Playing for Keeps/Body Check (Rules of the Game) (5 page)

Seems his ex-wife hadn’t appeared too happy to see him. He'd felt the complete opposite. Since they shared kisses and he'd touched her again, Jenna had been on his mind consistently, constantly.

He woke last night, three in the morning, drenched in sweat after having a particularly sexy dreamy that involved him, Jenna, writhing on a huge silk covered bed, naked, warm and playing with a rather large bowl of whipped cream.
 
Thinking of it now hardened him. He'd been fighting a losing battle since that kiss. Too bad Jenna hadn’t felt the same. Or had she?

Shaking his head as he started the car, and enduring the jolt of pain in his bum shoulder, frustration ebbed and flowed, along with the growing traffic that was quickly pissing him off. He slapped the steering wheel, draped his hands over it, and sulked.

Thinking back on the night he'd seen her at the café, Nick allowed his memories to drift back to the time they were young, innocent and so in love. In those days, his hormones raged like a house afire every time he was with her. Their first time making love was awkward and inexperienced. She'd been shy revealing her body to him, and Nick had attempted to take the reins when they shared their bodies. They'd both been virgins, and afterward, they held onto each other, weak with young passion, trembling but happy.

They'd spent every spare moment together. Touching, holding hands while they did homework, making out at the movies, making love in the back seat of his old Chevy.

Eloping when they turned eighteen, Jenna's family trying to break them up. When that didn’t work, a crisis with the family business in Italy forced Jenna to travel to Naples with her parents and Grace.

Nick closed his eyes, and remembered how they cried in each other's arms when she told him she was going away. Nick had argued that they run away. They were legally married, over eighteen.

The day she agreed to run away with him, he got the call from the Condors organization that they wanted Nick to join their farm team in Sacramento asap. This was his chance to make it in baseball.
 
Jen was ecstatic when he told her they were going to California. He'd take care of her. She'd apply for jobs as a cook, he'd play baseball.
 
Happily ever after.

Then, through a series of circumstances that had risen then collapsed like a proverbial house of cards, their happy ever after ended like a Greek tragedy.

Her parents learned of their plans, and had made Jenna promise to go with them to Italy for a month. If, by the end of that time, if she still wanted to go to California, they would all fly there, make sure Nick had the means to support their daughter.
 
Jenna had agreed, and Nick traveled ahead and roomed with a couple of teammates in a run down apartment in Sacramento.

He'd counted the days until they'd be together. In the meantime, he'd also procured a part time job busing tables, saving as much money as he could so that he and Jenna would have a decent apartment when she joined him.

Traffic had opened up and Nick found his way to the FDR drive, hoping to be in Brooklyn within the hour. His thoughts drifted back to the events leading to their break up.

They talked on the cell every day, counting the days until they'd be together.

Two days before her flight would leave Rome airport, there was an accident.

End of happily ever after.

Nick shook his head as he continued to drive to Brooklyn. The thoughts of that day still hurt, still made his chest ache.

He couldn’t be with her after the accident. If he left California, he'd never come back. He was ready to do just that, when Jenna called from her hospital bed.

He'd never forget that conversation as long as he lived.

"Nicky, please, don’t come. Don't sacrifice your future, your career for me."

"Jen, I don’t want to live without you, baby. I'll be on the plane tomorrow."

"NO! I-I don't want you here. Some day you'll blame me for cutting your career short, and I won't be able to live with that guilt. If you ever loved me, don't come."

And then the words that haunted Nick to this day.

"I'm filing for divorce. I'm too young to be married. I'll always care for you, Nico. I'm staying in Naples and going to make a life here. I know you're going to be a great pitcher. Good luck."

And that was it.

And Nick feeling his heart break apart like cheap glass thrown against a brick wall. When he tried to find her, she'd moved from her family's villa and virtually disappeared with Grace. By the time he was close to finding her, his second season began and he was again unable to find her. Then the divorce went through uncontested and Nick went on with his life, but never content to live without her.

Women came and went, mostly to appease his sexual needs, but never more. He'd never been married, not even close. He'd been content to be a bachelor for good.

Until he got answers from her, he couldn’t have a healthy normal relationship with anyone else.

He had to think of the surgery, think of returning to California completely healthy and ready to pitch next season. He couldn’t let his team down, and he couldn’t return if he wasn’t 110 percent.

It was time for Jenna to give him the answers he wanted. And seeing her last week, he knew he wanted her back.
 
Her mouth still tasted like heaven, the warmth of her body still had the power to reduce his bones to ash. All other women paled in comparison to Jenna.
 
In the back of his mind, and in his heart, all he saw was Jenna. His girl.
 
His wife.

As he turned the steering wheel to park in the café parking lot, he knew he'd come here to her café to rebuild what was lost. Yes, the day was definitely getting better now that he had a plan.

Grabbing the sling that sat on the passenger side, Nick decided to put it on over his head to support his shoulder to play the sympathy card. Maybe seeing him hurt would steer Jenna his way. Ok, it was a juvenile action, but if it worked on Jenna's sweet nature, what the hell.

He allowed a tiny smile to curve his mouth.
 
If you want something bad enough, Nick usually knew how to make it happen, and right now, lunch in a little café, owned by a gorgeous woman seemed just about right.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jenna saw the silhouette shaded against the glass door and knew it was him.

