Chapter Twelve

Sawyer hated crowds. He hated putting on a phony chill smile and making small talk. But he couldn’t deny it felt damn good to have Addie by his side as they wove their way through the throng of people.

“Small gathering, my ass,” Sawyer muttered, pressing his hand to Addie’s lower back.

“You’re a real people person, aren’t you?” Addison grinned up at him. His stomach tightened uncomfortably.

The last time he’d let a smile pull him in, the woman had ended up cheating on him with his brother. Not that Addie was anything like his ex. No, she was unlike anyone he’d ever met. Which made her more dangerous. She had a smile that could make him believe in things he didn’t want to think about.

“I like smaller crowds,” he admitted, leading them toward the bar set up in the corner by the wall of windows leading to a patio.

“Good evening. What can I get for you?” The bartender was dressed in a freaking tux, reminding Sawyer why he didn’t usually attend Lynette’s gatherings.

“Addie?” He looked down and saw her jaw had dropped. Unable to resist, he stroked a finger along it and tapped her nose. “You want a drink?”

She leaned right into him so all he could smell and taste and think was her. Jesus. It should be illegal for a woman to smell so good. “That’s Alyssa Davay!” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

Sawyer glanced over and his gaze connected with Alyssa’s. That smile tilting her lips, which People magazine called one of the top ten sexiest, didn’t do half of what Addison’s did for him. He didn’t see her agent around but that didn’t mean the woman wasn’t there. If she was and Sawyer hadn’t spotted her yet, she’d do everything she could to force Alyssa and Sawyer together. She’d once even called Lynette to set up a date. Sawyer thought about contacting Alyssa and asking her to tell her agent to back off but never had. He told himself he did what he did next to make it clear to Alyssa—and by extension, her agent—that he wasn’t interested. Or maybe it was just that Addie smelled so freaking good and he couldn’t help himself.

Using the same finger he’d touched her satin skin with, he turned her chin toward him, tilted it up, and pressed his mouth to hers in a soft, slow kiss that had the impact of a wicked fastball to his glove.

He pulled back and waited for her eyelids to flutter open. She touched her fingers to her lips in a gesture so sweet his breath caught. Damn. Big mistake. Because now he wanted more.

“Um, wow. Okay.”

God, she was adorable. “Drink, Addie. What do you want to drink?”

“White wine, please,” she answered, her cheeks taking on a pale pink hue.

Yup. Adorable. Good luck keeping your head on straight with this one.

He ordered a beer and Addie’s wine, handed it to her, and faced the inevitable as Alyssa approached, her low-cut gown leading the show.

“Sawyer,” Alyssa drawled.

He leaned in. He might not like the expectations of these things, but he knew them. He brushed his lips over her cheek. “Alyssa. Nice to see you.”

“You too. Who is your friend?” Sawyer eyed her a moment and felt guilty for his earlier judgment. The woman should fire her agent. She gave Alyssa a bad rep in his opinion.

“I’m Addison Carlisle, Ms. Davay. I’m a huge fan of your work. You were absolutely brilliant in Come Home. I cried for days afterward.” Addie shook the woman’s hand with so much enthusiasm Sawyer almost laughed.

Alyssa’s smile morphed from somewhat removed to amused to completely genuine. “Uh, thank you. So much. I swear, it never gets old hearing people say they love your work and meaning it. Because you can tell, you know? If people are just paying lip service.”

Sawyer was surprised by that comment and wholeheartedly agreed.

Addie nodded, grinned at Sawyer, and turned her attention back to Alyssa. “Absolutely. You can definitely tell. It is truly such a pleasure to meet you.”

Alyssa chuckled and this time, it was Sawyer’s jaw that dropped. Addie Carlisle was magic.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Please, tell me how you got this one to attend a party. I’ve been trying for far too long.”

Addie leaned in like she and the starlet were old friends. “I sort of owed him a favor.”

Alyssa’s burst of laughter turned more than a few heads, but Sawyer could only look at Addison, charming the hell out of a woman she’d met thirty seconds ago. Addie went on to explain how she’d talked Sawyer into helping out with the MS charity ball, omitting the part where she kidnapped him. Which was too bad because it was sort of his favorite piece.

