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PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE “ACCORDING TO a reliable source, top sports agent Spencer Atkins, of the recently merged firm Athletes Only and its subsidiary PR firm The Hot Zone, is gay.” Sophie Jordan groaned when she saw the line in New York City’s most read gossip column. How would the players Spencer represented react to the news? How would Spencer handle being outed? But most importantly, how in the world had this secret come out now, well over a month after she and her family had learned the news for the first time? In the time since they’d learned the truth, Spencer’s revelation had been put aside in favor of more pressing projects: the merger of Yank and Spencer’s sports agencies and the all-important spin that “we’re better and stronger than ever.” Enough time had passed that even Sophie, who normally covered all bases, had dismissed the possibility of the story being leaked. “Guess I thought wrong,” she muttered. Sophie hated being wrong. It meant she’d miscalculated and the feeling sent her s CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO AT SOPHIE’S OBVIOUS attempt to feign composure and pretend his hiring her didn’t send her into a tailspin, Riley bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing aloud. She folded the check in half. “You could have just trusted me instead of insisting we enter into some ridiculous employment contract.” Her tone held a trace of hurt over his lack of faith. Maybe she had a point. Hiring her probably made little sense, but he hadn’t been able to think of another way to guarantee his secret remained private. “I don’t know you well enough to trust you, but we could remedy that,” he said in a deliberately suggestive tone, his words meant to explain as well as to tease. Whenever he stopped by The Hot Zone offices, he could never resist coming to see the blue-eyed blonde. He enjoyed their sparring and liked trying to figure her out. Sophie Jordan presented an intriguing mess of contradictions, her inherent control and conservative facade so at odds with the simmering heat he saw i CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE SOPHIE’S HEAD POUNDED as she exited the cab at the airport. The pain in her temple had nothing to do with Spencer and everything to do with her traveling companion. She had enough on her mind without having to deal with the constant distraction Riley would provide and she’d called him in a last-minute attempt to discourage him from joining her, but the man insisted on being there the minute she found his father. Assuming she even tracked Spencer down. Sophie had her doubts. She’d tossed and turned all night, sleepless over the thought of being so close to Riley on the flight and on their trip. She was too attracted to him for it to be healthy, Sophie thought. Athletes, she thought with frustration. She’d avoided dating them for years, leaving the bold, brash kind of guy for Annabelle, who’d always known how to handle them. Riley Nash had a string of women following him everywhere he went and unlike Annabelle, Sophie wouldn’t know how to compete. As the middle sibling, she CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR INDIGNITY SURROUNDED Sophie. When she’d headed out of the lavatory a short while after Riley, the people seated in the immediate area had applauded. Now as they waited for their luggage to arrive on the conveyor belt, she stood next to Riley and was forced to accept another very uncomfortable situation. Her panties were damp with desire and he was the cause. So much for not doing athletes. So much for not doing this athlete. Much to her dismay, her fears had just been realized. If not for the plane’s descent and the pilot’s order to return to their seats, she’d have probably been initiated into the mile-high club and enjoyed every minute. She rubbed her aching temples at the thought. Because in all probability, Riley could have just as easily substituted one of the flight attendants for her. The thought stung and stayed with her, hanging over her shoulders like a bag of rocks. Sophie had a business to save and her uncle’s partner to find. She needed to focus and she needed CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE SOPHIE ADJUSTED her seat belt and glanced at Riley’s taut expression. His jaw had been locked tight ever since they’d left Darla’s house and started the short drive to the patio home as instructed by Spencer’s nutty sister. “I don’t believe a word Darla said.” Sophie broke the silence first, figuring if it were up to Riley, he’d remain mute. Riley nodded in agreement. “I don’t, either.” Sophie wondered what Darla really knew about Spencer’s disappearance and how hard it would be to find out. The other woman liked to ramble but Sophie had seen hints that she wasn’t as flighty as she appeared. In the meantime, she and Riley would have to spend time in sunny Florida living under one roof and they