Here I Am (Arabesque) - By Rochelle Alers Page 0,76
with Brandt’s replacement getting sacked twice and throwing three incomplete passes. The hometown crowd booed and shouted obscenities. Epithets like bum and loser were chanted until the Giants moved the ball down the field and the placekicker kicked a field goal. The score seesawed back and forth, ending in a tie when the clock ran out.
“Let’s leave now while we can,” Brandt said in Ciara’s ear. “It’s going into overtime.” Again, the cameras followed them as they left their seats, fans applauding. Smiling, he raised a hand in acknowledgment.
They made it to the parking lot, where Ibrahim waited for them. He took the crutches, storing them in the trunk after Brandt slipped onto the back seat next to Ciara. A loud roar went up in the stadium when the driver took his position behind the wheel. A rare smile parted Ibrahim’s lips. “We won.”
Brandt sat up in bed, watching Ciara pace the width of the bedroom. She’d opened the casement windows and cool air flowed into the space. “Are you coming to bed, or do you intend wear a hole in the rug?”
She stopped pacing, her hands in tight fists, and glared at him. “I can’t believe they put that footage on the late news for the world to see.”
“It was just a kiss, Ciara. Why are you acting as if it was something more risqué? Besides, you’re hardly recognizable.”
“My roommate recognized me, Brandt. She sent me a text saying she saw it.”
“That’s because she knows I’m your patient.”
“Please, Brandt, don’t try and minimize it. Nurses don’t go to professional football games with their patients then kiss them in front of millions of viewers.”
He patted the mattress on his left. “Come here, baby. There’s always a solution to every problem.” Brandt smiled when she approached the bed and climbed in beside him. He pulled her close until she lay over his chest. “If there’s any talk, then we’ll just say you’re no longer my nurse. I’ll call my mother and have her tell the agency she doesn’t need your services any longer. Meanwhile she’ll pay you directly.”
Ciara pondered Brandt’s explanation. “Just what would I be to you?”
“You’d be my girlfriend.”
“Why does it sound so simple?” she asked.
“That’s because it is. Don’t move.” He reached for the cordless receiver on the bedside table. He dialed his parents’ number, apologizing to Leona for waking her, then told his mother what he wanted her to do and why.
“Go to sleep, Brandt. I’ll call them right now.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“There’s no need to thank me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Ciara. And I want you to tell her that.”
“I will.”
“What did she say?” Ciara asked when he placed the receiver on the cradle.
“She said she’s going to call them right now. And she told me to tell you that there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for you.”
Ciara smiled. She wanted to tell Brandt that it was nothing Leona wouldn’t do for her son. The Wainwrights viewed her as a miracle worker, giving her credit for pulling Brandt out of his funk. It might have taken more time, but he eventually would have tired of wallowing in self-pity. Not only was Brandt a competitor, but he played to win.
“You can tell her thank you for me.”
Brandt tunneled his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“I was born ready.”
And he was ready to make love to her, but decided to put it off until they were out to sea. He had at least ten days to show Ciara how much he’d come to love her. Not only did he love her, but he was in love with her.
Victor Seabrook lay in bed, watching the late news. He went completely still when video footage of the football game flashed across the wall-mounted flat-screen. Talk about luck! He’d fired a P.I. because the man hadn’t been able to come up with anything on Ciara Dennison and there she was, cuddling with Brandt Wainwright at a football game at the newly built stadium for the world to see.
White-hot rage swept through him, making breathing difficult when he saw the ballplayer kiss Ciara. “Bitch!” The word slipped out, filled with venom Victor hadn’t known he possessed. When she’d threatened to tell her boyfriend that he was stalking her, Victor never would’ve thought the man was the Giants’ quarterback. That’s why she’d turned down his offer of marriage. She was holding out for someone wealthier and with more visibility. Dr. Victor Seabrook was a celebrity doctor,