Guarding His Heart

But stranger things had happened. She didn’t really know him and was basing her decision on his outgoing personality and the few reports of his off-court antics she’d read. The guy took his teammates skydiving to celebrate their first playoff win.

But he was thirty-six and successful. Her quick internet search hadn’t brought up rumors of him spending money frivolously or filing for bankruptcy, a situation that plagued some celebrities who achieved superstardom as young as he had. He could get excited about one of his businesses and really thrive.

“You won’t know until you try,” she encouraged. “If you’re ready to retire, don’t let the idea that you’re only good at basketball stop you. I’m sure you’re good at other things.”

“How do you know?” he asked with a sexy tilt of his full lips that made her ease closer.

“Your eyes are intelligent.” She met that dark gaze. His eyes were brown, bold and very cocky, but he wasn’t a dumb jock. He watched, listened and observed. All signs of intelligence.

His gaze became guarded. His brows drew together. She must have surprised him. “No one’s ever told me that.”

“I’m glad to be the first.”

Kevin closed the distance between them. His large hand clasped her waist. The possessiveness came back to his gaze. Jasmine’s pulse accelerated and she swallowed hard. He pulled her close until the tips of her breasts brushed his hard chest. A shiver went down her spine. Not from fear but anticipation. Heat roared through her like wildfire.

“I want to kiss you again.”

She wanted to kiss him again. When she didn’t protest, his head lowered. Jasmine’s lashes lowered, too. Expectation wound up and tightened her nerves like a coiled spring. Thoughts of cabins and next steps in life blew away with the soft breeze.

Ringing filled the air. Something at Kevin’s hip vibrated.

He pulled back. “My bad. That’s my cell.” He pulled out his phone and checked the screen. “My daughter. Let me take this.”

Jasmine nodded and stepped back. She tried to steady her breathing as he leaned against the concrete balcony railing and answered the call.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Kevin frowned and cocked his head. “What? Well, I’m sure your mom has a good reason for saying that.” Pause. “Let me talk to her.”

Kevin held up a finger toward Jasmine and gave an apologetic shrug. “Sabrina, what’s going on?” He listened for a few seconds. His lips tipped up, followed by a low chuckle. A flirty sound filled with history and memories.

She watched Kevin talk to his daughter’s mother and her passion slowly cooled. Her internet search had brought up personal information on him, as well. Married young to his high school sweetheart, right when he entered the league. Divorced four years later. After that, he’d been in a long-term relationship with another woman and she’d had twins right before they’d split. Since then, he hadn’t been connected with anyone on a lengthy basis.

Baggage, drama, warning! Back away from this man ASAP.

“Okay, kitten, calm down,” he said laughing. “I agree on punishment. She shouldn’t have come in late. I’ll swing through Atlanta and check out this guy she likes.”

He paused to listen. Jasmine’s mind whirled. Kitten? That was definitely a pet name and had definitely been spoken with affection.

The call ended. He shook his head and slipped the phone in his pocket. “Sorry, that was my ex-wife. My daughter has a new boyfriend and it’s driving Sabrina crazy.” He turned back and reached for her. “But that’s not important right now.”

So kitten was the ex-wife. Oh no! She wasn’t about to sign up for this again.

Jasmine stepped far out of his reach. She looked at her watch. “You know, I’ve really got a lot to do tomorrow and I need to go.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, like, right now.” She was having a serious case of déjà vu and that crap wasn’t cool. Memories of getting swept up in a guy she knew could get under her skin, ignoring his overly friendly relationship with his ex-wife, the crushing blow when he left her to go back to the familiar. Sure, she didn’t have plans to do anything long-term with Kevin, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be halftime in whatever game he played with kitten.

“But I thought—”

“Kevin, it was really nice to meet you. Good luck in the off-season, okay?” She turned and hurried off the balcony before his smooth lines, sexy smile and sweet kisses made her forget that men always went back to their first loves. She wasn’t going to be the rebound chick ever again.

Chapter 4

Two weeks later and Kevin still couldn’t get Jasmine out of his mind. He’d swung through Atlanta and checked in on his ex-wife, Sabrina, and their girls. Sabrina always worried their daughters would fall too hard and too fast for a boy and end up brokenhearted.

Kevin couldn’t blame her for her fears. He’d broken her heart when they were young. That’s why he worked hard to keep his relationships superficial. No more broken hearts in his future if he could help it.

