Overtime For Love

Cory let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. ’Bye, Mr. Reynolds.” He waved, then shuffled away, mumbling something under his breath.

Angela glared at her nephew’s back. When he was out of earshot, she turned her sharp gaze Isaiah’s way. She stepped to the side of the door of the gym and he followed so they wouldn’t be so out in the open.

“Did you really just accuse me of bringing Cory here because of you?”

The disbelief in her tone sounded sincere. But he’d been in the league for seven years and he’d heard all kinds of “sincerity” from exuberant fans before.

“It’s a fair question.”

“It’s an insulting question.” Anger sparked in her brown eyes. “And a very egotistical one.”

“Egotistical?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why in the world would I stalk you? Much less, use my nephew to do that?”

“I once had a man break his son’s arm so I would come visit him in the hospital. I’ve had people do crazy things to try and get close to me.”

That doused the flames in her eyes. “Seriously? Someone would do something like that to his own son?”

He wished it wasn’t true. For every hundred normal fans there was always one crazy one that took things too far. “Fans can be crazy.”

The tightness of her crossed arms loosened and the tension in her stance relaxed. “Look, the organization I work for has five slots for this camp every year. One of the kids we chose had to back out at the last minute. My boss offered the space to Cory.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Sweethearts?” he asked skeptically.

She shook her head and the corners of her lips rose slightly. “That’s my part-time job. I work full-time in an office that manages court-appointed advocates for kids.”

That explained her business attire today, and Keri had told him they’d had one substitution from the advocacy center. Still. “Will you always be picking up Cory, or will his parents...?”

The tension returned to her face and stance. “Just me. It’s a long story,” she said in a voice that told him she had no desire to get into it. “I promise this isn’t some crazy fangirl thing. I know you hear that a lot, but it’s true. I didn’t even know you’d be hosting until registration. When I found out, I promised myself I’d stay away from you.”

“Why?”

She shifted her stance and slid the strap of her black purse farther up her shoulder. “Because there aren’t many people who know where I serve drinks. I don’t need that getting back to my boss.”

He believed her. Which was crazy. He didn’t really know her, but despite the vibe he’d felt when he’d first met her, she hadn’t struck him as the type to seek him out. She’d been cool, easy to talk to and only a little flirty, but she’d also seemed like her life would go on after he walked out the door. It was one of the reasons he’d thought of her so much.

“Are you ashamed of where you work?”

Her shoulders straightened. “Absolutely not. Are you saying I should be?”

He held up his hands in defense. “No.”

She relaxed and tilted her head, thick strands of her hair sliding over her shoulder. “I’m surprised you thought I signed him up to see you again. I didn’t think you’d remember me.”

“I couldn’t forget you.”

Her luscious lips parted and she sucked in a breath. Isaiah’s face heated. Way to go, Isaiah.

“I mean, you were wearing angel wings.”

She lowered her lashes and chuckled. “Yeah, they do get people’s attention.” She peeked at him from beneath long lashes. He felt trapped by the warm depths of her eyes. Damn, she was fine.

Angela blinked, breaking eye contact. “I’ve really got to go.” She pointed toward the door. “I promise I won’t stalk you or anything. You won’t even see me.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you.”

Her eyes widened. Her smile brightened just a little before regret flashed and she shook her head. “Cory’s in the program. I don’t want him to get kicked out if I...”

She thought he was flirting. Was he flirting? Hell yes, he was flirting.

He couldn’t flirt with her. Bridget was coming soon. He wasn’t this guy. The one who had one woman and started up with another.

You and Bridget aren’t officially back together.

That didn’t matter. He’d asked her to move to Jacksonville and it wasn’t just so they could hang out occasionally and be friends. He wanted a wife and kids. He wanted it with someone he knew and was comfortable with. He owed it to Bridget to see if they could make things work. Not sabotage things with a bartender who had the face and body of an angel. A seductive angel...if seductive angels existed.

“No, I mean it’s no big deal if we see each other.” He managed a nonchalant shrug. “I believe you’re not a stalker.”

A second of confusion before her bubbly smile lit up her face and his afternoon. “Oh, good... I mean...great because I didn’t want things to be weird.” She waved her hand as if his words hadn’t been the invitation they both knew they’d been. “Umm...well, thank you, I guess.” She glanced at her watch. “You know, I’m late. Take care, okay?” She spun on her heel and sped up on her way to the door.

Isaiah watched her go. Nip the flirting in the bud. That was the right thing to do. He couldn’t get tangled up with her. Even if the vision of his arms and legs tangled with Angela’s made his body get hotter than the heat wave they were currently in. No entanglements when he’d asked Bridget to move here with the intention of them getting back together. He turned and walked to the offices in the back to tell Keri he was leaving, but glanced over his shoulder at Angela’s departing figure one more time.

Damn. Why did she have to be so fine?

Chapter 4 (#u0ed1f828-c386-5ae5-9246-cc65ac397f7a)

Angela half stumbled, half walked out of her bedroom while trying to slip her foot into one of the heels she wore at the bar. Neither Cory nor her neighbor, Nate, appeared to notice as she entered the living room. They were deep in conversation about Cory’s first week of basketball camp and the greatness that was Isaiah Reynolds. For what seemed like the millionth time.

“Okay, enough about the Jacksonville Gators,” Angela said. She pulled dangling silver earrings out of her pocket, flipped her hair over her shoulder and put one in her left ear.

Nate looked at her as if she was crazy. The muscle in his jaw worked as he chewed gum. “Why? I want to hear what’s going on.”

“For what? You aren’t going to get any trade secrets about the team from what Cory sees at a summer camp.” Angela put in the right earring.

“You don’t know that.”

Angela rolled her eyes. Nate may have been the twenty-seven-year-old owner of an office building in downtown Jacksonville that he’d had the brilliant idea of converting into a shared office space he leased to entrepreneurs who couldn’t afford their own office areas, but when it came to the Gators, he was a kid. His toffee-colored eyes sparked with excitement and he’d actually put away the cell phone that seemed to be glued to his hand most of the time to talk with Cory about the Gators. Nate was a good friend, and an even better neighbor. Angela was eternally grateful he’d agreed to watch Cory some nights when she worked at the club.

“I do hear what’s happening, Aunt Angela,” Cory chimed in a tone that indicated he was “in the know” of all things Gators. “Isaiah says I have real talent. He told me that if I keep practicing, I have the potential to go far. He also said that the team is excited about their new recruits and hope to make it back to the playoffs this year. Did you know we’ll get to visit the coliseum and tour the locker room?”

Nate sat forward in the chair. “Are you serious? If you need a chaperone for that, I can go with you.”

Her heart fluttered every time she thought about the brief encounter with Isaiah at the center on Monday. Had he flirted with her, or had she misunderstood? All she could think about was how much she’d liked his touch. The seductive way he’d called her Angel. She was losing her mind! Which meant all talk of Isaiah needed to stop. It didn’t help that he stopped to chat when she picked up Cory, or that sometimes their conversation still felt a little flirty.

She spun and went into the kitchen. She snatched a bag of marshmallows off the counter, stomped back into the living area and tossed the bag at Cory. “Here, eat those. Maybe that’ll keep you from talking about the Gators for a second.”

Cory’s dark eyes brightened and he ripped into the bag. He grabbed three and shoved them into his mouth. “Thanks,” he said around the wad of marshmallows.