Power Play (Play Makers Book 4) (54 page)

A little boy in bathing trunks, a Chargers
tee, and bare feet came running up to them with two beach towels
and a lopsided grin. “You’re late!” he scolded them. “You’re
supposed to sit on these. ’Cause there aren’t any chairs.”

“Thanks for the warning, cutie,” Darcie told
him. “You look like a Spurling.”

“We
all
do,” he told her cheerfully,
then he spun and ran back toward the beach.

Wyatt laughed. “Talk about informal.”

Darcie unfurled her towel and admired the
bright blue logo:
Sophie and Jake
.

She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry at
this wedding, mostly because the bride and groom wanted it to be
lighthearted. They also wanted it to be the opposite of the recent
wedding of Johnny and Erica, which—according to reliable
reports—had had so many wedding crashers, chaos had ensued.

Wyatt led her to an empty spot at the edge
of the chattering crowd and spread out his towel. “Can you see from
here?”

Darcie nodded, wiping her eyes to get a
better look at a temporary wooden boardwalk that had been
constructed between a brightly colored tent and a platform near the
edge of the water. Jake Dublin, grinning from ear to ear, stood on
the platform with his best man and two groomsmen, all wearing sharp
black tuxedos with the pants modified into shorts.

Darcie didn’t approve of the outfits, but
the guys in them? All hunks, especially because two of them were
Johnny Spurling and a guy who looked so much like him he just had
to be his brother Jason.

“That’s Johnny’s brother. He plays for the
San Diego Chargers,” Darcie whispered to Wyatt. “And he has four
sons. So that must have been
his
little boy we saw
earlier.”

“He’s a good player,” Wyatt said, nodding.
“Could be great if he took it more seriously.”

“Really?”

“Is he with PMA?”

“No. I get the feeling his wife controls his
career. Like
you
wanted to do with yours, so take a
lesson.”

Wyatt chuckled. “Yes, dear.”

To the canned sounds of a wedding march, the
bridesmaids stepped out of the tent and onto the boardwalk. They
looked sexy and carefree in knee-length sundresses made from a
colorful blue and green Hawaiian-styled print. The first woman was
Erica, her smile mischievous, her long hair twisted into a braid
down her back. Darcie assumed the next one was Jason’s wife Beth,
mostly from her matriarchal bearing. Slightly older, sexy as hell,
with hair as dark as Erica’s and killer legs, she looked out over
the crowd as though reminding them to behave. She was followed by a
redhead with a cheery smile who seemed about Sophie’s age and who
was probably the maid of honor.

All three were barefoot.

“Oh, Sophie, what are you doing?” Darcie
groaned under her breath. “This is your day. You’re supposed to be
dressed like a princess, not a beach bunny.”

Then Sophie stepped out of the tent and
everyone sighed in dazzled relief. Her dress was white gossamer and
lace, every inch a bridal gown from the waltz-length hem to the
sexy, off-the-shoulder neckline that plunged into perfect cleavage.
Her blonde hair framed her face with ringlets and was graced by a
light, frothy veil, and to Darcie’s delight, she wore the prettiest
satin shoes ever crafted.

Above all, her smile was spectacular as she
gazed toward the end of the walkway where Jake stood, his mouth
literally gaping at the sight of her. On her arm was her proud but
slightly weepy uncle, Aaron Spurling, in full tuxedo.

No short pants for
this
guy.

As for Sophie’s cousins? Johnny and Jason
looked ready to burst with pride as they watched her approach.

“Hey, Aunt Sophie,” a child’s voice rang
out. “Don’t trip!”

It was the little boy who had given Darcie
and Wyatt their towels, and Darcie wanted to wring his neck. But
Sophie took care of it without missing a step by simply launching
her bouquet at the child, hitting him squarely on top of the
head.

Everyone roared with approval, including
Wyatt, who said enthusiastically, “Definitely a Spurling. What an
arm.”

“You people are sick,” Darcie scolded him.
“But it’s still the prettiest wedding
ever.”

• • •

As soon as the ceremony ended and the
wedding party dashed back to the tent, Darcie scanned the crowd for
Sean and Kerrie. According to Rachel’s latest text, Kerrie had
actually followed through on her promise to file for divorce and to
make her debut as Sean’s girlfriend for this event. To Darcie, it
seemed like the perfect solution, because even though the scene was
indeed crawling with Spurlings, it was also filled with
romance.

