He couldn’t help it. Hazel was so incredibly good at twisting and turning words until they pleased her — and her eyes had been so incredibly serious when she’d said it.
“It’s not funny!” she said, annoyed. “I mean it.”
“Yeah, that’s what makes it funny,” he replied, laughing. “Why are you so tense? Your mother hasn’t told me anything new. I know you were poor, Hazel.” He looked at her, shaking his head. “I know you had three scholarships and it still wasn’tenough. Jesus, I had to pick you up from the hospital when you donated so much plasma for money that you fainted. You can say you don’t know me, but shit, I know you.”
She crossed her arms. “It’s just more than an anecdote, the way my mother sells it. She shouldn’t be telling it all the time. I want the days where people thought I was pathetic to be over. Is that so weird?”
“I’ve never believed you were pathetic for a second of my life.”
“Then you were the only one at Harvard, Gareth.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Hazel didn’t get a chance to answer, and he doubted she would have, but at that moment, her mother returned with a cup of coffee and a glass of Coke, which, for Hazel, apparently meant their conversation was over.
Fine. If that was what she wanted, so be it.
Gareth took a deep breath, sank into the empty chair, and got to work. He tried to calm his mind, to ignore the tightness in his midriff…
How the hell could she even think for a second that he had once judged her for her background?
It bothered him. It shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. Even an hour and a half later, when they were back in the car, on the way back to the arena, it bothered him. And unfortunately, his expression was betraying him.
“Are you okay?” Hazel asked as they entered the Hawks’ underground parking garage.
“Everything’s fine,” he replied tensely.
“Are you sure? If you grip the steering wheel any tighter, you’ll rip it right off.”
He remained silent because he didn’t want to open that can of worms. He was afraid of what would happen if he did.
So he just parked, ignoring Hazel’s overly intense stare and the burning feeling in his chest, which was a mixture of anger, confusion, and something else he couldn’t identify…or didn’t want to.
Hazel sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thanks, Gareth. For helping my mom. You did a good job of calming her down.”
He nodded curtly and turned off the engine while avoiding her gaze.
“Okay, come on,” Hazel said, suddenly annoyed. “What’s wrong? Why is there steam coming out of your ears?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter! I said something nice to you, even though I’m not contractually obligated to when we’re alone. You should appreciate that.”
He laughed bitterly and looked up abruptly. “So a kindthank youmakes up for what you said earlier, huh?”
Hazel blinked, perplexed. “What did I say?”
“That you’re not sure I’m judging you? That you’d rather assume you don’t know me?” he echoed her words coldly.
“What about it?” She frowned.
“Were you serious?”
He could tell by Hazel’s shoulders that she was breathing deeply. And from the way she sucked her lower lip between her teeth, he knew she wasn’t certain if she should answer. “We wanted to be honest, right?” she whispered.
He nodded, and the car keys dug into his hand because he was gripping them so tightly.
“Okay. Gareth, I’ve been judged by hundreds of people my entire life for not fitting into their world. As trailer trash at Harvard. As a woman in the sports industry…”
