Free Hot Item by Carly Phillips Page A

of their stay in the Sunshine State.
    One night or a week, it didn’t matter. With the sparks flying between them, he knew damn well he wasn’t leaving Florida without sleeping with Sophie Jordan.
     
    F EELING LIKE A FOOL , Spencer crouched in the bushes outside his sister’s patio home. Thanks to an open kitchen window, he was able to listen to Darla’s chatter and Sophie’s concern. She hid it well, but knowing Sophie, she was climbing the walls trying to handle all the publicity herself without the help of her sisters. Spencer had left her in a bind and for that he felt badly.
    But he wasn’t ready to face the world with his secret exposed. He might as well walk through Central Park bare assed, as Yank would say. In any other profession, his clients would be shocked but they’d understand that his private life didn’t have anything to do with his professional one. Any other profession wasn’t the world of sports.
    Most athletes were macho men who had neither the time nor patience to understand anything outside their world. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of them had a phobia about homosexuals. Still, he hoped he wouldn’t lose more than one or two clients. He’d be home in time for the football draft, but he needed a plan before he returned. Then he’d see how evolved they actually were.
    He glanced at his sister’s house and frowned. He wished Darla hadn’t insinuated he’d call her later, giving Sophie a reason to stick around. Instead, his well-meaning, ever-talkative sister had offered the use of an empty unit in the neighborhood so Sophie would remain here. The worst part of it all was that Sophie hadn’t flown down here alone.
    The door to the house opened wide, interrupting his thoughts. Sophie stepped outside followed by Riley, Spencer’s son.
    He broke into a sweat, the realization of all he had to answer for in his life overwhelming him. He understood that in Riley’s eyes, Spencer didn’t deserve a damn thing. He’d planned it that way, looking out for Riley behind the scenes. Yet now that Spencer’s reality was public knowledge, he thought maybe his son deserved to understand his absent father’s choices. But the same truth that had sent him underground would probably cause his son to turn away in disgust.
    He wondered why Riley had come looking for him now.
    Why had he hooked up with Sophie in his quest?
    And, he also wondered, why did they look so at ease together?
    Spencer squinted against the sun and stared at their retreating backs. Was that Sophie slipping her hand into Riley’s?
    Holy moly, were they involved?
    If they weren’t, they should be. The idea settled in Spencer’s brain and remained. Sophie, the sister with the intellect he admired and the warmth his son would appreciate. She was strict and would crack the whip, taming Riley’s wild side while giving him a run for his money.
    Spencer knew he had nerve, planning anything for the child he’d never publicly acknowledged, but it wouldn’t be the first time he had looked out for his son behind the scenes, and it wouldn’t be the last.
    “Psst!”
    Spencer looked up. His sister, Darla, opened the kitchen window and called to him.
    “They’re gone. You can come back inside now.”
    Spencer waited until the rental car pulled away from the curb before standing, then stretching his old legs until the cramping subsided. “This hide-and-seek stuff is for the young,” he muttered, smoothing the wrinkles out of his pants.
    He walked into the house and joined his sister.
    “You’re only as old as you feel and right now you’re feeling sorry for yourself. For no good reason, either,” Darla said.
    Spencer scowled. “Would you rather I go home and do a tell-all interview? Embarrass my only son and disgust my clients?”
    Darla shook her head. “I think you underestimate those who care about you.”
    He burst out laughing. “You care. You, Rose and Amy.” He mentally added Yank, Lola and the girls to the list. “But