Jaci Burton - Holiday Games

“You have a lot going on.”

“I do. But right now I have these mozzarella cheese sticks calling my name.”

Liz laughed. “I hear you. Priorities, honey.”

Tara finally settled and relaxed, and then it was game time. Liz felt the electricity in the filled-to-capacity stadium. Both teams were doing well in the standings, so this game meant something to both the Traders and the Sabers. The Traders were in first place in their division, and the Sabers were one game behind in theirs. And as the Traders kicked off to the Sabers, Liz held her breath. Even though she had no loyalty to either team, she felt for both Mick and Cole, knew what it was like to have a game that meant so much.

Grant Cassidy, the quarterback, took the ball for the Traders and Cole lined up on the left side of the field. Liz took a glance at the row in front of her and saw Savannah leaning forward, her gaze glued to Cole. Liz knew what it was like to watch her man. When Gavin was playing, her heart was in her throat, willing him to play well. Next to her, Tara was just as intent on the game even though Mick wasn’t out on the field.

It was a post pattern, and Cole made a perfect catch from Cassidy, gaining twenty-four yards, a big first play for the Traders that had everyone on their feet cheering.

In typical Riley fashion, everyone cheered, even Tara, though she muttered “dammit” under her breath.

Liz laughed. “Going to be a tough game, isn’t it?”

“I love Cole. He’s family. He’s Savannah’s fiancé. But right now he’s my husband’s opponent. So while I want him to do well . . . I don’t want him to do well. It’s a dilemma.”

Savannah turned around in her seat. “You can go ahead and boo and curse, honey. It won’t hurt my feelings because I’ll likely do the same thing every time your husband hits a completion for the Sabers.”

Tara laughed. “You’re on.”

And so it went, and by the end of the first half Mick’s team was up by a touchdown. Everyone got up to stretch, mingle, and refill their drinks.

“That was intense,” Tara said. “But Mick’s doing well.”

“He is. Damn him,” Savannah said. “But Cole had that awesome touchdown catch.”

“He did,” Tara said with a smile. “Damn him.”

“I might have to sit between the two of you during the second half,” Jenna said. “If it’s close, you might start emptying your purses and throwing your cell phones at each other.”

Tara laughed. “I don’t think we’ll come to blows over a football game.”

“Doubtful,” Savannah said. “We just want our guys to win. But they’ve both lost before, so I think we can take it no matter what happens.”

“What? There’s not going to be a girl fight in the suite?” Gavin asked, coming over to put his arm around Liz’s shoulders.

“I’m afraid not,” Tara said.

“I’m so disappointed. And I have my camera phone ready to take pictures and video.”

Savannah rolled her eyes and shot Tara a look. “Men.”

“Agreed,” Tara said, moving away with Savannah to get a drink.

Liz poked him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Ow. What did I say?”

She laughed and put her arms around him. “Enjoying the game and family time?”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty good game, too. I honestly don’t have any idea how it’s going to turn out. The Traders have a tough defense, but Mick is strong in the pocket and the Sabers have got offensive weapons that just can’t be beat. And then there’s Grant Cassidy, who has a wicked accurate arm and lots of choices on who to throw it to. The Traders’ receiver corps is stout this season, which makes it hard for the defense to cover.”

“I think the key to this game is going to be who has the strongest defense, and which of the quarterbacks has the best arm.”

Gavin squinted at her. “Care to lay some money on the outcome?”

She laughed. “Not on your life. I have players on both teams and I’m not betting on the outcome of this game.”

“Wuss. I’m going to hit up the guys. I know they’ll get in on the action.”

“You do that.”

After halftime, Liz settled in her seat for the game. The Traders got the ball to score the second half, and Cole took a pass from Cassidy on a key third-down play and ran it in for a touchdown.

The family went crazy celebrating. With the game tied, Liz felt the tension and excitement in the suite. And when the Sabers kicked a field goal near the end of the third quarter, it was crunch time. The game was so close, the teams so evenly matched, she had no idea how the fourth quarter was going to play out.

The first eight minutes of the fourth quarter was a nail biter, totally defensive on both sides. No points were scored, and neither team could make any headway.

On a critical third down, Mick had the ball and did a rollout, looking for receivers. The Sabers defenders pushed hard. Liz cringed when the defensive back came around past the offensive lineman, making a beeline for Mick.

Tara stood. “Oh, shit,” she whispered.

Liz had heard her, though, and thought much the same thing. Mick was going to get sacked.

But Mick must have seen him, because he tucked the ball in and made a run for it, the offensive line turning to block for him. Since they hadn’t expected the run, and especially not from Mick, he had an open field and ran for fifteen yards and a first down.

Tara jumped up and threw her arms in the air and roared out a warrior-worthy yell. The guys all clapped and Mick’s dad, who sat next to Gavin, grinned broadly as he slapped Gavin on the back.

“Did ya see that?”

Gavin grinned back. “I did, Dad. Pretty damned good for an old guy like Mick.”

“Old guy my butt. That kid still has a lot of years of football left in him.”

“I agree with your dad,” Liz said. “He might be a little over thirty, but Mick is still a champion.”

And he proved it by throwing three completions on the next three plays, one to Kip Meecham, their hotshot young rookie tight end for a touchdown, which put the Sabers ahead with three minutes left to go.