She didn’t spot Sean but was pleased to see
Rachel and Bam working their way to them. Bam wore bathing trunks
and a Lancers muscle shirt, while Rachel looked gorgeous in white
shorts and an oversized Lancers jersey. Just as the couple almost
reached them, a shriek filled the air and they all spun toward the
tent to see Sophie flying across the beach in her bare feet,
holding up the hem of her gown with one hand and securing her veil
with the other as she raced toward Darcie and Wyatt, shouting,
“Wait! Wait for me!”

“What the hell?” Wyatt asked, chuckling.

“Oh, Lord,” Darcie muttered. “She’s
certifiable.”

The pink-cheeked bride practically skidded
to a stop next to Wyatt and said, “Hi, Wyatt. I’m Sophie.”

Wyatt chuckled again. “Nice to meet you.
Dub’s a lucky guy.”

“What a sweet thing to say.” She waited
another moment until Rachel and Bam joined them, then she told
Darcie, “Go ahead.”

Darcie bit back a giggle and said in her
most solemn tone, “Wyatt Bourne? Meet Rachel Gillette. Rachel, this
is Wyatt Bourne, aka the Surgeon.”

“Nice to meet you, Rachel,” Wyatt said,
clearly mystified but also clearly impressed. And why not? Rachel
really was stunning, just as he had said so many weeks ago. Still,
he was respectful as he held her hand in his own.

Darcie expected Rachel to be furious at
Sophie, but instead the graceful blonde seemed awestruck, which
made the whole scene even more hilarious.

“Nice to meet you, Wyatt,” she said
shyly.

“Oh, God, this is priceless,” Sophie raved.
“Where is that stupid photographer when I need him?”

“Grrr,” Rachel warned her.

Erica and Johnny, who had changed into
shorts and Cal tees, now joined them, with Erica saying
mischievously, “Do I get to meet the Surgeon too? Or is he just for
Rachel?”

Darcie burst into laughter, and it was
Johnny who said, in the same mystified tone Wyatt had used, “Wyatt?
This is the girl I told you about.”

“Hey, Erica,” Wyatt said, shaking her hand
the way he had done with Rachel. “It’s a pleasure. Your husband
can’t stop bragging about you.”

“What’s going on?” Bam demanded. “Teach?
What gives?”

Darcie choked down her laughter and
insisted, “It’s just a silly bet we made at lunch. About who would
meet Wyatt first.”

Rachel shot her a grateful look. “Exactly.
Who knew Sophie would be such a
nut
about it?”

“Nice save,” Sophie told them with a
grin.

Bam stepped closer to Wyatt. “Sorry about
your uncle, dude. The teach and I wanted to be there but my folks
had first dibs.”

“We appreciated the flowers and the card,”
Wyatt told him. “It meant a lot, Vince.”

“Call me Bam,” the halfback insisted. Then
his mood brightened. “So? Did anyone show you the money shot?”

“No, and I definitely want to see it,” Wyatt
said with a laugh.

To Darcie’s mortification, Johnny and Bam
both pulled out their cell phones and exhibited the picture.

Wyatt chuckled as he studied Bam’s screen,
then he said, “Not bad. Can I get a copy?”

“I’m sending it now.” Bam grinned. “Decker
took it. He’s an expert with other guys’ women.”

“Good to know.”

Shaking her head, Darcie took Rachel’s elbow
and pulled her a few feet away. “Any news about Sean and
Kerrie?”

“She said she’s coming.” Rachel’s cheeks
reddened. “Thanks for the rescue by the way. Remind me to strangle
Sophie later.”

“It didn’t help when you drooled on Wyatt,”
Darcie teased her.

“Et tu? Oh!” Her gaze shifted toward the
distance. “There he is.”

“You mean Sean?” Darcie turned and winced.
“He’s not wearing shorts.”

“And no sign of Kerrie either,” Rachel
whispered. “Honestly, I’m going to strangle
everyone
by the
end of this day.”

“I’ll see what’s going on. You just enjoy
yourself with my boyfriend.”

“I’ll try not to take my top off in front of
him,” Rachel quipped.

“Et
tu?”
Darcie joked, then she
hugged her, said, “I’ll be back in a sec with some intel,” and
threaded through the partygoers until she reached Sean, who was
chatting with Aaron Spurling.

“Hey,” the coach said, hugging her. “How’s
my favorite agent?”

“You look so handsome in a tux,” she told
him.

“I swore I wouldn’t cry. But
damn,
I
love my Sophie.”

“We all cried,” Darcie assured him.

