CHAPTER 3 ALEXIS
“Let’s head inside,” Brooks says, and he places his hand on the small of my back.
I flinch at the feel of his hand on the bare skin of my back in this royal blue dress with a glittering red Vegas Heat logo stamped across the middle—a dress that was custom made for me for today’s event.
I shouldn’t flinch at his touch, but I do.
We stop at the door that leads into the clubhouse, and Brooks goes first. I head in behind him and glance around, suddenly nervous as I flip my hair over my shoulder.
Is the dress too much?
Am I over-eager?
Why am I always so unsure of myself?
My eyes lock on Danny Brewer, and Oh.My.God the man is even hotter in person than he is on television.
A sexy haircut currently hidden beneath a Vegas Heat ballcap, piercing blue eyes that are currently pinning me to my place, veins running through the back of his hands and up into his arms that brag of his strength. Oh the things those hands could do…
I get why he has the reputation he has. He can score any woman he wants, and he does. He’s a bad boy, and I’ve always been attracted to the bad boys—part of the reason why I was forced into my relationship with Brooks, I suppose.
You’re the princess of pop, sweetheart. My dad’s voice echoes the reminder in my head even now.
I’m here to sing my most popular song, “Innocence,” even though I’d rather sing about chaos and corruption.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my career. I’m happy with my life. But there are things missing from it that I want, and even though I look like I have everything there is to have on the outside…the truth is that I gave up the things that would make me feel whole over a decade ago.
I draw in a deep breath that’s more of a shudder than I thought it would be.
I don’t get starstruck when I meet my male counterparts in movies. I can sing circles around any rock star.
But put me in a room with a bunch of baseball players and suddenly I’m a blubbering idiot.
I think I might actually drool as I force my eyes away from his. I need to pull it together.
Come on, Bodega. What would Mom tell you?
I feel Brooks as he pushes me forward, propelling me into the room. The good thing about him is that he knows where his place is. This is my event, and his job is partly to get me here and make sure I’m on time.
And it’s as I glance around the room unsure of where to go next that Cooper Noah walks up to me.
Cooper. Freaking. Noah.
In all his gorgeous glory.
“Cooper Noah,” he says, and he offers a hand for me to shake. “Are you here to sing?”
I smile and nod. “I’ve been asked to do a song to open for Vail, and I’ll also be singing the national anthem.”
“Incredible. Thanks for being here to support us today.”
I pull on my professional hat—the mask I always wear in public.
“I’m so pleased the team asked. I’m happy to be here to cheer for the home team.
” I offer another smile, and I’m trying my hardest to appear genuine.
I am being genuine, but all these hot baseball players are throwing me off my game a little.
“Are you a local?” he asks, and the small talk is actually making me feel more comfortable.
I nod. “I grew up in Henderson and still have family here, though I’m based out of Los Angeles now. And sometimes New York.” I always say I still have family here, though the truth is they’re cousins I haven’t seen in years.
“My buddy Danny is dying to meet you.”
Danny?
I giggle a little nervously.
Does he mean Danny Brewer? The man who gave me tingles just looking over at him when good ol’ Brooks here has never been able to pulse a single tiny little tingle in me…ever?
“I’d love to meet Danny.”
Cooper turns to head toward the table he got up from when I walked in, and I follow him. Danny’s focused on his card game until Cooper grunts out his last name. “Brewer.”
Danny looks up at Cooper, and then he sets his cards down and stands as his eyes move over to me.
He’s tall—I think I read somewhere that he’s six feet, four inches.
I’m five feet, five inches. He’s nearly an entire foot taller than me, though I’m in four-inch heels to give me a lift. He still towers over me, and my God is he attractive in person.
“I’d like to introduce you to Alexis Bodega,” Cooper says.
Our eyes meet for the first time, and something changes inside me.
A trance holds my eyes up to his as his hand comes up and I politely place mine there. Heat blazes between us at the place where our hands meet, and tingles race up and down my spine and around through my chest.
It’s positively electric.
And the single word that comes to mind is regret.
Regret that I chose to live my life the way I did when I was a mere sixteen years old.
Regret that I’m stuck playing a role that isn’t the one I want to play anymore.
Regret that I have to stand here and pretend like my insides aren’t quivering as I stare at this man I’ve drooled over as I watched him play for the Rockies for a number of years.
Brooks presses his hand a little more firmly into my back as if to remind me of his presence.
I haven’t forgotten. I never forget. I’m not allowed to.
And so I dredge up the skills my father paid a pretty penny for when I snagged my drama degree from New York University—the university my father urged me to attend because it has produced more Academy Award winners than any other university.
“Lovely to meet you,” I say, and my voice seems to snap the trance between us.
The heat cools as I pull my hand back from his.
“And you,” he says quietly. He doesn’t strike me as a quiet kind of guy. Nothing about his presence has ever been quiet, actually. He’s baseball’s bad boy. He’s a partier and a womanizer. He hasn’t been reduced to quiet a day in his life.
I clear my throat a little awkwardly. “Good luck today. I’m a huge fan.”
His brows shoot up in surprise. “Feeling’s mutual.”
“Brewer, you’re up,” Rush grunts from the table where the men were playing cards.
Danny shakes his head a little as he seems to snap himself out of wherever he just went. “Good luck to you out there, too.”
“Thanks,” I murmur as he sits back down.
The spell is broken, but one truth holds firm.
I’d like to see a whole lot more of Danny Brewer.