If The Shoe Fits (9 page)

There was some measure of satisfaction in the
color draining from Luke’s face. It was no idle threat; he knew
more about his old teammate’s past exploits than anyone else.
Including Tanya.

Luke stood and thrust out his hand. “I’ll be
there. On Jared’s future, I’ll be there.”

Reese nodded, then filled him in about the
auction. “And remember, stay away from the new caterer. She’s off
limits.”

Words he, himself, needed to live
by.

“
Uh, Reese?” Kelly poked her head
into his office after Luke left. “Your caterer is here to see
you.”

That was quick.
Reese couldn’t deny the
surge of pleasure her words and that thought brought. Talk about a
hypocrite… “Send her in.”

When he saw the woman who walked through the
door, he realized he’d gotten what he deserved for considering not
following his own non-fraternization rule.

Staci Whatshername, Dolly-Parton-wannabe.
Reese grimaced. He shouldn’t call her that. The real Dolly was a
very nice lady; she didn’t deserve the comparison. And he didn’t
deserve this. Fans had tried all sorts of ways to get close to him
before, but posing as a caterer was a first.

This woman, and he used that term loosely,
thrust out her hand (and her chest), her artificial talons coming
at him like daggers.

Reese chose to ignore both.

“
Hello, Reese,” she purred as she
stood before him, a hair’s breadth too close.

A football field would be too
close.

“
Bella and I were discussing some
ideas for your party and I thought I should come talk to you about
what,
specifically
—” the word rolled off her tongue as her
tongue rolled around her lips—”you want.”

He chose to ignore that, too.

The silence grew strained. Sort of like the
neckline of that dress, a look that was more tacky than sexy on
her.

Finally, her gaze shifted from his to dart
around the room. “So… what, um, did you have in mind?”

Not what she did.

Luckily, he was saved from answering by Luke
walking back into his office. “And, hey, Reese—” Luke stopped as he
caught sight of Staci who gave him a little finger wave. “Well,
hellooo.”

Mr. Suave had entered the building.

“
And who do we have
here?”

Reese wanted to deck Luke all over again as
the guy sauntered in. Barely restraining himself, he made the
introduction, all the while glaring at Luke to back the fuck off.
“Luke Jamison, meet Staci Fontaine.”

“
Hi there,” Staci purred as she
cocked her hip toward Luke.

Oh, hell. These two were two of a
kind.

Luke kissed the back of her hand. “Hello,
Staci Fontaine. What brings you here?” He purred every bit as
revoltingly as she did, and Staci, like so many before her, fell
for it.

“
I’m working with Bella on the
hospital thing. I came to talk to Reese about it.”

“
What a wonderful coincidence.”
Luke tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and led her over to
Reese’s sofa. “I’m also working on the hospital... thing. We can
work on it together.”

Not if Reese could help it. Ten grand wasn’t
cheap even if Staci was. “Uh, Luke?”

Luke looked like was about to argue, but when
Reese’s cell rang, Luke just smiled instead and steered Staci from
the office. “Don’t let us disturb you.”

If Connie DeLeo weren’t the caller, he would
explain to Luke just how much—ten thousand dollars’ worth—the two
of them
did
disturb him. Instead, he scowled at Luke as they
left. The guy just did not learn.

Reese blew out a breath before answering.
“Hey, Connie. What’s up?”

“
Hi, Reese. I’m calling to find
out if you’re bringing a date to the dinner Saturday night. I’m
doing my guest list and realized I didn’t know if there was someone
special in your life.”

Subtle Connie was not. He’d met her when he’d
been drafted by the team, and she’d tried to get him to settle down
ever since. But he’d been too busy proving himself to get serious
about anyone.

If only he’d shared that info with
Devin.

“
You are coming, aren’t you? It’s
a big event.”

Which was a big problem. Connie’s annual
dinner for everyone involved with the stadium meant that Coach
would be there. They hadn’t spoken since Reese had gone on the
disabled list, and a public place wasn’t the best idea for a first
conversation.

