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I don’t want to get into it. I’m one spark away from blowing my lid, and Doug is still loitering. I need time to figure out how best to handle him.
My eyes wander to Andie, beautiful as ever up on stage, and I want nothing more than to pull her off of there and make her promise not to let this ruin our non-friendship.
When I don’t say anything, Shane pushes. “You want to tell us what happened, or do we need to guess?”
“Man, she dumped you today? That’s harsh, but maybe it’s for the best.” Mark shrugs like this is some kind of joke, and my face must morph into full-on rage because Shane’s hand grips my shoulder.
“What happened?” Shane’s voice is low and calm.
I take a step back, needing not to be touched. I’m hot, someone’s taking a sledgehammer to my head, and I may need an oxygen cannula.
“My GM cornered Andie. He asked her if Axel is mine and told her to hide him. He said my career is on the line.”
“Damn.” Mark rubs his chin. “I didn’t see that coming. What are you going to do?”
“He’s not going to do anything,” Shane says coolly. “What did Andie tell him?”
“She told him we don’t give a shit what he thinks.” I’m trying hard to keep my temper in check, but every moment that goes by, I’m one step closer to losing it.
“Is that how you feel?” Shane’s eyes move around us like he’s ensuring our conversation is private.
“What do you think?” I bite at him, but he takes it. “He’s a baby. He comes first, and there’s no way in hell I’d ask her to hide him.” Mark remains quiet, which is for the best. Shane,Mark, and I have had enough squabbles in the past for him to remember we have no problem taking our anger out on each other. “She said she’s going to lay low and let me get this figured out.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.”
My head snaps in Shane’s direction. This is not what I expect from him. I know with one hundred percent certainty if this were Maggie and the kids, he’d be throwing punches and asking questions later.
He holds up his hand. “Look, I know that’s not what you want to hear, but you need to take a minute and think this all through, not just for you, but for her.”
He sounds like Andie, and it makes me want to stomp out of here and go to my quiet house where I can think.
“This isn’t right, any of it. I shouldn’t feel like I’m being chastised for something I didn’t even do. I come here every day giving it my all, thinking this organization is ready to be rid of me because of a bunch of bullshit. Now, they want to throw their weight around to ensure an innocent baby doesn’t create headaches for them. I can’t do this.”
I take a step away, but Shane stops me.
“Just listen. This is complete bullshit. You and Andie shouldn’t have to explain anything to anyone. Unfortunately, you still have one season left on your contract, and it might be best for everyone if you let this play out. Get Rob in there and get the conversation going. If they're going to use this to excuse trading you, you want to be as much a part of those negotiations as you can be.”
He pauses, making me look at him. “If Andie is who you think she is, she’s not going anywhere. Take a minute. Not everyone walks away. Trust me.”
I close my eyes, wanting to believe him. It’s easy for him to say it now, but before Maggie, he didn’t believe in love or people sticking around. He was a loner and planned to be forever.
I nod, having to trust him. There’s nothing else I can do. “I have to find Miranda and see how she wants to wrap things up. Then, I need to get out of here.”
“I’ll find you before we go,” Shane says, releasing my shoulder.
I wander toward that stage, needing to find Miranda without running into Doug. Thankfully, she’s easy to spot among some of my teammates and gives me orders on what will happen once Andie wraps up.
I see Nora with Ax strapped to her, wearing tiny hearing protection over his ears, and sound asleep. I find a place to the side to stay out of the way and get some space, feeling sucker-punched at how this day has turned out.
This is not how it should be. This is not how I want my life to be. I won’t be controlled and manipulated to fit into a world I’m not sure I want to belong to anymore.
“Hey, handsome.” Lost in my head, I miss Gemma moving in beside me. Her tone is soft over the music and similar to Andie’s when her guard is down. “You know that saying when life gives you lemons? It’s complete horse shit.”
She lets that hang in the air, her attention on Andie belting out a song from behind the piano.
“When life starts to jerk us around like we’re on one of those carnival rides operated by hard criminals…” Out of the corner of my eye, I see her finger move in a circular motion. “We can either let them continue to take us for a ride or decide we’ve had enough.”
When I remain silent, her head swivels in my direction, and I feel her wise eyes on me.
