Carly Phillips - Hot Property

She ran a hand through her hair, her frustration obvious. “They’re adults, despite how they act. They should be able to look after themselves.” She paused, then reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “You have a good heart, John, but if you don’t start putting yourself first and get your shoulder healed and strong, they won’t have you to turn to financially, now will they? Not with a lot of your future money tied to playing time and performance?” she asked softly.

If it was anyone else asking the question, he’d turn on them in a heartbeat. But he knew Amy had his best interest in mind by pushing him to face things he’d deliberately been ignoring.

“How do you know this?” He spoke through clenched teeth.

“Yank thought I should be filled in. So I’d know how important this assignment was,” she admitted.

He hated that Amy was privy to his secrets. “So it was just business.”

“Exactly.” She inclined her head. “And in that vein, so is my suggestion. Are you aware of the fact that Annabelle’s husband owns a lodge in Upstate New York? A town called Greenlawn?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “What about it?”

“The Hot Zone has a suite available and I think it would be a good idea if you went into seclusion there until spring training.”

Nothing could have surprised him more. He was speechless.

“They have a full-scale gym and trainers and there’s a physical therapist in town who caters to the athletes who stay there. You’d have no distractions, no family complications. You could focus totally on rehab and getting yourself in shape for the season,” she said, her hands waving rapidly as she described her vision.

He shook his head. “Won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because my family will have no problem calling me upstate with their problems. Hell, they’d drive up in a heartbeat.”

Her brown eyes glittered with anticipation. “Not if they don’t know where you are. All you need to do is tell them that you’re on a business trip of sorts. We’ll sneak you out of town and I’ll put out any fires here.”

Her enthusiasm for the idea would have been infectious if not for the fact that there was no way in hell it would ever work. “I appreciate the thought. But I have a responsibility to my family. I’ve been the one they turned to from the day my stepfather took off. They need me. I can get strong and juggle them at the same time. It’ll be fine,” he assured her.

She shook her head and shot him an I-don’t-believe-you look. “Just promise me we’ll revisit the subject when things get too intense?”

He shrugged. A promise to revisit wasn’t the same as a promise to leave town, but it would keep Amy satisfied. “If things get out of hand, I’ll rethink things. Feel better?”

“I would if I believed you,” she said, laughing. “But that’s okay. I’m not finished trying.”

AMY FOLLOWED ROPER DOWN the hallway to his sister’s apartment. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the musty smell in these places,” she said. The odor assaulted her every time she stepped off an elevator in Manhattan. Considering she’d practically grown up outdoors, she wondered if she ever would.

“I hear you. When I’m on the road, the thing I appreciate most is the fresh air and the wide-open spaces.”

She blinked, surprised he noticed it, too. “Really? I’d think you were a city man, Mr. Metro,” she said, laughing.

He turned toward her. “I see you’ve been reading my old press.”

She shrugged. “It’s my job to keep up on where you’ve been so I can help you with where you’re going.” In truth, she’d enjoyed digging through the old interviews and articles on Roper, learning more about his public persona and how different his personal, private one was.

“You could ask me,” he said, stepping closer. “Where you’re concerned, I’m an open book.”

She inhaled and his scent immediately replaced everything else around her. Her heart rate accelerated as she finally let herself take notice of him. His pressed khakis, the sprinkling of hair peeking out of the unbuttoned space on his shirt. The desire to back him against the wall and feel his hard body against her was almost overwhelming.

Without warning, the door behind them opened and Sabrina stepped into the hall. “John, thank God you’re here. You have to do something about Mom,” she whispered.

Amy breathed out, releasing the tension but not the desire pulsing inside her.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, obviously composing himself before turning to face his sister. “Can anyone stop a tornado?” he asked. “How did you know I was here? I didn’t even get a chance to knock,” he said, shooting Amy a look of regret.

Why? Had he been about to act on the chemistry that drew them to each other, even when minutes before they’d been at odds on how to handle his career and family? If so, what would she have done?

Before Amy could formulate an answer that satisfied herself, Sabrina grabbed her brother’s hand and yanked him into the apartment.

With the quick instincts of a ballplayer, he encircled his arm around Amy’s wrist, so she ended up dragged along with him.

Once inside, Sabrina glanced over Roper’s shoulder at Amy. “Hi, again.” She obviously remembered Amy from the New Year’s party.

“Hi.” Amy lifted her hand in a partial wave. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m here.”

“The more backup the better,” the other woman said, sounding pained.

Having met Cassandra, Amy understood.

Apparently so did Roper, because he walked over to his sister and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Breathe in and out,” he instructed.

Sabrina shut her eyes and complied.

“Better?” he asked a few seconds later.

She nodded.

“Good. Now, let’s deal with her together. Come,” he said, in a reassuring tone.

Sabrina visibly relaxed.

Amy marveled at the calming effect Roper had on his sister, but then, when she let him, he had his own unique effect on her, as well.

They walked a few steps into the next room, where Cassandra sat beside Kevin, a pen and pad in hand. “So let’s go over your guest list,” Cassandra said.

“Hi, Mom, Kevin. How’s it going?” Roper asked, making his presence known.

“It’s going,” the other man said. With his dark hair and dark eyes, Kevin was good-looking in a studious way. His rimless, fashionable glasses added to his attractiveness.

Of course, in Amy’s eyes, he didn’t compare with her jock Roper, but she could definitely see his appeal. Her jock? She caught herself and blinked.

