Stepping into the sunshine, Indy shouldered
her bag and turned towards the OBX library, her mind running through the
assignments she still had to complete when a shadow crossed over her path, a
large body falling into step with her, close, but not touching, their strides
matching.
“Jack,” she said, glancing up at him
sideways, a small smile threatening at the corner of her mouth.
“Indiana,” he said, echoing back her name,
sending a shiver down her spine. He was the only one allowed to call her that,
the only person who made the name she’d hated since forever sound friggin’
good.
They walked together without another word,
turning the corner that separated the courts from the residential area of the
complex, but her stride was suddenly cut off when Jack shuffled his feet,
sliding his arm around her waist and pulled her into a shady walkway between
buildings. Her bag slid off her shoulder, but he caught it before it crashed to
the ground and smashed her laptop to smithereens. He let it settle on the
ground gently before leaning over her, forcing her to step back into the wall.
Walls were their thing. Their first kiss
had been against a wall in a random hallway at Roland Garros, their second
pressed against the wall of their hotel in Paris and now that they were back in
North Carolina, they found any excuse to push each other against a wall and kiss
until they were gasping for air and their bodies begged for relief. Jack’s lips
trailed from her temple, using the wall behind her as an anchor before bending
his head to hers. Pushing up onto her toes, Indy met him halfway. She’d never
been so grateful for every millimeter of her five feet ten inches as she was
when she was kissing Jack. His hands slid through her hair, twisting it around
his fingers, then cradling the back of her head, drawing her mouth more firmly
against his. Indy brought her hands to his torso, gripping his t-shirt, letting
her palms press against the cut of muscle that disappeared into his cargo
shorts. The skin on skin contact made his breath hitch, his mouth opening just
enough to allow her tongue to slide in, deepening the kiss, before letting her
teeth nip at his bottom lip. A groan rumbled in his throat as he stumbled
forward, pressing his body full length against hers. He wrenched his lips from
hers, trailing his mouth over the line of her jaw to the spot just behind her
ear. It was her turn to gasp and her head fell back as she arched into him. No
one had ever kissed her there before. Jack smiled against her skin as her
fingertips dug into his sides and she let a moan slip free as he focused his
attention on that spot, scraping his teeth against it then soothing that small
pain with a flick of his tongue. Her hands scrambled to get purchase against
his shoulders, desperate for some leverage, anything to help her slide her body
against his. Then he was gone, his hand gone from her hair, his mouth gone from
her neck and his body inches then feet away. Indy blinked at him, trying to
figure out what happened when the voices echoing down the pathway towards them
finally reached her ears.
Bending down, he lifted her bag as she ran
her fingers through her hair, knowing he’d made an unholy mess of it. “You’re
fine,” he muttered, handing her the bag, then keeping the distance between them
as a group of junior boys stomped past them, none giving them a second glance.
“You have good ears,” Indy said, biting her
lip at the close call. If those boys had seen them, the news would have spread
like wildfire through the OBX campus and everyone would have known by the end
of the day. She was only seventeen for another few months, but that wasn’t really
the problem, seventeen or eighteen wouldn’t matter to other people. She was a
young tennis pro, he was an up and coming agent. The last thing either of their
careers needed was the heightened publicity of a controversial relationship,
even if Jack Harrison was far more of a gentleman than any guy she’d ever met.
Sometimes a little too much of a gentleman, truth be told.
Jack shrugged, glancing back over his
shoulder again before facing her fully. “I’m sorry about this.”
She reached out and took his hand, “We both
agreed,” she said, entwining their fingers together, “it’s just between us for
now. It makes sense for the both of us.” Pressing his lips together in a thin
line, he nodded, but she knew he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Jack, we talked
about this. You said you were okay with it.”
“I just wish it were different,” he said,
tugging her closer, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. His hands released
hers and dropped to her hips, the edges of his thumbs brushing against her
hipbones in slow circles sending shivers over her skin.
“Me too.” She wanted to scream it from the
rooftops that this amazing guy was hers. That he had deep green eyes and a
smile that brightened them whenever he looked at her. That he was brilliant in
ways that she couldn’t even fathom with his degree from Harvard. That he’d
fought their attraction for so long because of that ingrained sense of honor,
like one of those heroes in a fairy tale, except Jack was real, flesh and
blood.
"Have you thought...maybe we should
tell Penny?" Indy asked, her fingertips landing on his forearms, gently
stroking up to his elbows and back down to his wrists.
Jack let out a heavy breath. "Penny
has a lot on her plate right now."
