real wedding this time. She didn’t want to pretend fifteen minutes in a judge’s chambers was good enough for what she felt for him.

But dreams and reality didn’t always play out that way.

Being the industrious woman she was, she knocked her man out with a vigorous round of screw-’em-all sex, waited until he started to snore, then slipped out from under his tree trunk of a leg to reclaim the pages of the contract they’d tossed aside. Closeted in the bathroom, she read and reread the morals clause until she could recite it. If her hunch was right, a quickie ceremony at the courthouse might be just the ticket. And she’d do it for him. Otherwise, she might be saying hi-de-ho to Idaho soon.

She’d lain awake until he crept out of bed and shuffled off to the shower. Then she’d called Millie and Avery. They might not be cute, furry woodland creatures, but they would help her get her man.

Avery tossed the contract aside with a dramatic sweep of her arm. Pages fluttered to the ground all around her.

The commotion was startling enough to capture Millie’s full attention at last. Peering at the smug bohemian seated in the guest chair over the rims of red-polka-dotted glasses, she quirked an inquiring brow. “Well?”

The stretched neckline of Avery’s tie-dyed T-shirt slipped off her shoulder as she heaved the world’s largest sigh. “As much as I hate to say it, I think you’re screwed.”

Kate’s stomach plummeted to her feet. “There’s nothing I can do?”

“Just the one thing,” Avery said with grim twist of her lips. “You’re gonna have to buy the cow if you wanna keep him.”

Millie yanked her glasses from her nose and fixed their friend with her hardest stare. “For once in your life, can you cut the crap and just give a straight answer?”

Avery rolled her eyes, then turned her full attention to Kate. “The clause specifically states ‘inappropriate or immoral relationship.’” She shrugged, and her T-shirt slipped a little more. “If you buy into all that bogus morality crap created by misogynists and supported by a patriarchal establishment, there’s nothing inappropriate or immoral about marriage.”

Millie barked a triumphant laugh. She glanced up at Kate, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, then turned back Avery. “Thank you for not using air quotes.”

“Air quotes are always inappropriate and immoral,” Avery answered. Beaming up at Kate, she cocked her head. “So…think you’ll take the bull by the horns?”

Kate froze, her lips pursed and her gaze fixed on the rack of shoes mounted to her wall. She never left the pair Danny gave her here. They were too important to her. No, even though she had room on the wall for another half dozen pairs, she carried those sneakers back and forth each day in her gym bag, afraid to let them out of her care.

Was that why she wanted to marry Danny? Was it just a way of pinning him to her side? If she didn’t marry him and the administration followed through, would she be able to go too? Wolcott had always been her home. This was the place where she first became a champion. It was her safe haven when her playing days ended far too soon.

“Is it crazy?” she asked her friends.

“Yes,” Avery answered without hesitation.

“Shut up, you,” Millie admonished.

Avery sighed and pushed her hair back from her face. “Listen, I don’t believe a piece of paper is proof that two people love each other more than anyone else, but I have to admit it might be nice to see a shotgun wedding for the purpose of saving the guy’s reputation for once.”

“Do you love him?” Millie asked, her trademark rasp unnaturally gentle.

The answer shot out of Kate’s mouth like a bullet. “Yes.”

Smiling, Avery stood and smoothed her gauzy skirt. “I’ll go buy a bouquet of whatever the grocery store has.” She turned to Millie. “Judge Baxter still a season-ticket holder?”

“Will be till the day he dies,” Millie answered, reaching for the phone.

Bobbing a decisive nod, Avery gripped Kate by the arms and propelled her toward the door. “Go line up your groom. The clock is ticking on those forty-eight hours.”

Without another word, Kate yanked open her office door and sprinted down the hall. She dodged a couple of media types snapping pictures of the trophy cases, lifted a hand in acknowledgment as she zipped past Mack standing in the doorway to the bullpen, a smug smile creasing his face, and skidded around the corner that led to Danny’s closet of an office.

“Danny!” She caught the doorframe with her fingertips and let the laws of physics rein in her momentum. “I’ve got to ask…”

Kate trailed off as she scanned the tiny space. It was empty save for the sea of cardboard boxes cluttering the floor. The walls were covered in old team plaques and team photos. Decor that hadn’t been there the day before. The wall beside his desk was eaten up by a giant metal rack exactly like the one that hung in her office. But instead of shoes, Danny had ball caps—dozens of them. Each sporting a different team’s logo or mascot. Every one with the bill curved just so. Even the one with the rattlesnake appliqued to the front.

Closing her eyes, Kate curbed her impatience by conjuring the memory of the morning kiss Jim Davenport’s photo captured. The warmth of Danny’s mouth. The morning gravel in his voice. Those rough, ready hands curling the brim of his hat, getting it just how he liked it before pulling the visor down low over his brows.

Too late. They’d been caught. Game over.

“Hey.”

She turned and found the man of her daydreams slowing his steps as he approached, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans. “Hi.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “You come by to help me pack?”

Kate shook her head, trying to dislodge the lingering memory of that early-morning kiss, wishing she could shake off her nerves. Inhaling through her nose, she focused on him. Only him. That craggy, handsome face was her backboard, his smile the square she could bank on if she needed to, but the light in his eyes was her goal. She stared deep into their electric-blue depths, knowing it was time to take her shot.

“No. I came to ask you to marry me.”