Nick, returning to the scene of the crime, as it were.
 

She sat at one of the tables, doing the books, and hoped he'd see the sign that said the café was closed on Mondays and go away.

Wishful thinking. He knocked.

"Go away," she whispered, throwing the pen across the room, and covering her face with her hands.

Knock, knock.
 
He'd seen her through the glass.
 
Too late, he wasn’t going away.

Ok, let's have this out right here and now.
 
There's no one here but me, I will tell him in no uncertain terms that there is nothing between us, and he'll go back to California and that, will be that.

She swung open the door impatiently, and was just about to tell him to go away, when she saw his grimace and his arm in a sling.

His injured shoulder; Jenna's temper noticeably cooled when she looked at his expression. He was a little pale, and looked to be in pain.

"Oh gosh, Nick, come on in, are you ok?"

Nick stepped into the café and closed the door behind him.

"Just came from the ortho; need surgery; shoulder hurts like a bitch.
 
Anyway, I'm starving."

Now he gave her that puppy dog eyed look and curvy smile that said, "Please feed me."

Jenna had to stop from laughing and actually thought his ruse was kind of sweet.
 
I'll give him a break, and then toss him out on his ass.

"Why didn’t you get a hot dog from the street vendor?"

"Come on Jen, have a heart, please?
 
I'm in considerable pain here. Maybe a crust of bread and a glass of water?"

She tried to suppress a laugh. "Gosh, you
are
pathetic. Sit down.
 
How about some baked ziti and roast leg of lamb leftover from last night?"

Nick slid his jacket off so fast and sat at the nearest table, Jenna thought he'd fall over. "Don’t go to any trouble."

"Believe me, I won't."

Leaving Nick in the dining room, she went into the kitchen and dug into the industrial sized fridge for the food she wanted.

Making a man-sized plate of ziti and lamb for Nick, she heated it up, then, grabbed some grated Romano cheese, silverware and linen napkin, and stepped back into the dining room, where Nick actually was wincing and obviously making an attempt to settle his shoulder more comfortably in his sling.

Jenna felt bad for teasing him, and knew the food would perk him up.
 
In the meantime, they had to talk about why he shouldn’t come back.

If she allowed him back in her life, disaster would soon follow.

***

Making himself comfortable, Nick allowed himself to look around, really look and see what Jen had created.

The café was warm, homey and smelled like his mom's kitchen.

Even though the eatery was closed, he could still pick up the aromas of garlic, tomatoes and bread. His mouth began to water.

She looked gorgeous today. He caught a nice view of leg when she let him in. Wearing a lavender dress, and tall impossibly high heels, Nick wanted to devour her on the spot.

Her hair was worn loose and wavy, swinging over her shoulder in mass waves. She wore no jewelry except a small gold crucifix around her neck, and a dainty gold watch. Her beautifully manicured fingernails aroused him.
 
He wanted her hands on him, touching him, making him hot and hard.

Slow down, he forced himself, as he heard pots and pans sounds coming from the kitchen.

Well, he was at least in the door. Now to talk to her, without anyone interfering.

Looking toward a far wall, it was obvious repairs were in progress. The floor boards were cordoned off near her office, looking like some damage took place there.

"We had a little flood the other night when that thunderstorm passed over."

She was balancing three trays in her arms and hands, easily and gracefully, as if she'd been doing so all her life.

"The carpenters are coming back in the morning to finish the job. They left a mess, so I kind of blocked off a few tables so they could finish painting the wall."

"It's gorgeous, Jen. You’ve done a wonderful job. I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too, Nico." She placed the huge platters before him.

"As I remember, you could eat your way through Brooklyn," she joked, placing a platter of lamb in the center of the table. A large bowl of ziti was placed in front of him, and another rather meaty platter of antipasto followed. She also added sliced garlic bread. The feast virtually covered the entire area of the round table, making Nick laugh.

"Ok, I said I was hungry, but did you invite all of Carroll Gardens for lunch?"

Jenna sat across from him and managed a smile. "I'm kind of hungry too. Dig in, I hope you enjoy it."

"Looks and smells incredible, Red. Gosh I've missed this."

He grabbed a flat plate and began to fill it with bits of cheeses, olives and Italian ham, then handed it to a grateful Jenna.

They ate in silence, taking sips of wine, sampling the sumptuous faire, and listening to the background music on the stereo.

Nick snuck looks at her while she ate. Although maintaining a perfect figure all these years, Jenna could sure pile it in. She pulled apart a swatch of hot Italian bread, enjoyed forkfuls of cheese and baked ziti and cut herself a generous bite of lamb and roasted potatoes.  Nick savored each morsel, taking his time, while stealing glances at the lovely woman across from him. Jen had always had a knack with food and her tomato sauce had been as good, if not better, than his mother's recipe. He could get used to this.

Nick kept refilling their glasses until they were both relaxed, their stomachs full. They sat back, and sighed.

"What, no dessert?" he teased.

"After that meal? You're lucky you got what I gave you."

He had a feeling she wanted to get down to business.

"Nico…"

Ok, here it comes. The 'why did you come back' speech.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. Her hair shone from the sunlight coming through a window.
 
Her hands, clasped on the table, all business like. And her eyes, oh god, those beautiful expressive amber eyes, eyes that held his heart for many years.