Someone Like You by Jennifer Gracen

coated in sweat, and often smiling a megawatt smile. Dressed to kill, out on the town, next to dazzlingly beautiful women.
    He could model, if he wanted to. The man was ruggedly sexy with that hint of naughty, a very bad boy indeed. And drop-dead gorgeous. The gelled and tousled dark, wavy hair. The bright marine blue eyes. In many of the pictures, a day’s worth of scruff covered that strong jaw, highlighting his full, sensual lips. He was six-foot-two, according to one of his bio pages, with broad shoulders and a lean, athletic build. Then there were all the tattoos—and Lord have mercy, those legs. Works of art. Pierce’s thighs and calves were carved like those of a statue, defined and rock hard. Abby had a quick flash of running her hands up those muscular thighs....
    Pierce was all over the Internet. And right at the top, the most recent news from just the week before, stated it short and sweet: Partying Star Leaves the League Amid Rumours of Bad Boy Behaviour. The look on his face when he’d initially been recognized at the game flashed through Abby’s mind.
    â€œWhat the hell happened, Pierce?” she whispered to herself as she clicked on the link from a British gossip site. There was a picture of him dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, walking out of a building and scowling. The caption under that one read: Harrison didn’t seem happy when he left the London team offices after his brief farewell press conference.
    Her cell phone rang beside her and she jumped, feeling oddly like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. Snorting at herself, she answered it. “Hello?”
    â€œHi, Abby? It’s Sofia Rodriguez. How are you?”
    â€œI’m fine, thanks.”
    â€œTough loss today for the Jaguars, huh?”
    Abby frowned. “Yeah, well, can’t win every time.”
    â€œOf course not. Maybe next time.” Sofia sounded as friendly as always. “You have a few minutes to chat?”
    â€œSure, I’m just relaxing now. My parents took mercy on me and took Dylan to the park for a few hours.” They both chuckled as Abby pushed the laptop farther away, then stretched out and lay down. “Is everything okay?”
    â€œOh, no, everything’s fine,” Sofia assured her. “I wanted to let you know about something that happened this morning. You met Pierce Harrison, the professional soccer player? I approached him about doing a clinic for the whole club, all age groups. I thought the kids would love it.”
    â€œYeah, they would.” Examining her nails, she realized she desperately needed a fresh manicure. Maybe she’d go get a quick one before her parents and Dylan got back. “So did he say yes?” she said, nonchalant. Surely a celebrity wouldn’t want to hang out with small-town, blue-collar kids in his free time.
    â€œHe did! He was all for it!” Sofia’s excitement was palpable, and Abby was shocked. “He said he’s going to be in New York for a while, probably through the end of the year, so he’d be here for the rest of the fall season. I already cleared it with the board, they were thrilled. He’s going to do a clinic for the whole club next Wednesday evening. Anyone can go, boys and girls. And . . .”
    Sofia’s voice trailed off before launching back in with an apologetic tone. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, you’ve been doing a great job with your team, the best you can and I know that—but, well, since your team hasn’t won any games yet, and isn’t doing so well . . . he’s going to help you. For the hell of it, I asked him if he was interested in doing any sort of coaching, and he said yes to that, too. So . . . as of now, Pierce is your co–head coach for the Jaguars.”
    A cold wave whooshed through Abby and she sat up fast, blinking. “What?”
    â€œIt’ll be so good for the boys,” Sofia said.