Chapter 14
fourteen
. . .
Lincoln
“Why are we doing this?” she hissed, and I didn’t miss the irritation in her voice.
I’d pulled out the kayak, and we were making our way around the cove. Brinkley couldn’t get into a rhythm with her paddles, and it was funny as hell to watch. She didn’t like that she wasn’t good at something.
Hell, I understood that.
I was a competitive dude.
“Because it’s a good upper body and core workout, and sometimes you need to change it up. Stop being a baby and give yourself a minute to figure it out. And stop deflecting and answer the question that you seem to be avoiding.”
“I’m not being a baby!” she shouted and looked over her shoulder to glare at me. “I’m just partnered with a man who refuses to let me lead. You’re going too fast, and I’m just wasting energy.”
“What can I say? I like to lead, sweetheart.” Wasn’t that the fucking truth. But I wasn’t talking about this fucking kayak. This woman was so deep in my head now that I couldn’t think straight.
She’d asked her final questions on the plane last night to write up the announcement about where I’d be playing this season.
She’d agreed that I got to ask a few questions this morning during our workout because she’d been relentless on the plane.
Yet here she was, deflecting the question and focusing on the goddamn kayak.
I’d dropped her off at her house after we’d arrived back in Cottonwood Cove after a long travel day.
Normally, I’d be anxious about alone time after spending all that time together.
That was the fucked-up thing. I wasn’t longing for time away.
I was actually counting the minutes until I saw her again.
“You’re such a pompous ass.” Her paddle shot into the surface sideways, intentionally causing water to shoot up and hit me in the face.
That was all it took, and I’d had enough. I dropped my paddles into the boat and leaned my body to the side, easily causing the kayak to capsize as we both tumbled into the water.
I knew it wasn’t deep since we’d stayed close to the perimeter as we made our way around the cove.
We went under, and I pushed to my feet and stood, shoving the water away from my face and laughing as I watched her. She sputtered water and ran her hands over her hair, which was tied back in a long ponytail, blinking excessively.
“What the hell did you do that for?” My eyes zeroed in on her white tank top, not missing the way her nipples strained beneath the fabric.
She attempted to march toward me, but her movements were slowed by the water, and she stopped a few inches in front of me.
The water settled just below her perfect tits, and she was surrounded by the aqua sea.
“You were being a brat. I thought I’d help you cool off.”
“I’m a brat?” she gasped and shook her head. “That’s rich.”
“I answered everything you asked on our flight home. You agreed to answer a few questions that I had this morning, and so far, you’ve done nothing to cooperate.”
“Says the most difficult man on the planet.” She raised a brow.
“Thank you, sweetheart. I strive to be the best. That means a lot to me.” I loved fucking with her.
“It was an insult.” She caught my gaze and followed it, looking down to see her headlights were on high beam. A pink hue settled on her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“You said that I was the most difficult. That makes me the best, doesn’t it?”
She sighed. “I don’t know why you care so much. You’re the one who got me fired. Why are you invested in the reason that I didn’t choose to go back to my old crappy job?”
“Let’s see. You hated me for costing you that fucking job, but then when you got it back, you said no. I want to know why.”
“You’re awfully nosy for a football player. Maybe you should consider being a bloodsucker,” she said, and the corners of her lips lifted as if she were proud of her witty comeback.
The girl never missed a beat.
“Answer. The. Fucking. Question.”
Her tongue swiped out to wet her plump bottom lip, and my hands fisted beneath the water as I fought the urge to move in. Cover her mouth with mine.
Taste her and touch her and wrap her legs around my waist.
Rub my cock against all that sweetness.
Jesus. I was fucking losing it.
“Fine. Harvey Talbert, my old boss, is a misogynistic pig most of the time. He told me to do whatever I had to do to get you to talk to me. So, I did, and he fired me for it.”
“I already knew that. Try again.” There was something more there. Someone desperate for a job doesn’t turn down an offer when it comes unless there’s a reason.
