Carly Phillips - Hot Number

"Who's out there?" Yank called from inside his room.

Damian ducked beneath the tape and joined Yank by the chair in which he sat "What'd you do to piss off the nurses?" Damian asked, still chuckling. "Hell, don't you know if you're sweet to these ladies they'll be sneaking you extra dessert?" He pulled up a seat, straddling it backward as he made himself comfortable.

"It's not their attention I want" Yank muttered.

Damian nodded in understanding. So Lola had bailed on him. "Why don't you just ask her to come see you?"

Yank shot him a scowl and pulled the blanket covering his legs up higher over his Burberry pajamas. Obviously his nieces had been spoiling him even if the nurses here hadn't been.

"She wants me to grovel . I love you, Lola. I'm sorry, Lola," Yank said in a pretty damn good imitation of the woman.

Damian did his best not to laugh. "I don't see your pride taking good care of you right now, so why not go ahead and do what she wants? At least then you'll both be happy."

"For how long? How happy is she gonna be cutting my food when I can't see?"

Damian exhaled aloud. He understood now how frustrated Micki, Sophie and Annabelle must feel around the older man. "Why don't you let her make that decision?" Even as he asked, Damian knew the answer. "You're afraid after all these years, she'll turn you down. That's it, isn't it?"

Damian found himself staring into blue eyes similar to Micki's. Yank gave him a quick nod, then averted his gaze, obviously embarrassed.

"You can't end up any worse off man you are now, right?"

He waved a dismissive hand. "I'm tired of talking about me. What's going on with you?"

Damian knew that was the end of discussing Yank's personal life. He'd come here for fatherly advice and now was the time to spill. He glanced down at the floor, unsure of where to begin. "Since the time I was a kid, my whole life has centered around baseball. I've seen the end coming for a while now but I refused to admit it. I ignored all the signs. But rehab's not working, cortisone shots aren't helping the hand, and the team doesn't need me hanging on for selfish reasons when they could use another player on the roster."

Yank placed a hand on Damian's shoulder. "So what are you sayin'?"

"I met with Coach and told him I think I'm through. The doctors can't promise a return this season." The words were as painful now as they had been a few days ago.

“I’m proud of you for makin' the decision. If you're ready, I'll get working on the details of retirement and the contract issues."

Damian nodded. "What about the endorsements I already do?"

"I'll take care of everything. Don't you worry, okay?'

"Yeah. Thanks." He glanced up. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

Yank gestured around the room. "Come join me for a daily card game?"

"No thanks," Damian said wryly.

"You do realize we're alike, you and I."

Damian cocked his head to one side. "Other than a bum body that doesn't want to do what we tell it to do, how so?"

"Have you spoken to Micki lately?"

Damian's nerve endings went on instant alert "She's not taking my calls at the moment. Since issuing that press release, she's declared our business relationship over and reassigned me. Apparently Annabelle's working part-time now and technically she's more familiar with the workings of the Renegades," he said, quoting Micki's secretary who'd been quoting her boss.

She'd handed him over to her sister like yesterday's news and if he thought ending his active career was painful, Micki's withdrawal hurt just as badly.

Yank glanced at him, tapping a finger against his bearded cheek. "My Micki did that?"

"She did,"

"What'd you do?" Yank asked, suddenly angry and defensive.

Damian held up both hands. "I didn't do a damn thing. She just suddenly decided to treat me like dirt."

"Same thing Lola did to me. I told you we were alike."

His head hurt trying to keep up with Yank's way of thinking. "I'm lost."

"Okay let me spell it out for you. I lost Lola because first I was scared and then I was a jackass and now it's too late. Are you gonna risk losing the woman you love the same way I did?" Yank asked.

Love, Damian thought, dazed. "Is that what this is all about?" he asked, but even as he wondered aloud, he knew.

He loved Micki.

Even Carter had tried to tell him.

Suddenly all the recent disappointment and confusion made sense. The parties and women that had once defined his life no longer held appeal and when Micki had suggested he return to his old ways, he'd been repelled by the notion. Because he'd rather be with her.

"Looks to me like you didn't recognize a good thing when it was starin' you in the face " Yank said.

"Just like you."

Yank nodded. "So are you gonna wait till you can no longer see her looking back at you?"

Damian shivered at Yank's words. The thought of a life without Micki in it at all wasn't one he wanted to contemplate. Bad enough he was losing baseball. He refused to lose her, too.

He glanced at the older man he'd always admired. “Tell you what. I'll go after Micki if you swallow your damn pride and tell Lola what she wants to hear. It's not like you don't have the feelings for her, so get over yourself and let her know," Damian taunted. He had no choice but to push and prod his agent or else they could both lose.

"You're telling me my niece's happiness depends on whether I'm finally willing to pony up with Lola?"

Damian folded his arms across his chest. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Not that he intended to stay away from Micki if Yank got stubborn, but it was a good threat and a decent negotiating point. The older man deserved his own share of happiness even if he was, as his nieces believed, too pigheaded to admit it.

Yank blew out a frustrated puff of air. "I've been alone a long time."

"And you hate it," Damian reminded him.

Yank shook his head. "Yeah, I do"

"So?" Damian asked the one-word question, then lapsed into silence.

He wanted to give Yank time to think. Would the other man finally see how much he needed Lola? Would he put his happiness and hers before his pride? From what Damian understood, it was a battle Micki and her sisters had been righting for a long time. Yank and Lola together was a gift Damian would love to be able to bring to Micki.

"I don't even know if she wants me anymore. For all I know, she'll get me to open an artery just so she can wipe the floor with my blood."

Damian winced. "Nice analogy but some how I don't think the woman's that cruel"

Yank snorted. "That's what you think"

"I'm still waiting for an answer," Damian prompted and tapped his foot against the linoleum hospital floor for good measure.

"Okay, okay " Yank said at last. "I'll go for it if you will"

A rush of adrenaline spiked through Damian's veins. “I don't know if Micki wants me either" he admitted, scared spitless at the possibility of her turning him down.

Yank shook his head. "Neither of us has any way of knowing how things'll turn out in the end. It's a big gamble."

"It'll be okay," Damian said with little conviction, though he hoped it was true.

Yank groaned. "Life's a bitch, huh? Especially for two men used to getting their own way."

Damian nodded and rose to his feet. If he had anything to say about it, that particular tradition would continue.

MICKI HAD TO BE at a photo shoot for one of her clients at 4:00 p.m. but until then, her schedule was free. Because Noodle had slept at Sophie's for the past two nights, Micki took pity on her sister and brought the dog along with her for a walk through Central Park.

The sun shone overhead and she let the heat warm her arms as she strode along the path. Joggers passed her and people sat on the grass, reading on the lawn. It was a perfect New York City day. She finally came to her favorite spot, a place she and her sisters often came to together for an escape from the office and stress.