needed to set some ground rules. “You never should have told Darla we were lovers.” Sophie had counted the minutes until they were alone so she could call him on that whopper. “Does the idea bother you that much?” He placed his arm behind her head and glanced over, searing her with h CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX RILEY SUCKED IN a deep breath, afraid to move, afraid if he blinked he’d discover he was dreaming. Because Sophie had touched her lips to his, giving him a green light. Did she know how much he needed her? The desire between them was obvious. Mutual. The need was something else. She’d become an anchor in his suddenly turbulent life and, at the moment, he didn’t know where he’d be without her. He clenched his hand into a fist at his side and held his emotions in check. Testing what she was offering, he parted his lips. Sophie responded, tasting slowly at first, grazing his lower lip before finally touching her tongue to his. She tasted minty yet sweet, and felt soft yet hot, all at the same time. His dreams held nothing on the reality of kissing this woman. A woman who loved to be in control of everyone and everything in her life, yet whose body shook with tremors that told him she was barely hanging on to that control now. Riley felt the same way. His body shook with desire CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN SOPHIE LOOKED at the man she’d known all her life. Suddenly Spencer’s hair seemed grayer, the grooves in his face deeper. “I don’t know you at all,” she said, the disappointment growing inside her. He’d always treated her differently than her sisters, with more affection and respect, as if he’d sensed how much she’d needed his attention. But in light of all she’d learned in the past few days, she no longer took pride in his special treatment. Not after the pain she’d heard in Riley’s voice and seen in his eyes. “You know me better than most,” Spencer said, his voice grim. “That’s not saying much, now is it?” Within the offices of Athletes Only and at home among family, nobody held back any punches. Sophie wasn’t about to do so now. “As far as work goes, I need you home if you still want a business to return to.” She filled him in on the details and problems he’d left behind. “Now for the rest. Keeping your sexual preferences private is one thing. Denying your only son is CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT parasailing would be almost as intimate as sex? By the time they returned to the house, Sophie was wound up both physically and emotionally. Arousal thrummed through her body, due in large part to the rush of adrenaline from her activity. She recalled reading about the effect of adrenaline on the nervous system. It was no surprise she couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around Riley’s neck and her legs around his waist. She followed him into the house, staring hungrily at his tanned legs and powerful muscles flexing beneath his damp, sand-caked T-shirt. She swallowed hard. Then again, that throbbing, pulsing need just might have more to do with the man himself than with her parasailing adventure. She shut the door to the house behind her and began to methodically take off her clothes so as not to make a huge, sandy mess all over their borrowed home. When she was through, she was clad only in her bikini. Halfway through the large living room that led to the m CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE SOPHIE RUBBED her eyes, exhaustion nearly overwhelming her. Although the tech guys had gotten the computer system up and running within twenty-four hours of the crash, the damage had been done. Despite the firewall, a nasty virus had infected the system via e-mail and Athletes Only’s form contract, one carefully negotiated and containing a confidentiality clause, had been distributed to everyone in the main computer’s database of e-mails. A.O.’s contract was no longer confidential and a week after the story about Spencer’s sexual orientation had broken, everyone had something else on their minds. A knock sounded and she glanced at her office door. “Come in.” Her sister Annabelle strode in and shut the door behind her. “How long were you going to wait before calling in reinforcements?” “Where’s my nephew?” Sophie asked, ignoring work for the most important thing: family. “He’s home with his grandparents. It’s way past time I came back to work. As much as I love him, I’m los CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN SINCE UNCLE YANK’S television interview three days ago, Sophie had been inundated with phone calls from persistent men asking her on dates. She’d been pointed to on the street and inundated with flowers. All because Dateline NBC had picked up on the interview and included it in a special broadcast entitled “Matchmaking Relatives: Are they a meddling nuisance or a prime way to hook up in an uncertain world?” Sophie, herself, had been avoiding calls from the producer to do