He looked reluctantly toward the crowd.
“I’ve gotta shake some hands. Deck? Take care of my
firecracker.”

“No problem,” Sean murmured.

Noting that his green eyes lacked their
usual luster, Darcie almost dreaded being alone with him.
Apparently something had gone horribly wrong. The last time she
talked to him—during the drive home from the funeral—he had decided
that if Kerrie didn’t file for divorce by the wedding, he would
break things off for good.

Now he looked so unhappy. Plus, he was
wearing khakis and a dress shirt instead of shorts and a Lancers
jersey.

Not a good sign.

“You’re out of uniform,” she teased him
gently.

“Huh? Oh, right. I’m not staying. I just
wanted to congratulate Dub and Sophie. Then I’m outta here.”

“No, Sean.
Stay
. We’ll help you
through this. And maybe it’s not the end. Maybe she’ll file on
Monday morning—”

“She filed yesterday.”

“
What?
Oh, that’s great news.”

“You’d think so, right? I picked her up and
we drove down here and got a hotel room. It was nice,” he said
wistfully. “Even though it’s what we
always
do, right?
Hiding out in a hotel having sex?”

Darcie sighed. “She got cold feet about the
wedding? I guess that makes sense. You can’t throw a beach ball
without hitting a Spurling.”

He shrugged. “I’d better find Dub and
Sophie, then take off.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Darcie
corrected him.

“Huh?”

She gave him her sternest rookie-agent
smile. “I understand why Kerrie couldn’t be here, but these are
your friends. You
have
to stay. At least through the
toasts.”

“She didn’t want me to come at all,” he
protested. “If I’m not back soon, she’ll really be upset.”

“I agree, she’ll be upset. But honestly,
Sean, she can’t ask you to choose between her and your friends.
Compromise, yes. So you’ll stay through the toasts. No
arguments.”

He gave a shaky grin. “I like this side of
you. It’s hot.”

She wished she dared go further. Join the
Johnny-Bam contingent and tell him to get out
now
. But what
if he and Kerrie were really perfect for each other? Maybe they
just needed more time. Who was Darcie to judge after her rocky road
with Wyatt?

And at least Sean was staying for a while.
That would send a message. Not just to Kerrie, but to his friends
as well. He wasn’t deserting anyone. Or at least not yet.

She was about to drag him over to the group
when Johnny’s brother strode up to them, his face alive with
mischief. “Hey, Deck, introduce me. Pronto.”

Sean chuckled. “Jayce Spurling, meet Wyatt
Bourne’s woman.”

“Damn, everyone told me what a babe you
were,” Jayce told her. “Even my old man. If the Surgeon doesn’t
marry you, Pop will. Which means you’ll get honorary Medicare,
right?”

Darcie laughed. “It’s nice to meet you,
Jayce. And I believe I met your son too. Adorable face? Full of
mischief?”

“You just described all four of ’em,” Jayce
agreed, gesturing toward the water’s edge, where four kids in
Chargers T-shirts frolicked. “Do you want one? We’re having a
sale.”

She laughed, then winced when his wife
approached with an annoyed—or possibly even jealous—expression.

“Hey, Bethie,” Jayce said cheerfully. “This
is the hot-shot we’ve been hearing about. Darcie Kildare? Meet my
better half, Beth Spurling.”

Darcie smiled. “Hi, Beth. Your sons are
adorable.”

“Thanks.” Beth literally looked her up and
down, then said bluntly to Sean, “And you let
this
one get
away too? Honestly, there’s no helping you.”

Darcie wanted to laugh, but wasn’t sure Beth
was joking, especially since Sean seemed vaguely terrified. So all
she said was, “It was a beautiful ceremony, don’t you think?”

“Don’t get me started,” Beth warned with a
hint of a smile. “There aren’t many people I’d go barefoot in
public for, but Sophie?
Definitely
my favorite Spurling, and
that’s counting my own children.” Her penetrating gaze shifted
toward the surf. “Good grief, Jayce. Look what they’re doing.”

Darcie turned, convinced Beth must be
overreacting. Then she gasped to see the boys playing tug-of-war
with a seal carcass.

Jayce chuckled and said, “Yeah, I’d better
break that up. And
you’d
better check on the cake. Didn’t
you say the roses were melting?”

“Oh, Lord, you’re right!” Beth started to
run off, then turned back and told Darcie in a surprisingly warm
voice, “My father-in-law loves you. Johnny and Erica
adore
you. So does Rachel. So let’s have lunch soon, please?”