Page 73 of Play for Keeps

Millie stared at the rigid line of his back as he listened. He nodded twice, but the movements were jerky. He ended the call with a few brusque words of thanks, then lowered the phone to his side. He stood still—loose-limbed and unmoving—for a long beat. Then he went into a windup worthy of a major league pitcher and hurled the phone at the stainless-steel face of the refrigerator.

It hit with athunkthat jolted through her, then clattered to the floor, bits and pieces of metal, glass, and plastic shooting out like shrapnel. Millie stared at the dent in the fridge’s gleaming facade and sighed. She couldn’t blame the man for wanting to rid himself of the instrument, but it hurt her heart to see a hapless appliance caught up as collateral damage.

“Feel better now?” she asked softly.

Ty pivoted on his heel, his lips drawn into a flat line but his eyes blazing. “He says he thinks she can refuse DNA testing until after the baby is born.”

Millie nodded as she processed that tidbit. Then she sighed. She and Ty had been coworkers and friends before they became lovers. As a coworker, she’d done her best to see him through the media shitstorm. As his friend, she’d tried to shield him from more hurt than he’d already endured. Now, as his lover, she’d have to show him the photos that would hurt him but provide the ammunition he needed to force Mari’s hand if push came to shove.

Tearing her gaze from his, she went back to her tablet. Three taps later, she had the first screenshot open. It was a photo of Mari straddling Dante’s lap, her skirt hiked up to her waist and her bare ass showing. The hashtags included #MakinIt, #MillionDollarBaby, and #IfAtFirstYouDontSucceed.

“I’d say it’s possible but not probable you’re the baby daddy. We can force her to play along if needed.” Handing him the screen, she rose from her chair in hopes of outpacing the fresh surge of bile rushing up from her gut and ran for the powder room.

Chapter 17

Kate flopped down in Millie’s guest chair and folded her hands over her stomach. “Do you want the scoop, or do you want to call your boyfriend in to hear the unvarnished version?”

Millie peered over the top of pink polka dot–rimmed readers. “Do we need varnish?”

“Gallons. I tapped the sorority-girl network.” Kate scrunched her nose. “I was in a sorority once upon a time, but I sure as hell don’t remember college life being so…X-rated.”

Snickering, Millie abandoned all pretense of typing the press release she’d been composing about sweeping changes the baseball coach was making in his program. “That’s because we remember the days before MTV started airing spring break festivities.”

Kate waved the explanation away. “I was no virgin as an undergrad, but I swear, I didn’t learn about half the things they talk about until I was in my thirties.”

Lacing her fingers together, Millie gave her friend a sympathetic stare. Which wasn’t very good. These days, she had a hard time finding sympathy for anyone. “Do you need a glass of whisky or something before we can get to the point?”

“Mari’s been partying with the kids on the sly for the last year or so.” Kate wrung her hands together, then flattened her palms on the tops of her thighs. “She was involved with one of the boys on the football team over the winter, but he apparently broke up with her.”

“Too clingy?”

“Too kinky.” Kate shuddered, then laughed at herself. “Sorry, it’s just… Can you imagine how freaky you’d have to be to turn some nineteen-year-old boy off? Guys are walking boners at his age.”

Millie forced herself to lower her eyebrows. She’d be damned if she’d let Mari Ransom and her antics force her to become reliant on injectable fillers. “I don’t even know what to say.”

Wearing a grim smile of determination, Kate plunged ahead. “The girls said all she did was brag about how she liked to try new things and complain about how boring Coach Ransom was in bed.” She grimaced. “Their words.”

“Her opinion,” Millie added.

Kate sat up straight in the chair. “Her loss. Ty’s a good man, Mil. I wouldn’t have let him come within five miles of you if he wasn’t.”

Her friend’s proclamation startled a laugh from her. “You’re my gatekeeper?”

“I’m your friend.” Kate rose from the chair and strode to the door. “And I’m a goddamn giantess. It’s my job to protect you mere mortals,” she said with a grin that glinted. “He never woulda gotten past me if I didn’t want him to.”

“Katie—”

Kate made a slicing motion with her hand, effectively cutting off any protest. “No. She’s not going to keep pulling this crap. Not on him, and definitely not on you.”

“This has nothing to do with me.”

“Right, because you aren’t in love with the guy or anything,” Kate snarked.

“I’m not.” The denial landed so far short of the truth it burst like a water balloon. The seconds ticked by as every lie Millie had ever told herself or anyone else concerning her relationship with Ty splattered all over the floor. “I don’t want to be.”

Kate’s answering smile was sympathetic. “Oh, I know.”

Desperate for a subject change, Millie waved her hand in dismissal. “First things first.”

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