The Teacher's Billionaire

off like a shot in hot pursuit.
    Jake stopped next to her. “Nice arm,” he commented sounding impressed. “Dylan mentioned you played softball in college.”
    Callie picked up the ball Lucky dropped at her feet and pretended to examine it closely. She was surprised Dylan mentioned her to anyone, let alone told them she’d played softball. It wasn’t as if they had a real relationship.
    How much does he know?
She didn’t think anyone other than Marty Phillips, Dylan, and Elizabeth knew about his little agreement. That didn’t mean Jake didn’t know they’d been intimate. Somehow Sara knew, or at least suspected.
    Throwing the ball again she finally answered, “Mostly center field but sometimes I would play right too.”
    Jake dropped down to the ground, stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back on his elbows.
    Guess he plans on staying for a while, she thought once again picking up the ball Lucky dropped at her feet.
    “I never played baseball,” he admitted picking at the blades of grass. “Basketball and soccer were my games. And as you can imagine Sara’s not exactly into team sports.”
    No big surprise there. She couldn’t imagine Sara intentionally getting sweaty unless it involved sitting in a steam room wrapped in a big white fluffy towel.
    Not waiting for a reply, Jake continued his family history lesson. “Dylan was big into cricket and rugby, although he did play a little basketball too. He probably would’ve played football if his school in England had a team.”
    She could picture Dylan as the star quarterback. The football player with all the girls falling at his feet.
    Chucking the tennis ball even harder this time, she tried to keep her emotions from bubbling over. So much for the peace she’d been feeling a few minutes ago. Yet she couldn’t blame Jake. He had no way of knowing that talking about Dylan would upset her. He was just making conversation.
    This time when Lucky dropped the ball he reached for it before Callie could. “I know you two were seeing each other,” he said his voice gentle.
    Okay, so much for just making conversation.
“It was nothing.” She hated that her voice cracked with emotion.
Nothing to him at least.
To her it had been so much more.
God, she didn’t want to talk about this now.
    Jake looked up at her, an eyebrow cocked. “I’ve seen the pictures. It was more than nothing.”
    For a split second she wished Jake was more like his sister Sara. Then, they would never be having this little heart to heart.
    Dropping down to the ground, she sighed loudly before realizing it. “You can’t always believe what you see.”
    Her half-brother laughed sarcastically. “You
do not
have to tell me that.” Judging by the tone of his voice he spoke from experience. “In this case you’re wrong, Callie.”
    Neither said anything for a few minutes, which was fine with her. She didn’t want to talk about Dylan. Instead they took turns throwing the ball for Lucky who repeatedly bolted after it, usually making the catch before it hit the ground. Callie was finally confident Jake had let the subject go when he said, “Dylan can be a cutthroat bastard in the boardroom, but he’s not the type to screw with someone’s emotions. He’s a good guy. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my half-brother.”
    She remained silent. What was she supposed to say? You don’t know him as well as you think you do. That would just make things uncomfortable between them. And she didn’t want that. She liked Jake. He seemed to be a nice guy. Someone she could become friends with.
    “Did you know he was once engaged?” Jake asked. It seemed he was unable to let the topic of Dylan go this morning.
    The news stunned her. “No, he never told me that.” Then again she had never asked about his previous relationships. And he hadn’t asked her.
    Jake pulled out another blade of grass. “He doesn’t talk about it.”
    “What happened?” It wasn’t any of her business. Still, she couldn’t help but ask anyway.
    “Francesca turned out not to be who Dylan thought she was. Let’s just say things didn’t end well between them.”
    Why was he telling her this? She doubted Dylan would appreciate it if he knew.
    “He hasn’t had a serious relationships since then. Not until you.”
    If you only knew the truth Jake, Callie thought bitterly. “There was nothing serious about our relationship, Jake. We only went out a few times. It was no big deal.