Jaci Burton - Straddling the Line

Yet, here she was. And Trevor seemed . . . content. Happy. No mention of other girls or a desire to be with anyone else.

What did that mean?

Probably nothing. But he’d been so sweet to her this whole time, as if she were the only one who mattered to him.

God knew he mattered to her. She was his for the duration of this assignment.

After that, he’d move on. She knew he would. They had said no words of commitment to each other. He’d go do his thing, and so would she. She’d do well to remember that he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy. And she had a career path to think about.

But for now, she sure was having fun.

IT HAD BEEN A BUSY DAY, AND EVEN THOUGH HAVEN hadn’t gone to practice with Trevor, she’d been occupied preparing for the scavenger hunt tonight. All the items had been sufficiently hidden. She’d noted all of their whereabouts and updated her master list. Now all that was left was the party tonight, which she hoped was as fun as she thought it was going to be.

It was almost a shame she was going to be in charge of the scavenger hunt, and unable to take part in it, because she would have loved to play side by side with Trevor. But she still intended to have a great time managing the festivities.

The caterers were setting up in the expansive dining room, as well as the breakfast bar in the kitchen. An extremely competent staff of four people who clearly knew what they were doing put up tables and covered Trevor’s dining room table to serve the food. Trevor also informed her he was going to have bar service.

Bar service. Sure . . . why not?

This was so far outside the realm of her life, but hey, at least it made for interesting observations about his.

He threw impromptu parties for his teammates. And, he’d explained to her, because the rookie tight end had some kind of attitude issue.

She couldn’t quite make the connection between the rookie’s problem and inviting him to a party.

Maybe that was a guy thing. If it were her and one of her coworkers was copping ’tude, she’d ignore them. Or tell them to fuck off.

But that was her, and in her world, things were obviously different.

Men were certainly different. She’d showered after her day of running around, curled her hair and done her makeup, then put on a sundress and sandals. Though why she was primping she had no idea. Especially since she came downstairs and saw Trevor in a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt, which showcased his awesome arms. Once again, his body took center stage.

The guy was ripped. She was going to have to quit ogling all the photos she’d taken of him. It was kind of obsessive, in a weird stalker-girlfriend kind of way.

She laughed at herself.

“You’re all dressed up,” he said as he looked up and smiled at her. “You look beautiful.”

Okay, worth the compliment, though it shouldn’t matter to her. “Thank you. Obviously, considering how you’re dressed, this is very low-key.”

“Very. The guys know not to dress up, but you’ll see some of the women dressed like you.”

“Is that right.”

“Yeah.”

“And there will be actual women here?” She’d gone over the list of attendees with him, and he’d given her names of couples, so she hoped he wasn’t wrong about that.

“Promise. Most of the guys will bring wives or girlfriends. Unless they’re not seeing anyone.”

“Okay.” Not that she cared. In the sportscasting world, she’d have to get used to being around athletes, and a lot of those athletes were going to be men.

“Which, I guess, makes you my date for the night.”

She felt a little flutter in the vicinity of her stomach. “I’m not your date. I’m a sports reporter, remember?”

He leaned in, and she caught his just-showered scent. Resisting the urge to breathe deeply, she took a step back. She had to act like a professional tonight. Not Trevor’s girlfriend.

“Can’t you be both?”

She wanted to be. “I don’t know, Trevor. I think we have to maintain a separation.”

“We’ll be co-hosts of the party tonight. I’ll introduce you to the guys on the team. I’ve already told them about the story you’re doing. You can grill them about me.”

She couldn’t really object to that. “That works.”

When the guests started to arrive, Trevor was right. Guys brought women with them. And the offensive coach came, too—a guy in his forties named George, if Haven recalled her research correctly. He’d brought his wife, Amanda, a slim brunette with a great smile.

“And who is this, Trevor?” Amanda asked, smiling at Haven.

“This is Haven Briscoe. She’s a sports reporter, and she’s doing some work with me.”

Amanda turned to Haven and shook her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Haven. Just what our Trevor here needs—more attention.”

Haven laughed. “Well, you might be right about that, but I do what my bosses tell me.”

“And here I thought you might be Trevor’s girlfriend, that someone finally tamed the wild animal.”

“Sorry. That wouldn’t be me.” She wondered why Amanda referred to Trevor as a wild animal.

And there went her thoughts again, that visual of his hips moving up and down while he stroked his cock. The way he thrust when he was inside her. The room grew warmer.

Focus, Haven. And not on your very vivid imagination.

“Oh, well. Surely some woman someday will get you to settle down and decide that football is the one sport you should be playing.”

Trevor laughed and put his arm around Amanda. “Has George been feeding you those lines, Amanda?”

“Not at all. I’ve got a perfectly good mind of my own. And you should know by now that all of us here in Tampa want you here permanently.”

Trevor kissed her cheek. “Thanks for that. It means a lot to me.”

Haven stood next to Trevor as a few other coaches and several players started filing in. Trevor introduced her to Warrell Timmons, the tight end rookie. He’d come by himself and looked rather uncomfortable.

He was a very attractive young man. Super tall, like Trevor, but a little bit leaner, not as much muscle. He had beautiful dark skin, gorgeous light brown eyes, and a nice smile that he didn’t use but once, and that was when he politely flashed it after he’d been introduced to her. After that he made his way into the living area, where Trevor told her a lot of the rookies were huddled.

