HowMuchYouWantToBet (6 page)

“Should we just become lovers now? Or later?”

Her hair whipped when she turned to him, mouth gaping open. “You are unbelievable.”

Her words were spaced and breathy. A good sign to him. Gib placed his hands in his pocket, bracing himself for the storm. It amused him to see her caramel-colored skin flame with color and her eyes glitter with passion. Whether the passion was to maim him, or not, he didn’t know.

“You still haven’t admitted that you liked the kiss.” He smiled at her. “But from the little breathy moans, probably more than that.”

Neil began walking toward him, a fierce look on her face and a gleam in her eyes. Gib moved his shoulders, anticipating what was going to happen.

“We’ve been companionable for the past three weeks, because of the meetings and all the things that needed to be done to get the plans ready for my house,” he continued.

She stood in front of him, and he tightened his stomach muscles, hoping she wouldn’t punch lower. “I’m a hands-on type of guy, so I’m going to be around for however long it takes to build my house.”

Something flickered behind the glare and softened the hazel irises. For a moment he lost himself in her gaze. Not a good sign.

“And then what?” she asked.

He shrugged, suppressing the urge to step back from her now. “Maybe I’ll go back to being a reporter.”

“Or a chef.”

“Maybe.”

Neil tilted her head. “Which is why we’re not ever going to be lovers. I could never be with a man so irresponsible.” She pushed past him, heading for her pickup truck.

“At least I don’t try to act like a fifty-year-old woman.” Gib knew he was egging her on. He wasn’t ready for her to leave. Bad sign.

Neil stopped, and he thought she was going to turn around and he’d get another view of her pretty mouth before she ripped him a new one, but instead she went on again.

“Baking cookies for potlucks, for the weekly bingo tournament down at the senior center.” He rocked on his heels. “Raising money down at the church for the roof fund.” Gib hid his smile when she finally gave in and stalked back to him.

“That’s called being nice, thinking of others. Try it sometime—the horns on your head just might retract, which brings me to another reason why I would never sleep with you. You think of no one but yourself.”

He wanted to correct her, and that was a first. He usually didn’t care what someone thought of him, but at this moment the rich playboy was the last person he wanted to be. “How much you want to bet?”

She sucked in a deep breath, the temper slowly leaving her gaze, and still for a moment he lost himself in her eyes. Definitely not a good sign.

“Twenty bucks says you’re a cad through and through.”

“Fifty,” he threw back at her.

She narrowed her eyes, and the gleam told him he had her. “Twenty-five.”

Gib grinned, knowing that by the weekend he’d be twenty-five bucks richer. “Deal.”

*****

As Neil pulled up behind a pickup truck that looked even more beat up than hers, she concluded she needed to go to Gamblers Anonymous. Once again she’d been pulled in by that arrogant lift of Gib’s mouth and had made a bet that was going to put another dent in her monthly budget.

Gib had called her earlier that Saturday morning and told her to meet him at Grayson Park, located in Linton. The Grayson parking lot had been stuffed with cars and the first available space was three blocks away. In her thin leather coat and low-heeled boots, Neil had more than one bone to pick with herself by the time she crossed the parking lot in the fifty-degree weather. Okay, so maybe she had expected a nice picnic with cheese and wine, might have even preened a little for being right.

Hell, she’d be twenty-five bucks richer, because the romantic action would not have fallen under the heading of thinking of someone else. Little Gib didn’t count.

What are you doing? You should be at home or, better yet, work.
Gib only fit into her life because of the house she was building for him, a job she was being paid to do, a job that would allow her to move on, finally.

She had stopped, ready to turn around, when a steady chant of “Ti-gers! Ti-gers!” urged her on across the graveled lot. She stopped abruptly at the edge of the field. The bleachers were filled to capacity.

Her gaze strayed past the tall metal fence to where kids in baseball gear clustered together on the infield, but her attention was caught by a female voice yelling, “Coach Gib!” She turned in time to see the loudmouth standing at the top bleacher, waving towards the dugout where, as Neil followed the woman’s gaze, Gib emerged, clad in jeans and a red-and-white shirt with “Tigers” printed on the front.

“How ya doing today, Linda?” he yelled back.

He smiled up at the woman, and Neil feared for the woman’s safety. When would the man learn you couldn’t smile at a woman like that and expect her to stay sane?

