Carly Phillips - Hot Item

One night or a week, it didn’t matter. With the sparks flying between them, he knew damn well he wasn’t leaving Florida without sleeping with Sophie Jordan.

FEELING LIKE A FOOL, Spencer crouched in the bushes outside his sister’s patio home. Thanks to an open kitchen window, he was able to listen to Darla’s chatter and Sophie’s concern. She hid it well, but knowing Sophie, she was climbing the walls trying to handle all the publicity herself without the help of her sisters. Spencer had left her in a bind and for that he felt badly.

But he wasn’t ready to face the world with his secret exposed. He might as well walk through Central Park bare assed, as Yank would say. In any other profession, his clients would be shocked but they’d understand that his private life didn’t have anything to do with his professional one. Any other profession wasn’t the world of sports.

Most athletes were macho men who had neither the time nor patience to understand anything outside their world. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of them had a phobia about homosexuals. Still, he hoped he wouldn’t lose more than one or two clients. He’d be home in time for the football draft, but he needed a plan before he returned. Then he’d see how evolved they actually were.

He glanced at his sister’s house and frowned. He wished Darla hadn’t insinuated he’d call her later, giving Sophie a reason to stick around. Instead, his well-meaning, ever-talkative sister had offered the use of an empty unit in the neighborhood so Sophie would remain here. The worst part of it all was that Sophie hadn’t flown down here alone.

The door to the house opened wide, interrupting his thoughts. Sophie stepped outside followed by Riley, Spencer’s son.

He broke into a sweat, the realization of all he had to answer for in his life overwhelming him. He understood that in Riley’s eyes, Spencer didn’t deserve a damn thing. He’d planned it that way, looking out for Riley behind the scenes. Yet now that Spencer’s reality was public knowledge, he thought maybe his son deserved to understand his absent father’s choices. But the same truth that had sent him underground would probably cause his son to turn away in disgust.

He wondered why Riley had come looking for him now.

Why had he hooked up with Sophie in his quest?

And, he also wondered, why did they look so at ease together?

Spencer squinted against the sun and stared at their retreating backs. Was that Sophie slipping her hand into Riley’s?

Holy moly, were they involved?

If they weren’t, they should be. The idea settled in Spencer’s brain and remained. Sophie, the sister with the intellect he admired and the warmth his son would appreciate. She was strict and would crack the whip, taming Riley’s wild side while giving him a run for his money.

Spencer knew he had nerve, planning anything for the child he’d never publicly acknowledged, but it wouldn’t be the first time he had looked out for his son behind the scenes, and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Psst!”

Spencer looked up. His sister, Darla, opened the kitchen window and called to him.

“They’re gone. You can come back inside now.”

Spencer waited until the rental car pulled away from the curb before standing, then stretching his old legs until the cramping subsided. “This hide-and-seek stuff is for the young,” he muttered, smoothing the wrinkles out of his pants.

He walked into the house and joined his sister.

“You’re only as old as you feel and right now you’re feeling sorry for yourself. For no good reason, either,” Darla said.

Spencer scowled. “Would you rather I go home and do a tell-all interview? Embarrass my only son and disgust my clients?”

Darla shook her head. “I think you underestimate those who care about you.”

He burst out laughing. “You care. You, Rose and Amy.” He mentally added Yank, Lola and the girls to the list. “But if you think my clients care about anything more than their next paycheck and their status in the sports world, you’re wrong. To them, a gay agent would be an embarrassment and I damn well know it. I need time.”

Darla started for the door.

“Where are you going?” Spencer asked.

“To pick out my outfit for my birthday party tonight.”

He hated what he had to tell her next. “I can’t be there.”

“Because Sophie and Riley will be?” Darla delivered a challenging stare.

Spencer massaged the sore muscles in the back of his neck. “I hate like hell to miss it, but I’m not ready to deal with them.”

“Coward.”

“Maybe.”

“He looks like you,” Darla said. “He has your eyes.”

“He has my good looks, doesn’t he?” Spencer asked.

His sister rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Spencer grinned. He couldn’t control his pride in the man his son had become and he couldn’t help but hope that one day Riley would feel the same pride in him.

And maybe the 49ers would win the Super Bowl.

“Just make sure you find a way to keep those two together,” Spencer said.

Because if his coming out accomplished nothing else, maybe it would help his son settle down.

SOPHIE ADJUSTED her seat belt and glanced at Riley’s taut expression. His jaw had been locked tight ever since they’d left Darla’s house and started the short drive to the patio home as instructed by Spencer’s nutty sister.

“I don’t believe a word Darla said.” Sophie broke the silence first, figuring if it were up to Riley, he’d remain mute.

Riley nodded in agreement. “I don’t, either.”

Sophie wondered what Darla really knew about Spencer’s disappearance and how hard it would be to find out. The other woman liked to ramble but Sophie had seen hints that she wasn’t as flighty as she appeared.

In the meantime, she and Riley would have to spend time in sunny Florida living under one roof and they needed to set some ground rules. “You never should have told Darla we were lovers.” Sophie had counted the minutes until they were alone so she could call him on that whopper.

“Does the idea bother you that much?” He placed his arm behind her head and glanced over, searing her with his sexy gaze. “Or is it the fact that I turn you on that’s driving you crazy?”

Stars spun in front of her eyes and she blinked, trying to focus on anything but his accurate words. “Why didn’t you tell Darla who you were?” she asked, changing the subject to one he wouldn’t like as much.

