“YOU GOING TO SIT AROUND MOPING ABOUT THIS FOREVER, or are you going to do something about it?”
Gavin knew he should have stayed home today instead of going to his parents’ to see his dad. He’d had a week out of town where he’d blissfully drowned his sorrows in baseball and at the bar. He’d sucked at his game, which hadn’t helped his mood any, and the bar hadn’t offered any answers, either. Neither had the women who’d tried to approach him. He wasn’t interested in any of them, because they weren’t beautiful redheads with emerald green eyes and challenging attitudes.
Now he was home, and home reminded him of Lizzie, too. So he’d gone to his parents, figuring he could do some fix-it work for his dad. He visited with his father, who hadn’t said anything about Elizabeth. His mother, on the other hand . . .
“Nothing to do about it, Mom. It’s over. I tried to talk to her and only succeeded in screwing things up again.”
She stood in the kitchen chopping vegetables but paused to offer him a not-so-sympathetic look. “I’ve never known you to be a quitter, Gavin.”
“And you only get so many strikes before you’re out.”
She waved the paring knife at him. “Don’t try that baseball analogy on me, mister. Elizabeth isn’t a bat that you can swing, try three times, and go sit down when you don’t get a hit. She’s a woman you claim to love. You get out there and keep trying until you get her back.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s not easy. It’s hard. Love is hard, just like baseball. You think it should come easy to you just like all the other women in your life since you became famous.”
He laughed. “I’m hardly famous, Mom.”
“You’re not a nobody, either. And you need to admit that you’re well known, especially around here. It’s not like you’ve had to go trolling for women since you went to the major leagues.”
His mom had said “trolling for women.” Jeez. “Okay, I admit women have been pretty available.”
“Exactly my point. And then you hook up with Elizabeth, and suddenly it’s not so easy. You have to work at the relationship.”
“No, she’s definitely not easy. In fact she’s been a giant rockin’ pain in my ass since we first got together.”
She continued to slice carrots. “Yeah, and you’re a real walk in the park.”
“Hey.”
She laid the knife down and looked at him. “Well, let’s just take it from her side. She’s your agent, and she’s been in love with you for years, but at the same time she has to see you on the arm of these bimbos year after year and not say anything. Then suddenly you show interest in her, and she probably thinks she’s just going to be another notch on your bedpost. How’s she supposed to react to that? A little standoffish, I imagine.”
Gavin frowned. “Wait. What? She’s been in love with me for years? Where did that come from?”
His mother rolled her eyes. “Men are so dense sometimes. I guess I wasn’t supposed to say anything about that, but yes, Gavin, Elizabeth has been in love with you for many years. She just never said anything to you about it because of your professional relationship.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t, because she didn’t intend to ever do anything about it.”
Until that night in Florida when he made the first move. And everything changed between them. And before then. He remembered the night Mick fired her. That kiss that had knocked him out of his shoes. And the look in her eyes that had made him wonder what the hell was going on. No wonder she was so reluctant, and so willing to keep things light and easy between them.
She hadn’t wanted him to know. And she’d been scared.
“I never knew, Mom. Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Because she was guarding her heart against you, because you could hurt her.”
Aw, hell. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
“Yes, you did. The question is, are you going to give up on her now, or are you going to fight for her?”
ELIZABETH BURIED HERSELF IN HER WORK. HAVING two new clients helped with that. There were contractual issues to go over, and she’d met with them to discuss their current team contracts and their career goals, which meant more travel. While she was on the road, she’d also stopped in at a few of the games of her other clients to meet with them and give them a little attention.
Getting out of town again had been the best thing for her. She’d needed to clear her head.
Now that she was back she intended to concentrate on her client portfolio and give all her clients her attention. She’d given one client too much of her time for too long.
That was over and done with. Time to focus on her career, on what she loved, on the one thing that fulfilled her and loved her back.
Besides, with her assistant on vacation for two weeks, she was utterly swamped.
Perfect. It would give her a chance to clean up and reorganize her office, something she desperately needed to do.