“I’ll most likely announce the engagement during the presser at the away-game this weekend. I have one more away. The next home game will be on the fourth.” His gaze collides with mine, steady and just a bit concerned. “That’s when you start attending and publicly be my girl.”
Oh, hell. Awkward, shy heat invades my cheeks. A blush he clearly sees.
His tone becomes gentle. “Are you ready for this, Penelope?”
I can handle this. Ican. “As I’ll ever be, August.”
August
“Just so we’re clear,” Coach Harper says evenly. “You’re engaged?”
I sit back in my seat with a nonchalant air, though inside I’m anything but; I keep seeing that ring on Pen’s finger, and it’s doing weird things to my mind. But appearances matter here in my coach’s office where I’m meeting with the team. “Team” being the highest up people who want to make sure I don’t do another drunken chicken dance and focus on winning for them.
The fact that I’m even here is degrading and surreal. I’m not a clown or a fuckup. Only Ihavebeen. So now I’ve got to present myself as a reformed man.
“I am,” I say. “To Penelope Morrow. She’s a childhood friend and we reconnected over the summer.”
“And you were so in love, you decided to party with a bunch of women all over the place at the same time?” Bud Lester, the GM, gives me a “get real” look. “Yeah, sure, that’ll work.”
“Okay.” I lift an idle hand for show. “So we tell them we had a breakup and it sent me over the edge, but now we’re back together.”
Nala, the team’s PR manager, taps a hot-pink nail against the bright blue binder with the team logo emblazoned over it resting in her lap. I know my files are in there, containing everything I’ve probably done since birth. “Could work. Heartbroken, you lashed out with a bit of reckless behavior, but now true love has healed all wounds.”
Inwardly, I roll my eyes and cringe. If anyone buys that...
“We can have you announce it at the post-game presser this Sunday,” she says, as expected.
“We’ll need a couple of good shots of the happy coupledoing happy things,” her assistant, Troy, adds, furiously tapping away, his phone screen reflected in his gold cat-eye glasses.
Nala’s cool brown eyes pin me with a no-nonsense stare. “I’m assuming this is the girl you were eating with at the Santa Monica Pier?” She turns the binder to show a print of Pen and me smiling goofily at each other.
As I said, she’s got everything in that binder.
“It is.”
“She’s cute.” Troy studies his screen where he now has the picture up. “In a wholesome sort of way. A classic beauty.”
Personally, I think Pen’s fucking hot in an “I want to peel off her shirt every time I see her and press my face between the bounty that are her breasts” way. But I’m not saying that here. And if anyoneelsesays something like that, I’ll probably pop them one. Which wouldn’t be good for my new tame image.
“It’s not the angle I was workshopping,” Nala muses, “but I think this might be better. Childhood sweethearts? What could be cuter?”
I’d said childhood friend, not sweetheart. I’m not even sure anyone who knew me or Pen throughout our childhood will believe that.
“Well...” I trail off, not wanting to stop her now that she seems to be going with my pick of Pen.
At my side, my agent, James Perry, crosses one leg over the other in a totalGodfathermove. “What we need to focus on here is that August’s behaviorwasan aberration that has passed. As we said before, August is, and always was, a levelheaded team player.”
“All appearances to the contrary this past summer,” Bud drawls, unimpressed.
Harper’s executive chair creaks as he leans forward and rests his linked hands on his desk. “Look, Luck’s buckled down and is doing the work on the field and off. He’s signed up for a bunch of charities...” At this he glances at James and I for confirmation, to which we both duly nod, not bothering to mention I’vealwaysworked with charities.
“He’s got himself a sweet-faced fiancée and has stopped with the foolishness. As far as I’m concerned, he’s doing what we asked of him, now let’s focus on the important things. Like winning.”
Weathered blue eyes, deeply set under bushy gray brows stare me down. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. There is greatness in you. That’s why we signed you.”
Bud Lester nods in agreement but says nothing as Harper goes on.
“You’re the top pick in a competitive sport. That’s never going to be easy. But you’re more than ready to rise to the challenge.”