“I’d think that was obvious. Darla didn’t strike me as the silent type. I need to ask Spencer to keep the news of my parentage quiet.”

He’d never before told her why he needed to speak with Spencer and he clammed up again about why he wanted his relationship to Spencer to remain under wraps. As he gripped his hands tighter around the wheel, she decided now wasn’t the time to ask. Later, when they were settled, she’d question him more. At the moment, she was more worried about the feelings this trip had to be stirring up inside him.

The fact that she cared about his emotions at a time when hers were being tested told her too much about her growing feelings for this man, and that they weren’t just sexual. It would be so much easier if they were.

He drove along a circular road, their path marked by frequent speed bumps. “You were hoping that Darla would recognize you, weren’t you?” Sophie asked.

“Hell, no.” But a muscle twitched in his jaw, proof that she’d come too close to the truth.

Spencer’s sister had been so enthusiastic about Sophie and how Spencer felt about her, yet she’d been painfully oblivious to who Riley really was.

Sophie inched closer, bumping her knee on the center divider. “Come on. Riley’s just not all that common a name and I bet that you were wondering if she’d know who you were.”

He let out a frustrated groan. “Do me a favor? Find someone else’s life to dissect.”

Though his lips tipped upward in a sexy grin, softening his words, he’d hit a nerve anyway. Her uncle always complained about how she tried to run his life and her sisters joked about how they were glad that their marriages gave them a break from her constant prodding.

She wasn’t a silent middle child. Instead, her compulsive nature was a sore spot and she’d hate to think her personality would drive Riley away. Not that she wanted him…well, she wanted him, she just didn’t want to want him. But she certainly had no desire to turn him off. Not when he turned her on so much.

She groaned. Her thoughts were a jumble and Sophie realized the time had come to think through what she wanted to do about this uncontrollable attraction to Riley Nash, especially now that they’d be under one roof. As soon as she had some alone time, she’d weigh the pros and cons of her alternatives-the way Sophie always made a decision. Though not spontaneous, the method worked.

A sunny yellow-colored house caught her eye. “I think this is the place,” Sophie said.

Riley turned into the short cobblestoned driveway and parked the car. “Darla said Rose’s daughter would meet us here.”

“That’d be your cousin Amy.” The words slipped out before she could censor them.

“Anyone ever say you can be a real pain?” Riley asked.

Well, hell. She obviously wasn’t going to change, so if he didn’t like it, he could lump it, as her uncle would say. “On occasion.”

Sophie had many faults, but she prided herself on knowing both her strengths and weaknesses. Though she’d promised herself to work on her more compulsive tendencies-like trying to control others’ lives along with her own-some habits were hard to break. And her married sisters assured her that the right man would love her for who she was. All of her, faults included. That man couldn’t possibly be Riley Nash.

Not in the long term, but you’re only in Florida for a few days. A little voice in her head teased her with possibilities, but he stopped the car at the curb before she could ponder further.

No sooner had they stepped onto the curb than a pretty brunette pulled up in a golf cart. She jumped out to greet them, a wide smile on her face.

“You must be Sophie.” Without warning, Amy pulled Sophie into a hug, just as Darla had.

Sophie stiffened. Though she considered herself a warm person with her family, she wasn’t overly affectionate with people she didn’t know well. She kept her reserve and her distance until she learned whether or not she could trust them. Spencer’s sister and niece held no such qualms about strangers and they breached Sophie’s personal space without thought.

She stepped back and immediately felt the press of Riley’s hand into her back. He understood, she realized, and she relaxed into his touch. Obviously she hadn’t pushed him too far. The thought pleased her much more than it should.

The fact was, she was way beyond attracted to him. The man could have her with the snap of his fingers and it was time she dealt with the fact. Besides, she had enough chaos in her life without adding fighting with herself over Riley. Obviously there was something mutual going on between them.

So what if he flirted with every woman on the planet? Sophie didn’t want a lifelong commitment with a brash athlete who liked to do things his own way and ignore the rules. That didn’t mean she couldn’t sleep with him though.

Just to get him out of her system, she assured herself. Besides, ever since his earlier comment about them being lovers, she couldn’t shake the notion from her mind. She couldn’t turn off her body’s response to his voice or his touch.

Sophie trembled. She’d never had such persistent thoughts like these about any man. But then Riley Nash wasn’t just any man. He never had been.

“And you’re Riley.” Amy walked up to Riley and perused his face.

Riley stared back, attempting not to squirm and trying not to think of this woman as his cousin, but Sophie had put the words out there and he found himself studying her for resemblances. He immediately detected similarities in their eye color, or maybe he just thought he should.

How did Sophie expect him to walk away with his pride and his emotions intact if she insisted on labeling these people in a way that indicated they ought to mean something to him? They didn’t. Not any more than he meant anything to them.

Amy shaded her eyes from the sun with one hand. “You’ve got your father’s eyes.”

Riley stiffened. Apparently he should never underestimate these Florida relatives. “You know who I am?”

Amy nodded. “Of course. My mother keeps a scrapbook of all your accomplishments. She knows Uncle Spencer will want to have it one day.”

Riley snorted in disbelief. But he couldn’t dispel the pleasurable warmth her words caused. Someone on this side of the family kept tabs on him. It just wasn’t Spencer.