She sighed and looked away. “He never treated me like a reporter. He’d made me uncomfortable a few times.”
“How so?” I asked, feeling something unexplainable build inside me.
Anger.
Rage.
She cleared her throat. “The week before he fired me, I’d gone to him, asking him why my interviews weren’t getting top billing when I knew they were better than some of the articles that he was running.
He suggested that I have dinner with him at his place.
He let me know that spending time with him outside of work was the fastest way to get more exposure in the magazine.
I turned him down, obviously, and then he let me go shortly after.
Obviously, I was just someone that he wanted to fuck, nothing more. ”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I didn’t even recognize my own voice. I was so pissed. “Why didn’t you tell me that in the beginning?”
“First off, it’s none of your business. And secondly, we weren’t exactly friends.” She looked away again, her eyes scanning the water.
My fingers moved beneath her chin, turning her face toward me, waiting for her gaze to find mine. “Well, we’re friends now. I will fucking ruin that man.”
She shook her head and shrugged. “Just leave it alone. It’s probably the reason he only has men working there. And I haven’t told anyone about this, including my family. They’d freak out. So… this is off the record, Captain.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. But I’m glad I got you fired from that piece-of-shit job now.”
“Well, you’re not completely off the hook. You were still a total jerk to me when you got me escorted out of the press conference.”
“Why didn’t you just wait until I came out of the restroom?”
“Please. I’d been trying to ask you questions for months. But anytime you were in public, there were journalists swarming you. Most of them are men, and I hate the fact that I’m shorter than all of them.” She rolled her eyes. “I’d jump and wave my hands, but you never saw me.”
Something in my chest squeezed.
Something unfamiliar and foreign.
I didn’t just lust after this woman—I actually cared about her.
I wanted to kill that fucking ex-boss of hers for the way he’d treated her.
And I was pissed at myself for not being more aware of her efforts to talk to me in the past.
My hand still rested beneath her chin, my gaze searching hers. Flickers of gold and copper bounced around those dark, gorgeous eyes. “I see you now, sweetheart.”
“It’s about damn time,” she whispered and then chuckled.
“Agreed. So how about today, we change things up?”
“How so?” she asked.
“We’ll finish the workout back at my place, and then I’m going to shadow you today. I want to spend a day in the life of Brinkley Reynolds.”
She smiled. “What? Why?”
“Because I’ve let you into my life, and I want to see what yours is like.”
“Well, I shadow you most of the day, so that may not be very exciting for you.”
I barked out a laugh. “I want you to do what you’d do if you weren’t working with me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’re friends, right? That’s what friends do.”
She nodded. “Okay. Prepare yourself. My days can be very exciting. I don’t know if you can handle it.”
I let my hand drop from her face because the urge to kiss her was too fucking strong.
I stepped back and reached for the kayak and helped her climb back in.
Then I jumped in myself, tipping us over two more times before we finally figured out how to both get in without falling.
I’d laughed my ass off as she’d sputtered water every time we’d tipped over.
We were both soaked by the time we made our way back to my place.
I finished my weight workout and took a quick shower. Brinkley left to catch a shower herself, and then I was on my way over to meet her at her house.
Was I nervous?
I spent every day with this woman.
Why was spending a day in her life any different from what we did every other day?
My phone rang just as I pulled in front of her place, letting me know it was Drew.
“What’s up, brother?”
“Have you been on the internet today? Seen a newspaper?”
“No. I’m in Cottonwood Cove. Nobody here gives a shit about what’s happening out in the real world.
” I laughed. I knew Brinkley’s story about where I was going to play wasn’t going to break until the end of the week.
She’d made a deal with Sports Today that she would break the story in their magazine, and they’d made it clear they’d like to bring her on full time in the future, as they hoped they would get the complete story that she was writing about me.
