Triple Score (22 page)

“I’ll say it in plain English for you.” Cooper took another swig of swill. “Get your ass on a plane to New York and grovel.”

“Amen, brother.” Reid clinked his glass against Coop’s beer bottle.

Jace glowered at Cooper then Reid then back at Cooper again. “Let me get this straight. I’m supposed to take relationship advice from two guys whose motto is Three Dates and Done?”

Cooper nonchalantly lifted a shoulder. “Just because I haven’t met the right woman yet doesn’t mean I don’t know how to woo her when I do.”

“Woo?” Reid snorted, almost spewing perfectly aged Jim Beam at the second baseman.

“You’re not helping,” Coop snarled.

“Neither of you are helping.” Jace stared glumly at the bottom of his empty glass and signaled the bartender for a refill.

“Then you’re not listening.” Cooper knocked back the rest of his beer and raised the bottle, letting the barkeep know that he was ready for another round, too. “I told you what to do. Grovel. In person.”

“Yeah.” Reid nodded. “You’re in way too deep for a phone call. And she can’t hang up on you if you appear on her doorstep.”

“And when she’s forgiven you...” Coop started.

“Which she will...” Reid interjected.

“You can tell her about your new job,” Cooper finished.

“And pray she doesn’t slam the door in your pretty face when she finds out you’ve sunk to coaching pimply faced teens,” Reid added, slapping Jace on the back for extra emphasis.

“I haven’t accepted it yet,” Jace clarified. Not because he had a problem coaching high schoolers. To the contrary, working with Dylan had shown him that was exactly what he wanted to do. Guide kids who played for the love of the game. Help get the occasional talent who might just be good enough for college or professional ball. Only, he wasn’t sure which coast he’d be on. And that depended a lot on Noelle.

Okay, it depended entirely on her.

Jace was pretty sure he could get a decent coaching gig wherever he wanted. And what he wanted was to be near Noelle. He’d even spoken to his dad’s parole officer about getting permission for him to move out of state.

Of course, that was before Noelle kicked him to the curb.

“What exactly should this groveling entail?” He ran a finger along the smooth, polished mahogany bar top. “Flowers? Chocolate? Expensive jewelry?”

“Trite, unoriginal and completely meaningless.” Cooper accepted another beer from the bartender, who set a fresh glass down in front of Jace and took away the empty one.

“You need a grand gesture,” Reid said, still nursing his first bourbon. Lightweight. “Like in the movies.”

Jace picked up glass number two but didn’t drink. “Flying cross-country on the chance that she’ll see me isn’t grand enough?”

“Not even close.” Cooper shook his head. “Think Steve Carell’s graduation speech in
Crazy, Stupid Love
. Or John Cusack holding the boom box over his head outside Ione Skye’s window in
Say Anything
.”

It was a good thing Jace hadn’t taken a drink yet, because if he had it would have wound up all over Cooper’s T-shirt declaring the Storm that year’s division champion. “What the hell movies have you been watching in the clubhouse? Has the entire team gone to shit without me?”

“As if.” Coop pointed at his shirt. “We did just win the division, or have you forgotten?”

“The chick flicks were Hafler’s idea,” Reid said. “He read some article about how the Green Bay Packers watch rom-coms together and wound up landing roles in
Pitch Perfect 2
.”

“They’re not half bad, actually,” Cooper admitted. “The movies, I mean. Not the football players.”

“I don’t know,” Reid disagreed. “I thought the Packers held their own in the a cappella battle scene.”

“Hello?” Jace tapped his glass on the bar. “Can we focus? Desperate man here.”

“Let me ask you something.” Cooper stared at Jace over the rim of his beer bottle. “What’s the one thing all grand gestures have in common?”

“Public humiliation?” Jace suggested.

“No.” Cooper grinned like the deliberately evasive idiot he was being. “Although that doesn’t hurt.”

“What’s important is that it shows her how much she means to you.” Reid swirled the remnants of his bourbon around in his glass before finally polishing it off. “You know your lady better than we do. What would let Noelle know how you feel about her?”