“Why are you frowning?” his grandmother asked.

Kevin looked up at her from his spot on the back porch step. He hadn’t heard her exit the house to join him. Every off-season, he spent at least a week or two back home with his mother and grandmother in Silver Springs, South Carolina. Not just because his grandmother made the best red velvet cake in the state.

Charlotte moved a little slower than she used to due to arthritis. Kevin could sympathize with her on that. Her mind was still sharp, and at eighty-three, she was the person most likely to give him good advice when he needed it.

“Was I frowning?” He stood and took his grandmother’s arm.

She tried to shoo him away, but he wasn’t to be deterred. She liked to ignore her walker and cane when she was at home. Kevin helped her to one of the rocking chairs on the porch and helped her sit.

“I can walk by myself.”

“Yeah, and I can still palm a basketball easily,” he replied.

He eased back down onto the top step of the porch. The humidity was at a decent level for a change, making the high temperatures bearable. His grandmother and mother lived together in a house he’d purchased for them in one of the newer subdivisions on a golf course that popped up as part of the town’s resurgence. His family lived on a private corner lot that backed up to a natural undisturbed area.

Charlotte huffed and rocked back in the chair. “Is that why you’re frowning? You still thinking about that play?”

The play that had almost cost the Gators the championship. The play when the pain and stiffness residing in his hands had gotten so bad he’d dropped the ball and the opposing team scored, tying the game and potentially costing them the win. The play that would have ruined the season if his teammate, Will Hampton, hadn’t scored a winning three-point shot right before the buzzer.

“I’m over that, Grandma C,” he replied. His grandmother grunted again but didn’t dispute him. “I was thinking about Asia. Sabrina’s worried about her boyfriend.”

“You checked in on them though, right?”

“Yep. He seems like a good kid. I put a little fear in him if he hurts my baby, and I’ll drop in more.”

“Sabrina’s always worried about something,” Charlotte mumbled. “Maybe if she stopped worrying, she’d be able to pull that stick out of her ass.”

Kevin gave his grandmother a mildly disapproving look. He wouldn’t dare to give her an outright glare. Not if he hoped to keep his eyes inside his head. “Grandma, come on. You know she wasn’t always like that.”

“Well, it’s been twelve years since you two divorced. Y’all were too young when you got married anyway. Barely out of high school and right when you were offered a multimillion-dollar contract. I could have told you that was a mistake.”

“If I remember correctly, you did.”

Charlotte snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “Damn, right. She was the only girl you’d dated. Then you became a star. Don’t blame yourself for wanting to see what else was out there. At least you didn’t dog her out the way some men might have.”

“I know, Grandma C.” That still didn’t make him feel better.

He’d filed for divorce after four years of marriage. He’d never cheated on Sabrina, but the temptation had been there. His grandmother was right. He’d been young with a lot of money and little experience with women wanting him. So he’d left the marriage instead of cheating, but Sabrina never believed he’d resisted temptation. The years of enjoying the company of beautiful women after their divorce hadn’t helped.

They’d managed to salvage their friendship due to both of them wanting to make things easier on their daughters. He would always be there for their two girls.

Five years ago, when Hanna, his girlfriend at the time, gave birth to twins, Sabrina hadn’t batted an eye at considering the twins part of her family, even though Hanna’s pregnancy had been unexpected, and Sabrina and Hanna hadn’t gotten along. He’d been on the verge of ending things with Hanna when she’d gotten pregnant. He may be terrible when it came to relationships, but he’d be damned if he’d be a terrible father.

“Besides,” Charlotte continued, “you know what to look for when it comes to no good men. If you say Asia’s new boyfriend is decent, then Sabrina should go along with it.”

“She did.” After he reassured her a dozen times that Asia’s boyfriend had no evil plot to break their oldest daughter’s heart. “I don’t think Asia has to worry about that. She does have to worry about her mom killing her. She’s still in trouble for sneaking out to meet him at a party. That’s uncalled-for.”

He’d made sure Asia understood he wouldn’t stand for that either. The car they’d been considering for her sixteenth birthday was firmly off the table. He was especially proud of the way he hadn’t wavered when the tears had flown.

Charlotte laughed and patted her legs. “The oldest is always the wild one. At least Paris isn’t like that.”

Kevin nodded. “Thank heaven for that.” Asia’s little sister was more into fantasy novels and reading than boys. That might change in a few years, but for now he was thrilled.

