Redhead Blitz (6 page)

“Is Fred gone for the day?”
 
Her tone held a definite chill.

Damn
.
 
Sean knew he was about to ask her if she needed help, even though he should keep his distance.
 
But she hadn’t looked up from her work to speak to him when he’d checked his mailbox earlier.
 
Probably still embarrassed about me turning her down
.
 
He’d hate it if she never again directed her dazzling smile his way.

“Yeah, he already left.
 
Can I help you with something?”
 
He watched her consider his offer, but then she shook off whatever caused her hesitation.

“I just spoke with Randy Schwartz, the marching band director.
 
Somehow the middle school football field got double-booked for the sixth.”
 
She took two steps into the room and Sean had to force his gaze away from her silky thigh when it flashed through a wave of black leather.

She held out a piece of paper in his direction.
 
“The field schedule confirms the band competition, but Randy said the middle school’s Web page shows a home game scheduled for the same day.”

Sean stood, leaned across the desk and took the paper from her.
 
“Is the high school field available?”

She shook her head.
 
“Girls soccer game.”

Sean sat back down and looked up the band schedule on the high school’s Web site.
 
“This is really strange.
 
Those schedules were set months ago, and from what I’ve heard, Annie Marcum was super efficient.”
 
But it appeared both events were to be held on the sixth at the middle school field.
 
“Did you ask Al?”

“He’s at an off-site meeting, but I thought with a little advice, I might be able to straighten it out.”

She was brand new to the job and Sean admired her determination to find a solution without complaining about inheriting the problem.
 
“Well, let me think.”
 
He remembered the monster three-ring binder he’d seen Al refer to on a few occasions.
 
“Did you check this against Al’s master schedule?”

“No, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I can’t imagine a scheduling error like this happening.
 
I’m due out on the practice field, but I’ll follow you back to your office.
 
I think we should take a look at that binder first.”

He grabbed his things and followed her out the door.
 
Sean was grateful he couldn’t see the slit up her skirt as he walked down the hallway.
 
That would be too much.
 
Then again, no angle was safe when it came to
Gigi’s
body.
 
He was already half-hypnotized by the gentle sway of her hips.
 
And his hands itched to palm her butt cheeks and squeeze.
 
Not good
.

As they entered her office, he glanced up at the clock.
 
Damn
.
 
Time for practice.
 
Not that the team captains didn’t know to start warm-up drills without him.
 
But his expectation of arriving on time applied to the coaching staff as well as the players.

“Here’s Al’s master calendar.”
 
Gigi
grabbed the huge binder off the top of a file cabinet and flipped through the organized pages.

When he leaned in to look over her shoulder, Sean realized his mistake.
 
Her scent captivated him.
 
It was difficult to identify, like the woman herself.
 
Not flowery or sickly sweet.
 
Not boldly exotic and spicy but subtle and intoxicating.
 
A scent he would crave from now on.
 
Out of self-preservation, he leaned away and forced his focus to the printed page.

“Ah, here we go,” he said, pointing to the page.
 
“The football game is away.
 
Whoever posted the information on the school’s Web page entered it incorrectly.”
 
He knew he should back away to put more distance between their bodies, but Christ, she smelled good.
 
“You might call Ridgeland’s athletic office to confirm, but I’d say this was just an error by some student volunteer who got stuck doing the Web page updates.”

Gigi
turned.
 
Her expression of relief spread into the first real smile he’d received since early yesterday.
 
When their gazes met, he felt his control slip.
 
Her smile faltered, and his focus shifted to her glossy lips.
 
Kissable lips.
 
Lips he’d give almost anything to feel against his.
 
Or meandering over any and every part of his body.

He struggled against the urge to pull her into his arms and devour her.
 
And he interpreted the look in her mossy green eyes to mean she might very well enjoy every bite he took.
 
But the last thing he wanted to do was give her mixed signals.
 
He’d already told her he wasn’t interested, which, as far as lies went, was the Big
Kahuna
.
 
But he was swamped. Plus Al would have his ass in a sling if he found out.
 
He forced himself to back away.

“I’m late for practice.
 
I’ll see you later.”
 
And before
Gigi
could respond, he took off down the hall at a jog.
 
He just hoped it looked like he was running toward something, not away from it.

Gigi
let out the breath she’d been holding, blinked and tried to regain her senses.
 
Wow.
 
Being late for football practice must be a major offense around here.
 
Maybe he’d make himself run laps.

But it was a darned good thing Sean had taken off when he did.
 
