4



RICK HAD BEEN PREPARED for Delaney to argue with him. She’d made it clear he shouldn’t have to leave the team because of this.

But he hadn’t expected the color to wash out of her cheeks before a fiery flush took over. If he didn’t know better, he would think she was furious. Her old man had invited him out to the house to hash through this today, but now Rick wondered if the team owner had set him up for a big fall. Certainly Dan Blair didn’t jump in to defend Rick even though the guy had been reasonable enough on the phone. He’d told Rick he was sure he’d do the right thing as far as this scandal was concerned.

From what Rick could tell, that meant removing himself from the equation to squash interest in those pictures and to protect Delaney. Once Rick left the team, there’d be no more lurid speculation about what happened. The media would be too busy dissecting how he fit into a new roster. As for Rick, he’d be busy figuring out how to put his heart back together.

“Dad, will you give us a moment alone, please?” Delaney spoke to her father, but her gaze remained fixed on him.

She bore no resemblance to the woman who’d brazenly shed her clothes for him last night. Right now, Delaney appeared every bit the powerful executive, from her sleek navy suit and understated gold bangles, to her all-business pumps.

But then, Rick had always admired that about her. She had a cool, unflappable facade that he now knew hid a passionate, warm-hearted woman inside.

“Of course.” Daniel Blair III stood from his spot on the desk and walked toward the door, clapping Rick on the shoulder on his way past while two matching Irish wolf-hounds followed their master. “We’ll speak later, son.”

No sooner had the door closed behind the older man and the dogs than Delaney speared a hand through her thick, dark hair.

“Is that what last night meant to you, Rick? A speed pass out of Atlanta to a team with a better shot at the playoffs?”

Rick had a moment of empathy for the big game animals shot with a tranquilizer gun on those wildlife shows. He halted his forward momentum, stunned still by the accusation.

“Excuse me?” He’d come to the house with every intention of making things right between him and Delaney. He’d never expected this kind of cold reception. “Were you present for the same night of passion as I was? I thought you approached me.”

“Because I thought you were honorable and upstanding.” Her voice caught and he had a glimpse of the anxiety beneath the anger, but she was quick to hide any hint of vulnerability.

Any hint of caring about him.

That hurt.

Without a doubt, Delaney Blair had developed the power to wound him after just one night together.

“Maybe that’s because last night you trusted your gut instead of—” he gestured vaguely with one hand “—your father? The media? Whoever is giving you ideas that you know in your heart don’t apply to us or what happened.”

He wanted to cross the room and touch her, pull her against him and remind her how electric their connection had been and how powerful it could be if they fed it. But what if she was the kind of woman who fled at the first sign of trouble? Maybe her upbringing in this privileged world on a family compound in Buckhead hadn’t prepared her for the kinds of challenges his career put him up against all the time.

Although, in truth, the locker room escapade had more far-reaching consequences than the usual media flare-ups.

“Well, excuse me for second-guessing myself when you barge in here demanding a trade to get away from me.”

“Didn’t you watch the news conference?” He looked around the room and realized the gargantuan home office was like some British country house from the turn of the century. No electronics except for a couple of lamps. “I met with the media this morning and they’re going to be swarming you and your dad. Having me around isn’t going to help the team.”

Geez, just looking around this room and seeing the legacy of the Blair family and the Atlanta Rebels reinforced his decision to leave. Rick had too much respect for the game and for the club to drag the organization through a personal scandal that would distract the players and management alike.

“And that’s what it’s all about for you, isn’t it? Winning.” Delaney stepped toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the massive gardens outside the house. Flowers bloomed despite the relentless heat of Georgia in midsummer.

“No. It’s about protecting you and playing the game like it’s supposed to be played.”

He couldn’t put his finger on what had changed between them since he left her office last night, but something had made her distant. Was she really that upset at the idea of him leaving? The thought that it would tear her up as much as it was going to tear him up wasn’t any great comfort.

He joined her at the window. She leaned on one side of the casing while he rested a shoulder on the other. Daylight streamed between them, but the reality separating them seemed far more murky.

“Forget about me for a minute. I don’t understand what you mean about how you play the game.” She shook her head. “How do you think it’s supposed to be played that’s any different than anyone else in the league?”

“For my whole career I’ve wanted to be a part of a club that makes it to the playoffs as a team. No one-man bands. No big-ticket guys assembled just to win a series. But a group that picks each other up. A team that plays with as much heart as talent, you know? Like the game means something.”

For a moment she nodded, as if she understood. But then she frowned.

“So you want to leave Atlanta because this can’t be a team like that anymore. You think what happened last night will disrupt the team’s harmony?”

“That’s a partial concern.” He couldn’t do that to the other players and he wouldn’t do that to the Blair family. “I think this group of guys could have a real shot at a championship season and I’m not going to mess it up for them. And team aside, I don’t want to put you in a position where you have to hide out from the media. I know how much you try to avoid the spotlight. And being with me will make that impossible.”

It had sounded reasonable on the way over here in the car. Delaney had been put in an impossible position by the photographs, and no matter how much she said she would take care of the fallout, the media interest had to be much greater than she’d expected.

Nodding, she squeezed her arms more tightly around herself.

“I understand. But for what it’s worth, I’ve dreamed of being a part of a team that worked together, too. No one-man bands where one person made the decisions about what was best for the team without consulting the other.”

He could have handled the rebuke if it hadn’t been for the thready emotion in her voice. Underlying that buttoned-up executive exterior remained the sweet, shy woman he’d made love to last night. And he’d hurt her without meaning to.

Crap.

Her old man had led Rick to believe Delaney would suffer because of the scandal, and he’d been quick to buy into it since he felt guilty for landing her half-naked on all the sports blogs. Rick had assured himself he was doing the best thing for all parties concerned by getting the hell out of Dodge.

But what if that’s not what she wanted at all?

Before he could pull his thoughts together, she planted the barest whisper of a kiss on his cheek.

“Goodbye, Rick.”



5



HIS ARMS MUST HAVE SNAKED around her while she was saying goodbye, because when she attempted to walk away, his hands were on her waist, holding her in place.

“You know, on the other hand, sometimes a good scandal really brings a team together.” He trotted out a completely unexpected response to her words of parting.

And she might have laughed at the absurdity of the comment if her heart hadn’t been breaking. As it stood, she held herself very still so as not to sink into his strong arms all over again and tell him to never let her go.

Although she might have shed her clothes last night, she didn’t plan to shed her dignity today, no matter how much of a life-changing event sleeping with the first baseman had turned out to be.

“Well, in that case, I hope the Rebels can recover from this one and still go on to take the championship without you.” She didn’t say it to hurt him. She really wanted a win for the Rebels who had weathered plenty of personnel changes and “almost but not quite” seasons.

Still, he didn’t release her waist.

“I mean it,” he continued, his thumbs starting a slow glide on the waist of her short suit jacket. “Now that I think about it, sometimes those teams that pulled together the hardest did so because one of their players had a particularly tough year. They want to win for the catcher who lost his father in the middle of the season, or they want to win because they were the laughingstock of last place the season before.”

“You’ve hardly experienced a death in the family.” Although the expiration of her love life after less than twenty-four hours felt like something she’d mourn for a very long time. “You just got caught with a very determined admirer.”

“Is that what you are, Delaney?” He pulled her closer and her heart sped up even though she knew his nearness would only make it tougher to walk away in the end. “My admirer? Because I kind of thought we became a lot more last night.”