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A Perfect Distraction(36)



Only they’d never made it to the party.

Jake would never know if he could have saved Adam’s life if he’d just taken the time in the preceding weeks to ask a couple of simple questions. He’d have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life.

“Adam was a grown man,” Tru said quietly. “He could have asked for help if he’d wanted it, from you or Nick or any of his teammates.”

“I still should have made more of an effort. I let him down.”

Tru sighed. “You didn’t, but nothing I say will stop you from beating yourself up over it.”

Neither of them spoke for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Jake replayed the argument with Maggie, turning over in his mind what he’d learned about her past and how he’d mishandled the whole conversation.

As Tru pulled onto the exit ramp, Jake said, “I should have learned from the mess with Adam that I’m no good at dealing with emotional baggage.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Her ex is a professional soccer player and I think he was also an abusive bastard.”

Tru whistled. “No wonder she’s wary. But you’d never lay a finger on her or Emily.”

“Damn straight.” His stomach turned at the thought. “But she doesn’t know that. Either way, with my reputation, I’m not the best choice for her to date.”

“That’s bull. With the amount of time you’ve spent together lately, she must have seen that you’re more than your press.”

“Maybe.” She’d seemed to enjoy spending time with him until he’d blown it. “But I’m still not the kind of man she needs.”

“Because of one little argument?” Tru frowned.

“Because she can’t rely on me to take care of her the way she needs. Maggie deserves better than that. Better than me.”

“Get over yourself, bro.” Tru rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think you should let Maggie decide that for herself? Why don’t you give her, and yourself, a chance to see if things work out instead of dismissing it out of hand? You like her, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You find her hot, too?”

Jake bit back a smile. “Very.”

“So, what’s the harm in dinner or a movie? Take it slowly for once, instead of rushing things like you usually do.”

“But my head needs to be in a good place with the season about to start. This has the makings of being a complication, a distraction I really don’t need.”

“Seriously? A couple of dates could cause that much angst?”

“It could, if it doesn’t work out. Anyway, the timing’s all wrong...”

Tru cut him off. “The timing couldn’t be better. You’ve got a few weeks before opening night. Plenty of time to go out together and see whether there’s anything there worth pursuing. If it goes belly-up, no harm done.”

Jake mulled it over for the rest of the drive home. As the car pulled into his parents’ driveway, he asked, “How do I get her to go out with me if she won’t answer my calls?”

“You’re moving into your new place in a few days. She’ll be there to oversee things. Ask her then. Make your famous charm work for you.”

Tru was right.

Time for a new strategy. Time to go on the power play.

* * *

TOTAL BLOODY CHAOS.

There was no other way to describe Jake’s moving-in day.

At least, Maggie thought, it had been organized chaos. But between the movers, his family and friends, various Ice Cats and an assortment of beauties bearing covered dishes, the house had been noisy and crowded since early morning.

She wasn’t sure whether her role was to oversee and coordinate or play ringmaster. A crash from another room, followed by swearing, made her sigh. Pass the top hat and whip.

The rich aroma of spaghetti sauce made her stomach rumble. Jake’s mom and Aunt Karina were cooking pasta. Maggie hadn’t had time to eat since breakfast.

Thankfully, despite the chaos, everything had gone well. The movers had left over an hour ago, as had Jake’s teammates and, more reluctantly, the women. Only family and the Jelineks remained.

Her job was finished. Other than tidying up a few loose ends, her professional relationship with Jake was over. Her heart gave a funny little jump in her chest.

Things had returned more or less to normal between them after his apology. Maggie grinned as she recalled the bouquet that had arrived on her doorstep. He hadn’t gone for the clichéd red roses or heart-shaped box of chocolates. Jake must have remembered a conversation from when they were looking at houses where she’d mentioned that her favorite flowers were gerbera daisies. He’d organized a glorious arrangement in a vivid array of colors, with chocolate daisies interspersed among the real flowers.