Chapter 21
JASMINE RAISED HER HAND TO THE CLOSED BEDROOM DOOR, glancing up at Paolo, who was standing beside her at this ungodly hour.
It was very early, the time of day when the only people awake are the people coming off a night shift or going in for an early one and some travelers, headed to an airport or a train station before the massive crowds descend upon the city.
Despite the early hour, he looked good, really good, eyes bright, hair immaculate.
She wanted to run her fingers through it, mess it up while he kissed her in that leisurely way he had, taking his time to be thorough.
A little thrill zinged through her at the thought of doing that instead, but no, they were on a mission, together.
Kissing could wait until later.
She let her knuckles rap against the solid barrier lightly, hoping that would be enough to rouse the sleeping man on the other side.
Soft footfalls padding on the other side of the door gave her hope, and then it was dashed when a sleepy, harassed-looking Teddy Harrison pulled open the door, squinting at her as he rubbed at his eyes.
He wore only a pair of thin cotton boxers, his chest bare, and the expanse of tan skin lined with lithe muscle drew her eyes involuntarily.
Quickly, she locked her gaze onto his face before he noticed.
“Jas?” he rasped. “Everything okay?” His eyes narrowed as they focused on Paolo instead.
“Everything’s fine, Ted. Is Jack awake?”
“Jack?” Teddy blinked at her and then again looked at Paolo.
“Yes, your brother. We need to talk to him.”
“Now? He didn’t even get to bed until a couple of hours ago,” he whispered, glancing back toward the darkened room. “It’s, like, five in the morning.”
Jasmine tried not to think too hard about why Jack had been so late to bed, but she knew Indy had snuck into their room in the middle of the night and, even in her half-conscious state, was able to make out how completely ravished the tall blond had looked.
Clearly everyone was having way more fun on this trip than she was.
Post-match celebratory dinners at fancy restaurants. Secret late-night hookups afterward.
A little voice in her head said that was mostly her own fault.
Dom had invited her to dinner, but she’d declined, knowing her court time was painfully early.
At least she and Paolo had enjoyed their night, camping out in Alex’s living room with a takeout dinner of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper while they watched tennis on the TV.
“Four thirty actually,” she corrected. “Can you get him?”
“Your funeral.” He rubbed at his face again. “Yeah, hang on a sec.”
He flicked on the light next to Jack’s bed and grabbed a pillow from the floor and flung it against the bare back of his older brother. “Bro, wake up, you’ve got an early meeting or something.”
Teddy kept walking back to his bed and buried himself underneath a pile of covers just as Jack blinked awake.
He squinted at them before fumbling with a pair of glasses on his nightstand and sliding them over his eyes.
Jasmine had a brief pang of sympathy for Indy—ridiculously hot and Clark Kent glasses on top of everything else.
He swung his legs out from under the covers and motioned toward the hallway.
They stepped back and he reached behind him, pulling the door almost closed.
His knuckles were covered in scrapes and had the bluish tint of a bruise.
“Morning,” Jasmine said. “Um, are you okay?” She gestured to his hand.
Jack cleared his throat and rubbed his other hand over it. “Yeah, uh, I…” He trailed off with no ready excuse, but there was a flush peeking out even under his tanned skin, and Jasmine cringed, really not wanting to know why. Trying to imagine what could have caused that and failing miserably.
She looked to Paolo, at a loss for words. He winked at her.
“Get dressed and come with us,” Paolo said to Jack, putting a hand on Jasmine’s shoulder and squeezing lightly. “There’s something we want to show you.”
“Now?” Jack asked.
“It has to be now,” Jasmine said. “Are you coming or not?”
“Secret mission at the ass crack of dawn?” His green eyes gleamed from behind his glasses. “Of course I am. Give me five minutes.”
The practice courts were empty. There were only a few security guards wandering around the grounds to keep out overzealous fans.
Every shot echoed like a bomb going off as Paolo and Jasmine went through a hitting session featuring her brand-new backhand.
She hadn’t shown it to anyone yet, hadn’t even used it during her first matches in Crystal Palace.
She needed Jack to see it, though, because this was the first step, just like she and Paolo had talked about.
One more backhand, a pretty one-handed slice that spun off-speed but far out of Paolo’s reach, ended the session, and Jasmine pumped her fist. She couldn’t help the broad smile on her face.
