I just smile at the tiny screen when it cuts to a close-up of him with his teammates doing a little dance after a touchdown. His smile is stunning, and those emerald eyes are to die for. The butterflies swarm in my stomach, and suddenly I feel sick.
Raleigh takes my silence as a confirmation. “I’m calling his agent.”
My eyes widen as the phone rings. I’m forced to listen to Raleigh and his manager set us up. It’s almost too embarrassing. Almost.
I can hear Steven Champ introduce himself through the phone. An overly excited conversation follows, “Nashville plays LA in LA next week.”
“Mae has back-to-back shows in New York,” Raleigh counters. Oh God, she couldn’t be expecting me to take an overnight flight after the game.
“It’s the perfect game,” Steven argues. “Trust me, we should do this sooner rather than later.”
Raleigh looks up and mouths, "I'msorry,”before conceding. “We’ll be there.”
Why is this happening all too quickly? Why do I feel so incredibly okay with it? I’ve resisted the urge to date for so long; I thought it would hurt too much. This feels entirely different.
Chapter 5
Wyatt
“YOU’RE NOT GOING to believe this,” I say, staring down at the text from Steven.
“The Civil Wars got back together?” Hannah questions from across the granite island in the kitchen.
“Sorry, I don’t know what that is.” I keep staring at the phone, waiting for it to explode. Why has my manager just told me that Mae Evans is coming to a game and it was her idea?
“I’m sorry, am I supposed to make another guess?” my sister asks.
“No.” I feel like I need to clear my throat in order to make the announcement. “Mae Evans is coming to a game.”
Hannah goes pale; the large knife clatters onto the counter, and then she screams. I’m frozen to the spot by her reaction, but her husband is sprinting from the other room.
“Who’s dying?” Ben yells, ready to jump into action. His two minis run in behind him.
“Why is mommy screaming?” Benjamin Jr. calls, holding his hands over his ears.
“She’s just being herself,” Carly says. “Come on, dad, I want to play more soccer.”
“You good, honey?” Ben asks, genuine concern on his face.
“Mae Evans is coming to a game,” Hannah says breathlessly. Her hand is still grasping her chest.
Ben sighs, “Is that all?” He turns to me and says, “Why have you brought this upon my house, Wyatt? Why? I’m never going to hear the end of this.”
“You’re telling me,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. Who thought this was a good idea? Well, I guess Mae did. More likely, it’s our managers doing their job and managing.
“Who’s the lucky babysitter?” Hannah asks, calmly returning to slicing her tomatoes.
On our team, whenever we have a special guest, whether it be a politician or celebrity, one of the wives volunteers to showboat them around. A lot of the time, it’s like having teeth pulled, but this time might be a little different.
“Well, I was going to have you shoot it in the group text -”
The knife clatters down again. “Please don’t make me fight all the girls for this one. Please! I didn’t even get to go to the concert. It’s the least you can do.”
“Hannah!” Ben calls from the other room. “Please stop throwing the knives. I don’t want to take them from you.”
“But darling, we’re discussing knife-throwing-worthy content.”
“You’re so scary sometimes, sis,” I say.
