Hart of the Matter (A Love of the Game Novella) by Shayne McClendon Page A

rested his head on her shoulder, while his rough fingertips lightly stroked her knee, up her bare thigh, and back again.  Each slow stroke up, he moved closer to her short skirt.  It made her insane. 
    Still miles from his house, she whispered, “Please God, don’t let me crash this truck.” 
    Hart chuckled and moved to her other thigh.  Clenching the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were white, she tried to control her response to him.  His fingertips slipped under the hem of her top and he caressed the skin of her belly along the line of her skirt. 
    “Your skin is always so warm, Bailey, like you’ve been in the sun.  You’re so soft.” 
    One side of her waist to the other, he touched her, circling her belly button before tracing the bottom edge of her bra along her ribcage. 
    “Remember the summer before you went into high school when you went away to see family in Costa Rica?”
    “Yes.  I’d never been away from all of you for so long.  That was a rough summer.”
    “You went away as another little sister to me.  You came back as Bailey, fucking beautiful and tough as nails.  The two of you were inseparable and you were usually in a bikini.”
    Bailey pointedly ignored the comment about her being beautiful.  Hart didn’t need to give her compliments.  She wanted him too much. 
    “Your house felt more like home than mine.”
    Hart kissed her bare shoulder.  “Mom and Dad loved having you at our place, especially when you and Harley made dinner.  She’d come home from the office and there’s tons of food laid out on the island, the house spotless.  You guys made her cry more than once.”
    “I have a huge family but my parents travel.  My brothers and sisters are so much older than I am; most of them were already adults when I was born.  I was alone all the time.  Hanging out at your place meant not eating dinner by myself.  I loved being there.”  Bailey’s voice was quiet.
    “I didn’t know you ate alone.  I hate eating alone.  When I moved out here, the guys and I would get together when we were all in town, but too many nights I found myself in a really quiet house.  It’s better since Harley and Lexie came to live with me.”
    “Moving here was really good for them, Hart.”  His large hand spanned the skin of her stomach, simply resting there.  “Harley looks better than she has since she was a teenager.”  She sighed.  “All of us are under less stress these days.”
    “Bailey, have I ever told you how proud I was of the way you backed Harley through everything?  You were better to her than all of us put together.”
    “Harley isn’t hardened like me.  She’s tough on the outside and gentle on the inside, she hurts easily.”  She shrugged.  “I’m the opposite.  It’s why we’re such good friends.”
    Hart lifted his head to look at her profile.  “What do you mean you’re the opposite?”
    “I couldn’t do a chin-lift or sink a basket if my life truly depended on it.  I’ve never run more than three miles at once and have no desire to.  Pilates and yoga are the extent of my athleticism.”  She took the exit off the highway and waited at the light. 
    Glancing at him, she smiled.  “I can’t play sports and know nothing about any sport but basketball.  However, I could be an ESPN anchor for that.”  He laughed.  “I went to all of Harley’s games and stuff because I adore her and wanted to support her.  Usually I had my MP3 going and a book in my hand.” 
    The light turned and she went through the intersection.  “I like to shop and will not tolerate split ends or a broken nail.  I wouldn’t have survived half the physical pain she’s been through in her life.  If I ever have kids, I will be high as a kite.” 
    Taking the turn into his neighborhood, she chuckled.  “Mentally though?  I am one tough as nails bitch.  I’m rather good at making other people cry.  I’m pushy, demanding…I like my own way and