“Anyway, I didn’t come over here to talk about those idiots. I wanted to check in on you.”
“Oh…um…I’m fine,” I lie.
“Freya,” she breathes before turning to face me again. “I’m good at my job. I pride myself on knowing what’s going on with our players and predicting what is going to cause them, and inturn me, issues. I would be failing in my position if I didn’t do a little research on the woman who seems to have stolen our goalie’s heart.”
“Oh,” I force out as a lump crawls up my throat, although I’m not really surprised. It was clear the moment she looked at me in the limo that she knew. It was naive of me to think she wouldn’t have typed my name into Google the second she learned what it was.
“I must say I was shocked. I was under the impression that you were Coach’s next-door neighbor. I had no idea what I was going to stumble across.”
I cringe. “Yeah, I…uh…”
“It’s okay, Freya,” she says, reaching out and squeezing my forearm gently in friendly support. “I do everything in my power to protect our boys and the organization. Now you’re with Cole, that includes you. I’ll keep an eye on things and intervene where possible to protect you both.”
“Do you think he’ll?—”
“You know him better than me,” she starts, making me scoff. I’m not sure I ever truly knew Rowan. “But I know how his PR team thinks. They don’t care if it’s good or bad press. They just want album sales, and the more noise around his name, the better.”
“Wonderful.”
“Look, I might be wrong. I work in sports PR, not music. But I think you should prepare yourself for backlash. There’s a good chance that your photo is already out there. You walked in tonight with Cole Hansley. He never goes anywhere with a woman. People will pick up on that and the way he was holding you. I’d put money on your name being exposed by sunrise, and I want you ready.”
I nod, all the while acid sloshes in my stomach.
I thought my days being under the spotlight were over, but somehow, I’ve managed to land myself straight back in the place I tried so hard to run from.
“I’m on your team here,” Hailee says softly before divulging a plan that might help do some damage control should Rowan—or his team—decide to take the low road. Which, let’s be honest, is pretty much inevitable.
By the time Cole comes over and leads me to the dance floor, my head is spinning.
Hailee wants us to release our relationship to the world, but I’m not ready. We’re not ready. We’ve barely started, and now she wants everyone else to have an opinion.
“You’re so beautiful,” Cole says as he tugs me into his body, pressing our hips together. “And this dress is driving me fucking crazy, Whirlwind.”
I stare up at him, my eyes taking in his features, my body relaxing in his hold.
Everything will be okay. As long as he doesn’t let go, everything will be okay.
53
COLE
As desperate as I am to go over and take my girl to the dance floor, I can tell that whatever Hailee is saying to her is important. The two of them are locked in conversation for long minutes as I watch.
It’s ridiculous. She’s right there, and yet I’m missing her. The guys can see it too, and they happily rib me for it.
I don’t care, though. I just need to be beside her. I need to know that she’s okay.
Finally, after Hailee reaches out and squeezes Freya’s hand supportively, she steps away, leaving my girl alone.
Freya looks over her shoulder, her eyes searching the crowd for me. And the instant she finds me, her shoulders relax and a soft smile plays on her lips.
I walk away from Linc, Kodie, and Fletch mid-conversation and step up behind her. I’m pretty sure the words “pussy-whipped” leave one of their mouths as I walk away, but seeing as they’re just as bad, I let it slide.
My hands land on her hips before lifting and sliding around her waist, pinning her back against me.
“Everything okay?” I whisper in her ear.
She nods as she grips my forearms, her slender fingers squeezing me. “Hailee did some research,” she tells me.