a follow-up interview. Talk about unwanted publicity. She really couldn’t take much more harassment. Sophie hung up on her most persistent caller of the day, her sister Micki’s best friend, John Roper. He was looking for a replacement confidante while her sister was away, and he’d turned to Sophie. If she were to date a ballplayer, she had to admit Roper had potential. He was more refined than most, a metrosexual type who enjoyed the finer things in life. Though trouble followed Roper like a magnet, he was CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN RILEY WAS PISSED OFF. Sophie had deliberately ignored him, and Mike, hoping to work the jealousy angle in Riley’s favor, had hooked them up with two gorgeous women at the bar. Mike had taken off with one of them in a cab, assuming Riley would do the same, but Riley’s interest wasn’t there. Not one iota. There’d been no point in going home with her when he wouldn’t have been able to get it up. He didn’t want to be with any woman other than Sophie and to pretend otherwise just to soothe his ego had been a damn stupid move. They’d had to walk a long way to find an empty taxi, but eventually he’d hailed her a cab and sent her on her way alone. Then he headed back to the sports bar. No sooner had he turned the corner where Quarters was located than he heard the sound of Sophie’s voice. “What part of no don’t you understand?” she asked, her voice rising. A guy Riley didn’t recognize stood too close, invading her personal space. Riley hadn’t liked it when he’d seen her with Rop CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE SOPHIE COULDN’T BEAR to remain in her office. The crews worked on fixing her door, which had also been broken, and cleaning up the broken glass. She headed for the small kitchenette, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the little table and chairs in the room. “May an old man join you?” Spencer stepped inside and pulled out a chair. She gestured for him to sit. “Since when do you go around calling yourself old?” she asked the handsome man. “Since I started feeling that way.” She wrapped her hands around the hot mug. “And would that have anything to do with the news hitting the papers?” “Actually, it started when my son told me he wanted nothing to do with me.” He bowed his head in dismay. Sophie sighed. “Are you upset because he wants you to keep your distance or because you finally realize what you put him through all those years?” she asked softly. A smile lifted his lips. “You’re too smart for my own good,” he said, laughing. “What can I say? It’s easier to CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CINDY RAN from Athletes Only. She took an elevator to the street, then did something she never did, hailing a cab instead of taking the cheaper subway. She paid for the fare all the way to the Bronx, straight to Miguel’s office, not stopping to check in with the outer receptionist and practically flying past his personal secretary. All the while, her heart pounded like a sledgehammer in her chest as she silently repeated the mantra, Please don’t let Sophie be right. Please don’t let him be using me. She entered his inner sanctum without knocking. Sleeping with the man gave her some privileges, she thought. And if she’d been misreading him, if he did have an agenda, well, better she find out now by gauging his reaction to her barging in on whatever he was doing inside. She entered and came to a stop, breathing heavily. She could only imagine the wild look in her eyes, but she refused to second-guess the impulse that had brought her here. She’d dated the man, despite Sop CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN RILEY SPREAD the blanket over the ground, using the time to gather his thoughts and his resolve. He had played many big games before and never suffered performance anxiety. He didn’t intend to do so now, even though this was the one time he had the most to prove. He needed Sophie to see that what they shared was more than one night. That they were more than a brief fling. He almost laughed at the irony. He’d never planned to think beyond the moment. Even when he’d been with Sophie in Florida, there’d been an inherent understanding that they were giving in to temptation. Nothing more. He’d cemented that impression by turning on her when she’d tried to point out his mistakes with his daughter. Any positive feelings Sophie had begun to develop for him had evaporated fast. He’d given Sophie no reason then or now to think she was special to him. After all, she’d seen him flirt with every woman in a skirt. But he knew now that she was the only woman he truly wanted. If he th CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN RILEY PATTED Lizzie’s back, and she stepped away and headed back to her seat. “You okay?” he asked her. She nodded. He turned to Sophie, intending to make peace between the two ladies in his life, but saw an empty chair instead. His stomach plummeted and a wave