Just for Kicks by Tracy Solheim

Nine

* * *

“I’M SOGLAD you finally let my viewers inside your stunning penthouse, Declan,” Nancy What’s-her-name gushed. She glanced knowingly at Andi, who was sitting ram-rod straight beside him on the leather sofa looking as if she’d been called to the headmaster’s office for cheating.

“I’ve been begging him for years to grant me a one-on-one interview,” the other woman explained. “Growler fans want to know the man behind the million-dollar leg. But up until now, he’s been so reclusive.”

Damn right. It was bad enough he had to suffer through the mandatory post-game pressers—especially after a game winning kick that went wide-right. But his personal life was just that, personal. He hated revealing any part of it for the rest of the world to dissect. These days, fans—not to mention the rest of the general public—thought they had the right to critique a celebrity’s every decision or action. Dex hadn’t signed up for any of that bullshit. Just the thought of how his so-called fans would react if they got wind of his biggest mistake had him breaking out in a cold sweat.

“I guess we all owe you a debt of thanks, Andi, for snaring one of Milwaukee’s most eligible bachelors so we could get a peek inside his lair,” Nancy continued. “Although it will probably take the broken-hearted women of this town a while to forgive you for taking him off the market.”

The brittle smile Andi wore wavered slightly. As if the false pregnancy rumors weren’t enough, now she had to worry about getting the cold shoulder from the entire female population of Wisconsin. The women of Milwaukee had another thing coming, though. As evidenced by her earlier defense of her friends, Little Orphan Andi didn’t back down from anything. Truth be told, he was a wee bit awed by her strength of character. Which made what he was about to do even more nauseating.

“You two certainly pulled off the surprise of the year,” Nancy stated. “How were you able to keep your relationship under wraps for so long?”

Dex glanced behind the camera to where Kurt looked on. His agent nodded stoically. They’d agreed to offer as many non-answers to the interviewer’s questions as possible, but it would be hard to evade them all. It was bad enough Andi had decided to present herself to the world as a buttoned-up debutante. If people were going to believe their marriage was for real, he needed to let the viewers—and his teammates—know he found her sexy. Not that it was a stretch. He found her sexy as hell. But he was about to let the world know just how sexy. He just hoped she didn’t hand him his balls on a paper plate after this was over.

He smiled at Andi before picking up her hand and brushing a kiss over her knuckles. “Well, Nancy, that was easy.” He laid her palm against his thigh, placing his hand over top of hers. “We were too busy unwrapping each other that we didn’t have time to go public.”

For fuck’s sake.The line Kurt fed him sounded idiotic coming out of Dex’s mouth.

There was an audible gasp somewhere in the room. Mrs. Hilbert, most likely. Dex bit back a wince at the nails currently digging into his thigh as if to say “in your dreams, asshole.” He might have overplayed his hand with such a flagrantly suggestive comment, but Kurt was right, it had to be done. To her credit, Andi barely reacted to Dex’s change in course.

Nancy, however, was having a bit more difficulty hiding the fact she was flustered.

“Oh, my.” She fanned herself with her list of questions. “Perhaps you’d like to tell our viewers how you two met?”

He opened his mouth to answer with the lie they’d concocted the night before about crossing paths at the Vey Center, but Andi beat him to the punch.

“That’s another easy one,” she replied. “I work at Shear Envy salon. We met when Dex came in to get waxed.” Andi smiled smugly, all the while viciously patting his thigh as though she’d seen a spider crawl up his leg.

This time the sound coming from somewhere in the room was an agonized groan. He suspected Kurt was the culprit. His agent was either enjoying Andi’s pluck or he was suffering a stroke.

For his part, Dex smothered a snort of surprised laughter. He’d suspected his wife was gritty and determined, but he underestimated her ability to fight dirty. Of course, his idiotic comment to her friend earlier and the suggestion that she stutter during the interview were likely largely responsible for her claws. Still, he had to add her feistiness to the growing list of things he admired about her.

“Waxed?” Seasoned journalist that she was, Nancy was not going to let Andi’s statement go without a follow-up.

“Oh yes, twice a month. Like clockwork.” Andi leaned forward conspiratorially. “Dude has a back so hairy it’s practically a hair shirt.”

“You don’t say?” The other woman glanced over at him for confirmation.

The only response he could manage was a pained smirk. No doubt he was going to catch hell from his teammates for Andi’s lie. Pleased with her counterattack, she settled back against the sofa. He reached an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight against his body. She was still stiff as a board, so he massaged his fingers into her shoulder. His movement was greeted with a sharp thumbnail moving dangerously close to his groin.

