SEVEN
ELIZABETH WAS
WAITING FOR HIM OUTSIDE HIS LOCKER after the game the next
day.
“I thought we’d go
have dinner at this new Italian restaurant in West Palm
Beach.”
She’d brushed aside
the night before, hadn’t said anything further about it. Gavin
wanted to talk about it, but every time he’d try to bring it up she
changed the subject. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but
he could grab a clue.
“Italian it is.” He
grabbed his bag, put his arm around her, and they pushed through
the doors to the parking lot.
He stopped dead in
his tracks when he saw his brother leaning against a
car.
Mick’s smile died
instantly when he spotted Gavin with his arm around Elizabeth. Mick
pushed off the car and came toward them.
“Oh, shit,”
Elizabeth whispered, stepping away from him.
“Hey,” Gavin said as
Mick approached. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
Mick hugged him, but
he wasn’t smiling. “Yeah. I had a meeting in New York, so I thought
I’d take a quick flight down here and catch one of your
games.”
He nodded at
Elizabeth. “Liz.”
“Hi,
Mick.”
“So, what’s going
on?”
Gavin shrugged.
“Preseason stuff. You know the drill.”
“That’s not what I
meant and you know it. What’s going on with you and
Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth turned to
Gavin. “I’m going back to the house. I’ll let you catch up with
your brother, okay?”
Gavin nodded.
“Sure.”
He watched her walk
away. She looked miserable. “Give me a second, Mick.”
He caught up with
Elizabeth. “Hey. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was in
town.”
She lifted her head.
There were unshed tears in her eyes, but she masked her unhappiness
with a wide smile. “It’s no big deal. You catch up with your
brother. I’ll see you later.”
Uncaring whether his
brother saw or not, Gavin cupped her cheeks and pressed a soft kiss
to her lips. “I won’t be long.”
Elizabeth grasped
his arms. “You take your time and enjoy catching up with Mick. I
have some contract stuff to work on anyway.”
He waited while she
got into her car and drove off. When he turned around and walked
back, Mick had a furious look on his face.
“Want to go get
something to eat?” Gavin asked.
“What the fuck is
going on?”
“Look. I’m hungry.
Let’s eat and then we’ll talk. Follow me.”
It was a chickenshit
excuse, but Gavin needed a few minutes alone in his car to get his
bearings before facing his big brother. He drove them to a
restaurant several miles away from the ballpark where they could
grab some burgers and where Gavin could get a beer. Since Mick was
an alcoholic, he ordered a soft drink.
Once the waitress
took their food orders and brought their drinks, Mick leaned
forward.
“What the fuck,
Gavin? Elizabeth? Are you out of your mind?”
Gavin’s chin lifted,
irritation making him grip the glass tightly in his hand. “What
about Elizabeth?”
“You know what she
did to Tara and Nathan. Her betrayal of them hurt them. It hurt
me.”
“And she knows it.
She apologized and she fixed it. And you fired her. What the hell
do you want from her, man? Blood? A limb, maybe?”
“I can’t believe
you’re seeing her. How long has this been going on?”
Gavin’s lips lifted.
“Now you sound like Mom.”
“Not funny. I’m
serious here. Or maybe I should ask if you’re serious. Are you just
fucking her? Or maybe you’re just fucking with her. Surely you don’t care about her. Do you
have any idea how screwed up this is?”
Once again it was
all about Mick. How many times in Gavin’s life had the world
revolved around his brother? First it was football, then his
alcoholism. The family had always rallied around Mick. Gavin
supposed being the oldest had its advantages. You got to do
everything first. Mick had always been the shining example that
Gavin had to follow. And then when Mick had fallen from grace with
his battle with alcohol, he’d dragged himself up by his bootstraps
and shown everyone what a hero he was and become an NFL
star.
Oh, sure, Gavin had
his own successes in baseball, but really, after everything Mick
had been through, Gavin’s success in the major leagues was pretty
much an afterthought.
And now with
Elizabeth, she was the agent Mick had fired. So Gavin wasn’t
supposed to date Elizabeth because she had screwed over Mick’s
fiancée? Even Gavin’s girl wasn’t good enough for
Mick?
Fuck
that.
The waitress brought
their burgers, and the conversation was put on hold temporarily
while they dove into their food. Unfortunately, Gavin’s voracious
appetite waned as he thought about Mick’s attitude toward Elizabeth
and Elizabeth’s reaction to seeing Mick there.
“So, are you going
to tell me what’s going on?” Mick asked, pouncing as soon as Gavin
pushed his plate aside.
“I don’t know what
you’re fishing for, Mick.”
“You and Liz. What’s
the deal?”
“Stay out of my
personal life, Mick. Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your
own?”
Mick’s gaze
narrowed. “Don’t bring her around the family.”
“Mom loves
Elizabeth.”
“Not right now, she
doesn’t.”
“Has she told you
that?”
“She doesn’t have
to. She knows everything that went down with Tara and
Nathan.”
“And she said . . .
what, exactly?”
Mick tossed his
napkin on the table. “You know she doesn’t like people who
interfere in other people’s lives. And she doesn’t like people who
hurt kids.”
Which meant Mom
hadn’t directly said anything negative about Elizabeth. “You’re
just making this all up as you go along. Look, Mick, I get that
you’re defending Tara. If she were my woman, I’d do the same. And I
understand you’re still pissed at Liz for the way she manipulated
all of you. But my relationship with her isn’t the same, and you
can’t judge me . . . or her . . . for it. You need to stay out of
it.”
Mick shook his head.
“Sorry, but you’re my brother, and you haven’t always made smart
decisions where women are concerned.”
“Oh, so now you’re
saying I’m stupid.”
“I didn’t say that.
But you know Liz. Or at least I thought you did. Can’t you see what
she’s doing?”
“She isn’t
doing anything. We’re having some fun
together and that’s all. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.
Leave it alone.”
Mick stared long and
hard at him. It reminded Gavin of when they were kids fighting over
a toy. But Elizabeth wasn’t a toy. And this time Mick wanted Gavin
to throw her away.
“I think you’re
making a mistake. She’s only with you because she’s trying to keep
you as a client.”
“I’m not that
stupid, Mick.”
Mick leaned back and
grabbed his glass of soda, finished it and took the bill the
waitress presented. He took out cash and handed it to her with a
smile. After the waitress left, Mick’s smile died as he turned his
attention back to Gavin. “Just clear your head and try not to think
with your dick. She’s playing you.”
“Thanks for thinking
so highly of me.”
“I care about you,
Gavin. I don’t want to see her hurt you the way she hurt me and
Tara.”
“I think you need to
get over your grudge against her and move on with your life. Plan
your wedding to Tara. Forget about what Elizabeth
did.”
They walked outside
to their cars.
“Thanks for coming
down here to see my game.”
Mick finally smiled
for the first time. “You’re looking good.”
“Thanks.”
They hugged. “At
least think about what I said.”
“Give Tara my love.
And Mom and Dad, too. I’ll be back home soon.”
Mick inhaled and let
it out. “This isn’t a game, Gavin.”
Gavin hadn’t felt
that way before.
So why did he
suddenly feel like it was? A game between Gavin and his brother,
and Elizabeth was right in the middle of it.