It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1)(88)

When it was over, Ron examined the damage. He had destroyed his suit, bruised his hand, and only lost by three baskets. It was the proudest moment of his life.

The watery autumn sun came out from behind a cloud as the two of them collapsed on the grass next to the court to catch their breath. Ron propped his forearms on his bent knees, sucked in air, and gazed with deep satisfaction at the goose egg puffing up Dan’s left eyebrow.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have quite a shiner there.” He tried, but couldn’t quite hold back his glee.

Dan laughed and swiped at his dripping forehead with the sleeve of his knit shirt. “Once you stopped playing like a debutante, you came on strong. We’ll have to do it again.”

Yes! Ron wanted to throw his arms in the air like Rocky on the museum steps but contented himself with a macho grunt.

Dan stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles as he leaned back on the heels of his hands. “Tell me something, Ron. Do you think I’ve been pushing the men too hard?”

Ron pulled off his ruined necktie. “Physically, no.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

“If you want to know whether or not I approve of what Phoebe did in the locker room, I don’t. She should have talked to you about her concerns first.”

“She says I can’t handle criticism.”

He looked so outraged that Ron laughed.

“I don’t see what’s so damned funny.”

“You can’t handle criticism, and the fact is, you deserved some. Phoebe’s right. You have been driving the men too hard, and it was affecting their mental attitude.”

Ron probably wouldn’t have been so blunt if he still weren’t on an adrenaline high. To his amazement, Dan didn’t explode. Instead, he managed to look injured.

“It seems to me that as the Stars’ general manager, you might have worked up enough gumption to talk to me about the problem yourself instead of sending a woman who doesn’t know a thing about football to do the job.”

“That’s exactly what she said to me this morning.”

“She go after you, too, huh?”

“I don’t think she’s too crazy about either one of us right now.”

The men stared at the empty basketball court. Dan shifted his weight and the dry leaves rustled beneath him. “That was some sweet win last night.”

“It really was.”

“Her locker room speech is gonna go down in football history.”

“I’ll never forget it.”

“She sure doesn’t know much about football.”

“In the third quarter she cheered when we went offside.”

Dan chuckled, then gave a long contented sigh. “I guess, all in all, Phoebe’s working out better than either of us could’ve expected.”



“Dan!” After their argument that afternoon, Phoebe was stunned to see the Stars’ coach standing on her doorstep holding a deep-dish pizza box. It was nearly ten o’clock, and her makeup had long ago worn off. She was dressed for comfort in a faded pair of fake-Pucci leggings with a baggy purple sweater that barely covered her rear.

“I wasn’t expecting you.” She pushed her reading glasses to the top of her head and stepped aside to let him in.

“I can’t imagine why not. I told you I’d be here.”

“That was before our altercation.”

“Altercation?” He looked annoyed. “That was nothing more than a business discussion, is what it was. You get riled about the strangest things.” He shut the door.

Phoebe was spared a response by Pooh, who scampered into the foyer, yapping and shivering with bliss when she saw who had come to call. Phoebe took the pizza box and watched with amusement as the dog circled Dan’s legs so rapidly that she skidded on the floor.

He regarded the poodle warily. “She’s not going to pee, is she?”

“Not if you kiss her and call her ‘sugar pie’.”

He chuckled and leaned down to give the dog a macho knuckle rub on her topknot. Pooh immediately flopped to her back so he could get to her tummy.

“Don’t push it, dawg.”

The poodle took his rejection good-naturedly and followed them through the living room to the kitchen.

“What happened to your eye?”

“What eye? Oh, this? Basketball game. Your GM plays dirty ball.”

She stopped in her tracks. “Ron did that to you?”

“That boy’s got a mean streak a mile wide. I’d advise you to stay clear of him when he gets riled.”

She didn’t believe for a minute that Ron had done that to him, but she knew from the glimmer in his eye that she wouldn’t get any more out of him.

Molly’s face lit up as they came into the kitchen, and she rose from the table where she had just been gathering up her homework. “Dan! Phoebe said you weren’t coming.”

“Well now, Phoebe doesn’t know everything, does she? Sorry for arriving so late, but Mondays are long days for coaches.”

Phoebe knew that Dan and his assistants generally worked till midnight on Mondays and she suspected that he would return to the Stars Complex as soon as he left here. She appreciated the fact that he was keeping his promise to Molly.