All Wound Up

Sure, sex with Tucker was great and all, but sex had never been a priority for her. When it came around, great. If it was lacking, she could survive without it. And she’d never been the type of woman who saw herself as incomplete without a man in her life, so it wasn’t like being with Tucker—being with any man—was something she desperately needed.

So what was the allure? Was it loneliness, a piece of her life she hadn’t consciously realized she’d been missing? Or was it Tucker?

Her doorbell rang, so her soul-searching questions remained unanswered for now.

Tucker was there, wearing a black button-down shirt and dark jeans, and looked just damned edible, as always.

“You look hot,” he said, stepping inside and pulling her toward him to brush his lips against hers.

“Thanks. So do you.” She grabbed her jacket and her purse, then turned to face him. “I’m ready to go.”

“Great.” He led her out the door and to his car, opening her side and waiting for her to get in before heading over to his side.

Once they were on the way, she looked over at him. “So tell me about this party.”

“It’s for Liz Riley’s birthday. She’s married to Gavin Riley.”

“I know Liz very well since she works a lot with the team as a sports agent.”

“Right. Sure you do. Anyway, we’re all meeting at Gavin and Liz’s house. Not a big thing, just a few people from the team. Wives, girlfriends, some friends.”

If she’d known about this, she might not have come. Anyone connected to her father—like Liz—like the team—could tell her father about her seeing Tucker. She wasn’t sure she was ready for her dad to know she was dating one of the players.

Which she most certainly wasn’t.

Or she supposed she was, since going to a party with him could definitely be considered a date.

“You’re chewing your lip.”

She looked over at Tucker. “Excuse me?”

He pointed to her face as he drove. “You’re chewing your bottom lip. Like you’re worried or thinking or something.”

She licked her lip. “I’m fine.”

“Did you have a bad day at work?”

She shrugged. “My day was fine. Normal for me.”

He pulled onto the highway, merged over into the fast lane. After a mile or so, he asked, “Then what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

“Something is, because I’ve seen you do that thing with your lip before.”

She looked at him. “Really. And you know me so well that you think it’s because something’s bothering me.”

“Yes.”

He was so confident. Then again, he was also right, which kind of irritated her. She decided not to answer him and looked out the window. Trees were in bloom, color had started to burst into her city. Spring had definitely sprung in St. Louis, which brightened her mood immensely despite all the rain they’d had lately.

Besides, rain was a good thing. It renewed everything.

“So are you gonna tell me or not?”

She shifted her attention back to Tucker. “Tell you what?”

“What’s bugging you?”

She finally sighed. “The party.”

He took a quick glance her way. “Liz’s party?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t want to go.”

“I didn’t say that, it’s just—people there know me.”

“Okay. And that’s a problem.”

“Maybe.”

His fingers flexed on the steering wheel, and she could tell that she’d upset him, which hadn’t been her intent.

“It’s because you don’t want anyone you know to know that we’re seeing each other, especially anyone in baseball or connected to baseball who knows your dad.”

When he said the words out loud, it sounded petty and ridiculous. What difference did it make if she was dating one of the players? There was nothing in their contracts that prohibited it, and certainly nothing about it that would get her father riled up. He’d likely not care at all. He’d probably never know. It wasn’t like anyone other than Liz routinely spoke to her dad. She was worrying for nothing.

She was just going to go and mingle with people she knew and have fun and quit worrying about it.

“Actually, everything’s fine. I’m not concerned at all.”

He looked like he didn’t quite believe her. “Are you sure?”

She gave him her most sincere smile. “Absolutely.”

He exited the highway and pulled onto a street with enormous trees. It was dark and a little foreboding, and the house was huge.

When they pulled to the end of the long, dark driveway she noticed a lot of cars. Like, a lot of cars.

“Okay, then,” he said, putting his car into park before turning to her and laying his hand on her thigh. “Let’s go party our asses off, Aubry.”

LIZ ANSWERED THE DOOR LOOKING LIKE A KNOCKOUT, as always. In her mid-thirties, was Aubry’s guess, and she looked late twenties at most. Her stunning red hair was cut in a short bob, the silken ends sweeping along her chin. And, despite a busy career as a sports agent, being married to Gavin Riley, the team’s first baseman, and dealing with the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Genevieve, she’d never known a woman more put together, on top of . . .

Everything.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Tucker,” Liz said, her eyes widening as she turned from him to Aubry.