“
I don’t know yet,
Con.”

“
Oh, please, Reese. It’ll be good
for you. And Coach, too. Just the thing you need to break the ice.
Start over. A new beginning. Please say you’ll come.”

Actually, bringing a date could be a good
thing. A buffer.

Right. Buffer. He knew who he wanted to bring,
but it wasn’t so she’d be a buffer.

“
I won’t take no for an answer,
Reese.”

He knew that, too. Well, he could always tell
Bella it was a site visit so she could see what he had in mind for
the auction.

That was lame. Even for Luke.

Reese sighed. “I’ll be there. Not sure about a
date yet, though. I’ll have to check her schedule.” And his own
sanity. But if he and Bella were going to work together he had to
get over this attraction.

Connie was right; the party could be the
perfect beginning for a lot of things.

Chapter Eight

Sophia tugged Bella’s hand on the sidewalk two
blocks from the park. “Come on, Bella! Let’s race! I want to see
the hot air balloons.”

“
All right, but be careful.” Bella
rumpled Sophia’s hair.

“
I will! Ready, set, go!” Sophia
took off down the sidewalk toward the park where the annual regatta
was set up.

Slowing her stride to just under Sophia’s
furious one, Bella pretended to struggle. Couldn’t let Sophia win
too easily or she’d catch on.

Suddenly though, Bella no longer had to act as
she landed hard on the concrete. “Ouch!”

Sophia spun around and hurried back. “Bella!
Are you okay?”

Bella examined her ankle. Then her hip. Both
seemed intact, but sore. The same could not be said of her running
shoe. The seam was ripped, the rubber sole hanging by
threads.

She got to her feet, wincing at the twinge in
her hip. “I’m having the darnedest luck with shoes these
days.”

“
We could buy you a new pair in
that store over there.” Sophia pointed across the
street.

Heavenly Shoes.
Talk about
luck…

The store’s door chimes sounded a lot like the
bells of St. Gabriel’s Church as Bella followed Sophia inside, and
Mr. Griff’s smile was almost angelic as he hurried from the back
room.

“
Bella, it’s so good to see you.
And you must be Sophia.” Mr. Griff dropped to one knee and took
Sophia’s hand in his. “I’m so glad to meet you.”

Sophia giggled while she shook her hand. “It’s
nice to meet you, too, um…”

“
Jonathan Griff, lass.” He stood
up. “Welcome to Heavenly Shoes’ opening day. I can’t think of a
better opening than to have two such beautiful ladies stop by.” He
winked at Sophia which sent her into another round of giggles.
“Now, what brings you here?”

“
Bella needs a new pair of running
shoes.” Sophia held up the damaged one. “See?”

“
Tsk tsk. I’ll say she does.” Mr.
Griff took it from her. “It’s seen better days, I’m sure. But not
to worry, ladies. Running shoes are my specialty.” He led them to a
bank of chairs. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back with a
selection for you to choose from.”

Bella sat, but Sophia rushed over to the shoe
displays in the glass case beneath the counter.

“
Look Bella! Here’s a pair like
Dorothy wore in
The Wizard of Oz
.” Shiny ruby pumps
glittered in the twinkling lights lining the case. “And this pair
looks just like the ones Mary Poppins had on the carousel ride.”
Sophia walked along the case. “These look like the Sugar Plum
Fairy’s ballet shoes. And these look like a genie’s slippers.
And—oh, Bella! Come see! These look like Cinderella’s!”

The transparent shoes did look as if they were
made of glass with the way the lights sparkled in them. The velvet
purple cushion they were displayed on didn’t hurt the image,
either. It was a great marketing tool. Little girls would be
dragging their mothers in by the mini-van-full once word got out.
And with Sophia doing the talking, that wouldn’t take very
long.

