Game for Trouble (Game for It 2)

Plus, it would only remind her of Nick. And how he really wasn’t hers and he was blackmailing her to go on a string of dates with him. Which was freaking crazy if she thought about it for too long.

So she didn’t.

“We might be able to plan something.” Her dad sounded hopeful but she figured he was just saying that for her benefit, to try to make her feel better.

“That would be nice.” They talked for a few minutes and then she hung up, feeling both happy and a little sad. Happy her father was so proud of her. Sad that she might not be able to spend the holiday with him, when she always did.

Huh. And irritated that Nick hadn’t called or texted her yet regarding their upcoming date. Odd. He always made sure he contacted her when he said he would. She refused to text him first though. No way did she want to give him the upper hand.

No way.

Chapter Eight

Nick smiled when his cell buzzed again. He knew who it was. And he wasn’t one to usually play games but hell, he was perplexed as to how to go about this situation with Willow. Listening to Jared had been the best advice he’d taken in a long while.

Grabbing his phone, he glanced at the screen.

Are we going out tonight or what?

He chuckled and shook his head. Her first text had asked if he was ignoring her. He’d replied with a simple nope. Got a lot going on.

She clearly hadn’t appreciated that.

Not that he was lying. He’d been asked to come in and have a meeting with Harvey Price, the Hawks’ lead publicist. If anything made him more nervous than dealing with an irritable Willow Cavanaugh, it was dealing with a smooth-as-you-please Harvey Price.

The man, quite frankly, gave Nick the heebie-jeebies.

He sat in Harvey’s office waiting for him to show up, surprised no one else seemed to be around. Usually at least one of the coaches liked to step in during these ty

pes of meetings, as a buffer more than anything else.

Maybe he should text Willow back. She was probably furious. Deciding he’d better text her, he grabbed his phone at the same time the door opened, revealing Harvey standing with a really pretty, really young-looking woman.

Shoving his phone in his pocket, Nick stood, smiling at the both of them. “Harvey, tell me this pretty young thing doesn’t have to work for you.”

She blushed and came toward him, her hand extended. “Hi, Nick. I’m Aubrey.”

“Well, hello there, Aubrey.” He flashed her a full wattage smile and shook her hand, amused by her pink cheeks. She had long, dark red hair and golden brown eyes, a pert nose and a becoming smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nick.” Harvey’s voice was full of warning. “Aubrey is your new publicist. I’m handing you over to her.”

“Well, aren’t I lucky? She sure is a lot prettier than you, Harvey.” He winked at Aubrey and she flashed him a pretty smile in return.

Damn, his charm seemed to work on this woman. So why wouldn’t it work on Willow? He didn’t get it. Why the hell did everything go south when he got into the vicinity of the woman he wanted more than anyone else?

Pushing all thoughts of Willow out of his head, he turned to Harvey. “So why you giving me away, Harv? I thought I was your favorite player.”

Harvey rolled his eyes and gestured for them all to sit. “We recently hired Aubrey to take care of some of the players, and I thought you and she would be a good match.”

“Watch out, darlin’. I just might blow your mind when you watch me play out on the field,” he drawled. Well hell, why did he go and say that? It was like he couldn’t help himself. Not that he was interested. His brain and body were tuned into all Willow, all the time.

Aubrey sat across from him. Her cheeks were still a faint pink when she met his gaze, though her expression was all business. “I was given fair warning about you and your lethal charm.”

He grinned.

“You need to know I’m completely immune to it,” she said primly.

Yeah right. “What, are you a lesbian?”