“Well, if you calmed down Sabrina, then why were you frowning?”

He shook his head. “No reason.”

Grandma C gave great advice, but he didn’t discuss his affairs with her. He would figure out a way to see Jasmine again.

He’d held her briefly. That swift touch and quick kiss had gone through his mind almost as frequently as he’d thought about dropping the ball. Both had been recent major disappointments. He was handling the situation with his deteriorating joints, and he would also figure out why Jasmine had run off when there was obviously a spark between them.

“It’s a woman, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked in a knowing voice. Her piercing gaze held laughter.

He should have known she’d guess the problem anyway. “I know a lot of women,” he hedged.

“I see the reports. I know you do. But this woman must be special.”

Kevin didn’t want to think about the reports his grandmother had seen. He was considered a wild child in the league. The media liked to document his dating life as evidence of his carefree lifestyle. They assumed he dated different women because he liked the playboy lifestyle, not because he refused to get serious and disappoint another woman.

“Can we talk about something else besides women?”

Charlotte leaned back in her seat. The humor didn’t leave her expression. “Fine, just don’t run off and marry her before I get to meet her.”

The idea was so ludicrous Kevin laughed hard enough to bring a tear to his eye. “I am never getting married again.”

“That’s what you think. He—” she pointed to the sky “—may think differently.”

Kevin nodded and looked over the spacious, manicured backyard instead of arguing. He doubted the Big Guy upstairs had a personal interest in his abysmal love life. If that were the case, his marriage would have worked out, or at least his relationship with Hanna.

His mother had prayed hard enough for both. She’d be giving him a lecture about finding love and happiness right now if she hadn’t gone to the West Coast to visit the twins.

Kevin preferred to focus on quick flings. No feelings to attach. No expectations of more. He was old enough to admit the marriage to Sabrina hadn’t been wise. They’d been young and in love but hadn’t really gotten out of their small town to see the world. Things with Hanna had been good, but he hadn’t loved her. He didn’t think long-term relationships were in the cards for him and he’d accepted that. He didn’t have to play baseball to recognize that he’d had two strikes in the relationship department. He wasn’t playing to lose.

“I spoke with Robert Taylor yesterday at the grocery store.” His grandmother changed the subject. “He says work is almost complete on the new community center. That’s going to be great when it opens. Exactly what the town needs. He told me to thank you for the donation.”

“Mayor Taylor doesn’t have to thank me. This is my hometown. I’m happy to help.” Forgetting where he came from, where his mother and grandmother still lived, wasn’t an option. He’d grown up here, therefore he’d always be invested.

“I know. Still, I want you to know people around here appreciate what you do.”

“It’s what anyone would do.”

“Not everyone. You should go down there and see the work before you leave town.”

Kevin didn’t go into the small town much when he visited, if at all. He came home to visit family, not to sign autographs and take selfies with fans. But he was curious to see some of the changes that had taken place over the past year or so. “I will.”

He’d donated a hundred thousand toward the renovations of the old community center. That’s where he’d learned to play basketball and found sanctuary after school until his mother or grandmother got off work. In the years since he’d gone to the league, the town had started to dwindle. He’d given money where he could to support the opening of new businesses and renovate downtown. His donations had paid off. The town was experiencing a surge in regrowth.

Charlotte nodded, obviously pleased with his decision. “Good. Also, before you go, take a look at the old farm across town. I’ve got a guy interested in buying it. Says he wants to put a drive-in theater over there.”

Kevin raised a brow. He shifted sideways on the porch step to look at his grandmother. “A drive-in?”

She nodded. “Yep. Apparently, people like that sort of thing again. The land is just sitting there. Might as well make some money off it.”

A thought hit him. Kevin sat up straight. “Grandma C, is the old house still on that land?”

“Not unless it sprouted feet and walked off. Why? That house ain’t nothing but ruins now.”

Ruins or not, the house might fit a certain sexy photographer’s project standards. “Still, if you’re selling, we might want to find a way to save it for future generations.”

“Boy, you’re crazy. How we gonna save my granddaddy’s old cabin?”

With pictures taken by a woman he couldn’t wait to see again. He could slap himself for not thinking of this before. He hadn’t been to the old farm in years. Had forgotten about the place mostly because Grandma C never mentioned it. Now the old forgotten farm was just what he needed to see Jasmine.

“Don’t worry, Grandma C. I know exactly how we’re going to save it.”

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