"I know, I just feel funny keeping it
from her. Jasmine knows."
"We'll do whatever you want to do.
This is your show, baby."
"I don't need a supportive…" she
hesitated, almost using the word boyfriend, but that didn't really fit, did it?
Not if they were keeping it a secret, "I need honest Jack."
He leaned back, looking her in the eye.
"Honest? Honestly, my sister doesn't do well with change. It freaks her
out and right now, I'm not sure that the idea of you and me will go over that
well. On the other hand, if we don't tell her and she finds out?"
"She'll be pissed."
"Yep."
"Maybe we wait a little longer. We
could tell her in London?"
Jack nodded, "Face to face instead of
over the phone."
“There’s always Skype,” she said, not
really sure if she wanted to know what Penny, the only girl who’d made an
effort to befriend her when she first arrived at OBX, would think if she found
out she and Jack were together.
“There’s that.”
Indy shook her head. They should do it in
person. They should have done it before they left Paris, but Penny had been so
devastated by withdrawing from the tournament that it hadn’t felt like the
right time then either. “In London. We’ll be there in less than a week. We’ll
tell her then.”
“Okay, in London.” They stood there for a
moment, just breathing each other in until Jack leaned away. “I’ve gotta go. I
have a meeting with a potential new client this afternoon and I’ve got to
prep.”
Indy snorted a laugh. “Right, like you
don’t already have a complete profile worked up along with potential sponsors
to contact if they sign.”
“You know me so well,” he said, leaning
around the building, checking the pathway for any more unwanted spectators.
“I’ll go this way.”
Indy nodded back in the opposite direction.
“And I’ll go that way.”
With a bow, he was gone, around the corner
and out of sight, so she turned and adjusted her bag over her shoulder, heading
out from between the buildings and towards the library. She’d have about half the
time to get her Calc done than she originally planned. Fingertips pressing
against that spot on her neck lightly recalling the feel of his mouth and the
way her entire body was lit on fire by his touch, it was totally worth it.
“Are
you sure that is a good idea?” a voice rang out from just a few steps behind
her, the French accent giving its owner away, if the superiority and
condescension weren’t enough of a clue. Indy spun around and came face to face
with her agent, tall, blonde, perfectly put together in a silk blouse and linen
skirt, somehow looking completely cool and calm despite the blaze of the sun.
She was in town before they all left for England, mostly to go over her plans
for Indy’s future off the court.
A denial formed on Indy’s tongue, but she
knew it was useless. Caroline had seen them and it probably just confirmed what
she’d suspected for a while. Her agent was damn good at her job and it wasn’t
like she and Jack had been super careful about keeping private moments behind
closed doors. “Good idea or not, it’s none of your business.”
Raising her eyes to the sky and shaking her
head Caroline said, “You are my business, Indiana.”
“How many times do I have to say it? Don’t
call me that, and my tennis is your business,” Indy corrected. “Keep your nose
out of everything else.”
“It is not that simple,” Caroline insisted,
her voice inching up in pitch.
“It really is.” She turned on her toe and
walked away, wanting to look back, hoping that Caroline’s brow was furrowed and
her hands were on her hips, lips pursed in aggravation. But looking back would
ruin the moment because despite getting in the last word, Caroline now had the
upper hand and it was only a matter of time before she used it to her
advantage.
Title: Losing at Love
Author: Jennifer Iacopelli
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Day: February 24th
About Losing at Love:
Grass courts, tennis whites and the fiercest competition in the world. Wimbledon. After two crazy weeks in Paris, the girls of the Outer Banks Tennis Academy are headed to London with just one thing on their minds: winning. Indiana Gaffney is fresh off a surprise win at the French Open junior tournament. Sponsors are clamoring for her attention, but what she wants more than anything—aside from a wild card to Wimbledon—is to be with Jack Harrison, but international fame and a secret relationship rarely mix well. When Penny Harrison dreamed of playing at Wimbledon she never imagined agonizing pain shooting through her ankle with every step. With just a month until the tournament and the whole world expecting her to win, she’s determined to play, with or without the support of her coach or the love of her life, Alex Russell. For the first time ever, no one expects anything from Jasmine Randazzo. After a crushing first-round defeat in the French Open juniors, the tennis world has given up on her, but worse than that, so have her parents, her best friend Teddy and maybe even her coach. With everyone writing her off, can she find it within herself to go after her dreams? Pre order now!! Add on Goodreads!
About Jennifer Iacopelli:
Enter Jennifer’s giveaway!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
