Play Maker(39)

His gaze never left mine. I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, it was an incredibly kind and generous offer. On the other hand, why was he offering it in the first place? Had he taken one look at the place we were living and thought that I needed help? Did he think I needed his charity? I opened my mouth to say no, but then I saw Mikey’s face. There was so much excitement and hope there. Even my pride wouldn’t keep me from letting my brother have an opportunity he’d never have again.

“Ok,” I heard myself say. I was breaking every single one of my rules for this guy. I hoped to God it wasn’t going to bite me in the ass, even though it probably was. Fuck. But what could I do? Not let Mikey meet one of his idols? Never. I’d walk over hot coals for my brother. And spending a night at a soccer game was a cake walk, really. Even though it meant seeing James again, despite deciding that I could never see him again. ‘Never’ could start after the soccer game, I supposed.

James’ grin was huge. “Great,” he said. “I’ll have my manager call and set everything up with you.” He turned to get back in his car and then paused. He glanced back at me, his expression boyish. “I guess I’ll need your number then.”

I didn’t miss my mother’s wide-eyed stare and I couldn’t help the blush that burned my cheeks. I quickly wrote my number down on a piece of paper I dug out of my purse and handed it to James. He tucked it into his front pocket.

“Guess I’ll see you then,” he said, before looking back at Mikey, who was practically vibrating with excitement. “It was nice meeting you.”

Mikey was distracted, flipping through the things he had made James sign, so I had to nudge Mikey to get him to wave goodbye, but once James’ car had disappeared down our block, he burst into excited chatter. I felt my heart swell. It was so great to see him so excited.

“Red Nose Doctor. James Martin. Ten.” He stopped and looked at me. “Everything signed!”

“Mikey.” I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to keep my smile under control. “You can pick ten things to bring to the game. Ten might not be able to sign anything and he definitely cannot sign everything you own.”

“Ten for Ten?” Mikey asked, perking up at the play on words.

“That’s right,” I nodded, this time unable to stop my grin. He was so adorable. “Pick your ten favorite things and we’ll see if we can get them signed.”

“Promise?”

“I can’t promise that,” I told him. “You know that.” I had already unwittingly broken enough promises to him. I wasn’t going to risk this being something I couldn’t deliver on.

He looked visibly deflated, but quickly perked up when he realized everything he was holding had James’ signature on it. “Red Nose Doctor!” He waved them at me.

“That’s right.” I smiled at him, glad that the morning had started out so well. I had been so worried about him being upset about me being late. But he seemed to have completely forgotten that I had been late. But looking over at my mom revealed that while my brother had gotten over it, she had not.

Mikey rushed back into the apartment and I moved to follow him, but she put a hand on my arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked, worry all over her face.

“I just lost track of time,” I told her, feeling a bit like a teenager who had been caught sneaking out after her curfew. Not like that had ever happened when I was a teen. I hadn’t gotten to have fun then. Was it so wrong to have a little now? But I knew that it was more than that. I knew I had f*cked up. I had put myself before my brother’s needs. Something I had never done before. Something I couldn’t do again. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she fretted. “Do you know anything about this guy?”

“There’s nothing to know,” I countered. “He’s going back to London after this game. It’s not anything serious. We’re just having fun.”

“He seems to be good at that,” she said wryly. “Do you know what they call him in the tabloids?”

“You know I don’t read those.” But I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of trepidation. I knew he was a player – that’s what had attracted me to him in the first place – but now I wondered if I should be worried about letting someone with a bad reputation near my brother. But then I remembered how cute he had looked admitting he was a Doctor Who fan. No one who liked Doctor Who could be that bad.

“Well, I do.” My mom’s mouth was set in a firm line. “And he’s in them. A lot. They call him the Play Maker.”

I couldn’t help a snort of laughter. “That’s a ridiculous nickname.”

“Well, his reputation isn’t.” There was no humor in my mom’s voice. “He is a playboy, Nicole. He sleeps around. He’s always photographed with a new girl. Sometimes strippers.”

Even though I had known since meeting him that he was a playboy – he had said so himself – for some reason my mom’s words stung. And I didn’t understand why. Hadn’t I chosen him for the exact reason? Hadn’t I wanted a guy that had no interest in sticking around? So why did my heart twist at the confirmation of that fact? It was because I was in too deep.

“The game is for Mikey,” I told my mom firmly. “James and I are nothing serious.”