The smile grew even larger when she turned to the edge of the court and saw Jack standing there with a grin that matched hers.
“Well, that’s new,” he said as both she and Paolo walked over to him, grabbing water bottles from their bags.
“Brand-new,” she agreed.
“I’m guessing you haven’t shown this to Dom yet or he’d be here with us.”
“Good guess,” Paolo said, shooting a little water into his mouth. “Dom is a great coach, but he has lost obiettività when it comes to Jasmine.”
“Familiarity can do that sometimes,” Jack agreed. “So, I’m also guessing you didn’t invite me here because you wanted my opinion on your new backhand. What can I do for you?”
“Sign me,” Jasmine said. “I want you to be my agent.”
Jack fell silent for a moment and then another before he said, “Okay, listen, my career has taken enough hits this week, so I need to know if you’re serious. Once you sign and start taking this prize money, there’s no going back. Weren’t you thinking about college?”
Jasmine pursed her lips and shrugged. “I thought about it and decided against it, and that’s why I want you. Your instinct is to protect my interests first, before your own.”
“Have you discussed it with your parents? They brought in Felix Wolner. I assume that means they don’t want you doing this.”
“I don’t need my parents’ permission.”
Jack tilted his head and rubbed a hand over his face. “You don’t, but this is a small world. I don’t need to alienate Mr. and Mrs. Tennis, and I don’t actually think you want that either.”
Paolo cleared his throat a little, drawing their attention. “You wouldn’t want to sign with someone who was comfortable blindsiding your parents, gattina. This is why he is the right choice.”
“Thanks, man,” Jack said.
Jasmine huffed at being overruled but kept pushing. “Okay, fine, I’ll make you a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Yeah. I have a match today against Adelaide Brennan at Crystal Palace. I’m assuming you know who that is?”
“Australian, twenty-three, had the misfortune of coming up against Zina Lutrova in the first round of Wimbledon.”
“Exactly. If I win today, we FaceTime my parents tonight and tell them I’m signing with you.”
“And if you lose?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Jack stared at her, a hard look, like he was trying to see through her, trying to see if it was confidence or false bravado. “You really think you can beat Adelaide Brennan?”
“I know I can.”
She left out the part about what would happen after she beat Adelaide. Jack’s girlfriend was waiting for her. They were each just one win away from an OBX Classic rematch.
Jasmine couldn’t worry about that yet, though.
“Good,” Jack said. “You’ve got a deal, Miss Randazzo. He held out his hand and she took it, shaking it firmly, but her eyes looked up and to the side, meeting Paolo’s, his smile as bright as the rising sun.
Jack left them at the court, tapping away at his phone and mumbling about having to put together a contract. As soon as he was out of earshot, Jasmine let out a high-pitched squeal and punched the air. “We did it.”
“Almost,” Paolo said, though his smile was spread wide across his face, making his eyes crinkle, premature lines from spending most of his youth out in the sun revealing themselves at the corners. “First you must win.”
“I know I can win.”
“I know you can, too.”
“Thank you,” she said, moving close to him. “None of this would be happening without you.”
“Yes it would,” he disagreed, though he stepped closer as well. “You would have done this eventually, but maybe I gave you a little push.”
“A big push, and I needed it. So, thank you.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond this time, pushing up onto the tips of her toes and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.
It was meant to be short, just a thank-you, but he caught her about the waist and held her there, tilting his head and creating the perfect angle to hold on to the moment a little longer.
He took her lower lip between his and kissed her firmly.
“Non mi aspettavo,” he said, pulling away and leaning his forehead against hers. “I didn’t expect to feel this way for you.”
“No? What did you expect?”
“A pretty girl to flirt with while Alex trails after Penny like a little puppy.”
“He is whipped, isn’t he?” She giggled.
“Whipped?” He chuckled. “Yes, but I am beginning to understand the appeal.”
“Really?” she said, letting her hands play with the dark curls at the back of his neck, the silky strands, still a little sweaty from their practice session, sliding through her fingers.
He didn’t answer, simply let his mouth fall to hers again, picking up where they left off, the hot slide of two mouths coming together and slowly breaking apart, the kisses shallow but intense.
“You two might not want to do this in public. Never know who could be watching.”
Jasmine broke away and turned to the fence where Teddy was standing, elbows resting at the top of the chain-link barrier. His face was blank and unreadable.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, feeling Paolo step away from her.