I glance over at Rowan, surprised he’s being quiet, but his face is panicked and he’s looking around frantically. “I heard that echo, didn’t you say the mics were off?” he says and I stop in my tracks.
“What?”
“The guy said the mics are off,” Jacob says, his smile dropping.
Elena walks up and smacks him across the head. “He said the mic is hot, dumbass.”
“Bloody hell,” he says, ripping the microphone off. “I can’t be trusted with these things,” he says, shoving it into a staff member’s chest.
The rest of us follow suit, taking the mics off our heads. I sigh, closing my eyes. “Did everyone just hear that?”
“I’m afraid so,” the host and commentator says from behind us. “We’ve stopped broadcasting to television, but the people in the arena heard everything,” he says, giving me an apologetic look.
“Shit,” I say, wiping my face with a towel.
“Dude, why the hell would you say that?” Rowan asks Jacob, a look of hurt written across his handsome face.
“Mate, it was an accident. I thought he said the mics were off,” Jacob says, looking crestfallen.
Rowan sighs and looks at me, unsure what to do. “Want me to punch him?” he asks me, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
I shake my head no and squeeze his hand. “It’s time to face the music.”
CHAPTER 27
Rowan
April - Las Vegas
I haveMaggie promise that she’ll wait for me after we go our separate ways to shower, but I still expect her to have bolted when I come out.
Instead, she’s pacing back and forth in the hallway, biting her fingernails. “C’mere,” I say, pulling her into a hug. She tucks her nose against my neck and I wrap my arms around her shoulders, holding her tight.
“What are we going to do?” she asks quietly.
“Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think,” I try to say, but my hopeful demeanor drops when we hear multiple cameras clicking. I half turn, still holding Maggie to me, and that’s when I see them—three, if not more, reporters heading our way and talking over one another, asking us questions.
Maggie swears and pulls away from me, looking nervously around the hallway.
“You two get out of here, we’ll distract them,” Jacob says, walking up to us with Elena in tow.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“It’s the least I can do. I’m sorry I caused this, Maggie,” he says, running a hand through his black hair.
“No hard feelings,” she says, still looking skittish.
“Okay, let’s get out of here,” I say, following the exit signs out of the arena. I walk ahead, making sure no other media is lingering.
A staff member walks up to us and says, “There’s a car waiting for you to take you to the hotel.”
“Thank you,” I say, letting out a relieved breath. I reach for Maggie’s hand but she pulls it back, avoiding my gaze. The rejection stings and I can’t help but be frustrated with how everything is playing out. We were finally supposed to talk about our agreement.
The car ride is silent and every attempt I make at conversation is shut down. So I give up trying to get through to her for now. As we get to the hotel, I leave her alone to head to the room and make my way to the bar.
“Can I get a bottle of whiskey to take back to my room?” I ask the young bartender.
He frowns at me and says, “I don’t think I’m allowed to do that.”
