She was already getting nervous for Alex, who didn’t seem anxious at all as he hung out and laughed with the other competitors. She really liked his body language, the way he carried himself with such a laid-back demeanor, leaning on his sand-jammed board while he casually chatted with the other surfers.
He occasionally caught her eye and glanced her way. Ben had invited her to spend the afternoon in the shaded promoter’s tent with him, a blissful relief from the baking sand and sun. It also meant Alex knew where to find her, though he’d stayed with the crowd of other surfers. But he’d look over at her and smile, and she’d get these ridiculous butterflies in her stomach remembering the amazing sex they’d shared earlier in the day.
By the time the heats were over, she needed a nap.
“How about a drink?” Ben asked as he gathered up his paperwork.
He’d been an amazing host, explaining every part of the practice process to her.
“I’m exhausted. I need some rest.”
His lips curved into a knowing smile. “Alex hard to keep up with?”
She lifted her chin. “I think I can manage, despite my advanced age.”
He laughed. “I wasn’t making a crack about you and Alex having sex. He’s just pretty high energy and always on the go. He wears me the hell out. You should make a run for it now before he finds you and wants to drag you into the ocean for surfing. He could go all day. I’m thinking of disappearing myself before he wants to take me out to a bar, or surf with him.”
Leave it to her to assume the wrong thing. “Yet you two room together.”
He stuffed some papers into a backpack. “Yeah.”
“Or is that more for business, so you can keep an eye on your investment?”
“Alex doesn’t need a babysitter. He’s an adult and can manage his life just fine without me. We travel all the time together, and we’ve grown close over the years. We’re friends. We often share a suite during competition.”
Well, hell. She’d heard her own voice snapping at him and she didn’t like it. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
He tilted his head her way, his smile genuine. “No offense taken, Victoria.”
She really did need a nap. She was reading things into her conversation with Ben that obviously weren’t there. “I think I’ll head out. If you see Alex, tell him I’ll be back tonight for the party.”
“Will do.”
Several hours later, she had rested, showered, and had even treated herself to a massage at the spa. Now she felt immensely better. And also much worse about being so defensive with Ben earlier. He’d been generous and kind and she’d done nothing but accuse him of age discrimination and running roughshod over Alex.
She owed him an apology.
She put on a sundress, slipped on her sandals and walked down toward the beach. It was dark, so the tiki torches were lit and a bonfire was going strong. The competition area was crowded with people, some she recognized as the surfing competitors, some as the advertisers and promoters, and some she didn’t know at all. There were a lot more people there tonight than had been around the day before.
Once she got past security with her badge, she wended her way through the crowd in search of either Alex or Ben.
She found Ben in the middle of a group of men. He smiled and waved her over, introduced her to several guys all in the business of promoting their own competitors in the contest.
He put his arm around her. “This is Victoria Baldwin.”
One of them, a tall African American man wearing a white-and-red flowered shirt, narrowed his gaze. “Aren’t you a sports agent?”
“I am. And you are . . .”
He held out his hand. “Sorry. Larry Banders.”
The name sounded familiar. Why couldn’t she place it? “Nice to meet you, Larry.”
“You represent Malcolm King, the basketball player from San Antonio.”
“Yes, I do.”
“He’s married to my sister, Cynthia.”
Now she knew why the name had rung a bell. She smiled. “Of course. I love Cynthia. She’s so supportive of Malcolm’s career.”
“Yeah, she loves basketball. Played some herself in high school and college.”
“Yes. We’ve had several conversations about that. I tried to recruit her for the WNBA, but she refused to listen to my grand plans for her career.”
Larry laughed. “Yeah, she wants to concentrate on my two nephews. I told her the same thing. I would have promoted the hell out of her if she’d let me. But she said babies first, career later. And now she wants to be a teacher.”
Tori shrugged. “Not everyone wants the career of an athlete. What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I love those kids, so if she’s happy, then I’m happy. In the meantime, I put my label on everyone else. Like my kid here. In fact, I see him now, so excuse me. Nice meeting you, Victoria.”
“You too, Larry.”