Power Play
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
Praise for the novels of Deirdre Martin
JUST A TASTE
“A warmhearted romance with in-depth characters, this story will leave you satisfied, salivating, and ready to try one of the recipes included. Martin serves up a real treat.”
—Romantic Times (4 stars)
“Be prepared to get a little hungry . . . Pick up Just a Taste for a tempting read you won’t want to put down.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Will make you laugh and melt your heart at the same time.”
—Fresh Fiction
“The revelation of deeper emotions makes this another victory for Martin.” —Booklist
“Delightful! Romantic, funny, and wildly fast paced . . . A great story that pulled me in right from the beginning.”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“This engaging tale will keep readers entertained to the very end of the story. Ms. Martin has written a winner with this one.” —Romance Junkies
“Ms. Martin does a terrific job in writing dynamic characters you will come to know intimately and care for . . . I thoroughly enjoyed this book, enthusiastically recommend it, and anxiously await future books by Ms. Martin.”
—All About Romance
CHASING STANLEY
“Martin has created an enjoyable sports community with quirky characters and lots of humorous dialogue. You’ll cheer as Delilah and Jason slowly overcome their fears and the obstacles keeping them apart.” —Romantic Times
“Martin has a way of bringing her dissimilar characters together that rings true, and fans and curious new readers won’t want to miss her latest hockey-themed romance.”
—Booklist
“Sometimes it’s not the one-plus-one-equals-two that matters but everything that comes in between. On that score, Chasing Stanley is a real winner.” —The Romance Reader
THE PENALTY BOX
“It will make you think even while you laugh and cry . . . A crowd-pleaser. You won’t want to miss The Penalty Box.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Scores a goal with this reader . . . Deirdre Martin proves once again that she can touch the heart and the funny bone.”
—Romance Junkies
“Martin scores another goal with another witty, emotionally true-to-life, and charming hockey romance.” —Booklist
“Fun, fast rinkside contemporary romance . . . Martin scores with this witty blend of romance and family dynamics.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Ms. Martin always delivers heat and romance, with a very strong conflict to keep the reader engaged. The Penalty Box should be added to your ‘must-read list.’ ”
—Contemporary Romance Writers
TOTAL RUSH
“Total Rush is just that—a total rush, an absolute delight. Deirdre Martin is the reason I read romance novels. This contemporary romance is so well written [and] has a hero to die for and a romance that turns you into a puddle. It fills your heart to overflowing with love, acceptance, and the beauty of uniqueness. I laughed, I cried, I celebrated. It’s more than a read, it is a reread. Brava, Ms. Martin, you’re the greatest!”
—The Best Reviews
“Well written . . . Makes you want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next.” —The Columbia (SC) State
“Martin’s inventive take on opposites attracting is funny and poignant.” —Booklist
“A heartwarming story of passion, acceptance, and most importantly, love, this book is definitely a Total Rush.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Fast paced, sexy, fun yet tender, the pages of Total Rush practically turn themselves. This is Deirdre Martin’s third novel and is as sensational as the first two . . . A definite winner.”
—Romance Junkies
FAIR PLAY
“Martin depicts the worlds of both professional hockey and ethnic Brooklyn with deftness and smart detail. She has an unerring eye for humorous family dynamics [and] sweet buoyancy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fast paced, wisecracking, and an enjoyable story . . . Makes you feel like you’re flying.” —Rendezvous
“A fun and witty story . . . The depth of characterizations and the unexpectedly moving passages make this an exceptional romance and a must-read for all fans of the genre.”
—Booklist
“A fine sports romance that will score big-time . . . Martin has provided a winner.” —Midwest Book Review
BODY CHECK
“Heartwarming.” —Booklist
“Combines sports and romance in a way that reminded me of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s It Had to Be You, but Deirdre Martin has her own style and voice. Body Check is one of the best first novels I have read in a long time.”