“Kevin, I’d like you to meet Amy Stone. Amy, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Kevin Reynolds,” Roper said, interrupting her thoughts.

Kevin stood and shook Amy’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you. And now that you’re here to handle your mother,” he said to Roper, “I’m going to take the dog for a walk.” He paused to kiss Sabrina’s cheek before heading for the door.

Cassandra merely laughed. “You know I’ll be here to finish up later,” she said to Kevin.

“Wait,” Sabrina said, running after him but not before giving their mother a frustrated glare. “We don’t have a dog!”

Amy turned her unexpected laugh into a cough. “Hello, Miss Lee, it’s nice to see you again.”

Cassandra looked up, appearing more rested than she had earlier. “Please call me Cassandra. It’s lovely to see you again,” the other woman said, but her voice sounded uncertain. She was obviously confused by Amy’s presence. She settled her glance on her son. “John, we were discussing wedding plans.”

“It looked as if you were torturing Kevin,” Roper said.

He was too far away for Amy to nudge him in the ribs, so she settled for a warning look instead.

His mother ignored his comment. “Did you know they haven’t chosen a reception hall yet? They can’t pick a place unless we know the number of guests on the list and what the venue can hold. I already have one hundred of my own-”

Roper nearly choked. Even Amy’s head started to pound. She couldn’t believe how the actress bulldozed her way into everyone else’s life. No wonder Roper was concerned about finances.

“Didn’t you hear us say we wanted a small wedding?” Sabrina asked as she rejoined them in the living room.

“Is Kevin okay?” Roper asked.

Sabrina nodded. “He’s fine. He just needed some fresh air. Mother, did you hear me? We want a small, intimate affair.”

Cassandra waved her hand back and forth in the air. “No, that’s what you think now. But when you look back, you’ll realize you wanted a big wedding, so that’s what we’re going to make sure you have.”

Sabrina looked at Roper with big, pleading eyes.

For the first time, Amy realized exactly why he felt so strongly about not abandoning them to go to Vaughn’s lodge. Each member of his family needed him for their own reasons. But they would take and take until there was nothing left-and that included cash. And it wasn’t as if anybody was actually in the wrong. They were just needy. Roper had fallen into the caretaker role and now they all expected it of him, at his own expense.

Roper stepped between his mother and sister. “Mom, look, it’s their wedding. I think they can make their own decisions.”

Cassandra tipped her head in her elegant way. “And you know this because you’ve been married before?” she asked him with sweet sarcasm. “I know best.”

“Because your big wedding and subsequent divorce make you an expert?” Roper asked.

“Argh!” Sabrina stormed out, heading to what Amy assumed was her bedroom.

Cassandra placed her pad and pen on the table, rose and strode to the window, all without meeting Roper’s gaze.

Amy couldn’t imagine the stress these kinds of confrontations put on him. Watching the commotion today, Amy was even more certain now. All the reasons he didn’t want to go to the lodge were the exact same reasons he needed to go so badly. So he could take care of himself for once and let his family learn to stand on their own.

Amy walked over and put her hand on Roper’s shoulder for support. He surprised her by covering it with his own.

“Weddings are stressful,” Amy said. “Perhaps there’s a way you all can sit down and talk and really hear one another,” she suggested.

Cassandra swirled around. “I never did find out what exactly you are to my son. You mentioned working for the Hot Zone, his public relations firm?”

“Officially Amy’s my go-to person at the Hot Zone.” Roper jumped in and spoke for her, something Amy didn’t want or need him to do.

“You see, Cassandra, the Hot Zone felt that given Roper’s current situation, he could use someone to help keep him on track with his physical therapy before the start of the season,” Amy said, eager to speak for herself.

“Sort of like a handler,” Cassandra said.

Amy nodded. “Exactly.”

His mother studied Amy for a long while, enough to make her uncomfortable. But she held her ground and refused to fidget even though Cassandra didn’t hide her blatant attempt to take stock. “So you’re here with him today because he needs help handling his family?” Hurt suffused Cassandra’s tone.

Amy’s heart constricted. She didn’t want wounded feelings. “I’m just here for support,” she said, deliberately backing off.

She saw Roper’s dilemma so clearly now. His aging mother was unsure of her place in Hollywood and in her children’s lives. It wasn’t Amy’s place to butt in. She could guide Roper, but she couldn’t tell his family what to do. She realized that now.

Amy turned to Roper. “Don’t you have an appointment with the doctor and then with the physical therapist today?”

He glanced at his watch. Surprise at how fast the morning had gone registered on his face. “I do, but my family needs me right now. I’ll call Aaron and reschedule.”

She might as well start handling him now. “No, you won’t. Your shoulder might heal on its own, but you won’t get your strength back without hard work.”

“Amy’s right, John,” his mother said, shocking Amy.

If the stunned look on Roper’s face was any indication, he agreed.

“I’m tired. I’ve upset your sister and obviously overstayed my welcome. I’m going to go back to the hotel. First I’ll go talk to Sabrina and make peace. We can pick up the wedding talk another time. I still say they’ll regret a small wedding later.” With a wave, his mother headed in the direction Sabrina had gone, leaving Roper and Amy alone.

Roper leaned against the wall and let out a low groan. “She gave in,” he said, relieved.

“For now. And only because I backed off first,” Amy said.

“You are amazing.” She’d been astute enough to realize that his mother might perceive her as a threat. Roper shot her a look filled with admiration and gratitude.