“I’d love to get involved with something like that. My grandmother had MS. It was terribly hard because, at the time, they knew so much less,” Alyssa said.

“They’re learning more every day, and educating people both with and without the disease is essential to making a difference.”

Alyssa opened her small purse that Sawyer hadn’t even noticed and then handed Addie a card. “Call me if there’s anything I can do behind the scenes. A lot of what my PR people have me take part in is more for publicity than actual impact. I’d love to get involved in something real. I need to mingle, but it was great to meet you and great to see you, Sawyer.”

Pressing a kiss to Addie’s cheek and then his, Alyssa started across the room but Sawyer called her name. She looked back at him.

“You here without your agent?”

Alyssa grinned. “We parted ways.”

“Congratulations?”

She laughed and Sawyer’s shoulders relaxed all the way. Alyssa nodded. “That works.”

Sawyer turned and faced Addison. He could see the adrenaline pumping off her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he shook his head.

“Who are you, Addison Carlisle?”

“Good question. I’d like to know the woman who can get one of my most reclusive clients out and about on a Friday night and have him smiling about it,” Lynette said as she joined them.

Sawyer turned, his arm brushing Addie’s side. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been so aware of a woman.

“Lynette Glass, this is Addison Carlisle. She works for the Slammers Organization. Addie, this is my agent who nags me more than my mother does.”

“Only because you actually return my phone calls. Lovely to meet you, Addison. What do you do for the Slammers?”

Their fingers touched, and he had to stop himself from taking her hand. He reveled in the slight intake of breath. Yeah. She felt what he did. Which wasn’t good for either of them but impossible not to enjoy.

“I’m the director of special projects and team wellness. I have other duties as well, but I’ve recently started a project to help the players and staff learn to balance their professional and personal lives in all areas.”

Lynette pursed her lips. “Interesting. I’ve heard their new owner is taking the team in some new directions.”

Sawyer hoped Lynn wouldn’t bring up the rookie or the mentoring. He didn’t want to get Addie’s defenses up again.

“Isla is an incredible woman. Her family owns a chain of fitness centers, and I was lucky enough to work with her in Colorado where we’re both from. She understands the bottom line but also knows that people matter and they’re the heart and soul of any strong organization.”

“Well then, I look forward to meeting her and am hopeful she’ll recognize the value of this person right here,” Lynette said, patting his arm.

Her mama bear claws were sharp, but Addie didn’t seem to mind.

“She’d have to be blind not to,” Addie said quietly.

It was Sawyer’s turn to inhale sharply. That was a hell of a compliment coming from her.

Lynette stared at them, her eyes moving back and forth, a knowing smile on her lips. One he didn’t want to see. He was doing a lousy job of establishing a friendship with Addie and apparently it was noticeable.

“Would you mind if I stole Sawyer away for a few minutes? There are some people I’d like to introduce him to.”

Sawyer frowned. He didn’t want to leave her side. When Addison smiled at them both, he felt like he knew her well enough to know it was genuine.

“I’m fine. Please. Do what you have to do. I’m going to go accidentally bump into more famous people,” she said.

Sawyer figured he’d laughed more around her just today than he had in far too long. Unlike him, she loved this stuff. She was in her element, and the excitement added an extra glow to her skin.

“I like her,” Lynette said, taking his arm and leading him away.

His eyes tracked her movements even as Lynette told him who she was introducing him to: Scott Klein, Kipp Loeman. He knew of Kipp—former NFL quarterback—but he didn’t know Scott.

Both guys were together, chatting with a couple other men who Sawyer didn’t recognize. Lynette handled introductions, and before the awkward lull of silence that generally graced him when he was supposed to perform, Kipp asked him about his knee.

“It’s good. I was only out a few games. Came back in time for the playoffs,” Sawyer said. He sipped his beer.

“I saw that hit. I can’t even think about it without wincing,” Kipp said, a grimace on his face.

About his age, all of the men in the small circle had eyes on Sawyer, and though he expected to feel on display, it was easier than he thought to relax.

