Chapter Two
Nick turned back to Alex and could actually feel his forehead scrunching. Did she just imply they knew each other?
He scanned her face, trying to find something about her that would jog a memory.
Nothing, nothing, nothing and then, something, hazy and dark, almost dreamlike. An image that refused to come into focus. He silently cursed at the way it slipped through every time his brain tried to grab hold.
One too many concussions over the years meant that sometimes, stuff stayed fuzzy.
It was frustrating. It wasn’t something he liked to broadcast, mostly because he didn’t want anyone—like his doctor—to start digging at that hole.
It would open up a nest of worms he wasn’t ready to deal with.
Which meant, the best thing to do was go along with her.
The way he had to force his lips into a smile felt like bending rebar with his bare hands. “Umm, of course—”
“I can’t believe I blurted it out like that.” She looked away, her cheeks and the tips of her ears pink. Just like her daughter.
His smile eased into a more natural one. Far too adorable. He still couldn’t get over the fact she had a teenager. She must have been super young when Em was born.
The pieces thunked together in his brain, and a terrifying thought smacked him in the chest. Emily was what? Fourteen. Fifteen, maybe. Which meant he would have been about twenty when she was born. Oh, Jesus. Not again.
His mind zipped around, his muscles going rigid. Think, think, think, you idiot.
Still, nothing concrete. Not surprising, even given his issues.
But also, his first couple of years in the league, surrounded by all that money and pseudo-fame, were a bit of a blur.
He’d partied hard. And slept around. A lot.
Not something he was proud of, but he’d been a horny young man and women had thrown themselves at him.
At least until his ex-wife had weaseled her way into the picture. The déjà vu that flickered through him left him light headed.
He grabbed her wrist. Her pulse underneath his thumb beat erratically. And fast. Not a good sign. “What are you trying to tell me?” There was an accusatory note in his voice that he couldn’t help. Her answer was far too important to worry about hurt feelings. “Are you saying we’ve met before?”
She nodded, and swallowed. He dropped his gaze to the long, graceful length of her throat. The rapid pulse at the base matched the one at her wrist. She smelled like coconut, reminding him of tropical beaches and lazy, summer days.
Focus, Sadler. Focus. What she fucking smelled like was not important.
“When? Where?” For some reason, his thumb had decided to brush against the inside of her wrist all on its own. Her skin was so soft and smooth. Even though it was difficult, he stilled the movement.
“It was a long time ago.” Her voice was soft in the thunderous silence. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” She stared at the ground. “Forget I said anything.”
Oh, no, she wasn’t doing this. He slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, so she had no choice but to look at him. The anxiety swirling in her gaze damn near buckled his knees.
“Are you trying to tell me that we slept together? That Emily is my daughter?” The question was low, his voice raspy with an emotion he refused to define.
She blinked a couple of times, as if she didn’t quite understand the question. And then her eyes got wide and her lips made a small, soft, circle. It would have been cute, if he wasn’t so damn confused.
“Oh, goodness, no.” Her voice came out a little too high. She laughed. “No, Nick, that’s not what I’m trying to say at all.” She patted his chest with her free hand.
Her touch burned right through his shirt, like she laid an iron directly on his skin. It gave him a jolt, so he let go of her wrist and stepped back. Relief—along with a weird disappointment he didn’t understand—washed through him. All of a sudden, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
Especially with her staring at him like he was an idiot.
Which he clearly was. God, how fucking embarrassing. Letting his past issues and mistakes make him jump to such a monumental conclusion. His cheeks felt like they were on fire, which meant he was fucking blushing, like a fucking teenager.
Get it the fuck together, man.
He must have been scowling something fierce, because she suddenly got very serious.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. I’m also sorry I made you think that.
” Her voice had a confused edge. No doubt she was thinking he was a grade-A idiot.
She tilted her head, her fingers rubbing against the base of her throat.
Even though she didn’t know his past, and why he’d jump to such a ridiculous conclusion, he wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and die.
“I would never do that to you, or her. If Em was yours, you’d have known as soon as I did. ”
He nodded, not trusting himself to open his stupid mouth.
At least his cheeks were no longer on fire.
