“Is that why you’ve been distracted lately?”
I shouldn’t feel guilty for caring about my career. “Taking action from the Cove makes me feel like I’m betraying the trip with my son and doing something wrong behind your back.”
She shifts in her chair, but her expression doesn’t tense. “You’re not doing anything wrong. I couldn’t take off months without working. If I could, I totally would.” She glances at the wallpaper and chuckles. “I guess the Cove has an offseason, though. Winter is rough without the tourists.”
I try to laugh along with her, but my heart isn’t in it. I know she’s working hard on her own goals, though she’s never hesitated to help me with mine.
Summer isn’t just a friend I’ve grown close to, or someone I’m insanely attracted to, though she is both. She’sbecome someone I can talk to, so my stomach shouldn’t drop like it just did. I reach across the table and hold my hand out for her. “I need to make a quick trip back to the city. A couple of days max for meetings and to get things back on track.”
“What brought this on? The PR stuff? Isn’t the best way to fight that by controlling the access they have to you?” She glances out the window above the sink, and when she turns back, her eyes hit mine hard. “No one knows you’re here.”
My hand remains empty of hers, and although it’s hard to feel the sting of rejection, I fight it and leave it in place. “They’re putting out that I’m on the verge of retiring. That does damage. It gives the impression that I’m not playing at the level I used to and that I’m hiding from the press on purpose.”
“I don’t know your levels. I wish I did, but what more do you have to prove?” She slips her hand in mine, and when her fingers curl around my hand, I breathe easier. “You have the accolades to back you up.”
“It devalues me as a brand. I could lose millions in sponsorships.”
“You’re not a brand, Daniel.” Her grasp tightens around my hand. “You’re a man, a human with real emotions.”
“I’m a brand that employs fifteen people full-time to run this career.”
“I don’t understand. You’re rarely on a call.” Her gaze drops to our hands. “How are you running a business . . .” She looks up again. “If you’ve spent the time here relaxing with your son? And with me?”
“I don’t handle the day-to-day decisions. I show up where I’m supposed to be and when I’m told.”
Detecting a touch of gray around the edges of her blues,she appears to be lost in thought. Her gaze intensifies when she asks, “What if you didn’t?”
“Didn’t what?”
“What if you didn’t show up where they told you to. What if you showed up unexpectedly? What would happen?”
“The paparazzi would have a feeding frenzy, and I’d hear from my agent.”
“And then what?” I can’t seem to think of a damn consequence that I don’t suffer, even when I do as I’m told. “Your agent has chosen The Breakaways franchise. I read that his agency consults not only with that franchise but also with the hockey league. My guess is they are his priority.”
I lean in closer, as much as the table between us will let me. “It’s always about money. I’ve made him enough to pay off his homes in Aspen and Cabo San Lucas five times over. They have a setup so enriching, his great-grandkids will never have to work a day in their life, and they haven’t been born yet.” She’s brilliant. “So if I show up in the city without giving notice?—”
“Effectively catching everyone off guard.”
“I take back control and get my own team in order.” When she leans in conspiratorially, I know it’s about to get good. “Or we can put our plan into place and force them into defense off the offensive line.”
I grin. “See? I knew you were a hockey fan.”
“Well,” she says, her shoulders pumping twice. “I know a little something about football.” She rolls her eyes. “Not by choice.” I’m blaming Dolly. She’s a sports fanatic disguised in grandma clothing.
But hearing sports terminology, even if it is football, only amplifies my attraction to Summer, leading me to realize this trip could do double duty. We will finally have theprivacy we want and need. Selfish?Maybe.My favorite pastime has become getting her off. But we should get medals for the restraint we have to hold back.
“How do you feel about a trip to New York?”
Sitting back, she’s relaxed with the ease of a smile on a lazy Sunday, situated front and center. “When are we talking?”
I turn our hands over and back again. “An hour?”
She laughs. “I’ll have to check my schedule.” She pretends to flip through the air. “Oh look. I’m free. Since Rodgers bailed on the pipes as above his knowledge, the other guy can’t start anything until this coming Wednesday. We’ll be back by then, right?”
“I’ll get you back by then.” I stand, evoking her to do the same. Her hand is still in mine as I come around to her to hold her in my arms. “Is it wrong to be this excited to wreak havoc on people I thought I could trust?”
“Probably, but they’ve already chosen a side. So they already broke the trust.”
