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"Dan, are you dumping me?"
He looked horrified. "God, no! It's nothing like that. We're friends. It's just—"
"You are! You're dumping me."
His face fell. "I feel like a heel for leading you on. I got caught up with you and the kids and everything. You'd think I would have figured out by now what I want out of life. I'm sorry I had to put you through my mid-life crisis."
"No, no, it's fine! Really. I understand." She could barely hold back her glee. "I guess I've known for a while that we weren't right for each other, but I didn't know how to talk to you about it. I'm glad you came to see me, and I appreciate you being honest with me. Most men wouldn't have put themselves through a confrontation. They would have just stopped calling."
"I couldn't do that."
"Of course you couldn't." She wasn't able to control the smile that was spreading over her face.
He began to look amused. "Don't you want to cry or hit me or something?"
She didn't always get his jokes, but she understood this one. "I guess you can tell that I'm a little bit relieved. I've been feeling sort of crazy these past few weeks. You're every woman's dream man, and I knew I should fall in love with you."
"But you didn't."
She shook her head.
"Sharon, I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I wasn't exactly expecting this conversation to turn out so well. Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me about you. At first I thought he was just curious because he knew you were my guest at the game on Sunday, but then I realized he wanted to ask you out himself."
"The one thing I've learned the past few months is that I'm not comfortable with athletes."
"Perfect."
She couldn't understand why he was smiling.
Still grinning, he rose from the small chair. "My friend's not much of an athlete. He plays basketball, but just between the two of us, he's pretty pathetic."
"I don't know."
"It's Ron McDermitt, our general manager."
"Ron?"
"Do you have a problem with me giving him your phone number?"
"Problem? Oh, no. No, I don't have a problem with that at all."
She must have sounded too eager because he started to chuckle. Leaning down, he gave her a peck on the cheek. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you around."
He was still shaking his head with amusement as he walked out to his car. His life was starting all over again, and the future was no longer murky, but crystal clear. Now that he'd settled things with Sharon, he could tell Phoebe how much he loved her. The knowledge had been inside him for a long time, but he'd been too confused by the erotic smoke screen that surrounded her to realize it. His sweet, smart, gutsy little bimbo. He didn't think he'd ever forget the way she'd looked sitting on the side of his bed spilling out all her secrets. When she'd told him about her rape, he'd wan
ted to throw back his head and howl. She made him feel things that scared him to death.
He reached his car, and some of his euphoria faded. He'd survived childhood by learning not to love anyone too much, and the depth of emotion he felt for her terrified him a lot more than any defensive lineup he'd ever faced. He'd always held something back from women, but that wasn't going to be possible with her. Telling her how much he loved her would be the biggest risk he'd ever taken because there was always the chance that she'd throw those feelings right back in his face.
He reminded himself that beneath all of Phoebe's sassiness, she was the gentlest person he'd ever known. Surely there was no need for him to be afraid. Surely, his heart would be safe with her.
Chapter 22
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"Stop scowling, Darnell. You're scaring the photographers." Phoebe squeezed Darnell Pruitt's arm, a restraining action that was about as effective as trying to dent an iron bar. She nodded at one of the reporters. All week she'd been going through the motions of life, determined not to let anyone see her despair. Darnell had been good company tonight, and she was grateful he'd agreed to act as her escort on the tour of the corporate hospitality suites the night before the Dolphins game.
His eyes narrowed into vicious slits as he curled his lip at the Associated Press and spoke to her under his breath. "There's no way I'm letting anybody on the Dolphins' defense see a picture of me smilin'."