“Um, so you two bonded over . . . back waxes?”

“Oh, no,” he interjected, trying to formulate a comeback while ignoring the impending damage to his manhood. “Andi doesn’t fall for just any pretty face. I won her over with my brilliant intellect. You see, she’s finishing up business school and was struggling a wee bit with her studies. I offered to tutor her with her classwork and well, you know, one thing led to another from there.”

As impossible as it seemed, Andi stiffened even more. No doubt she was annoyed at the sexual innuendoes he was bandying about like a randy lad. She was also a proud woman, though. He suspected she wouldn’t enjoy being made to look vulnerable in any aspect of her life, particularly her studies. But she’d met him head on with the back waxing and hair shirt quips, so the game was on. He found himself actually looking forward to whatever she’d come up with next.

“And I won Declan over with my bath soaps,” she retaliated.

“Bath soaps?” Nancy donned a “what in the hell” look as her head twisted back and forth between them.

“I make organic bath soaps, lotions, and shampoos. Dex here loves a long soak in a good bubble bath.” She turned to him with an insipid smile and clear “bite me” expression in her eyes.

This woman never, ever, did what he expected. There was no calculating the probability of any response from her. And damn if he didn’t enjoy trying to figure her out. A smattering of pride bubbled up in his chest at the way she took him on.

Not only that, but he was beginning to realize that his attraction to her was so much more than just a sexual one. He actually liked her. A lot. And maybe he could come away from this fake marriage with something unexpected—a friend.

Of course, given the past five minutes, he might have pooched that opportunity. He needed to get them out of the mess of an interview before it was too late. He reached up and gently toyed with a strand of her hair that had come loose from her uptight hairdo. The simple gesture had her sucking in a ragged breath.

“She does make the most incredible soaps. Andi is very talented with scents.” He glanced away from his stunned wife to look at the reporter, grateful Kurt had finally filled him in on her business venture. He hoped Andi would see his declaration as the apology it was meant to be. “We’ll send you a basket of some of her best work. You won’t be disappointed. Neither will the women of Milwaukee.”

He knew the instant Andi realized the interview had gone from a contest of one-upmanship to something else. Her blue eyes softened and the death grip she had on his thigh became more of a gentle caress. The agitated edge was gone from her voice when she spoke.

“And I’m not the only one Dex shares his brilliant intellect with. He’s very generous with the children of Milwaukee. Especially those who don’t have someone to give them that extra push with their school work. Yes, his brain is sexy, but his kindness is definitely his most attractive feature.”

Their eyes locked for a long moment. They were both pouring it on thick, but something in her look told him she meant some of what she said. He wasn’t sure why her acceptance meant so much to him, but it did. It felt almost as good as kicking the game winning field goal. He nearly forgot they were in the middle of an interview until Nancy spoke.

“Well, I think most of the women in Milwaukee would say that Dex’s legs are his most attractive feature.”

Andi’s mouth turned up into a wicked smile. “That’s only because they haven’t seen all of him.”

Mrs. Hilbert cackled in the background while Dex’s adorable, feisty, unpredictable fake wife turned and winked at the damn camera.

* * *

HOURS LATER,DEX was nursing a glass of scotch in the quiet of his dimly lit study, mentally preparing himself for the fallout that would likely ensue once the interview aired the following morning. He could only imagine the pranks Kessler would have up his sleeve. So much for Coach Gibson’s plan to keep the team focused on their opponent this week. If there was one thing Dex knew about the Growlers’ players, they would come together all right, but they’d be unified in torturing him.

Kurt was ridiculously pleased with the spectacle. “You two couldn’t be more perfect for each other if your relationship actually was real,” he’d claimed, slapping Dex on the back. “The folks at Immigration and your fans will totally buy into your marriage after that performance.”

Satisfied his job was done, Kurt took off to Lake Geneva for the remainder of the weekend. His agent’s meddling mother, meanwhile, absconded with Andi to parts unknown, leaving Dex to his own devices for the remainder of the day. A week ago, he wouldn’t have been bothered by the solitude. It had been his cross to bear for nearly a decade. But for some reason, the isolation felt a little heavier tonight.

Morag hissed from her perch atop the bookshelf, suddenly prancing out of the room in a huff.

“Even the bloody cat has better plans,” he murmured as he took another swallow from his glass.

“I think it’s more that she doesn’t want to be in the same room with me.”