of emptiness swept through him. “Where—” “She slipped out,” his mother said. “I’m sorry.” Lizzie glanced at him through wide, too-innocent eyes. He doubted her sincerity, but now wasn’t the time to get into it. As much as he wanted to go after Sophie, he intended to settle some things within his immediate family first. His father had rejoined them, and if the whispering was any indication, his mother had filled him in on what had just happened. Based on recent experience, he’d never have them all together in one room again. “I have something I want to discuss. It’s something that affects us all, and Lizzie needs to be part of the conversation.” “What’s up?” Lizzie asked. Riley drew a deep breath. He hadn’t slept CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN SOPHIE MET UP with Cindy at Cake ’n’ Bake, a little hole-in-the-wall bakery in SoHo. Together they were going to buy the pièce de résistance of Lola and Yank’s party, a cake to end all cakes and a surprise for Uncle Yank and Lola. The only catch for Sophie was that she hadn’t seen Cindy since their confrontation over Miguel Cambias. Still, Sophie took Cindy’s willingness to meet her today as a good sign. Otherwise she’d have to wait until Monday of next week, when her friend returned to work, to see if Cindy had forgiven Sophie. She waited for Cindy on the sidewalk. A beautiful April day, the wind blew with a definite hint of spring. Sophie wanted to enjoy the beginning of the season, but she was preoccupied with too many things, like the possibility of losing a friendship and a top-notch publicist. Then there was her unresolved situation with Riley. “Sophie? I’m sorry I’m late. I just had to stop at the dry cleaners on the way over.” Cindy ran up to her and screeched t CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN RILEY SAT in his ex-wife’s kitchen, something that had become a habit this past week. “Riley, you’ve been here every night since the story broke. I appreciate it. Ted appreciates it. Lizzie appreciates it. But, frankly, you’re driving me insane!” Lisa said, but despite the laughter, the seriousness in her tone spoke volumes. Riley didn’t really want to spend his time here, either, but he had no desire to go home to his empty apartment, and he sure as hell had no desire to head back to the gym and listen to the talk and the snickers behind his back. Lisa looked around, obviously making sure their daughter wasn’t around before speaking. “Has it been that bad for you?” she asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big boy and I can handle gossip.” “But?” she prodded. “But it sucks doing it alone,” he admitted. Lisa’s eyes opened wide. “It’s finally happened, hasn’t it?” She pulled out a kitchen chair opposite Riley’s and sat down. Perching her chin in her hands, she developed a CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN RILEY STRAIGHTENED his bow tie and held the door open for his date. Together they walked through the ballroom doors leading to Lola and Yank Morgan’s belated wedding reception. Riley had thought long and hard about whether or not to attend. He had more reasons to bail than to show up—from being in the same room with Atkins to facing Sophie for the first time since she ran out on him. But he had one major reason to come. Riley Nash had never run from a confrontation or situation in his life and he wasn’t about to do so now. But he’d opted not to arrive alone. “You ready, beautiful?” “As I’ll ever be.” Riley glanced into his daughter’s eyes. Despite all the turmoil of the past few weeks—or maybe because of it—he’d never been as proud of Lizzie as he was lately. First, she’d owned up to her mistake and seemed to really understand how widespread the repercussions of her actions were. She hadn’t just betrayed a confidence, she’d potentially affected her grandfather’s career CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN THE BALLROOM LIGHTS had been dimmed, making it more difficult to locate people inside. Sophie hoped she could use the cover of darkness to gather her thoughts. “There you are!” Cindy made a beeline for Sophie, pulling her aside. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” Sophie smiled. Despite the chaos she was feeling, she was happy to see her friend. “Well, here I am.” “Looking fabulous,” Cindy said. “Gosh, I envy you that silky blond hair.” Sophie had had her hair blow-dried straight for tonight’s party. Meanwhile her friend had a headful of glorious red curls falling over her shoulders and striking a perfect contrast with her emerald-green dress. Sophie shook her head. “Why is it we always want what we don’t have?” she asked lightly. “I have it now!” Cindy said, her words not making any sense but her excitement tangible anyway. “I don’t understand.” Cindy drew a long, deep breath. “I always spent my life witnessing other people’s happiness. You know, the beautiful girl CHAPTER NINETEEN EPILOGUE
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