He chuckled. “Brinkley Reynolds’ picture is splashed everywhere, dude. That pap caught a photo of her jumping in front of you and telling him to step the fuck off.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “That fucker. It’ll blow over.”
“Not sure. People on the internet seem to be loving it. I mean, she’s this hot-as-hell woman jumping in to rescue the big, bad Lincoln Hendrix.”
“Are you drunk?” I asked dryly.
“Fuck off. I’m telling you, it’s a big fucking deal. People are running with it. It’ll work out nicely with her announcement, though. Everyone will know you’re working together, not dating. Right now, everyone wants to know who she is. But this has definitely drowned out Jaqueline’s interviews.”
“Never a dull moment.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m picking her up. She’s going to show me around town. I’m shadowing her today instead of the other way around.”
He laughed. “You like her. Why don’t you just admit it?”
“I do not. We’re friends. We work together. She also has a no-dating-professional-athletes rule. She’s pissed at me more often than she’s not. And I’m moving across the country soon. There are a million reasons why I shouldn’t go there. Can’t happen.”
“My, oh my. This is so fun to watch. I’ve never seen you like this, Linc. I’ve got to admit—I like seeing you squirm.”
“I don’t squirm. And you’re an asshole. But I do need a favor.”
“Name it,” he said.
“We are never giving so much as a breadcrumb to Athlete Central as long as Harvey Talbert is there. Can you make sure all your clients are aware that the dude is a class-A creep?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely. And since I’d reached out to get Brinkley her job back, he’s been trying to keep the communication open for some future interviews. I’ll shut it all down.”
“Thank you. Let him know that as long as I’m an athlete, he won’t so much as get a nod from me. He’s a fucking piece of shit.”
“Well, I guess we know why she didn’t take the job back.”
“Yep. Thanks, brother. We’ll talk soon.”
I ended the call and got out of the car. When I made my way up her walkway to the front door, she pulled it open before I knocked.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook. The gig is up, Captain. Apparently, people know I’m working with you. I’m getting all sorts of job offers.” She chuckled and then did some sort of little twirly dance.
“Yeah, Drew just called. It’ll set up your announcement nicely. And the good news is, you will have options for where you want to work when this is all said and done.”
Thoughts of this coming to an end didn’t sit well with me.
I shook it off and focused on today. Now.
Just like I always did.
She invited me in, and I glanced around her place. I’d only ever made it to the front door, and I’d never been invited inside. The place was cute and cozy.
Very Brinkley.
She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of denim overalls, just like the first day that I’d met her.
“Exactly. It’s all very exciting. Everything is set with Sports Today. They sent over my contract for the announcement, and they keep bringing up a future job opportunity for me. It’s madness.” She smiled and threw her hands up in the air and shrugged.
“You deserve it.”
“I do, don’t I?” She laughed. “Okay, so… I’ve got lots of things set up for us to do today. We’re starting in the garden. I’m growing my own food, and I love it. Follow me.”
She handed me a pair of red floral gloves and laughed when I tried to shove my hands into them with no luck.
“I told you—big hands, sweetheart.” I smirked.
She sucked in a breath. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned that many times.”
We spent the next hour with me following her around.
I didn’t mind it. In fact, following this woman around while she was down on her knees, with a perfect view of her ass, was my new favorite way to spend my day.
There just wasn’t much happening in her garden, as apparently, she’d planted seeds, and from what I knew from my mother’s experience gardening, she had a long way to go.
We talked about the fact that she was going viral on the internet.
She was completely unfazed and much more excited about the professional opportunities that were now coming her way.
We spent the next hour making vision boards. I made fun of her the entire time, as she had me cut out words and photos from magazines and stick them on this canvas board. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was having a damn good time.
It didn’t matter what I was doing—just that I was doing it with her.
“All right. That’s enough of this for the day. Now it’s time for all the good stuff. Buckle up, Captain. Things are about to get very exciting.”
I didn’t need to buckle up.
I was here for it.