Straddling the Line(83)
She looked up at him. “So can I. This will only take a few minutes to put away.”
He walked over to her and took her hand. “You’ve done enough work tonight. Let’s go outside. You should put your feet up and relax. I feel like all you did was work during the party.”
She laughed. “It was hardly work. I mostly sat and had wine while the rest of you ran off and did the scavenger hunt thing. And I got to visit with Luisa Wilson.”
“Oh, Mowery’s wife?”
“Yes. She’s like eight months pregnant. She said her ankles were swollen and she wasn’t up to dashing around doing the scavenger hunt, so she stayed behind while her husband went off and did the hunt. She and I talked. She’s very nice.”
“Yeah, she is. Do you want more wine?”
“Sure.”
“What are you having?”
“I can get it.”
He gave her a look. “What are you having?”
“The sauvignon blanc.”
He went to the refrigerator, studied the bottles for a minute, then pulled one out. “This one?”
“Yes.”
He uncorked it and poured her a glass, then motioned for her to join him as he headed out the back door. She’d long ago kicked off her sandals, so she padded out to the deck barefoot.
He liked her feet, liked her painted pink toenails. And when she went and sat by the pool and slid her legs in the water, he kicked off his tennis shoes, pulled off his socks, and sat next to her, handing her the glass of wine.
She took a sip, then sighed. “Mmm. This is good.” She turned her head to look at him. “How did it go with Warrell?”
“Good. He loosened up some.”
“I’m glad.”
“Me, too. I think it might help him at practice and in game situations to realize we’re all not the enemy.”
“I hope so.”
“Thank you again for organizing all this tonight.”
“You’re welcome. It was fun for me.”
“It was work.”
“Work can sometimes be fun.”
He liked hearing her say that. It was the attitude he was trying to cultivate. Though tonight hadn’t been part of her job. “Did you get to talk to any of the players—actual work-type stuff?”
“No. I didn’t want to break up what was a relaxing, fun night with reporter questions. I’ll leave that for another time, when I’m working in my official capacity.”
He shifted so he could look directly at her. “No one would have minded, you know.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But you can lose trust if you start pummeling people with questions while they’re trying to kick back and have a good time. This just wasn’t the right venue for me to go after people with questions about you or the team.”
“Okay. You know what’s best.” He paused for a minute, then smiled. “So does this mean if I’m kicking back and having a good time, you won’t ask me questions?”
She laughed. “Nice try. And no. It doesn’t work that way, since you’re the reason I’m here.”
“Well, it is all about me.”
Now she rolled her eyes. “Modest as always.”
“You know me so well.”
“Actually, there’s a lot more I need to know about you.”
“For the story.”
She wanted to know more about his past. Yes, for the interview, but also because she was curious about him—about his past, and how he came to be. “What if I said my reasons were personal?”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t believe you.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Why not? Is it so hard to believe I want to know more about you because I care about you?” He didn’t answer her for a few seconds, then he turned to look at her. “We’re just having fun here, Haven, right?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You and me. Nothing serious, right?”
His words stung. They shouldn’t have, but they did. She should have known better than to open herself up to getting hurt. But a simple question and she’d done that.
She hid that sting behind a casual smile. “Of course. You have two careers that keep you more than busy. I have a new career that will have me traveling everywhere. Neither one of us is looking for a romantic relationship. Like you said, we’re just having fun here, Trevor. And when this interview is over, I’m walking away.”
He looked at her, and for the life of her she couldn’t fathom what she saw behind his eyes. She wished it weren’t so dark outside.
“Right. That’s exactly what I want, too.”
She got up and grabbed a towel to dry her feet and legs. “I’m glad we both want the same thing. I’d hate for there to be anything awkward—you know—when this is over.”