Rush (Eligible Receivers #3)

Chapter Two

Shouldering the garage door open, Linc dragged himself into the house after a long and grueling photo shoot, endorsing the latest on-trend sneakers. Man, football was tough but it had nothing on posing for pictures under hot lights for hours on end. Give him a ball and a field any day of the week. If he was going to sweat, he wanted it to be from good, old-fashioned exertion.

Silence greeted him as he pocketed his keys and walked through the laundry room. He’d never thought he’d enjoy being a homeowner but he had to admit, it didn’t suck. The inspiration had struck knowing Sophie needed a backyard to play in. He’d thought it would be tough giving up his luxury apartment overlooking the water, but after a couple of months in his new home, he was finding he enjoyed his two-story, sprawling house in the upscale, gated community.

Entering the living room, Linc saw the TV was off. He made his way to the sliding-glass doors and parted the drapes but the backyard lay empty—the swing set and the gated pool both unoccupied. Though it was a little late in the afternoon for an outing, Linc assumed Rebecca, Sophie’s nanny, must have taken her to the community park to play with the ducks. She liked to bring them bread to throw into the small, man-made lake. Anything Sophie liked to do, Linc made sure she had access to it. He guessed people could accuse him of spoiling her, but those people could kiss his ass. She deserved every little joy he could give her after the blow she’d been dealt. No small child should ever have to endure the loss of a parent let alone both in one fell swoop.

Stripping off his shirt as he walked up the stairs for a quick shower, he came to a sudden halt when he reached the entrance to his bedroom. Rebecca lay on his bed, draped in his team jersey, legs spread with her hand down her panties. Six months ago, he would have welcomed finding a half-naked, pretty woman in his bed, but these days the sight just pissed him off. Rebecca was here for Sophie not him.

“What the fuck?”

Her eyes widened and with a small shriek, she reared back, making Linc believe the scene, at least, hadn’t been staged. But any sympathy he had for her was short-lived when her lids fell to half-mast and a sultry smile appeared on her lips. “Care to join me?”

Seeing red, Linc growled through gritted teeth. “Where’s Sophie?”

She misinterpreted his words either by choice or sheer stupidity because she didn’t heed the anger in his tone. “She just went down for a nap. We have plenty of time.” Her hand, which had flown from the inside of her panties upon his arrival, skimmed down over the flat of her stomach, her fingers inching back toward the elastic waistband in an effort to be enticing.

It didn’t work. Not by a fucking long shot.

God damn but he was tired of this shit. How hard was it to find a caregiver who didn’t have an ulterior motive?

“Get up, get dressed, and get the hell out,” he seethed. Knowing Sophie was asleep in the next room kept his tone low but there could be no mistaking the venom behind his words. But if that hadn’t been clear enough, he also slipped the shirt balled in his fist back on, aggressively yanking the cotton material over the waistband of his jeans.

Rebecca didn’t misunderstand anything that time. The come-hither smile instantly fell from her lips as she scurried to her knees, the fabric of his shirt falling to cover her thighs as she knelt in the center of his bed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t fire me.” She tried to back pedal. “I’m a huge fan and really like you, and I was hoping you liked me too.”

Linc repressed a snort of derision. Oh, he was sure she liked him all right. Liked his money and his fame. He’d been named People magazine’s sexiest man alive last year and Forbes 30 under 30 this year. He was sure she loved that too. Before Sophie, he relished women throwing themselves at him, not caring they were using him for one reason or another. He was young and living the time of his life. But now he had Sophie, and though it might sound cliché, she’d changed him. Having someone dependent on him made him realize there was more to life than fast cars and faceless women.

When Linc remained silent, Rebecca pressed harder, a note of panic entering her tone. “I’m not sure what came over me. Please, I can’t afford to lose this job, it pays double what I usually make and I really love it here.”

Linc’s lips thinned and his jaw locked at her most important omission. He counted to ten. When he felt he had his temper under control, he countered, “And Sophie. You don’t want to lose your job because you care about Sophie, right?”

Confusion clouded her features for a split second before comprehension dawned. That was one second too long for him to give a crap about anything else she had to say. “Of course, Sophie. I mean, I assumed that was a given. I’ve really fallen in love with that little girl. My heart would break if I had to leave her.”

She was a liar, and he was done. “You have five minutes. If you’re not gone in that time, I’m calling the cops.” That threat usually worked and would hopefully save him from further dramatics.

He gave her his back, done discussing the matter, and made his way down the hall to Sophie’s room. Her door was cracked and he nudged it open with his toe, peeking inside. She was asleep on her side and curled around her beloved stuffed bear. Though not a train, his name was Thomas after her favorite TV show. She may not talk but, in a roundabout way, she had named him, shaking her head at each suggestion Linc had thrown out, nodding when he’d finally landed on the name she wanted. They communicated a lot that way. Linc had gotten pretty good at guessing what she may want or need, but what he really wanted was to hear her sweet voice.

