Gramma CeCe: Leave the betrothed alone, dear, or you’ll never get that grandbaby you want
Chloe: For the record, she does have grandbabies
Claudia: Here’s a pic from some fancy party
Claudia: If you zoom in, you can see the ring
Gramma CeCe: Didn’t need to zoom in much! That thing’s the size of an egg!
Ruthie: Yeah, an ostrich egg
Ruthie: Give that prenup a thought, okay?
Claudia: He’s not getting a prenup, Ruth. You know he’ll give her everything.
Mom: They aren’t even married yet and you’re talking about their divorce????
Amber: Do we actually know they’re not married yet?
Mom: What does that mean????
Gramma CeCe: You know how your son works, Cecelia. He won’t say a word until he’s ready.
The first thingJakobi said when he answered my call that night was, “You’re in so much trouble.”
“That’s the least useful thing you’ve said all day.”
“That little lady has you wrapped around every one of her fingers and all her toes,” he drawled. “And you love it.”
I flipped on the lights in my home gym and headed for the weight rack. Earbuds in place, I asked, “Is there a point to any of this?”
He hooted with laughter. “Is the sister part of the package?”
I closed my fingers around a pair of fifties. “You saw the place. Couldn’t leave her there.”
“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t have taken her home with me. This city is full of apartments. You could’ve found one for the sister before the day was out and been done with it.”
“Emme never would’ve gone for that.”
A noise trilled low in his throat. “You and that heart of yours. You fooled everyone into believing you don’t have one, but after the weekend you’ve had, they’ll think you’re a man reborn. Nicely done.”
Leaning my chest against the bench, I started in on a series of trap raises. “If you’re done with the pearls of wisdom for the night, do you think you could update me on the pending issues we have? Or are you just going to shovel shit at me until you find something else to amuse you?”
“Stella will be pleased,” Jakobi continued. “She knew we’d be able to turn your image around but I think she’ll be surprised at how fast those tides turned.” He chuckled to himself. “She’s a good choice, this friend of yours. Excellent, actually. Couldn’t have done better myself.”
Grunting as I reached the end of the set, I managed, “Any news from the Wallaces?”
“Wally’s personal assistant informed me that he’s leaving for a month-long family holiday tomorrow and he’ll be making his final decision on the franchise bids when he returns.”
“A timeline,” I panted. “It’s about fucking time.”
“We’d suspected this all along but the confirmation is appreciated.” After a pause, Jakobi added, “The assistant suggested our bid was the strongest. Barring any unforeseen events, we could have this wrapped up before preseason games start.”
That news came with a wave of relief but then there was something else—an odd prickle of disappointment. If wesucceeded in buying the rights to these teams, I wouldn’t need to drag Emme to every party and charity event on my calendar. Wouldn’t need to perform for the cameras and anyone else watching. Wouldn’t need to do any of this.
The truth was I didn’t have an exit strategy with Emme. My best guess was that it would blow up in my face and destroy every shred of connection we shared. But if that didn’t happen and we managed to survive the next few months, maybe we’d keep the fun going a little longer. Maybe we’d just stay together. Forever.
I forced my arms back harder than necessary and sucked in a breath when a ripple of pain went through my shoulder. “Dammit,” I murmured, dropping the weights.