Good question. Jace thought about what had gone wrong between them. It wasn’t the distance that had been their downfall. It was his stubborn insistence on protecting Noelle from the seedy side of his life, his refusal to let her in on the bad as well as the good. He had to prove to her that he was willing and able to change that.

An idea percolated in his mind. “Hey, Coop, do you still have the number of that ESPN reporter you dated for a hot second?”

“I think so. Not that she’d want to hear from me. It didn’t end well.”

“None of your relationships do.” Jace pulled his phone out of his pocket and slid it down the bar to Cooper. “But you’re not going to call her. I am.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Reid asked. “I thought you were trying win back your woman, not find a new one.”

“Plus, dating a reporter is a monumentally bad idea.” Cooper grimaced and slugged his beer. “Trust me.”

“I’m not going to date her.” Jace finished Macallan number two and signaled the bartender for the bill. “I’m going to give her the scoop of her lifetime.”

18

“
Y
OU
WANT
ME
to what?” Noelle mumbled through a mouth of Junior’s Raspberry Swirl cheesecake. It was true what they said about breakups leading to emotional eating. She was going to have to do some serious cardio to burn this latest indulgence off.

“Turn. On. SportsCenter.” Holly overenunciated each word, like she was talking to her two-year-old.

“Why?” The only person Noelle knew who’d be on a show like that was...

“Jace is on.”

“I repeat.” Noelle lifted another forkful of cheesecake to her mouth. “Why? It’s over. I’m not a masochist.”

“You need to hear this. For once, listen to your older, wiser sister and turn on the goddamn television.”

“Strong words.” Noelle put down the fork and reached for the remote control. Her sister clearly meant businesses. Holly almost never swore.

“Have you got it on yet?” Holly asked. Noelle could almost hear her tapping her foot impatiently.

“I’m trying, I’m trying.” She flicked through the channels, finally landing on Jace’s too-handsome face. Her heart lurched as she took in his familiar features. The piercing, brandy-brown eyes. The high cheekbones, surely the envy of many a supermodel. The strong jaw, dotted with stubble.

Why did he have to look so darned good when she felt like shit?

“So what’s next for Jace Monroe now that you’ve decided to retire?” asked the fresh-faced female reporter sitting across from him. “The broadcast booth? Behind the bench?”

Retire?

“I’ll be behind the bench, Sloane.” Jace smiled at the camera. “But not the bench you think.”

“Does that mean you won’t be coaching for the Storm?” The reporter’s eyes widened and she nervously smoothed back her long, dark hair. “Not even in their farm system?”

“I won’t be coaching in anyone’s farm system. I’m the new head coach for the Clover Hill Yellowjackets.”

The reporter frowned. “I’m not familiar with that team. Are they in one of the semi-pro leagues?”

“They’re in high school.” Did Jace just wink at the woman? Noelle fought back an irrational surge of jealousy. “In Brooklyn.”

As quickly as it had bubbled up, the jealousy evaporated, replaced by disbelief.

New York?
Jace had left the majors to coach a bunch of high schoolers in her backyard? Why?

“Why?” the reporter asked, echoing Noelle’s thoughts. “Why abandon your life in California to coach high school ball on the east coast?”

Jace’s smile widened and his eyes got that I’ve-got-a-secret glint that she knew by now meant he was up to something. “I’m glad you asked that, Sloane. There’s two reasons. Two people, really, who I met when I was rehabbing my arm. The first is...”

“Did you find the right channel?” Holly’s voice shrilled from the cell phone still in Noelle’s hand, drowning out the television. “Are you listening to this?”

Noelle brought the phone back up to her ear. She’d forgotten she was still holding it.

“I’m trying,” Noelle gritted out through clenched teeth. “But it would be easier if you weren’t screaming.”

“He’s moving to New York. That must mean he’s...”

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Noelle swore softly.

“What’s wrong?” Holly asked.

“Someone’s at the damn door.” Whoever it was, one of her neighbors had probably buzzed them in. She’d have to remember to speak to the super about building security.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“You have DVR. Pause the broadcast and get rid of them.”

Duh.

Noelle jabbed at the remote until the picture froze then stood and started for the door. “I’m hanging up. I’ll call you later.”

“Better yet, call Jace. Then call me. I want all the dirty details.”

