I’d seen the glossy dresses he’d laid out for events.
“Nate,” I said gently, “I don’t want to change into something else.I don’t want another event.I just…want to feel like me.I want to unwind and go home.”
Nate went still, just for a second.But I felt it.Something in his expression shifted, wounded pride?Frustration?Panic?All of it tangled together.Flickered over his features before he smoothed it over.
“Fine,” he said tightly.“Go with Kenz.”
His tone stung more than I expected.
“Are you mad?”I asked.
“No,” he replied too quickly.
I didn't like how this felt, so I offered."You could always skip the next party and come home with me instead."
Nate leaned in, kissed my cheek, quick, almost perfunctory, and turned away before I could say anything else.No response...he just walked away.
I watched him walk toward his team, shoulders tense, jaw sharp, smile already back in place for the cameras waiting near the entrance.
Kenzie touched my arm.“You okay?”
I nodded.But I wasn't, because today should have been fun.Light and easy.
Instead, as we walked out into the cool October night, dresses rustling in the wind, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.
Like I had stepped off the edge of something and hadn’t realized it yet.
I hugged my arms around myself and whispered into the dark: “Everything is fine.”
But even I didn’t believe it anymore.
Chapter 31 - Nate
There’s this moment after a storm where everything gets quiet.It's not peaceful.Just… muffled white noise.Like the world is holding its breath.That’s what the weeks after Halloween felt like.
Tessa’s still here, she's still answering my calls, still soft when she looks at me.But there’s something in her eyes, something careful, and I keep pretending I don’t see it.Because I know it’s my fault.I know I was an asshole, I know I upset her.
And I don’t know how to undo the damage I caused in ways she doesn’t even know yet.
PR hit me the second the Halloween footage went viral.
“Nate, the engagement numbers are insane.We want Tessa at the charity gala in November.”
“We’d like to use her for a couple's holiday promo, light, wholesome, nothing too heavy.”
“We need her at home games.Fans are asking.It helps your image and ours.”
“She stabilizes you,” the GM says one day, clapping a hand on my shoulder like he’s talking about a therapy dog.“Don’t mess this up.”
I laugh, because what else can I do?But inside, something cold settles in my gut.
They want her everywhere I am, and so do I.She makes everything better.
The problem is… she starts saying no.
“Another banquet?How many do they need to host?I’m exhausted, Nate.You go ahead.”
“I just worked a twelve-hour day.I can’t dress up for an hour of staged photos.Why do I even need to be there for team pictures?”
