“He is a cutie,” Emily agreed. “Between that dark hair, and the black eyes and those biceps…” She actually shivered, and looked at Jessica with undisguised interest. “How do you keep your hands off him?”

This was getting too close for comfort. And to her surprise, Jessica felt a surge of jealousy to hear Gavin discussed by other women. Emily was really pretty, she noticed, with her blond hair, petite figure, and big blue eyes. Her heart sank as she mentally compared herself and came up short.

Every girl in America wanted Gavin. Why would he ever be seriously interested in her?

Moreover, she was a little embarrassed at the way she’d lashed out at him earlier. At the time she felt she had to wipe that smug smile off his face, especially if he was, as Logan put it, looking for bragging rights. Yet now she felt she’d overreacted, which wasn’t fair to him.

“So? How do you?” Emily asked, bringing her back to reality.

“He dates models,” she managed. “And I’m just his therapist. So what are we deciding? Something with the shower?” She wanted to change the subject quickly.

“The Marriott or a restaurant?” Nikki seemed to sense that this topic was a sore point and diverted the conversation. “Cara knows a place in town called the North End Bistro that might work.”

Cara nodded. “It’s really nice, and has a homey feel. And the food is good. I think they have a back room that we could use for a private party.”

Nikki Googled the restaurant and located it on her phone. She passed the cell to Jessica, who flipped through the pictures and then studied the menu.

“This looks good. I like the fact that it seems rustic and comfortable, and not like an antiseptic hotel room. I volunteer to call for rates if that would help.”

“That would be great,” Nikki said, adding that to the list. “So if the price is okay, we will need to make some decisions around food, drinks. We can do beer and wine and keep the cost down, or go all out.”

“I’ll find out the options and we can get together and make some final decisions,” Jessica volunteered. “I will also ask about dates, and if there are any restrictions. When did you have in mind?”

“How about Memorial Day weekend?” Cara suggested. “That will give everyone an extra day. Except for you guys.” She glanced at Nikki and the other women who worked with her.

“We can work around that,” Nikki said, looking at Jessica. “How about you?”

She nodded. “As long as I know in advance, I can make arrangements so that it doesn’t interfere with rehab.”

Especially Gavin’s. Despite her turbulent emotions, she was determined to get him well. She didn’t want a bridal shower or anything else to interfere with his progress.

“Perfect. Now how about a dancer?” Nikki glanced at the other women with a grin. “I’ll get a few profiles, packages, and review them with you all. Work for everybody?”

“Sounds like fun,” Cara said. “Gee, evaluating half-naked men and deciding who we want for a party? It appears we need another night out.”

The drinks arrived, along with chips and several kinds of salsa. “Cheers! We all drink to that!” Emily hoisted her glass.

Nikki grinned, picking up her own. “To the hottest bridal shower in history!”

All glasses were raised.

—

“So since Hollywood isn’t here tonight, I think it’s a good time to plan his bachelor party.”

Gavin had joined the team at the local bar. Jake poured another beer from the pitcher and glanced around the room. Brian put up his hand immediately.

“Are we going to do the whole limo thing, do a pub crawl and wind up at a gentlemen’s club?”

“Absolutely. I was thinking maybe Memorial Day weekend. That Sunday. We play Mikwaukee during the day, so the night is free, and we play late on Monday.”

“I’m in,” Gavin said.

“It’s a full moon that weekend, I think,” Shaun said dreamily. “That should add to the drama.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Brian shook his head. “There’s no drama in bachelor parties. It’s drinking, busting on Chase, and girls.” He did a little twirl of his index finger at his ear behind Shaun’s back, indicating the outfielder was a little nuts.

“So if that’s a yes, we can start making some plans. I remember we all had a great time at your party last year,” Jake said with a glance at Shaun. “We can hire the same limo service; that worked out well. And contact a few bars in advance so we can have some privacy.”

“Sounds good,” Cody chimed in. “I’ll check out the clubs.” When Jake shot him a look, the catcher grinned. “I know, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. Besides, you are spoken for. Somehow I don’t think Nikki would like the idea of you checking out strippers.”

“You have a point.” Jake hefted his beer and sighed. “Ah, for the good old days of being single. Not that I would change a thing,” he added meaningfully, “but I envy you, my man.”

Gavin joined in the toast, and then drank his own beer. It was obvious Jake had something special with Nikki. If he remembered correctly, Jake used to have a reputation as a womanizer. But it appeared the right girl had changed all that, and now he seemed settled and content.

And that’s what I want. The thought popped out of nowhere. He pictured Jessica; she was the kind of girl he could make a life with, have children with. He thought of her bending down to Joaquin’s level, explaining everything to the boy in a way that he could understand. She would be great with kids…

Looking up, he saw Jake refilling his glass with an understanding smile on his face. “Women. Can’t live with them; can’t live without them.”

Gavin tapped his glass to Jake’s.

Chapter 18

He felt as if he were entering the lion’s den when he came into the physical therapy room early the next morning. Gavin dropped his bag as he saw Jessica at her desk, and waited to see which way the wind was blowing. She held up a finger to indicate she needed a moment, and when she finished whatever she was doing, she got up and came to stand beside him at the PT table.

“You okay?” He noticed she had rubbed her temples as if something hurt, and he saw a little wince of pain.

“A bit of a margarita headache,” she confessed as she put on her jacket. “The girls from the Communications Department can handle their tequila a lot better than I can.”

He chuckled at that as they walked outside. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah. We’re planning a shower for Darcy. Nikki and Cara are a blast. The others are really nice, too, so I think it will be a great event. Not the usual snore-fest for sure.”

“So did you?”

When she gave him a blank look, his eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice. “Find somebody to hook up with so that you can take care of, um, how did you put it? A physical release?”

She smacked him and he laughed, grateful that he could tease her again. Either that or the hangover left her short on her game.

“No, I did not. Somehow being with a gaggle of women seems to scare guys off. There were a few of them in the bar, but they didn’t approach us.”

“Thank God for that,” he said before he could stop himself. She gave him a look, but no way in hell was he going to explain. Privately he had to admit it had bothered him considerably to think of her on a one-night stand.

“Listen, about yesterday,” she said, lowering her voice. “I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he quickly replied. “You were upset. I get it.”

“Thanks.” He saw her face relax in relief, and her eyes were warm with gratitude. It seemed she wanted to say more, but shook her head as if dismissing it. “So on another topic, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Sonics are traveling to Boston tomorrow. Pete wants you to go with them.”