He clenched his jaw to keep his anger in check at the injustice of Natalie’s death as he watched the subtle rise and fall of her daughter’s chest for a few minutes before quietly closing the door and making his way back down to the kitchen. Glancing down the hall toward his bedroom before he descended the stairs, he didn’t see Rebecca and hoped he wouldn’t have to make good on his threat in order to get her to leave.

Movement caught his eye as Linc leaned against the marble countertop, arms folded across his chest. He saw Rebecca sail past the kitchen, purse slung over her shoulder, thankfully back in her own clothes—though she could’ve taken his jersey with her as he’d never wear the fucking thing again. Twin spots of red hit her cheeks when she caught notice of him—a good sign her parting would go off without incident. Which it did. Averting her head, she hastened to the front door, leaving without saying a word. Linc let out a deep breath, happy she hadn’t caused a scene.

He was done with the nanny agency. But that left him with a new dilemma. He’d need to find someone qualified on his own. That meant background checks—something the service provided—which meant time—a commodity, as he’d already established, he was in short supply of. While he was off for the season, he still had work obligations. Take that day for instance. He’d had the ad campaign which wouldn’t wrap up until tomorrow and then there was the signing he had on Friday at a popular, chain sporting goods store. Not to mention his daily workouts which ate up his whole morning.

Having to find a new nanny was going to be a huge pain in the ass, but that wasn’t the worst part. The disruption it created in Sophie’s life was what really got to him. Linc worried enough about Sophie still not talking and the reassurance from her therapist that she would talk again when she was ready wasn’t helping him sleep at night. She needed fucking stability, damn it. Sure, he was a constant now, but when the season started and he had to be on the road having a stream of revolving caregivers come in and out of her life wouldn’t help her feel secure.

Pulling out his phone, he called the one person he could count on when in a jam.

Oz picked up after only one ring. “Yo.”

“I need a favor,” Linc said by way of greeting.

“Hit me with it.”

“I had to fire Rebecca.”

“Shit. Man, I’m sorry.” No one knew better than Oz the bind that put him in.

“Yeah, me too. I have a commitment tomorrow that I can’t reschedule. Do you think you can watch Sophie for a few hours.”

“No problem. Bring her on over.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you one. Or is it a hundred by now?”

Oz chuckled again. “You know Emerson and I are always here to help with whatever you need.”

“I appreciate it, man. I’ll be there around nine.”

“See you then, brother.”

Linc hung up and tossed his phone on the kitchen counter. That was one day solved. Now, what to do about the rest.

∞∞∞

Pulling into guest parking at Oz’s complex the next afternoon after his photo shoot, Linc turned off his car and got out. Taking a page from Oz’s book, he’d bought himself a child-friendly Escalade, trading in his Porsche 911. Was he sad to see his sporty car go? Maybe a little—it’d been fucking fun to drive—but those days were behind him now. The Escalade was roomy enough for Sophie’s booster seat and had the added bonus of being equipped with a TV. Besides, the thing was a tank which meant it would keep Sophie safe, and that’s what mattered most.

The security door buzzed and Linc yanked it open. Bypassing the elevator, he opted for the stairs up to Oz’s apartment, needing the cardio after missing two days of workouts. His friend was officially a homeowner too, but his house was currently being renovated. Linc had gone to see it a few weeks ago and the place had been a gutted mess. Oz said it would be a couple more months until it was ready, and Linc couldn’t wait to see it once it was done.

“Hey, man,” Oz said, opening the door wide enough for Linc to step in.

“Sorry I’m late. Shit ran longer than I thought it would,” Linc said, as Oz closed the door behind him. That’s when he heard a little-girl giggle followed by a woman-sized one coming from the other room.

“Not a problem. As you can hear, Sophie’s been well entertained.”

Dumbfounded, Linc took a few tentative steps, almost afraid if he made any sudden moves it would disrupt whatever the hell was happening in this suddenly skewed universe. Because in the real one, Sophie never giggled. Hell, Linc had never heard her make a sound at all unless she was upset.

Oz came up to his side, laying a hand on his shoulder. “They’ve been in the bedroom, giggling for over an hour.”

“Emerson?” Linc asked, speaking of Oz’s wife.

“No, a server called out and she had to run. That’s my sister, Nora. You remember, you met her a few weeks ago at the pub when she first arrived.”

Linc cast his mind back, coming up with the image of a young woman, her brown hair pulled up into a haphazard ponytail and wearing baggy sweats, barely remembering the introduction. Sophie had been having a bad day, so when Oz had texted him to come meet his sister, he’d jumped at the chance to get her out of the house, thinking a change of scenery might help—he’d been wrong. Sophie had given new meaning to the word fussy, and he’d left quicker than a linebacker rushing to make a sack. Linc couldn’t recall if he’d even talked to Oz’s sister other than their initial hellos. He cringed at the thought. Man, she must think him a first-rate asshole.

