Her hand was on my arm again. “You didn’t use me. I know that.”
“Because you didn’t fucking trust me enough to tell me who you were, who your father was.”
“I told you,” she said, “a few weeks ago in the parking lot. No one on the UK team knew, except the coach.” She exhaled. “I wanted to be me, not Reid Hubbard’s daughter.” She shook her head. “Not the Coopers’ heiress. Me. I thought that was enough for you.” Vee picked up her glass of wine and drained it. “Obviously, we were both wrong.”
“Vee.” When she didn’t respond, I said, “Abby.”
“Oh hell no.” Vee spun my direction. “Never call me that again.”
“Abigail went by Gail, not Abby.”
Vee shook her head. “Don’t, Fin. I don’t understand. Is this” —she motioned between us— “what you wanted? Was this why you came to the Coopers? You wanted to punish me for not telling you something obvious?”
“Obvious?” I questioned. “If I meet someone from Atlanta with the last name Blank, should I immediately think of the Falcons? How about Pegula?”
“Buffalo Bills.”
“Fuck, at twenty-two I hadn’t spent my life around football owners. Hubbard was just a name.”
“And I loved you for that.” She reached for the door handle. “You hated me for it. This seems like animpasse.” She kept the door open, pressing her petite frame against the glass. “Your contract is safe—unless you plan on bailing on it too.”
“I wouldn’t have bailed if you…”
Vee smirked, keeping her chin high. “I took you for someone who took personal accountability. Wrong again.” Vee motioned through her condo. “You can go now.”
“I don’t want to go,” I replied truthfully. “Vee.” I softened my tone. “Now that the air is clear, can we try again?”
Pressing her lips together, she shook her head as her face fell forward. Her long hair created a veil separating me from her.
“Fuck.” I spun a complete circle, doing my best to keep it together. “I should have returned your call. I didn’t know you saw pictures.”
Lifting her hands to her temples, Vee laughed. It wasn’t a real laugh, not sincere. “You’re sorry I saw pictures. You’re not sorry I thought we had a future, and it was shattered. You didn’t have the decency to talk to me, text me, shit, Facebook message me. I know communication wasn’t as advanced fourteen years ago. Hell, I would have taken smoke signals.” Using her palms, Vee wiped her cheeks. “Please go, Fin. Go home. Take care of your shoulder. With Troy on the IR, the Coopers need you.”
“You weren’t listening.”
Her bloodshot stare met mine. “I heard every word.”
I’d told her I loved her. The girl in the picture in my locker. I loved her, more than I’d loved anyone before or after. “Every word?”
Vee nodded. “Goodbye, Mr. Graham. We’ll keep things professional, I hope.”
“Things shouldn’t end like this.”
“It’s more closure than I had before.” She lifted her chin and blew through her lips. “It sucks, but it’s closure.”
“Think about what I said.”
“Fin, if you want me to apologize for being the reason you screwed nameless women, you’ll be waiting a long time.”
The buzzing in my ears grew louder as I rode the elevator down to the garage. Talk about a colossal fuck-up. Coming to Lexington was a mistake. I should have retired. Once I was in my truck, I looked up at the rearview mirror and brought my fingers gingerly to my cheek. “I’m getting tired of being knocked around.”
My phone buzzed.
Coach Garcia, the Coopers’ quarterback coach’s name was on the screen.
“Coach?” I said, answering.
“Graham, I wanted you to hear it from me. Cody Simpson re-signed with the Coopers.”
