Tracy Solheim - Foolish Games

“No one.” Will replied.

“Hank Osbourne, the GM,” Brody said at the same time.

“Oh, the man whose house we were . . . married at?” Julianne began preparing a bottle for Owen. “I thought I saw him in town this morning.”

“You what?” Will knew Hank would see that wheedling information out of Julianne was useless. The GM was aware of the circumstances of their marriage, after all. But he didn’t want Hank filling her head with all the rumors surrounding the allegations.

Julianne stared at him. “He was out walking in town after I left you two at the gym. He didn’t see me, though; he looked like he was on a mission.” She smiled to herself, one of those I’ve-got-a-secret smiles that always made him nervous when he saw one on a woman. “What’s so horrible about going out to dinner with him?”

“He wants the three of us to go with him and his daughter. Owen could be exposed to too much in a public restaurant. It’s too risky.”

“You’ve got a point.” She shook up the bottle.

Will smiled smugly at Brody as if to say, She bought it hook, line, and sinker.

“So we should invite them here for dinner. You, too, Brody. And Annabeth, of course.”

It was Brody’s turn to smile at her words. Gotcha, his grin proclaimed.

“No!”

“Why not?” Julianne fisted her hands on her hips. “I’m a very good cook. And I love dinner parties.”

“You don’t cook for other people, remember?” Will arched an eyebrow at her.

“No,” she reminded him. “I clarified this before, I don’t cook for you. But for tonight, I’m willing to make an exception and let you eat with the grown-ups.”

Will shoved Owen into Brody’s arms. “Here, keep him busy for a moment.” He grabbed Julianne by the wrist and pulled her into the large pantry, slamming the door behind him.

“We are not having a dinner party here, Princess.”

Julianne surveyed the shelves. “Well, not with what you have here. I’ll need to make you a grocery list. We can have caprese tomatoes, chicken marsala, Caesar salad, and maybe a fruit torte for dessert. You’ll have to do the shopping, because I need to give Owen a bath if we’re having company.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. She had to be the most infuriatingly bullheaded woman.

“Will, it’s part of the charade. I’m the dutiful wife, we’re the happy family. Don’t you see?”

He stared at her, totally baffled by her thought process. “Hank knows we’re not an actual couple. We don’t have to pretend anything in front of him.”

Julianne muttered in Italian. “Not for him, for whomever else in this town it was so important you impress. Hank is your boss. He’s visiting. They’d think it would be odd if you didn’t invite him. People have already noticed him in town.”

Will pressed his hands to his head and squeezed. She was right. Likely everyone was already trying to glad-hand it with Hank. They’d assume the two would show up together somewhere. “Look, Julianne, Hank is not in town to socialize. He’s here because there’s some stuff going on.”

“Stuff? That’s the best you can come up with using that overloaded brain of yours?”

His jaw was clenched so hard he could barely get the words out. “Football stuff. Xs and Os. Stuff you wouldn’t be interested in and that doesn’t require a dinner party to discuss. I’ll have lunch with him tomorrow at the marina. That should be a public enough place to satisfy everyone. You included.”

“Huh.” Julianne pulled her hair down from her messy knot, shaking her head out to free it. “I didn’t get the impression he was in town to discuss football stuff.”

Will was fixated on the flow of her hair and the shimmy of her breasts as she shook her silky tresses out. It took him a moment to comprehend what she was saying. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And you know this, how?”

“Well”—she rolled the hair band between her fingers—“to tell you the truth, he seemed a lot more interested in your mom. They were having a very . . . intimate-looking conversation in her shop when I saw them.”

A vein throbbed in his head and Will thought it might detonate any second. “What?” he croaked out.

“See? A dinner party is a wonderful idea. It will give Hank and your mom an opportunity to see each other. They make a really cute couple.”

Little specks of red dotted his vision and Will was sure his brain had exploded. His mother and Hank? Jesus, that could be a disaster! And the crazy woman in front of him wanted to throw them together.

“This isn’t middle school! We aren’t having a party so our friends can make out.” His stomach rolled at the thought.