But the Traders weren’t the kind of team to give up. Cassidy took the ball after the kickoff and they drove down the field to the thirty-five yard line. There were twenty-five seconds to go and the Traders had one time-out left. The tension was so thick in the stadium it seemed as if no one was even breathing.

And when Cassidy handed it off to the running back, who ran for twelve yards, they called a time-out and brought in the kicker to try for a field goal.

“I can’t even breathe,” Savannah said, clutching Liz’s hand tight.

The field goal was good. The game was tied.

They were going to overtime.

“This is intense,” Tara said, heading to the bar. “I need a damn drink.”

“I’m going with you,” Savannah said.

They all took a few minutes to relax. Liz leaned back in her chair and took it all in, watching the family mingle and talk.

“Having fun?” Gavin asked as he hopped into the seat next to her.

“I’m having a great time, but I’m also a wreck. What a game.”

“I know. We couldn’t ask for a better game for Mick and Cole to play against each other.” He took a sip of water and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Your guys are doing well on both sides, too.”

She grinned, knowing he was talking about the players she represented. “They are, aren’t they? Overall, a perfect day. But someone’s going to have to win.”

“Definitely.”

Overtime was a whole different animal and that fifteen minutes seemed like the longest fifteen minutes of the entire family’s life. Liz couldn’t sit anymore. Most of the family was standing and pacing back and forth as the Traders won the toss and marched down the field. Cole took a slant pass and ran for eighteen yards, then another for twelve, setting up a field goal, putting the Traders ahead.

When the Sabers got the ball, Mick threw a long pass that just tipped off the hands of the receiver. The groans in the suite were loud. He missed another pass, then got sacked. It was looking like the Traders were going to win.

But on third down he threw a bullet to the wide receiver who swerved and missed the tackle and rocketed down the sidelines to the end zone.

Liz cheered for Mick and for the Sabers. It was a great comeback on what she had feared was going to be a bitter defeat. She felt awful for Savannah, though, and went over to her and hugged her.

“Such a tough loss.”

Savannah nodded. “It was. But it was a great game and two amazing teams. I know Cole is going to be upset.”

“He shouldn’t be. I know he will be, but he played an amazing game.”

Liz gave victory hugs to Kathleen and Jimmy, and commiseration ones to Jack and Cara. They were all going to meet up at Riley’s Bar, so she and Gavin headed over there. She felt both pumped up and sad about the game. It was hard when you had family on both sides, but there was nothing you could do. Short of a tie, someone had to lose.

“How do you handle it?” she asked Gavin on the ride over.

“Handle what?”

“Losing.”

He shrugged. “It’s part of the game. You deal. It blows, especially in a close game like today’s. Cole will hate it, because he’s competitive and because of what it means for his team. Plus, he didn’t want to lose, especially to his cousin. But he’s a man and a decent one. He’ll suck it up.”

She understood about losing. She spoke with a lot of her clients about it, especially those going through rough patches. Fortunately, Cole’s career was on an uptick right now and they were having a winning season. One game wouldn’t matter all that much. She looked forward to seeing him at Riley’s Bar and being able to congratulate him on the game today. He’d played well and his stats showed it.

Still, Gavin was right—it sucked to lose. As she sat back in the car and looked over at her husband, she was consumed with the thought of having a baby. His baby. A child who looked like him, with his dark hair and his drive and sense of honor. And maybe a child who had a touch of her ambition. She was going to make it happen, one way or the other.

If she was one thing, it was tenacious. She might not be a Riley by blood, but she was still part of the family, and she understood grit and determination. And, like every member of the Riley family, she didn’t give up.

Christmas decorations were up, which always put Liz in the holiday spirit. She wasn’t sure Gavin had been all that happy about having to drag a six-and-a-half-foot live tree into the house, especially since she’d insisted they go to one of those places where they could cut their own tree.

He’d told her they had plenty of trees on the property and she could wander around, pick one out, and he’d chop it down. Then they wouldn’t have to drive the truck an hour outside the city to get one.

Clearly, the man had no Christmas spirit. Besides, she loved all the trees on the property and wasn’t about to cut one of those down when there were places specifically set up for that very function. And those places would replant trees.

Since they’d be celebrating Christmas at their house this year, everything had to be perfect. She’d spent the past two weeks running nonstop. Between the holiday and Jenna and Ty’s wedding, there was something to do every week. In between those two functions, she also had work to do with her clients.

Frankly, she was exhausted. But as Gavin climbed up on the ladder to put the star on the top of the Christmas tree, she was satisfied that at least the decorating part was finished.

“Does it look okay?” he asked.

She found herself staring at his butt, which looked mighty fine in his jeans. Then she realized she had to add more sex to her list of things to do. How else was she going to get pregnant if she didn’t jump her husband—repeatedly.

“Perfect. Just . . . perfect.”

He turned around. “You’re staring at my ass, Liz.”

“Oh . . . was I?” She leveled a smirk at him.

“We had sex this morning.”

“And your point?”

He climbed down the ladder and folded it up. “No point at all.” He brushed her lips as he walked by. “Except we’re going to my parents for dinner tonight, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So your nefarious plans to take advantage of my body are going to have to wait.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He paused, ladder in hand. “Planning to seduce me in my old childhood bedroom?”

She waggled her brows. “That’s a distinct possibility.”