Carly Phillips - Hot Item

Because if he could have loved any woman in that way, it would have been his son’s mother. Anne was his Doris Day, a soft-spoken, sweet-natured woman who would bring any man to his knees. He’d loved her in his way and he’d wanted to make their life together work. Especially when he’d found out she was pregnant.

Unfortunately, that was when things had started to shatter, both in their lives and inside Spencer. It had been difficult enough being with a woman when she couldn’t fulfill his emotional and physical needs but once she was pregnant, he had immediately felt himself grow distant. He’d started spending nights out at underground gay bars, stopping for an hour at a sports bar on the way home as his cover.

Anne had hated the barrier he’d erected and he’d hated the lie he was living. The more he’d thought about how unfair he was being to her, the more he’d realized how much worse things would be when his baby was born. The decision to leave her had been the most difficult he’d ever made, but he consoled himself with the belief that she’d be better off without him.

Spencer had come home drunk late one night and told Anne that he hated being tied down in any way. With Yank Morgan as his best friend, Anne hadn’t had to look far to see another example of what Spencer claimed to be: a man happier single than married.

She’d moved back with her parents, who’d made it impossible for him to stay in touch with her, not that he blamed them. He’d been torn up inside already and he’d backed off, intending to let some time pass before trying once more to be part of his child’s life. But soon after, Anne had met Harlan Nash, a successful man with a law degree and political aspirations, an upstanding man who wanted to marry her and raise her child as his own.

Spencer and Harlan had met one night at the other man’s request. In that moment, Spencer had known his wife and child could have a better life, a normal life, without him in it. He’d shaken Harlan Nash’s hand and agreed not to contact either one of them again.

However, he hadn’t promised not to watch from afar. He hadn’t sworn not to pull strings and make sure his son-an athlete as it turned out-had the benefits of having a father in the business. He’d steered the appropriate college coaches toward Riley-not that they wouldn’t have recruited the talented young man anyway. And he’d pushed Yank toward representing Riley Nash, making up a bullshit excuse for not going after the Heisman winner himself.

If Yank had known or suspected the truth, he’d never let on. And as the years had passed on, Spencer had come to realize Yank was as much in the dark as everyone else. Keeping his secret had been the only way he knew to live and succeed.

Until Lola had finally left Yank and come to him for a shoulder late one night and discovered him with the man he’d been seeing on and off for the past ten years. Bless Lola, who reminded him so much of Anne, she’d quietly accepted, without passing judgment, and hadn’t revealed his secret-until it had slipped out when Yank had broken his hip in an angry tirade, thinking Spencer and Lola were a couple. Then somehow, the news that night had leaked out, though, for whatever reason, the timing of the big reveal had been delayed until a couple of weeks before the draft.

But as much as that news had sent Spencer into a tailspin, it was nothing compared to this revelation. This one had the potential to destroy other people’s lives. Including the life of the son he’d given up in order to protect him from precisely this secret.

“THE IMPROMPTU MEETING of Athletes Only and The Hot Zone partners will now come to order.” Uncle Yank whacked his gavel hard against the table. “Now who the hell’s responsible for this?” He waved today’s paper in his hand.

Sophie took a sip of her coffee. “What’s going on?” She hadn’t slept well last night and, instead of getting to the office in time to read the morning papers before the meeting, she was about to receive her information from Uncle Yank-when he stopped carrying on, she thought.

“It seems that somebody found out about my connection to Riley,” Spencer said.

“What?” The foam cup slipped from Sophie’s hand and the dark liquid spilled over the lacquered table, soaking her notepad and spreading outward.

She, her sisters and Lola grabbed their napkins and rushed to wipe up the mess.

“I’m sorry. I’m not usually so clumsy,” Sophie said, after they’d cleaned the spill and resettled into their seats.

“You’re not usually so upset by the morning news, either,” Spencer noted too perceptively.

“Well, it doesn’t usually involve people I care about.” She caught her words and laughed. “I take that back. Lately it involves people I care about way too often.”

After all Riley had gone through after finding out about Spencer being gay, he now had to deal with it publicly as well. She glanced at her watch, wondering how long this meeting would go on.

She wanted to get to the phone and see how Riley was handling the news. She couldn’t help worrying about him and she felt certain he needed someone to talk to that he could trust. Heaven knows, she understood what he was going through, Sophie thought.

“So what are we going to do about minimizing the damage for you?” Annabelle asked Spencer.

“I have a meeting this week to find out about that.”

“Cryptic,” Sophie said.

“Very,” Micki muttered.

Spencer nodded. “You’re all just going to have to trust that I have this situation under control. Well, as in control as things can be.”

Yank slammed his gavel, taking everyone off guard.

“What was that for?” Lola asked.

“You heard the man. He’s got everything under control.” Yank nodded at Spencer. “Meeting adjourned.”

Lola gathered his things and together they strode out the conference room door.

“Remember we’re meeting for dinner for last-minute party planning,” Annabelle said, gathering her things.

“I’ll be there,” Micki said.

“So will I,” Sophie said.

As her sisters walked out the door, chatting about the upcoming party, Sophie reached for the nearest phone, anxious to call Riley.

He’d come to her the moment Spencer’s secret had been revealed and they’d gone through so much together since. He’d confided in her that he was Spencer’s son when nobody else had known the truth. She couldn’t let him go through the public revelation of that truth alone and she wanted him to know if he needed her, she was here.

