Page 11 of Game On

“Oh, I couldn’t impose, Mrs. Richardson,” Shane backpedaled. He’d rather be tackled by a three-hundred-fifty-pound defensive lineman than sit through a meal making nice with the coach’s family.

“Nonsense. Penny made her famous lasagna. It’s tradition to have a new player over for dinner. Surely you don’t have other plans already?” She eyed him carefully. It was the second time today he’d misread the play. He looked at the coach, who simply raised a brow at him.

“No, ma’am,” Shane sighed.

He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Carly cover up a snort as he followed Coach out to his office in the carriage house.

FOUR

Carly reviewed and signed off on the league policy changes and faxed them to the commissioner’s office, crossing off one task from the pile of work waiting for her in the morning. Afterward, she and Emma went through the girl’s closet to select the perfect outfit for the eighth grade dance the following week; Emma persuaded Carly to loan her a Vera Wang shawl and matching shoes. Now, Carly stood at the breakfast bar slicing two loaves of crusty bread as Lisa carefully mixed the olive oil and the spices on a plate to dredge the bread in. She’d managed to satisfy her half sister’s curiosity about her trip without giving her any details about meeting Shane there. Not that he deserved her silence, but she had played a part as well, and the less her family, knew the better.

“So it was fun spending time with Julianne again?” Lisa asked.

“Things are always crazy with Julianne.” Carly tossed the bread into a basket.

“Do you miss working with her?”

She and Julianne had been roommates at boarding school. They were like sisters. For seven years, Carly had worked as Julianne’s publicist, working to get her designs noticed. She’d been living in Italy with Julianne when she learned Lisa had cancer and needed a life-saving bone-marrow transfer. It was the only time her father had ever initiated a phone call to Carly.

Carly didn’t hesitate. She moved to Baltimore—and away from the media circus that was her life—to help care for Lisa’s kids during the busy football season. While Lisa endured several rounds of chemotherapy to get her body ready for the transplant, Carly worked for the Blaze.

“Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?” Carly asked a little defensively. It was the second time today she’d been asked if she missed her old life. She didn’t. She liked having a family to care for. Friends who cared for her. A job where she actually felt useful. But if she’d worn out her welcome . . .

“No, I am not trying to get rid of you,” Lisa said, taking Carly’s hand in hers. “I just want you to be happy. I don’t want you to feel you have to stay here in Baltimore if you don’t want to.”

“I’m where I want to be,” Carly said. “Besides, we both know Italy is not the best place for me right now.”

“Carly . . .” Lisa started.

“No, Lisa. I get you have a PhD in psychology and you want to get in my head, but I’m fine. My life is fine.” At least, Carly would be fine if a certain sexy, quarterback wasn’t looming somewhere in the house, but she didn’t need her sister probing her right now. She just wanted to get through dinner and get this crazy day over with.

“Okay.” Lisa looked away as she began to toss the salad. “So I hear you’ll be taking over for Asia while she’s recovering. Will that be difficult for you?”

Carly studied her sister. Did she already know about her encounter—er, encounters—with Shane? How could she?

Lisa looked up to stare at Carly. When she didn’t immediately answer, Lisa asked: “Dealing with the press? Will it be difficult given what they’ve put you through?”

“No.” Carly mentally breathed a sigh of relief. “It’ll be mostly mainstream media, and besides, my celebrity, such as it is, is pretty much confined to Europe.” Dealing with Shane Devlin, on the other hand, might be a problem. But she didn’t dare tell her sister that. She no longer intended to apologize for her behavior in Cabo, given the accusations he’d made earlier. Both incidents should be something two adults could laugh off, but her reaction to Shane wasn’t humorous. Even now, she could feel the hum of the attraction between them. She’d never felt such a pull toward a man—not even the man she’d intended to marry. She just hoped she could get through the next few weeks without making a fool of herself.

“Okay, change the subject. Tell me what I want to know. Has Julianne finished with my gown for the gala next month?” Lisa asked as she carried the dipping sauce into the dining room.

Following Lisa, Carly placed the salad and the bread on the large, oval table. She spied Shane standing against the wall looking like he’d rather have a root canal than sit down to dinner. After his outburst this morning, she wasn’t exactly overjoyed to have to sit with him around the dinner table, either.

“She’s making one for me, too, right?” Emma asked as she carefully set a pitcher of water on the table. “You said we all get to go to the gala for your new charity.”

“Yes, Emma, I did say that, but I don’t think we all need to be wearing designer gowns.” Lisa caressed the top of her daughter’s head in consolation. She looked up at Shane. “I’ve started a foundation for children whose parents are severely or terminally ill. After spending years as a couples’ therapist, cancer has served as a little mid-course correction for my life,” she explained.

Shane still had that deer-in-headlights look about him, but he managed a gracious nod.

“You lost your mother to cancer, did you not?” Lisa was no shrinking violet when it came to fund-raising. Smiling at her sister’s tenacity, Carly glanced back at Shane. If possible, his face had gone even more ashen.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said softly.

“Perhaps you’d be interested in hearing about our little endeavor sometime?” Lisa made it sound like a question when everyone in the room knew it wasn’t.

“Go easy on him, honey,” Matt said as he carried a steaming pan of lasagna into the room. “Let’s just see if he makes it through dinner.”

Hah! Matt’s prophetic statement brought a smile to Carly’s face.

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