“I want to know, when can Jimmy play again?”

Gib took off his hat and scratched his head. “I’ve told you. When his grades get better. It’s not always about winning.”

“But Gib, listen…”

He shook his head while motioning for her to come to him. By the time Linda stood in front of him, he had spotted Neil with a furtive glance. “Next week report cards come home. He can play again if his grades are better. You can wait that long, and you really should have waited until after the game to talk to me. Yelling is uncivilized.”

“I’m anything but,” the woman said.

Gib chuckled, and then his gaze clashed with Neil’s. She felt rooted to the spot, as unadulterated desire filled his eyes. Neil held her breath, waited for the aversion she should have been feeling. His smile widened.

A shaky breath escape as Neil realized she didn’t feel anything but hot from the appraisal of his gaze as Gib sauntered toward her. She licked her lips, thinking,
Maybe, just maybe. No. Yes. No.

“Dammit,” Neil muttered.

“Glad you could make it. I would offer you a seat in the dugout, but us boys can get pretty messy down there.” He leaned into her, sniffing the air. “You put on perfume.”

Neil jerked her shoulder, hoping she didn’t look guilty. “I guess you’ve won the bet. I expected you to try to get me alone.”

“Soon enough.”

Someone else yelled, “Coach Gib,” and he looked toward the voice and then sighed. “I’ll catch up with you after the game.” He checked his watch. “I saw the other side’s pitcher. He has arms like a spaghetti noodle. We should be winning in about two hours, at the most.”

Neil shook her head. She hadn’t been that far off about him. “I thought winning wasn’t everything?”

“It’s not, but when you can, it won’t hurt to do it.”

“From the know-it-all lilt in your voice, you don’t lose often.”

He placed his hat back on his head, giving her the smile that made her itchy. “Now if only you would learn that, you’d stop betting against me. Gotta go.”

Neil watched him strut back to the dugout. Almost instantly, Linda stood in front of her. At the top of the bleachers she had looked petite, short. She wasn’t. She stood at least four inches over Neil, and every curve was plump.

“Hi, I’m Linda, and I’m far from outspoken—I’m downright nosy.” She smiled as she said it. “And you are the first woman who has come here childless that Gib’s paid attention to for more than three moments.” She leaned forward. “What love spell did you weave over Gib?”

Unsure of how to answer, Neil shook her head. “Gib’s not in love with me.”

Linda tilted her head, and the blonde ponytail that had been hidden under her ball cap escaped through the opening at the back. “Not yet, but there is definitely potential.”

Neil’s chest became heavy with the thought. “I’m just building a house for him.”

She didn’t like the way Linda raised her eyebrow, because it reminded her she shouldn’t even be here. Watching Gib coach his Little League baseball team didn’t put up walls to a house.

“That’s fine, also,” Linda said. “Since it looks like it’ll be a short game today, why don’t you sit up top with the girls and me?” Neil followed the finger that pointed to three women, all different shapes and sizes, who looked ready to make a ruckus on the top bleacher. She would rather have invited herself to the Spanish Inquisition.

“Come on,” Linda urged. “We’ll give you the dish on Coach Gib. We’ve known him for years.” Neil turned her gaze to Gib. He was rounding up the team, looking at home, looking right, far from the arrogant man she had pegged him to be.

“How long has he been coaching Little League?” Linda smiled, accentuating the laugh lines on her face. “That-a-girl, but I don’t know that one. Barbara, the red-headed one, does.”

Neil ignored the little voice inside, asking her again what the hell she was doing, and dug her sunglasses from her pocket, shoving them on.

“Lead the way.” The nerves in her stomach turned into lead when one of the women cackled, “Fresh meat.” The voice was deep and the tone dry.

“Anna, stop it. Barb, Janice, this is Neil. She wants to know more about Coach Hottie.” The one Linda indicated as Anna looked her up and down. “Do you work?”

“Construction.” Moving her shoulders, Neil tried not to let her temper get in the way of knowing more about Gib. It was to appease her curiosity. Right?

“Ever married?”

“Anna!” Linda admonished.

“What?” Anna replied, her short black hair ruffling in the small breeze. “We all love him in some way, and we don’t want anybody breaking his heart, unless they intend to fix it right afterwards.” The four women shared a look, then pinned her with a stare.