She roared right back at him. “We are having the party to reinforce this farce of a marriage you forced me in to, jock brain! Your mom and Hank are just the part that actually makes it worthwhile.”

Owen wailed in the background. Julianne moved toward the door. She paused briefly before leaving, her head bowed. “It’s lonely here at night, Will. You go to dinner with Gavin and I’m here with Owen,” she whispered.

He stopped her as she tried to pass. “That was your choice, Princess.”

“None of this was my choice,” she said as she slipped out the door.

Will felt her sucker punch all the way to his knees. Damn it! He stormed out of the pantry and grabbed Owen from Brody’s arms, shoving the bottle into the baby’s mouth. “Fine,” he bit out. “You’ve got your damn party.”

She was gracious enough not to gloat. “I’ll make a list of groceries I’ll need from the store.”

He pulled the car keys off a rack by the back door and tossed them onto the counter.

“Oh no, Princess. If you want this party, you’re doing the shopping.” He started up the stairs with Owen.

“But, Will . . .”

“The GPS will get you there.” He called down before shutting the door to the nursery.

Julianne gnawed on her lip as she stared at the car keys on the counter. Crap! Now what was she supposed to do?

“Hey.”

Brody’s voice startled her. She’d almost forgotten he was standing beside her.

“You okay?” he asked.

No! “Sure,” she lied. Again. “I’m just trying to come up with a grocery list before I head out.”

“So how come you look like you’re about to pass out?”

She brushed a shaky hand over her now-sweaty brow. How would she ever pull this off?

Brody snatched the keys off the counter. “Come on, I’ll take you there. I’ll teach you how to drive another day.”

He was out the back door before she could gather her wits. She shoved her feet into her flip-flops and grabbed the diaper bag that doubled as her purse before following him out the door. The car was already running when she slid into the passenger seat.

“How . . . how did you guess?” she asked as he pulled down the drive.

“Your face said it all.” Brody glanced over at her just before pulling out onto the main road. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

She turned to look out the window. “I’m not ashamed. I actually know how to drive. Carly taught me. I just don’t like to do it.”

“Hey, I don’t need to know your secrets. I’m happy to drive you anywhere you want to go.”

“It’s not exactly a secret,” she told him. “I was in a bad car accident when I was young. I have been a little intimidated by cars ever since.”

Brody nodded. “That’s a pretty good reason.” He was silent for a moment. “Anybody die?”

Julianne rubbed the cross at her neck. “Yes.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to drive. You shouldn’t stress so much about it.”

Julianne leaned against the headrest and smiled over at him. “You’re a nice guy, Brody Janik. How come a woman hasn’t already snatched you up?”

She studied his perfect profile as he drove. His jaw clenched for a moment as his fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. Just as quickly, his face relaxed into his megawatt smile.

“I haven’t found a woman who’s as pretty as me,” he joked.

Julianne concluded he’d rehearsed that particular line a thousand times. There was more to Brody than just his good looks and his athletic prowess. She suspected he was waiting for the woman who could see past his charm and interact with the real Brody. Reaching over, she patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll find her, don’t worry.”

“Hey!” He shrugged her hand away. “No distracting the driver!”

An hour later, Julianne was white knuckled as she drove Will’s brand-new SUV along the main street through Chances Inlet. “Who knew there’d be traffic in this little town?” Getting behind the wheel of a car had seemed like a good idea after a latte and Brody’s relaxed encouragement. But now she wasn’t so sure.

“It’s Memorial Day weekend. This is the beach. I’d say everyone knew that but you,” Brody teased.

She licked her parched lips as she maneuvered the car past a cyclist. A few blocks later she turned onto the side street that led to the driveway, finally relaxing.

“You got this?” Brody asked.

“This is the easy part.” Julianne swerved to avoid nearly clipping a tree as she pulled up onto the parking pad.

Brody grabbed the dash as she jerked the car into park. “Yeah, well, I think you’re gonna need a few more lessons, Mario, before you go solo, but I’m proud of you for not wimping out. We’ll make a soccer mom out of you yet.”

Julianne leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Brody. You’re a prince among men.”