Around a mouthful, I answer, “I love it. It’s the best thing—” I remove my elbows from the table and set the burger down, then wipe my mouth.
“Someone forgot her manners.” Connor leans in. “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”
“Ha ha.” I grin as I pick up my burger. “But it is almost too good to put down.” But I do set it down when something scratched into the picnic table catches my eye. I trace my finger over the letters C-O-N-N-O-R, followed by a plus symbol and the nameAnna.
He swallows thickly and leans back.
“I see your misbehavior started early.”
“And there I thought you were going to ask me who Anna is.”
“Who is she?”
“Anna was my high school sweetheart.”
This information does something strange inside. On the one hand, it’s nice to know Connor got to experience a first love like that. On the other, I feel strangely jealous of her—she probably got to be all of his firsts, including his first kiss.
Then again, we are talking about Connor “Wolf.” He’s kissed a lot of women, but I sense Anna was for real, while the rest were fill-ins, trying to give him what she did, which begs the question, why is she a footnote in his story and not on his “team?”
He sets down his burger and says, “If you’re wondering what happened?—?”
“You don’t have to tell me. Remember, I’m your coach,” I say, regretting it but also knowing I should at least attempt to keep things professional between us.
“My fiancée has special privileges. You get insider info, team secrets.” He winks.
“Just don’t tell me anything about Declan, Chase, or Grey. I’ve seen enough.”
He chuckles. “Anna and I dated in high school. Classic football player cheerleader story. Did you have those in France?”
“We had a variation,” I say, thinking darkly about dance and Gaston.
“As you saw, Cain and I were, er, are rivals. Even back then, we despised each other. Or more precisely, he had a vendetta against me. One night, after a big game, we were at a party. And in case you’re wondering, yes, Cain is older and still went to high school parties. The creep probably still does. Anyway, I found him and Anna hooking up.”
Giving the girl the benefit of the doubt, because where I sit, there is no contest between the Wolfe brothers, I ask, “Is there a chance that he forced her or?—?”
Connor leans back in the chair and crosses his arms. His biceps strain against the cotton hem of his gray T-shirt. “That’s the thing, I confronted her the next day. She said she’d always liked Cain, but he was older. I was easier. Easier to fool, I guess.”
I reach across the table and draw Connor’s hand loose. “I’m sorry. That’s so hurtful.”
“She ruined love for me.”
“That’s not true. She’s the one missing out. You’re better off without her anyway. I bet now she’s a real troll. A big wart on her nose, hair on her chin, missing teeth, and smells like low tide.”
Connor chuckles. “See? We make a great team.”
I’m afraid we do.
We finish our dinner and then drive to a nearby hotel. The receptionist recognizes Connor and makes a big football fan fuss, drawing the attention of a couple of other guests. I hang back while he signs a few items and then takes selfies with the fans. He gets an A+ for being personable and polite. No signs of the Wolf in sight.
From across the room, I watch him carry it off with ease, as if his brother doesn’t hate him, he didn’t have the promise ofyoung love, and then have it shattered, leaving his heart broken. Meanwhile, he’s been walking around on the shards all this time.
Until now. He seems different. Like our time together has helped him pick up the pieces and fit them back in place.
I agreed to be his fake fiancée because there’s no way I’d truly fall for him. That’s ridiculous. His eyes land on me after he smiles at the camera, sending a spark of warmth through me.
Just as I join Connor and he hefts our bags to bring them to our rooms, a guy dressed in tactical gear approaches. In a word, he’s intimidating and I prepare to take shelter, but the two instantly exchange a bro hug.
“What are you doing here, Andrew?” Connor asks the guy with a massive beard.