“I mean to break up that party,” Trevor said, motioning to the rookies. “It’s good they’re bonding, but I want to get Warrell comfortable with me, and get the other rookies meshing with the veterans.”

“We’ll take care of that with the scavenger hunt after dinner.”

“You’re right about that,” Trevor said, resting his hand at the small of her back. “Come on. Let’s go get something to drink.”

She asked for a glass of wine from the bartender, and Trevor grabbed a beer. They made their way around the room, and Trevor talked to a few of the guys while Haven wandered off to visit with some of the other players. Trevor liked that Haven was independent, that she didn’t cling to his side like a lot of the women he’d dated always seemed to do.

When the catering manager found him and told him the food was ready, he announced it to the crowd, and they all made their way to the tables. There was barbecued beef and chicken, along with potato salad and coleslaw, fruit salad and beans. Everyone filled their plates.

He found Haven talking to Barrett Cassidy, the safety on the team, and Barrett’s brother Grant, who played quarterback for St. Louis.

“You’re on a bye this week, too?” he asked Grant as he took a seat next to them.

“Yeah. Thought I’d take a trip out here and enjoy the warm weather, see one of my brothers.”

“You came out here to see the bikini babes, not me,” Barrett said.

Grant grinned. “Maybe.”

“I’ve discovered Grant and his brother Barrett are part of a family dynasty of football players,” Haven said. “They have two more brothers.”

“Tucker doesn’t count. He plays baseball,” Barrett said.

Grant leaned back and shot his brother a look. “I’m going to tell him you said that.”

Barrett shrugged. “Like he hasn’t heard it before?” He took a long swallow of beer.

Trevor laughed. He knew all the Cassidy brothers. They were a tight-knit group, and they were all kick-ass athletes.

“Haven and I were doing a little trash-talking about the University of Oklahoma versus Texas, where I went to school,” Grant said. “It’s a hell of a rivalry, as you know.”

Trevor looked over at Haven, who cast a smile at him. “I have to defend the alma mater.”

He laughed. “I guess you do.”

“I hear there are games in store for us tonight, Trevor,” Barrett said. “Is that right?”

“Think of it as a team-building exercise.”

Grant nodded. “Sounds fun, seeing as how your team needs all that building.”

Barrett shoved an elbow in his brother’s ribs.

“Hey,” Grant said. “That hurt.”

“You quarterbacks,” Barrett said. “Such pussies.”

“I’m totally up for it,” Grant said. “And if you and I aren’t on the same team, Trevor, be prepared to have your ass kicked.”

Trevor knew these guys would be competitive. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

“Will you be playing, Haven?” Barrett asked. “Because the Cassidy brothers will kick your butt, too.”

Haven laughed. “Unfortunately, no. I’ll be ringleading this circus tonight.”

Barrett cast a glance over at Trevor. “How much did you have to pay her to get her to agree to that?”

After taking a sip of beer, Trevor said, “Surprisingly, she volunteered.”

“You poor thing,” Barrett said. “You have no idea what you’ve signed up for.”

Haven laughed. “I think I can handle this rowdy bunch. Besides, you’re all going to be way too busy to give me a hard time.”

Haven excused herself after dinner, and they let everyone socialize a bit while the caterers cleaned up dinner. Trevor noticed Haven was taking down everyone’s names, and she’d wandered off into the office. When she came back, she got everyone’s attention and herded them all into the living room.

“Trevor and I have cooked up something very special—and hopefully fun for you for tonight. Trevor, do you want to tell everyone about it?”

He didn’t. Too many details, and he didn’t want to screw it up and get things wrong. “You go ahead, Haven. You’re doing a fine job.”

“Okay. We’re going to have a scavenger hunt. And the best part is, there are prizes at the end. You’re all going to be paired up in teams. There are forty items in total that have been hidden. These items could be hidden somewhere on the property here, on the street, or in town. You’ll be given a list of these items, as well as clues where to find them. You have one hour and one hour only. At the end of the hour you’re to report back here. The team that has found the most items will be declared the winner.”

“What are the prizes?” one of the guys asked.

“The prize for the first-place team is a deep-sea fishing expedition.”

Lots of oohs, aahs, and applause on that one. Trevor loved to fish, and he knew several of the guys did, too.

“There are also prizes for second-and third-place teams, too, which is dinner at some of Tampa’s finest restaurants. So let’s get started.

“I’ll announce the names on each team,” Haven said. “Once everyone’s together with their teams, I’ll hand out your tote bags you’ll be using to accumulate the items, and your list of items and clues.”

She started calling names. True to what they discussed, Trevor and Warrell were on the same team, along with wide receiver Elvin Detteridge and Elvin’s girlfriend, Allison.

One rookie was paired with at least one veteran. Trevor made sure to have Haven mix it up that way, so the rookies weren’t paired up.

Haven had worked that out well.

Once all the teams were formed, Haven handed them their bag with clues and the list. “Good luck,” she said, offering him a smile. “Thanks.”

He turned to Warrell, Elvin, and Allison and pulled out the clues and items list. “You ready to kick some butt?”

Allison nodded. “Absolutely. Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

She took the list. “Oh, these are all football items. Awesome.”

“How about we let Allison be in charge of reading the clues,” Trevor suggested. “And who has a good sense of direction?”

“Well, this is your home,” Elvin said. “You should be able to tell from the clues where this stuff might be.”