I close my eyes.
“Damn it,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face.
“You know this is spreading like wildfire, right?” Nova says, pacing. “I’ve already had four reporters call the landline like it’s 2004. The landline, Knox.”
“She just showed up.”
“No kidding,” she snaps. “And you let her stay. You sat with her. In the middle of your restaurant. In front of Josie.”
My stomach twists. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“But you didn’t shut it down either,” Nova fires back, folding her arms. “And now Josie will think you’re right back in Savannah’s pocket.”
I stare at the phone again. The way Josie looked at me before she walked away plays on loop in my head. That small, tight smile like she was holding herself together with spit and string.
“She has a lot on me, Nova,” I say quietly. “Stuff I didn’t even know she kept. Contracts. Photos. PR deals I thought were dead years ago. She still has connections. Still knows how to make shit hurt.”
Nova’s frown deepens. “What kind of stuff?”
I drag a hand over my face. “The fake pregnancy. Remember that mess?”
“Urgh, all too well. Just what you needed as you left the NFL.”
I nod. “Turns out she kept everything… faked sonograms, doctored clinic receipts, emails to her publicist setting the whole thing up. She’s threatening to leak it. Twist it. Make it look like I forced her into something ugly. And if she does?” I glance at the phone again, a sick feeling rising in my throat. “The Marrow’s done. The sponsors pull out. Savannah doesn’t even have to prove it. Justsuggestit. Cast doubt. That’s all it would take.”
Nova swears softly. “That bitch really is playing the long game. But that’s your past, Knox. You could survive that."
I stare at the floor. My chest is tight. "It’s not just about me."
"What do you mean?"
I drag a hand through my hair. "Savannah knows about Josie. Not the whole story. But enough. She’s been asking questions. Dropping comments. She said if I don’t play along, smile for the cameras, let her spin this comeback fantasy, she’s going to make sure Josie getsdragged."
Nova goes still. "Dragged how?"
I exhale, slow and sharp. "She said it would be a shame if people found out Josie slept her way into the job.' That she’s just the ‘small town fling’ who hooked a name chef to get ahead. She’ll smear her all over the tabloids. Make her look like a gold digger, a home wrecker. Ruin her reputation, bring the intense media attention her way.”
Nova curses under her breath. "Damn. What are you going to do?”
The weight of it presses down on me, heavy and suffocating. "I can handle my name getting dragged again. But Josie?" My voice breaks. "I can’t let Savannah destroy her, too."
I shake my head, jaw clenched. "I don’t know yet. But I need time, Nova. Time to figure out how to cut Savannah off withoutdragging Josie through the mud. If I push too soon, too hard... Savannah will burn her first, just to make me bleed."
My hands curl into fists against the desk. "I'm not sitting on my ass because I'm scared. I'm waiting because Josie’s name, her life, is the only thing I care about protecting right now. Savannah’s playing a long game, and if I make the wrong move, Josie’s the one who pays. I can’t let that happen."
Nova leans back, frowning. "You’re playing defense."
I nod. "For now. Until I figure out how to hit her where it hurts. But not at Josie's expense. Never at Josie’s expense."
Nova sighs, her anger simmering down into wary understanding. "Just don’t wait too long, Knox. Because Josie’s already hurting. And she thinks you don’t care."
I close my eyes. "I care too damn much. That’s the problem."
Nova sighs and leans back in the chair, kicking her boots up on the desk like we’re back in LA, twenty-four and invincible. “You want to know what I think?”
“Not really.”
She ignores that. “I think Savannah showed up because she smelled blood in the water. She saw you happy. Peaceful. That’s not something she can stand. Because it means you moved on without her. And you’re the one getting all the attention.”