“Tell me about it. Every now and then it just replays in my head and I can feel it all over again. What about you? You’re no stranger to injury,” Sawyer said, remembering the hit the quarterback took a few seasons back.

They fell into conversation that felt natural. He waited for one or both of them to shift gears into something that would make him feel like a show pony. He felt an odd mixture of surprise and relief when they continued to chat easily about sports. Glancing around, he saw Addie. His heart twisted uncomfortably. From seeing her across a room? What was in the beer? He set it down on a passing tray and excused himself from the group.

“Hey,” Addie said when she met him halfway.

“Hey yourself. I was just coming to see how you were doing,” he said, resisting the urge to pull her close. Maybe he could be friends with this woman. Anything more and he’d screw it up. But it beat the idea of not being around her at all. There was a hell of a better chance of a platonic association surviving over any other type of relationship. He just wished his head and his heart could fall in line with logic.

“I’m doing great. This is so fun.”

Her fangirling was cute and made him realize he took a lot of his lifestyle for granted. Mostly because all he wanted out of it was to play the game.

When Addie suggested getting some air, he was happy to lead her out to Lynette’s patio. It overlooked the lights of Nashville. Just standing out there, the breeze picking up, the lights shining and a woman full of energy and calm in equal amounts at his side, he felt something he hadn’t in far too long: happiness.

“What a night. I can’t wait to tell Isla I met Alyssa.”

Leaning his arms on the railing, he turned his head to see her. “You and Isla are close.”

“Best friends. She’s the best person I know. I’m so excited that she didn’t walk away from the team. She’s spent her whole life in her father and brother’s shadows and I knew, from the minute she told me she was all in, that she’d do right by the team.”

“I love how passionate you are about the things and people you love.”

She mirrored his pose. “Isn’t that the point of…everything? That’s how you feel about baseball, right?”

He nodded. It was. Though, there was more trepidation behind his feelings now and he couldn’t quite figure that out. “What about your family? You said they’re in Colorado? They must miss you.”

“They do. I miss them too, but I talk to my mom almost every day. She has her good days and bad ones, but she’s the one who taught me that if you want to make a difference, you have to jump in and do it.”

“Seems like a good lesson.”

They stared out at the cars below, the people walking the downtown sidewalks, and Sawyer soaked in the comfortable silence between them.

“So, that kiss?”

He turned his head again, smiling. “I was just trying to get your attention. You wouldn’t answer me about what you wanted to drink.”

Her laugh made him smile. It was musical. Happy. Like her. “Interesting technique.”

“Never had any complaints,” he said, a grin tugging at his lips.

“I can’t imagine you would. And I’m not complaining, but I don’t think either of us is in a place to go down that road.”

He’d said the same thing himself, and now he was letting her behind the curtain to see certain less-than-pleasant aspects of his life. If things went sideways, he knew what a woman scorned could do. Yeah, like marry your brother.

This woman was sneaking under his skin and inside his heart and he knew better than anyone that once you dropped your guard, things turned sideways. Dropping his guard was never a good thing.

“I know. But I like you, Addison. And oddly enough, it’s more than just thinking you’re hot. Though, that’s one hell of a distraction,” he said, turning so his whole body faced her. When she did the same, it brought them closer physically than was wise.

“Back at you, Sawyer.”

They held each other’s gaze and he wondered how it felt like more. How simple things with this woman felt magnified. “We can be friends. Like you said, I could use one. And you’re still new in town, really. So, you could, too.”

She bit her lip and he had to swallow down a growl. He wouldn’t mind having his mouth on hers again.

“We’ll hang out, watch Netflix, and do odd favors for each other?”

He chuckled and stroked a hand up her arm. “Sounds like a perfect friendship to me.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

She turned back toward the city view, and Sawyer stared at her profile. Letting his guard down wasn’t an option, but maybe it was okay to let her in a little. He’d been wrong about Alyssa. Maybe Addie was right and he was too damn jaded. The other side of his brain cautioned him that being that way was what kept him safe. But staying that way was starting to feel damn lonely.