Hot Number (Hot Zone 2)

Sophie rose to her feet and planted her hands on the hips of her expensive suit jacket. "I could kill you! Who pushes away a good, kind, decent, sexy man with a bunch of bullshit excuses?"

From her tone and uncharacteristic use of foul language, Micki knew her sister's rant was just beginning and she hoped to head it off. "I guess the obvious answer is, I do. Now will you please respect my decision and leave me alone?"

"Let me ask you something."

"It's not like I have a choice, is it?"

Sophie shot her a scowl. "You came to me and asked if I'd help you make yourself over. I did. You specifically hoped to land Damian Fuller. You did. And now that you have him exactly where you want him, you push him away. I simply don't understand, so you're going to have to explain it to me." She waved her arms in a dramatic gesture that had Micki ducking to avoid being whacked in the head.

She rubbed her burning eyes and groaned. There was no way she'd get her sister to go away and leave her in peace without a long-winded talk.

"Millions of women would kill to have Damian say he loved them-" Sophie continued.

"Do you really want to know why I pushed him away?" Micki cut in. "Fine, I'll tell you. It's exactly what you said. It's because there's no way Damian Fuller wants a woman like me when he could have any woman just by snapping his ringers," she yelled, her cheeks hot at the embarrassing admission.

Sophie pulled her into a tight, sisterly hug. "Oh, Micki! You are so wrong about yourself. So wrong."

Micki's throat grew tight. "Have you seen the women he usually dates?"

"The ones like Carole with fake boobs and no morals? The ones who'd try and pass a kid off as his when she knew there was a fifty percent chance he wasn't the father? That kind of woman? Yeah, I can see why Damian would choose someone like that over you," Sophie said wryly. She grabbed Micki's hands. "He'd be lucky to have you. Why can't you see that?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Then get unscared and do it fast. Otherwise you'll make the same mistake Uncle Yank did."

Micki glanced at her sister. "It's not that easy."

"No, it isn't. But what good is your makeover if you're still the same insecure person on the inside?" Sophie shook her head. "And that's not you. You're the woman who can handle a locker room full of men with a shrill whistle. You can run a huge PR event and have everyone in the room kissing your ass. Come on! You're going to let the best thing that ever happened to you walk away because you're afraid to take a chance?"

Micki drew a deep breath and sought to explain. “I’ve never had to take a real chance before. I always had Uncle Yank and Annabelle to lean on. Lately you've had my back. With Damian it's like walking a tightrope with nobody to catch me," she said, expressing her greatest fear.

"Well then jump and trust in him," Sophie said, frustrated.

"Easy for you to say."

Sophie shrugged. "Maybe you'll get the opportunity to throw my advice back at me one day. In the meantime, you're my sister, I love you and I'd hate to see you miss an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Micki rubbed her bare arms and wondered if she had the faith in herself Sophie thought she should have.

Her phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello?" She listened to her uncle and then Lola and pure happiness filled her at the news.

She hung up and turned to her sister. "Uncle Yank and Lola are engaged," she said amazed.

"Wow. Hell hath officially frozen over!"

Micki laughed. "Yeah. What do you know?"

Sophie shook her head, a wide smile on her face. "I know I've just seen one miracle. Now it's time for another."

"I need time, Sophie." Tune to sort through her emotions and make sure she could handle any possibility where Damian was concerned. Time to be sure she could believe in her ability to hold on to Damian.

"Well don't take too long. Now that he's announcing his retirement, he'll have more free time on his hands than he knows what to do with. And a guy like Damian Fuller won't stay unattached forever."

DAMIAN WAITED UNTIL A DAY OFF to clean out his locker. A travel day when nobody would be around. The day after he announced his retirement to the world. With Sophie acting as his publicist, and Yank, his coach and the Renegades owners by his side, Damian had held a press conference at the stadium. The timing had been perfect. Coming right after the game when the Renegades clinched a place in the postseason, Damian Fuller announced his permanent leave from the game he loved.

The Renegades retired his number, twenty-two, which would hang on a stadium wall in honor of his career. He was proud, he was sad, and though he had a broadcasting job waiting for him beginning with the play-offs, he still felt at loose ends. A trip to the island was just what he needed to get his head back on straight, Damian thought.

Outside it rained, a torrential summer soaking that darkened the sky and matched his mood as he began pulling mementos out of his locker. From a distance, heard the familiar sound of the creaking locker-room doors Swinging open wide. Annoyance shot through him. He'd asked the equipment manager to make sure nobody bothered him so he could take me time to empty his locker in peace.