“As much as you care about me, I have a hunch that the coffee spill was because you’re more upset for Riley,” Spencer said, coming up behind her.

Caught, she curled her hand around the telephone. “You shouldn’t minimize your role in our family,” she scolded Spencer, hoping he’d take the hint and drop any conversation about her feelings for his son.

“Can I give you a piece of advice?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“I missed out on a lifetime with Riley because of the misguided choices I made.” Spencer placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “Don’t you do the same thing.”

Sophie nodded, unable to speak over the lump in her throat. “Thanks,” she finally managed to say.

When Spencer walked out, leaving her alone, she grabbed the phone and dialed Riley at home. When the machine picked up instead of him, she shut her eyes, savoring the sound of his voice.

At the beep, she spoke. “Hi, it’s me. Sophie. I just heard about the news in the papers and I wanted to know how you were holding up.” Knowing she would soon run out of time, she added a quick, “Call me. Please.” Then she hung up.

She dialed his cell phone next and left the same message on his voice mail.

Then she settled in to wait.

RILEY SAT in his ex-wife’s kitchen, something that had become a habit this past week.

“Riley, you’ve been here every night since the story broke. I appreciate it. Ted appreciates it. Lizzie appreciates it. But, frankly, you’re driving me insane!” Lisa said, but despite the laughter, the seriousness in her tone spoke volumes.

Riley didn’t really want to spend his time here, either, but he had no desire to go home to his empty apartment, and he sure as hell had no desire to head back to the gym and listen to the talk and the snickers behind his back.

Lisa looked around, obviously making sure their daughter wasn’t around before speaking. “Has it been that bad for you?” she asked.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big boy and I can handle gossip.”

“But?” she prodded.

“But it sucks doing it alone,” he admitted.

Lisa’s eyes opened wide. “It’s finally happened, hasn’t it?” She pulled out a kitchen chair opposite Riley’s and sat down. Perching her chin in her hands, she developed a huge grin on her face. “You’ve finally met the one woman who doesn’t fall into your lap at the snap of your fingers!”

He winced. “Do you think you could stop looking so damn happy about it?”

“I’m sorry.” She wiped the smile from her face. “It’s just that I never thought I’d see the day. So what’s going wrong?”

He shrugged. “Other than everything?”

“If she isn’t standing by you during this mess, you really don’t need her in your life, Riley.” Lisa spoke bluntly with obvious concern.

“What if she’s standing by me only during this mess?” He voiced the concern that had been dogging him since the scandal of his parentage had erupted.

Sophie had called him almost immediately after the news hit the papers. He hadn’t returned her calls. The problem was, he didn’t want her in his life only when there was something wrong. Only because she pitied him or thought he needed her to confide in. He wanted her to come around on her own because she couldn’t imagine being without him.

“Before the news hit, I had one foot out the door to see her, literally,” Riley explained. “I was finished giving her time and space to miss me. I was going to see her to lay it on the line. To tell her that I loved her and that if she loved me it was time to put a way her insecurities and take that leap of faith.” He flexed and unflexed his fists, frustration still boiling inside him.

Lisa rose and walked to the refrigerator, pulling out a long-necked bottle. She pried off the top with an opener and slid the bottle over to him. “Have a beer. We keep it around just in case you stop by,” she said, laughing. “You seem like you could use one right now.”

“Thanks.”

“So you changed your mind about seeing Sophie. Why?” Lisa asked.

Although it struck Riley that this was the first serious conversation he and his ex-wife had had in years about anything other than their daughter, he appreciated the insight of someone with a successful marriage.

“At first I had to deal with the fallout of the news. By then, Sophie had left messages for me at home and on my cell. And it dawned on me that I hadn’t heard from her since our trip to Mississippi. But as soon as a crisis struck, boom! There she was, calling me.”

Lisa wrinkled her nose. “And this is a bad thing?” she asked, obviously confused.

He nodded. “You have to know Sophie. In a crisis, she steams into control mode. She knows exactly what to do, what to say and how to act, in order to take charge and make sure that all’s right in her world. As soon as the problem is over, she crawls back into her self-protective shell and won’t come out.”

“Sounds like she needs you more than you need her. And if you don’t mind my saying so, that giving-her-space thing? It’s more something a man would appreciate than a woman,” Lisa said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on and treating it with a long swig of beer. “I think she needs to be shaken up a bit,” he muttered, not knowing how else to get through to the beautiful, stubborn woman.

He couldn’t believe after all the years of women coming easily to him, the one woman he wanted in his life for good, he couldn’t figure out how to keep. If this were a damn football game, he’d have a playbook. For all Sophie’s rules, there were none on how to reach her.

The doorbell rang and before Lisa could respond, Lizzie’s footsteps sounded, padding down the stairs. “I got it, I got it,” she called, alerting the neighborhood.

Riley and Lisa shot each other amused glances.

“Grandpa!” Lizzie yelled, surprising them both.

Since Lisa’s father had died years ago and Lizzie called Ted’s father Poppy, a sinking feeling settled low in Riley’s stomach. He rose and followed Lisa out of the kitchen and into the foyer in time to see Harlan hugging his granddaughter.

His eyes caught first Lisa’s with a warm smile, then Riley’s.

“So what brings you here?” Lisa asked, shutting the door behind him.