He nearly choked on his scotch when Andi’s voice drifted in from the shadows. “Where have you been?”

The question came out of his mouth a bit more harshly than he intended. He blamed it on the burn from the alcohol. Andi made her way further into the room. She looked more like his Andi dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a plain white T-shirt.

His Andi? Where the hell had that come from? She wasn’t his. Not now. Not ever.

“Wow.” She sat down on the sofa, picking up a pillow and putting it on her lap as if to use it as a shield. “And here I thought we had one of those open marriages where we didn’t have to be in each other’s pockets. Next you’ll be wanting to add me to your Find My Friends list. Or worse, barefoot and cooking dinner.”

He snorted. She was right, of course. Under the agreement, they were supposed to be living separate lives. So why then did her mention of open marriages have his teeth on edge? How had he become so bloody possessive all of a sudden? He needed to focus on the game plan. It was the only way to survive having her in his orbit and not in his bed.

“Let’s not go too crazy,” he quipped. “Just leave your schedule on the icebox door so I know where to find you the next time I need my back waxed.”

Her posture relaxed noticeably. She tossed the pillow to the side and tucked her feet beneath her. “Oh, don’t think Clive is going to let you get any free services.”

The air suddenly grew charged, along with parts of his body, as he considered all the “free services” he wouldn’t be getting. He took another healthy sip from his drink. “Well played on the back wax, by the way.” He saluted her with his glass. “For what it’s worth, it was Kurt’s idea to go in that direction with the interview.”

What’s an agent for if not to throw under the bus?

Andi shrugged. “Mrs. Hilbert admitted as much. I just wish you boys had clued me in before the interview.”

“Kurt was worried if we did, you’d bolt.”

Her sigh sounded annoyed. “I told you before that my word and my name are the only things in my life I control. And they mean something. I committed to this and I don’t plan on letting you or Mr. Hilbert down. You can stop worrying that I’m going flake out over every little thing before the divorce is filed.”

Guilt licked at his belly as he studied her over the rim of his glass. She hadn’t let him down. Not once. Even when he’d let her off the hook about the marriage, she’d stepped up when most people in her position would have taken the free money and run. But Andi Larsen was not most people. And he was beginning to appreciate the rare gift she was.

“I can promise you won’t be subjected to any more tortuous personal interviews. Today was a one and done.”

“Wait.” She looked at him in disbelief. “You mean Nancy Miles was telling the truth? This really was your first interview?”

“I do the required press conferences after games, but nothing more.”

“But you’re a professional athlete. A celebrity. Isn’t there something in your DNA that requires you to continually boast about your good fortune?”

Nothing in his DNA had prepared him to be a professional athlete, much less a celebrity. That role had been reserved for Niall. “I’d much rather endure a root canal.”

“Why? Because you turn into a Neanderthal jock who has to boast about his sex life when the camera lights go on?”

He deserved that one. “Touché.”

It didn’t surprise him when she didn’t revel in her win. “Seriously, why?”

Because he felt guilty. Guilty for his fame and success when all of that was meant for someone else. He didn’t deserve to be feted or idolized. Not after what he’d done.

“My private life is nobody else’s damn business,” he said instead.

With a heavy sigh, she stood up from the chair. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’ve got the brooding Highlander role down to perfection. My life is an open book, while your secrets will remain just that, secrets. Good thing this isn’t a real marriage.” She started for the door. “I’ll leave you to it then. Night.”

Damn. She was right. He was a Neanderthal. But as much as he wanted to apologize and spend the rest of the evening bantering with her, he needed to keep her at arm’s length. It would be safer that way. For both of them. Except he also needed to tell her about the picnic.

“Andi, hold up.”

Just when he thought she wouldn’t, she halted. When she turned toward him, her normally easy to read expression was lost in the shadows. He cleared his throat.

“We have another mandatory appearance tomorrow.” He rushed on over her exasperated sigh. “It’s a little family picnic the team throws every year. Nothing major.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I can see we are going to have to post a schedule on the ‘icebox.’ Keep in mind I have classes and reading to get done. I wasted most of my study time this afternoon putting together the baskets of soaps and lotions for Nancy and her crew that you promised.”

So that’s where she’d run off to. “Are you complaining about free-advertising, lass?”

“Not at all. Thank you, by the way.”

“Anything for you, my queen.”

She laughed, the sound making his own lips twitch.

“I’m sure I can handle something as simple as a picnic.”

“That’s the spirit, lass. It will be simple. You’ll see.”