Being in such close proximity to those sky-blue eyes and defined muscles had her shaking.
 
In another minute, she might have grabbed his shirtfront and plastered to her lips to his.
 
Her heart was doing a rapid Macarena inside her chest, and she cooled herself with her fingers like a southern belle would with a lacey fan.
 
Had the air-conditioning suddenly gone on the blink?

Why does this always happen
?
 
Maybe there’s something wrong with me.
 
She circled the desk and plunked into her chair.

Why would her subconscious purposely set the same wheels in motion?
 
Every time she got involved with a guy from work, that first step signaled the beginning of the end.
 
She’d go out on a couple of dates, nothing serious, and then have the guy following her around like a puppy because he couldn’t keep things casual.
   

She liked this job, damn it.
 
And she wasn’t going to allow her attraction to another coworker screw it up.
 
She had to break this cycle.
 
I do not want him
.
 
She closed her eyes and repeated the words over and over in her mind.
 
When her body temperature and heart rate finally returned to normal, she shook off the residual arousal.

She looked down at the open binder on the desk.
 
Thank God he’d suggested checking the master schedule.
 
Information on the school’s Web sites was only as reliable as the person entering it.
 
She would get the posting corrected.
 
And just to be safe, she’d double-check all the athletic listings on the individual facility sites.

That was what she needed to do.
 
Focusing on work would keep her mind off Sean Fitzgerald’s muscular body and killer smile.
 
And the irrefutable fact that he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy.

Chapter Six

The next morning,
Gigi
carried a white bakery box into the coaching office.
 
Fred, Sean and Lawrence
Hopperman
, the varsity soccer coach, stood in a cluster facing away from the door, commiserating.

Lawrence
said, “I know, Sean.
 
That kid’s capable of so much more.
 
I just want to smack these punks upside the head sometimes.
 
The odds of most of them making a college team are slim to none.
 
They need to keep up with their academics.”

Sean nodded and dug his hands into his trouser pockets.
 
“I worked with Butch for two hours last night.
 
And that was after football practice.
 
He has a chemistry quiz today and he needs at least a B minus.”

Gigi
didn’t interrupt.
 
It was gratifying to hear how much the coaches cared about their players’ schoolwork.
 
No wonder Sean looked exhausted, dressed as he was in rumpled khakis and a golf shirt; he’d been tutoring one of his players in the evening.

He rubbed the back of his neck.
 
“The kid’s barely squeaking by in Algebra Two.
 
I tried to help him out, but man, it’s been years since I did that stuff.
 
If you don’t use it, you lose it was never so true.”
 
The other two nodded.
 
“Math was never my strong suit anyway.
 
I hope it doesn’t get more complicated, or I won’t be able to help him.”

“I’m lost without my calculator.”
 
The words were out of her mouth before
Gigi
even knew she was going to speak.

The three turned to face her.
 
Fred openly ogled her breasts, while Lawrence shifted his attention to the box in her hands.
 
Sean’s gaze met hers, and a shiver ran down her spine.
 
Warmth pooled below her belly.

No more office relationships
.
 
If she repeated the mantra enough times, maybe the attraction she felt for him would fade.

Lawrence broke
Gigi’s
trance by stepping between her and Sean to point at the bakery box.
  
“If there are donuts in that box, then I might just have to propose marriage.”
 
She chuckled at the tall, slender man who she’d heard was soon to celebrate his silver wedding anniversary with the school nurse.

“Oh sure, you just want me to share.”
 
She smiled at
Lawrence
and extended the box, lifting the lid back with one hand.

“You’re right about that.”
 
He grabbed a chocolate-frosted donut, his similarly colored cocoa eyes twinkling with delight.
 
“I knew there was a heart of gold to go with that pretty face.”

Fred pushed his way forward.
 
“Lawrence, it would take a blind man not to notice
Gigi’s
heart of gold.”
 
If he’d been looking at her face instead of her breasts,
Gigi
might have taken his words as a compliment.

She extended the box toward Sean last.

“No, thanks.”
 
His smile came and went in a flash before he turned to Fred.
 
“I need to talk to you before the first bell.”
 
He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and steered him out the door.

Lost in a daydream about him wrapping his muscular arm around her,
Gigi
watched them leave.
 
Lawrence
snagged another donut from the box and tipped his head in their direction.

“You’ll have to excuse Fred.
 
The man’s toupee shrank in the dryer and it’s so tight it’s shutting down what little brain function he had.
 
Don’t worry, though.
 
Looks like Sean’s
gonna
set him straight.”