Mr. Griff returned then with a tower of boxes
teetering over his head. “You should find something suitable in
these, but if not, I’ll bring out more.”

“
I’m sure I’ll find something.
Thank you, Mr. Griff.” Bella sat down and his gold coins clinked in
her pocket. She took them out. I believe you forgot something
earlier.”

Mr. Griff shook his head and wouldn’t take
them. “You keep them. They’re a gift.”

“
But that meal was the gift, and
these are worth more than the food.”

“
I’ll not hear of it, lass. They
were a gift to you for being so generous. Now try those shoes on
while I see to our Miss Sophia.” He walked over to the case Sophia
had her nose pressed against. “Do you see something you
like?”

“
Oh, yes!” Sophia squealed.
“Cinderella’s glass slippers. They’re beautiful!”

“
Would you like to try them
on?”

“
Oh, yes, please!” Sophia
squealed, hopping out of her running shoes quicker than Bella’s
mishap had gotten her out of hers.

Mr. Griff winked at Bella. “Lucite, but it
gets their attention every time. I do so love to fire up people’s
imaginations.”

“
I bet you get a big run on them
during wedding season.”

He shook his head. “I probably would, but I
only have the one pair and they’re not for sale, though I do lend
them out on occasion.”

“
Can I borrow them for my wedding
day, Mr. Griff?” Sophia asked as she paraded around the store with
a very-practiced royal wave. “They make me feel like a
princess.”

Bella laughed along with Mr. Griff. Sophia
would have enough time to learn that fairy tales didn’t exist, but
childhood was the time for dreams and wishes and believing in
magic.

She flicked Sophia’s ponytail as she paid for
the running shoes. “Sure you can, Soph. Every girl deserves to feel
like a princess at least once in her life.”

***

“
Bella’s not here,” said Giac when
Reese called Casteleoni’s. “She’s probably with Sophia at the
park.”

A crash in the background was followed by
another round of angry Italian so Reese didn’t have a chance to ask
who Sophia was or where in the park they’d be. But since he was
within walking distance, he figured he’d find out for himself,
using the exercise to burn off his anger at Luke.

Yeah, that was lame, too.

Still, Reese headed down the tree-lined path
to the river, where, apparently, half the town had congregated,
dodging rollerblading teens, stroller-pushing mothers, and
dog-walking grannies. He was going to need some major luck to find
Bella in this crowd.

When a little old man barreled into him and
almost knocked him over, Reese realized he should have specified
which kind of luck he wanted.

Instinct, however, took over and a few pattern
drills he used to do in practice kept him from going down.
Unfortunately, the old guy wasn’t as successful. Reese caught him
by the arms just before he landed.

“
You okay, sir?” he asked, easing
the guy back to his feet. Short little guy. Bald, wrinkled, with
the brightest green eyes Reese had ever seen.

Reese blinked. When had he ever noticed
another man’s eyes?

The man brushed off his suit jacket. “I am
now. Thank you, my boy.” He patted Reese’s arm. “Nice catch, though
you’re usually the one doing the passing, are you?”

Ah. A fan. “Not anymore.” The words caused his
breath to catch. He’d really hated leaving the game.

“
Now, now, my boy. When one door
closes, another opens.” The man removed some items from his pocket
and handed them to Reese. “And here’s something to help that
along.”

Reese looked in his palm. Gold coins. “I can’t
take these.”

“
You’ll insult me if you don’t,
and besides, there’s a wishing fountain at the end of this path.
Surely you can use a few wishes?”

Insulting a fan was never a good thing. And,
hell, yeah, he could use a few wishes. “Well, okay. Thanks. I
appreciate it.”

“
Not yet you don’t,” said the old
guy, patting his arm once more before he headed off in the opposite
direction, adding, “But you will.”

Reese jostled the coins as he watched the guy
walk away and tried to figure out that cryptic message. When he
couldn’t, he put it down to old age and headed toward the
fountain.