That was something. He should probably get out of here, let her laugh at him once he was out of earshot.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think people didn’t talk about him behind his back, and probably laugh their asses off, but it didn’t mean he had to stick around and witness it.
His skin was pretty thick, but even he had his limits. “Okay, well, then that’s good.”
Just leave. Leave now, before you embarrass yourself further, dumbass.
For some reason, his feet wouldn’t move.
She stared at him hard for a second. He felt like she was burrowing beneath skin and muscle, searching for the gooey center. Yeah, he needed to get out of here. He was feeling really weird, and wasn’t sure what he was projecting. Nothing good, that was for sure.
“I’m gonna go.” He turned and made a beeline for the door. This time, she didn’t stop him.
Alex stared at her open office door, chewing on her thumb nail. It was a terrible habit, one her mom used to smack her for, but that was the beauty of being an adult. She didn’t have to behave or be lady-like or follow the razor fine edge of the arbitrary rules laid out by her parents.
Nick had left about ten minutes ago, but she hadn’t moved.
The edge of the desk dug into her butt, was probably going to leave a mark, but she couldn’t seem to get her body to co-operate.
Her mind kept replaying their interaction, over and over and over again.
He was different than the teenage boy she remembered.
She snorted at that bit of stupidity. Of course, he was. It wasn’t like she was the same person she’d been sixteen years ago. She wasn’t even the same person she’d been ten—or even five—years ago.
And then he’d jumped to the whole Em was his daughter thing.
She hadn’t meant to laugh or embarrass him. He’d just leaped to that conclusion so fast, it had surprised her. Granted, now that she thought about it, she could totally see how she might’ve been hinting in that direction. Ugh, what had she been thinking?
That was the problem. She hadn’t been thinking. For some reason, her stupid mouth said the words without informing her brain. What if, because of her faux pas, he decided he didn’t want to work with her anymore?
And when had she definitely decided she was going to take him on as a client?
Come on, Alex. You knew, as soon as you saw him sitting in the waiting room, you were going to do whatever needed to be done to help him. Just like when you were sixteen.
No. No, that wasn’t true… well, not completely. Why did he fluster the heck out of her, even after all this time?
Em barreled through the door, and she didn’t get a chance to figure it out.
“What was Nick Sadler doing here?” The light and wonder on Em’s face was amazing to see. Her daughter had been in a funk more often than not lately, the brunt of which got taken out on her poor, unsuspecting mother. She’d been uncommunicative and moody and acting out. This was a nice change.
“We were discussing him becoming a client.”
“Why would he come here?” Em threw herself into the empty chair.
She pushed herself away from her desk. “Gee, thanks.”
Em sighed, one of those why-do-I-need-to-explain-everything-to-you, sort of sighs.
“That’s not what I meant, Mother.” She followed it up with an eye roll so over the top, Alex didn’t know whether to be annoyed or impressed.
“I meant, what is he doing here, and why isn’t he working with his team coaches? ”
She walked over and planted a kiss on the top if Em’s head. Even though Em was a moody teenager, she loved her daughter more than she ever thought she could love anyone. “He’s looking for some one-on-one training, and I worked with a friend of a friend of his when I was at the University.”
“Cool.” The underlying excitement in her tone made Alex smile. “So, does that mean he’s going to be hanging around for a bit, then?”
“I’m not sure I’m going to take the job.” She kept her voice even and wandered over to the wall to straighten the frame that held her master’s degree. Not that it needed straightening. She just didn’t want to see the disappointment on Em’s face.
Em made a distressed noise. “You can’t be serious, Mom.” Em pushed her way between Alex and the wall, her hazel eyes wide. “You’re not seriously going to turn down Nick Sadler.”
She tucked Em’s hair behind her ear. If the little booger didn’t stop growing so fast, soon she was going to be looking Alex in the eye. How did she get so big? Wasn’t it just yesterday she was learning to walk? “I’m still thinking about it.”
“What’s there to think about? He’s Nick freaking Sadler.”
“There are a lot of things to consider. It’s a big commitment, for one, and while it might bring a lot attention to the clinic, there’s no guarantee that all of it will be good. So, I’ll need to discuss some things with Janelle first.”
“Oh, that makes sense, I guess.” Em deflated a little.