“Hey, if you didn’t ride my ass during golf, I wouldn’t have gotten so pissed off and almost decapitated Kam. So, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s yours.”
“‘Scuse me? Did you just say you almost decapitated my fiancé?”
“Yes!” Telly throws up his hands animatedly. “This is what we are trying to tell you. That hickey on Kam’s neck you think came from a stripper really came from a sixty-mile-an-hour golf ball.”
I have heard it all. I stare Telly down. “How long did it take the three of you to come up with that lame story?”
“It’s not a story.” Rodney pulls out his phone. “Look, I have a timeline.” He starts scrolling through pictures. “Here’s one on the plane. No hickey. And here is us at dinner Friday night, no hickey. And here is us in the hotel room early Saturday morning before golf.” That picture is a close-up of Kam lying on the bed, his neck clearly visible, and also someone’s naked ass cheeks.
“I never need to see that picture again.” I close my eyes. What is it about athletes and their free-range nakedness?
“Okay, and here we are on hole one and, look, then again on hole four right after Landon tried to decapitate Kam.”
Kam is sitting on the back of a golf cart with a perturbed look on his face and a handful of ice to his neck. The next picture is the real evidence. A shot of Kam’s bruised neck. The exact place the incriminating hickey is.
“Look.” Rodney enlarges the picture. “You can even see the golf ball divots in his skin.”
“Oh, shit.” My stomach drops as I inspect the image.
“Laney, Kam would never, ever cheat on you. There are a lot of dogs in the league, but Kam is not one of them. He is disgustingly crazy about you. I can’t tell you how many times the guys talk about some honey, bragging about how gorgeous she is, and Kam always says no one is as beautiful as his Lemon. No one is as funny, or sexy, or smart, or strong, or . . .”
“Okay, I got it,” I cut Rodney off. “I’m perfect.”
“Kam definitely thinks so.” Telly puts his hands on my shoulders. “Chris and I have gone through the exact same thing. The media likes to stir the pot. You can’t believe everything they report.”
“Most of what they report.” Rodney snorts.
“I usually don’t. I trust Kam. But when I saw physical evidence I sort of lost it.”
“We understand. We know how it rolls.” Telly smiles. His dark eyes are as warm as his sentiment. “This life isn’t easy, and when you find a solid person to be with, you don’t fuck it up.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“You know it.” The large diamond studs in his ears wink at me under the fluorescent lights.
“I guess I should call him back, huh?”
“I would go see in him in person. He’s torn up,” Telly advises. Shit.
“He’s that bad?” I bite my lip.
“Oh, yeah,” he breathes out. “’Bout as bad as a catastrophic disaster.”
After profusely apologizing to my bosses, I made amends for the botched breakfast by letting them finish the meal with Landon, Telly, and Rodney. Tom and Joe were loving life when I left. Sometimes knowing people in high places can really help you save face.
I rush up the front stairs to our condo and barrel inside just to run smack dab into Kam in the foyer. We literally collide. He grabs me just before I fall flat on my ass and an awkward moment passes.
“Laney!”
“Hi.” I look up at him as I dangle in his arms. He pulls me into a hug and buries his face in my neck. I dissolve. All the pain and anguish and hurt melts away as Kam holds me tight.
“I didn’t know if you were coming back,” he mumbles against my skin.
“I wasn’t going to, but you have some really, really loyal teammates and friends.” Kam separates us just enough so he can look into my eyes. His are glassy and bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles. I don’t think he slept a wink last night. I provide an answer to his questioning expression. “Telly, Landon, and Rodney crashed my business breakfast this morning.” Horror mars his handsome face.
“They did what?”
“Don’t freak out. I handled that for both of us.” I place my hands on his hard chest. “They showed up, made a spectacle in front of the restaurant, accidentally of course, then demanded I hear them out. So, I did.”