—All About Romance (Desert Isle Keeper)
“Deirdre Martin aims for the net and scores with Body Check.” —The Romance Reader (Four Hearts)
“You don’t have to be a hockey fan to cheer for Body Check. Deirdre Martin brings readers a story that scores.”
—The Word on Romance
“A dazzling debut.”
—USA Today bestselling author Millie Criswell
“Fun, delightful, emotional, and sexy.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“An engaging romance that scores a hat trick [with] a fine supporting cast.” —The Best Reviews
Titles by Deirdre Martin
BODY CHECK
FAIR PLAY
TOTAL RUSH
THE PENALTY BOX
CHASING STANLEY
JUST A TASTE
POWER PLAY
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are t
he product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
POWER PLAY
A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / October 2008
Copyright © 2008 by Deirdre Martin.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
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eISBN : 978-0-425-22451-9
BERKLEY® SENSATION
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
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BERKLEY SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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For David Campbell
“In my friend, I find my second self.”
—Isabel Norton
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to:
My husband, Mark.
Miriam Kriss and Kate Seaver.
Binnie Braunstein, Eileen Buckholtz,
and Jeff Schwartzenberg.
The Actors’ Workshop of Ithaca Saturday
morning class—you guys help keep me sane.
Mom, Dad, Bill, Allison, Beth, Jane, Dave, and Tom.
Rocky.
ONE
ROXIE: You’ll walk again, Grayson. You have to believe that.
GRAYSON: Stop deluding yourself, Roxie. We’ve been to the top neurologist in Zurich. We’ve traveled to Lourdes. Even that Yaqui shaman did nothing. Nothing!
ROXIE: I can’t give up! I won’t!
GRAYSON: You must. (HE TRIES TO RISE FROM HIS WHEELCHAIR BUT FALLS BACK, FRUSTRATED.) We must accept it; just as an Eskimo can’t feel the cold, so I will never again feel my legs.
ROXIE: Where there’s love there’s hope, my darling. And I love you. (KISSES HIM TENDERLY.)
“And cut!”
Monica Geary glared at her costar, Royce Lindstrom, as he rose from the wheelchair and ostentatiously shook out his legs, admiring the definition of his calves. “How many times have I told you not to stick your tongue down my throat?”
For ten years, Royce had played Grayson Lamont, the on-again, off-again love interest of Monica’s character, Roxie Deveraux, on daytime’s top-rated soap, The Wild and the Free. And for ten years, Royce had taken any opportunity he could to probe the depths of Monica’s mouth, claiming he was simply keeping in character. This time, however, rather than claiming a De Niro-like dedication to his craft, Royce sported an unapologetic smirk.
“I thought you might start to like it, since you’ve been without a man in your life for so long.”
“Quit perving me, or I’ll tell TV Guide your hair comes out of an aerosol can. I mean it.”
“Threats, threats . . .” Royce trilled, whistling to himself as he sauntered off the set.
Monica turned to the show’s director, Jimmy, a slight, haunted-looking man with dark circles gouged beneath his eyes. “He’s unbelievable.”
Jimmy leaned in close to Monica, his eyes assessing the bustling TV studio to make sure that no one on the crew was paying them any attention. “Rumor has it the writers are lobbying to get rid of him,” he murmured in a voice just loud enough for Monica to hear.
“Why? Because he constantly screws up what they’ve written? Or because his idea of acting is lifting his eyebrows?” Monica hated wishing unemployment on any of her costars, but Royce was an exception.
Jimmy chuckled. “That, and he’s a huge pain in the ass. Keeps going up to their office and asking what’s going to happen with his character.”
Monica shook her head in disbelief. One of the cardinal rules in daytime was not to bug the writers. They might tell you the basic story arc for your character for the upcoming months, but that was it. Otherwise, you were pretty much kept in the dark. For all Monica knew, Roxie could wind up being the victim of a voodoo curse (zombies were quietly invading Garrett City), or she could be back on the streets hooking for a living, as she did before she and her estranged father reconciled when he was dying of a rare tropical fever, making her the head of his publishing empire.