“We’re in a business relationship, that’s all. I want to know more about him for work,” Neil said.

Janice made a sound of disbelief. Barbara shot a glare toward her, but began talking. “About six years ago, the school district hired three coaches, for baseball, football, and basketball. The school district stepped out on a limb, given its financial situation. Of course, soon after that, the superintendent took off with all the money.”

“I thought it was the principal,” Linda interrupted.

“The superintendent used to be the principal before he got the raise.”

There ensued a short argument. Neil watched, amazed at the by-play. Janice mumbled into her drink and Anna rolled her eyes, while Barbara and Linda made jerky movements at each other until they agreed.

“Are you guys done?” Neil asked with a laugh.

“Oh, sorry. Where was I?” Barbara asked.

“The superintendent ran off with the money,” Neil helped.

“Right. Anyway, Gib was catering the benefit to welcome the coaches when he overheard that the district would only be able to pay the coaches for a year before they would have to be laid off. Rumor got around and one of the coaches left. Gib, being Gib, stepped in, helped find a superintendent, raised money for the district, and filled in as coach.” Barbara shrugged. “He’s never been fired from his position.”

“Hard to fire someone you don’t pay,” Janice added.

Thinking of the twenty-five dollars she owed him, Neil said, “Yeah, but he makes his own way.”

“You’ve been betting against him, haven’t you?” Barbara accused.

Neil’s face must have been filled with shock, because the next moment all the women were laughing.

“If I didn’t know him better, I would offer to take him to Gamblers Anonymous. He used to try to take each one of our husbands to the bank.”

Remembering the “Coach Hottie” comment, Neil defended herself. “I thought you guys were interested in him in a, you know.…” She felt her face flush.

“Like the saying says, we’re married, not dead,” Janice replied.

Barbara elbowed her and continued talking. “Since I don’t know you, I’ll take you to a GA meeting for the simple fact that you keep on falling for it. How much have you lost so far?”

“A couple of bucks.”

Linda spoke up. “I heard she lost two hundred bucks in a pool game to him. And…” She paused. “She kissed him.”

Neil scowled. “You’re in a completely different town. How do you know that?”

Anna pffted softly. “My husband works at the bar. He was there that night, and he told me that kiss was pretty steamy.”

“I’m sure Gib breathing on any part of a woman is bound to have her head explode,” Linda added.

All four women leaned forward, waiting for details. Neil knew what they wanted. “Sorry, ladies, but he kisses like a fish.”

There was a pregnant pause. Then they all burst into laughter. Other parents turned around, reproach in their eyes, but the women didn’t even notice.

Barbara swung an arm around Neil’s shoulder. “You’ll do for our Gib.” For some reason the compliment made her smile.

*****

“I heard you got along pretty good with the girls up top.” Gib said, sliding his hand around her waist and pulling her closer.

The warmth from his body sent off signals in her brain, and she didn’t mind the message they were sending. She felt loose and relaxed from being a part of the group of women. The one who had paid closest attention to the game was Anna, and usually it was with her cue that they would yell or cheer.

“We bonded, in a way.”

His hand on her hip felt too comfortable. She moved away from him, reminding herself they had a work relationship. By itself, it was telling that she had to remind herself.

She put more distance between them. “More importantly, they gave me the scoop on you.”

“All you had to do was ask me, to get the lowdown.”

It hadn’t occurred to her. “Sometimes you need a woman’s point of view.”

He stopped in front of her car. “Have you decided on me yet?”

The ball cap tilted backwards made him look incredibly sexy. She didn’t want him. Couldn’t want him, she mentally corrected herself. But she wasn’t blind either.

“You’re not too bad. Sadly, you’re still irritating beyond belief.”

“You don’t look like you want to punch me anymore, so that must mean something.”

She chuckled softly, pulling her keys from her pants pocket. They trembled in her hands. She wanted to touch his face. She wanted to feel the curve of his mouth beneath her hands.

“Since you won like you predicted, both the game and the bet, how about a pizza to celebrate?” She gripped the keys to steady her hands. It was okay for her to socialize. Eating with him wouldn’t crumble the world she’d built for protection. Right? “That should cover the twenty-five bucks I owe you.”