Game On Box Set: Time Out\Her Man Advantage\Face-Off\Body Check Read online

  “Dad’s a mechanic, and Mom works in a hair salon.” He paused. “Money was always tight during my childhood.” He resisted the urge to glance around the lavish penthouse, which was an obvious sign that Hayden hadn’t had the same problem growing up.

  He wasn’t quite sure why he’d brought up that money part, either. He hated talking about his childhood. Hated thinking about it, too. As much as he loved his parents, he didn’t like to be reminded of how hard life had been to them. How his mom used to stay up at night clipping coupons and how his dad walked to work—even when Michigan’s winter was at its worst—each time their beat-up Chevy truck broke down. Fortunately, his parents would never have to worry about money again, thanks to his lucrative career.

  The phone rang, putting an end to their conversation. Hayden picked up the receiver, then hung up and said room service was on its way.

  As Hayden headed for the elevator to greet the bellhop with the cart, Brody turned on the television, flipped through a few channels, then finally stopped on the eleven-o’clock news.

  Rolling the cart into the living room, Hayden uncovered their food and placed a plate in front of him. The aroma of French fries and ground beef floated toward him, making his mouth water. Funny, he hadn’t even noticed how hungry he was when Hayden had had him tied to her bed. He’d been satisfying a different sort of appetite then.

  He’d just taken a big bite of his cheeseburger when a familiar face flashed across the plasma screen. He nearly choked on the burger, as a wave of unease washed over him. Hayden had also noticed her father’s image on the TV, and she quickly grabbed the remote to turn up the volume. They caught the Channel 8 newscaster in midsentence.

  “—came forward this afternoon and admitted there is truth to the rumors surrounding the Chicago Warriors franchise. The player, who refused to be named, claims that the bribery and illegal betting activities Warriors owner Presley Houston is accused of are in fact true.”

  Brody suppressed a groan. Next to him, Hayden made a startled little sound.

  “An hour ago, the league announced they will be launching a full investigation into these allegations.”

  The newscaster went on to recap the accusation that Presley had bribed players to throw at least two games, and that he’d placed bets on the outcomes. The divorce was also mentioned, as well as Sheila Houston’s alleged affair with a Warrior, but by that point Brody had tuned out the news segment.

  Who had come forward? It couldn’t be Becker, because his friend would’ve called him with a heads-up before he did anything like that. Yeah, Becker would’ve definitely warned him.

  Craig Wyatt, though, seemed like a likely candidate, especially after what Brody had witnessed at the arena earlier today. The reporters had been pretty rough on Sheila Houston, many of them holding the firm belief that she was lying. It made sense that Wyatt would step in and try to support the woman in his bed.

  The headache Brody had tried to ignore before came back with full force. He reached up to rub his throbbing temples. Damn. He wished he knew which one of his teammates had confessed. Whoever it was, this probably didn’t bode well for tomorrow’s game. How would anybody be able to focus with a possible criminal investigation hanging over their heads?

  “It’s not true.”

  Hayden’s soft voice jarred him from his thoughts, and he glanced over to see her big eyes pleading with him. “Right?” she said wearily. “It’s not true.”

  “I don’t know.” He raked a hand through his hair, then absently picked up a French fry. Not that he had an appetite anymore. That news report had destroyed any desire he had for food. He dropped the fry and looked back at Hayden, who seemed to be waiting expectantly for him to continue. “I really don’t know, babe. So far, there’s been no proof that Pres bribed anyone.”

  “So far. But if that report we saw just now is true…”

  Her breath hitched, and her pained expression tore at his heart.

  “Were you…Did he…” She sounded tortured, as if saying each word took great effort. “Did he offer you a bribe?” she finally asked.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “But he could have bribed someone else, another player.”

  “He could have,” Brody said guardedly.

  She grew silent, looking so achingly sad that he reached over to draw her into his arms. Her hair tickled his chin, the sweet scent of her wafting into his nose. He wanted to kiss her, to make love to her again, but it was totally not the time. She was upset, and the way she pressed her head into the crook of his neck and snuggled closer told him she needed comfort at the moment, not sex.

  “God, this is such a mess,” she murmured, her breath warming his skin. “Dad is already stressed-out because of the divorce, and now…”

  She abruptly lifted her head, her lips set in a tight line. “I refuse to believe he did what they’re accusing him of. My dad is a lot of things, but he’s not a criminal.”

  The certainty in her eyes was unmistakable, and Brody wisely kept quiet. He’d always admired and respected Presley Houston, but experience had taught him that even people you admired and respected could screw up.

  “Whoever came forward has to be lying,” Hayden said firmly. She swallowed. “This will all get cleared up during the investigation. It has to.”

  She slid close to him again. “I don’t want to think about this anymore. Can we just pretend we didn’t see that newscast?” Without waiting for an answer, she went on. “And while we’re at it, we can pretend I came home for a vacation rather than to deal with my father’s problems.” She sighed against his shoulder. “God, a vacation would be so good. I could really use some fun right now.”

  He smoothed her hair, loving how soft it felt under his fingers. “What did you have in mind?”

  She tilted her head up and smiled. “We could go see a movie tomorrow—it’s been ages since I’ve been to the movies. Or we could walk along the waterfront, go to Navy Pier. I don’t know, just have fun, damn it!”

  As much as he hated disappointing her, Brody smiled gently and said, “I would love to, but I can’t. The team’s catching a plane to L.A. at 9:00 a.m. There’s a game tomorrow night.”

  The light drained out of her eyes, but she gave him a quick smile as if to hide her reaction. “Oh. Right. Dad mentioned something about an away game.”

  His arms felt empty as she disentangled herself from the embrace and inched back, absently reaching for a French fry on her plate. She popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly, not looking at him.

  “How about Sunday?” he suggested, anxious to make things right and at the same time not sure what he’d done wrong.

  “I have this party to go to.” She pushed her plate away, apparently as uninterested in eating as he was. “It’s important to my dad.”

  “Then another time,” he said. “I promise you, I’ll take you out and give you the fun you need.”

  Her expression grew strained. “It’s okay, Brody. You don’t have to indulge me. It’s probably a silly idea to go out on a date anyway.”

  He bristled. “Why is it silly?”

  She blew out an exasperated breath. “This is only supposed to be a fling. Playing out a few sexual fantasies.”

  A fling. Something inside him hardened at the word. Casual flings had pretty much been his entire life for the past ten years, serious relationships never even making a blip on his radar. And then he’d met Hayden and suddenly he wasn’t thinking about casual anymore. He liked her. A lot. Hell, he’d actually experienced a flicker of excitement when she’d mentioned engaging in normal couple things like going to the movies or walking by the lake. He’d never felt the urge to do stuff like that with the previous women in his life. He hadn’t cared enough, and that would have sounded awful if not for the fact that they hadn’t cared, either.

  Crazy as it was, Hayden was the first woman, aside from a reporter, who’d ever asked him about his parents or his college major. Mundane little questions that people asked each o