Hard and Fast

She couldn’t avoid Brad forever and the very fact that she wanted to made her mad at herself. Nevertheless, she stopped on the same side of the table as him rather than facing him head-on. She could feel his eyes on her.

Tony patted a chair beside him. “Come on over to my sweet spot, darlin’.” Tony had been quite amused over her sweet spot headline and he used every opportunity to use the phrase in conversation.

“As tempting as that offer is, Tony,” she said, “I’m meeting my sister for breakfast.”

“We can pull up another chair,” Kurt suggested. He stood and grabbed a chair, positioning it opposite Brad and next to an available seat. “Sorry, Tony. The ladies are with me.”

Amanda stiffened her spine and decided to work through her discomfort. She refused to let Brad mess with her head. Besides, this was a sign of acceptance. The team seemed to be allowing her into their inner circle.

She sat. “I’m warning you guys. My sister is going to work you over.”

The guys laughed and made boastful comments about their ability to handle any woman. Amanda smiled to herself. They had no idea what they were up against with Kelli. As if on cue, Kelli appeared at the door. Amanda acknowledged her with the lift of her hand.

Kelli waved back and made her way over. Dressed in a red halter-style dress, Kelli looked casual, sexy and confident. Several whistles sounded around the table, and Amanda rolled her eyes.

She stood and hugged her sister. Then, Kelli assessed the table of men. “Well, hello, gentlemen.” Murmured replies followed as she sat and smiled at both Kurt and Brad. “Great game last night.”

“I take it you like baseball?” Kurt asked.

“I like baseball players,” she said.

“Kelli’s a sports medicine doctor. She treats a lot of baseball players,” Amanda said.

“I take good care of my players.” Kelli eyed Kurt with a flirtatious smile. “I happen to know a few members of your competition quite well.”

Kurt laughed at that. “Do you, now?”

“I know their weak spots,” Kelli added, then took a sip of her water. “Of course, that’s privileged information. You’ll have to beat the Rangers all by yourselves.” She turned to Amanda. “I have a surprise.” She reached her oversize purse and removed a copy of L.A. Woman.

“How did you get this?” Amanda asked, accepting the magazine. “Is it even on shelves yet?”

“Tomorrow. I pulled a few strings to get it early. You look gorgeous, by the way, and the story inside is great.” Kelli winked. “Daddy wants you to autograph it for him.”

Amanda glanced up in time to catch a hint of a smile on Brad’s face. She knew from Kelli that her father had hit up Brad for his autograph. Apparently they’d gotten along well. Hearing that from Brad would have been nice.

“Are you going to show us or what?” Kurt asked.

Amanda passed the magazine around. She hadn’t told anyone, but L.A. Woman had offered her a job. She’d declined, thinking the newspaper was where she wanted to be. But seeing the magazine, and given the awkwardness she’d felt during this trip, not to mention the constant pressure to achieve from Kevin despite her successes, she wasn’t so sure that it had been the right choice.

The magazine was handed to Brad. He stared at the cover a moment before his eyes lifted to Amanda’s. “Congratulations.”

Their gazes held for several seconds. She wanted so badly to understand what was going on with him, with them. “Thank you,” she said.

Somehow, she managed to smile and converse through breakfast, acting as though Brad was just another ballplayer. The facade lasted until she walked her sister to her car.

“What is going on with you and Brad?” Kelli demanded the minute they were alone.

“Nothing. Nothing is going on.”

“Amanda, this is me you’re talking to. Your sister, who knows you like she knows herself. The awkwardness between the two of you was thick enough to have its own chair. I got the impression you two were a hot item when he was at my office. And so did Dad.”

What could Amanda say? “Well, we’re not.”

Kelli reached over to push hair out of Amanda’s eyes. “What happened, sweetie?”

“Nothing.” Amanda tried to laugh, but the sound came out sort of choked. “We had a quick, hot—really hot—roll in the sheets. I made a stupid mistake that could have ruined my career.”

“Ah, sweetie. You fell hard, didn’t you?”

Amanda nodded, confessing to the only person in the world she dared. “I’m such a fool. You warned me off ballplayers.”

“No. Not a fool. We don’t always have a choice over who we fall for. Our hearts do the picking. How does Brad feel about you?”

“We’re over, so it’s irrelevant. I just want to forget about it all now.”

“He trusted you with his injury. I know pro athletes and that’s big.”