“I’ll keep you posted,” Jimmy promised, trudging back toward the control booth.
Tired, Monica headed for her dressing room in the hopes of stealing a quick nap. It was going to be a long day. She still had three scenes to shoot that afternoon, which meant she’d be lucky to be home by nine. Her Friday night would be spent in front of the tube, snarfing down a Healthy Choice dinner and thumbing through the scripts she had to memorize for next week. She hoped the writers had something interesting planned for Roxie beyond wringing her hands and worrying whether Grayson’s legs would work or not. She closed the door, dimmed the lights, and lay down on the couch, closing her eyes. One hour. Then it was back to work.
It wasn’t to be. Ten minutes into pretending she was in a warm bath soaking her cares away, there was a firm knock at the door, and her costar, Gloria Hathaway, poked her head in the door. “Smoke?”
Monica sat up and turned up the lights. If anyone else had interrupted her, she’d be annoyed, but Gloria was a different story. Monica adored Gloria, who had taken Monica under her wing when she’d started on W and F ten years ago and had no damn idea what she was doing. Gloria taught Monica how to deal with fans and difficult costars, how to give an interview without making a fool of herself in the press, even how to be a gracious loser when she was nominated three times for a Daytime Drama Award and didn’t win. Gloria had been Monica’s daytime fairy godmother.
“No cigarettes for me. I’m trying to quit,” Monica told her.
“Well, I’m not,” said Gloria, shaking a cigarette out of the pocket of her hot-pink chenille robe, which always seemed on the verge of falling open, intentionally so. At seventy (not that anyone knew Gloria’s real age apart from Monica), Gloria still had a decent body, but she was—well, seventy. Monica didn’t have the heart to tell Gloria that her once-magnificent boobs (which Gloria claimed had “provided succor to Richard Burton when he and Liz had temporarily split”) now looked like two deflated balloons, or that it horrified the wardrobe mistress when Gloria would wander in with her robe half undone, revealing her obviously dyed bush. To Monica’s mind, Gloria deserved respect. She’d been a huge movie star, until juicy roles began drying up along with her body parts. Determined to keep working, Gloria had joined W and F fifteen years ago and had never looked back. She was called “the Grand Dame of Daytime,” a title she deserved. She was also the only person Monica knew who could wear a turban and not look like an idiot.
Gloria lit her cigarette, sitting down next to Monica on the couch. “I’m looking forward to that catfight we’re shooting this afternoon. Should be fun.”
Gloria played Antonia Lamont, Grayson’s controlling, alcoholic mother. Antonia hated Roxie and was determined to take her down. Monica loved when she had scenes with Gloria, because Gloria could act. In fact, a number of Monica’s costars were fine actors. She counted herself lucky.
Gloria took a drag off her cigarette and tilted her head back, blowing a geyser of smoke up to the ceiling. “I heard Royce might be history.”
“Where?”
Gloria looked back at her. “Jimmy.”
“Jimmy told me, too! But I thought it was a secret.”
Gloria snorted.
“As if anything is a secret around here.”
Everyone knew everyone else’s business on a soap set, and rumors flew faster than bullets. Perhaps there was a grain of truth to it, then. Monica could only hope.
“Hear anything else?” Monica asked, casually relieving Gloria of her cigarette. One puff wouldn’t kill her.
“Well, that new little tootsie starts next Friday.”
Monica had forgotten. A fresh, young face (Younger, Monica corrected herself. At thirty-one, she was not old!) was being brought on to play Monica’s younger sister, Paige, the half sister Roxie never knew she had. All Monica knew about the actress was that she was twenty-one, the same age Monica was when she started on daytime, and that her breasts were impressive. At least that was what Ricardo, the casting director, thought. But he panted after anything with long legs and basic brain function.
“What’s her name again?” Monica asked.
“Chessy Matthews. What the hell kind of a name is Chessy?” Gloria scoffed.