“You’re doing great, Franny,” he murmured, but he was saying it to me. He gave me one nod, and I knew it was him recognizing how good this was for her. He agreed, finally. She had needed this, and I couldn’t help but let a smile slip.
He lobbed the ball her way and then said to me, “You’re next, and I won’t be as easy on your serve.”
I let out ahaand got ready for it.
We played back and forth every other time, keeping Franny involved but letting our competitiveness fuel the one-on-one volleys. At one point, another little girl came to watch and asked Franny to bounce balls at the court next to us. I saw Jameson motion behind him, and there were Hades and Archer, moving in to make sure Franny was well watched.
From that point on, I was merciless on that court. We played for real, and Jameson didn’t go easy on me. It felt good to push myself and shut down everything else. We didn’t talk at all otherthan a swear from him here and there, but on the second to last point to win the match, he screwed me on a fake-out. I stormed toward the net and growled, “What a cheap, lazy shot.”
“What?” He actually laughed.
“Well it was!” I laughed too at how rude I was being.
But then he rubbed his jaw and pointed his racket at me. “You’d have taken that exact same swing if you had the chance, Darling,” he threw back, his hand resting on his hip.
“Oh, bullshit.” I smiled, but when I realized what I had said, the laughter on my lips died as my eyes widened.
I didn’t swear at work nor at my boss. I’d forgotten my place and let it slip.
His gaze didn’t turn cold though, instead it danced with fire as one side of his mouth kicked up. “A little bit of devil in that darling, I see.”
“Sorry.”
I shook my head and started to step back, but he caught a finger in my collar and leaned close. “Don’t apologize to me for this. I’d rather get the real you over the buttoned-up version any day.”
I bit my lip, trying to hold back a smile because it felt like a compliment when I shouldn’t be seeking one from him. Somehow, in playing this game against one another, we’d gained mutual respect. I appreciated that he didn’t hold back, that he met me with his best, and that he let Franny play beside us, allowing her to be a kid while we were adults equal to one another.
When he held me by the collar a second longer, I felt the spark, and there was no denying the dip in my stomach. I shouldn’t read into what he said or question him about exactly how much of thereal mehe wanted. So I glanced at his lips and licked mine, backing away.
He let me go that time, his eyes glued on the spot where my tongue darted out as he backed away too. “Last serve, Mia.Should we make it count?” He held my gaze, and I swear the air crackled with tension. It was palpable, tangible and impossible to ignore.
I was competitive, had been all through high school and college. And this was something more than competition. This was attraction, deeply rooted and profound for me in a way I’d never felt before.
Yet before he served it, a woman with dark red hair that coiled around her shoulders and down her back walked toward him. “Jameson, you’re out and about today.”
His jaw ticked, his whole body tensing. Maybe it was that I was there, or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with her, but I knew that voice and had a hard time focusing on him when my mind raced quickly at seeing her.
It was like a bucket of ice water doused me.
Valerie the psychiatrist was gorgeous. Tall. Toned. And full in all the right places. He probably was taking her in like I was, because he was a man. How could he not? Plus, he knew her with clothes on and without.
And it seemed she was also a member of the country club, and when she smiled at me and said, “Introduce me to your friend,” I felt like I was absolutely not.
Of course she’d look this good after playing tennis, whereas I was drenched in sweat and felt my curls blowing wildly in the wind. “She’s Franny’s nanny, Val. We’re just finishing up here.”
“Oh.” Her eyebrow raised because she knew he was dismissing her. “Well, then. Good to meet you, Ms. Darling. I’ve heard great things. Take care of Jameson and Franny for me until tomorrow. I’ll see you at the usual time?” She communicated so much with those few words.
He nodded like he just wanted her to leave. I did too. Suddenly, the bubble around our match had broken, and we were exposed again.
I was down one, and when he served, I let loose something coiled in me.
Sports were about controlling your emotions, and my control was slipping.
Seeing how he talked with these women, how he’d kissed Valerie on the cheek and murmured something in her ear before she left, how he told her he’d see her tomorrow. How he was almost gentle with all of them and yet so cold with me.
My smash was too hard. It flew out of bounds and Jameson watched, not even going for it.
There went my emotion. And there he stood, cold and detached, letting it fly by.