As if reading his mind, Oz slapped him on the back, “Don’t worry, I explained your situation so there were no hard feelings. Come on, let’s go see what they’re up to.”

If Linc had been surprised by the sound of Sophie’s giggles, that was nothing compared to the sight before his eyes now. A fort had been erected using the comforter, one end hanging off the bed with the other end supported by a chair. The two girls were sitting crossed-legged under it, their heads bent together as Oz’s sister painted Sophie’s nails while telling her a story. Linc may not have paid much attention to Nora at their first meeting, but she had his full attention now.

Neither female noticed their new audience standing in the doorway—Sophie too engrossed in the fairytale and Nora intently concentrating on her task.

“And the wolf said, ‘Better to see you with, my dear.’”

Sophie produced a fresh round of giggles as Nora spoke in a high-pitched growl, doing a perfect imitation of a wolf disguised as Little Red Riding Hood’s poor, newly eaten grandmother.

Linc just stood there in awe, becoming as engrossed as Sophie was. Only not in the tale, but in the woman telling it. No longer travel-worn, her brown hair spilled down her back in a thick cascade, the top caught up in a clip. In profile, her small, upturned button nose was her prominent feature but also on display was a full, creamy smooth cheek and long slender neck. His eyes traveled lower, snagging on her breasts, voluptuously displayed by the low vee of her T-shirt.

He quickly jerked his gaze away. What the fuck was he doing practically eye-fucking Oz's little sister. He needed to lock that shit down even if she was the first woman to catch his attention in forever.

“The better to eat you with!” Linc got pulled back into the action when Nora roared. The nail polish now capped and tossed to the side, she made her hands into claws and went after a now shriek-laughing Sophie who promptly fell to her back, keeping her hands safely raised high as Nora tickled her.

Still bemused, Linc looked over his shoulder at Oz who had a huge smile on his face, clearly enjoying the show.

Linc chuckled when another peal of laughter left Sophie’s lips. The sound must have carried, catching Nora’s attention. Mirth still danced in her eyes as her gaze swung his way, surprise written all over her face. Recovering quickly, she called, “Looks like we have an audience, Sophie.”

His niece struggled to stand, still being careful of her newly painted nails, and Nora took her by the arm to help her up. Then, like always when Sophie saw him, a special smile lit her face.

She rushed over and Linc knelt as she waved her hands close to his face. He gently captured her wrists, pulling her hands down so he could better inspect her nails. “Very pretty and very pink. Let me guess, you picked the color?”

The puff ball of curls at the top of her head wobbled as she nodded.

“Well, you made an excellent choice.”

“She wanted them to match her T-shirt, so I’m afraid she’ll need to wear pink for a couple more days.”

“Yeah, well, seeing as her whole wardrobe is pink, that won’t be a problem.”

Nora laughed, a deep throaty sound that he liked. A little too much. It was sexy as hell. And Shit, he was doing it again. He forced his mind off inappropriate thoughts—though it was damn hard now that she was standing and he could clearly see her body, emphasized by her tight jeans and form-fitting tee. Though her stomach was flat, she wasn’t a stick. She had tits and hips and ass. Plenty to hold onto, just the way he liked it.

Forcing his thoughts out of the bedroom, he stood from his crouch, taking Sophie with to place on his hip, and cleared his throat. “Hearing her giggle made my day. Thanks for playing with her.”

“It was my pleasure.” Nora held her hand up for Sophie to high-five. “We had a fun time. Didn’t we?”

Sophie vigorously slapped Nora’s palm and Linc liked the way Nora included her in the conversation.

He turned back to Oz, who’d stepped aside so he wasn’t blocking the doorway. “I hate to ask, but I’ve got a signing on Friday. If I can’t get someone lined up before then, do you think you can watch Sophie again?”

“Friday?” Oz reached into his back pocket, pulling out his phone, taking a minute to read it. “I have a meeting with the S&C coach at ten and Fridays are usually slammed at the pub so Emerson’s no help,” he looked up from the screen, “but I can probably reschedule.”

“I can watch her,” Nora volunteered.

Surprised by the offer, Linc gave her an out. “Are you sure?”

She waved a carefree hand. “Of course. With everyone gone, I’d just be hanging out not doing much anyway.”

“Okay, then yeah, that would be great.”

“It’s all settled.” She smiled at Sophie. “I’ll see you in a couple of days and we’ll have a super fun time.”

Linc believed in making one’s own fate. Good fortune didn’t just happen—it was something a person had to work for. But looking at Sophie and seeing her excitement, he was finding it hard not to think of Nora as anything but a godsend.