“Fine.” Noelle reached for the knob and pulled the door open. “I’ll call him as soon as I...”

Her voice trailed off as she drank in the familiar form standing before her, his broad shoulders filling the doorway.

“Noelle?” Holly screeched through the phone. “Are you there?”

Jace plucked the phone from Noelle’s hand. “She’ll call you back later. Much later.”

He ended the call and held the phone out to her. She took it, heart pounding, a frisson of lust shooting through her when his fingers brushed hers.

Down, girl. At least find out what he’s doing here before you climb him like a flagpole.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, speaking her thoughts out loud.

“How about I come in and tell you all about it?” He leaned sexily against the door frame. His strong, masculine scent—soap and spearmint mixed with a hint of sandalwood from his cologne—wafted over her. The man was lethal.

She stepped back almost without thinking thanks to the stupor his sudden appearance had put her in. He sauntered past her with the confidence of a man who knew—and wasn’t above exploiting—the effect he had on her.

“I don’t understand,” she said when he was far enough away from her that she could form a semi-rational thought. She closed the door and slumped against it, afraid to move closer to him lest her power of speech desert her. “You’re...there.”

His eyes followed her pointed finger to the television.

“Oh, that.” With a shrug, he lowered himself to the couch, stretching out his long legs.
Make yourself right at home, thank you very much.
“We filmed that yesterday. I drove down from Connecticut this morning.”

“Connecticut?”

“That’s where the studio is. Plus, I had some people to see up there.”

“People?” Who did he know in Connecticut? That was her stomping ground, not his. “What people?”

Instead of answering he crooked a finger, beckoning her to him. “I don’t want to talk to you across the room. Come sit with me. I won’t bite.” His eyes sparked with mischief. “Unless you ask really nicely.”

Her feet obeyed him but her brain stepped in at the last minute and made sure she sat on the opposite end of the couch, as far from him as possible. “Now will you tell me what people you saw? And what you’re doing here?”

“One question at a time.” He eyed the distance between them, an amused smile playing about the corners of his achingly kissable lips. “First, I met with your sisters.”

“My sisters?” she squeaked. She should have known they were involved.

“They’re quite the pair. Had to convince them I was on the up-and-up before they’d agree to help me with my plan.”

“Your plan?”

“I had to make sure you’d watch the interview.” He frowned at the still frozen picture on the TV screen, which showed him leaning forward intently, his attention focused on whatever he was saying to the reporter. “My timing sucks. It was supposed to air after the Sox game. Guess it went into extra innings.”

“You’re here now.” Her voice was breathy, her palms damp. She traded her cell phone for the remote on the coffee table and hit the power button so Jace’s image disappeared from view. “Why not say what you have to in person? Start with why you’re retiring and giving up your dream.”

“I’m not.”

“But you told that reporter you were through playing ball.”

“I am through playing ball. But I’m not giving up my dream.”

“Again, I don’t understand.” She wound a lock of hair around her index finger, a habit when she got nervous. And boy, was she nervous now. What was he trying to tell her? “Are you saying your dream is coaching high school students?”

“I’m saying my dream is you, Duchess.” He slid toward her, disentangling her finger from her hair and taking her hand in his. “Getting to work with kids is just the icing on the cake.”

She shivered at the contact. Their first real touch in weeks.

“And I’m the cake?” God, why did she sound so out of breath? It was like she’d just danced Odette and Odile in
Swan Lake
.

“You’re all the cake I’ll ever need.” He flipped her hand over and traced circles in her palm. “Look, I was a jerk, and I’m sorry. I should have told you I was cut from the team. I was just... I don’t know. Trying to protect you.”

She sat up straighter and looked him in his beautiful brown eyes. “Do I look like I need protecting?”

“Hell, no.”

“Then do me a favor. The next time you have the urge to protect me, don’t.”

“Deal.” He slipped his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his hot, hard body. “I’m sorry I doubted you. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Inside and out. But that doesn’t stop a man from wanting to safeguard the woman he loves.”

Her heart, which had been pounding before, seemed to stop in her chest. “The woman he loves?”

Jace rested his forehead on hers. “Did I just say that?”