“Miranda.” I’m standing two feet from her, hands in my pockets because I can’t trust them anywhere else. I don’t like this. The fact that Sterling’s words are painting a tempting picture for my wolf is even worse. I won’t be able to walk away from this. And if I can’t… If I can’t stay away from Miranda, she will share the same fate as my sister-in-law.
“There has to be another way,” I say hoarsely.
“There isn’t.” Miranda frowns at me. “If there was, you wouldn’t need me here. Look, I don’t have a problem with this. Why do you?”
When I can’t find the right answer, she says quietly, “You paid off my debt for me. If nothing, then just consider this my way of paying you back.”
The breath leaves my body like I’ve been sucker punched. A debt. That’s what we are to her. A ledger she’s trying to zero out before she walks. My wolf whines low in my chest.
“I didn’t pay it off so you’d pay me back,” I say tightly. “This wasn’t what this was. Can you stop insulting me like this?”
Her expression blanches.
“You’re making me feel dirty when you say you want to repay me. I’ve never once asked you to repay me anything. And if that is why you want to do this, then no. My answer is going to be no.” I turn around. “This entire conversation is done. If need be, I’ll take Ethan out of the country. I’ll figure something out.”
“I’m not just doing this because of the debt, Grayson.” Her voice is small now. “I—Ethan is important to me too. I’m willing to help keep him with you. You are his whole world. You can’t ask me to watch him lose you when I can do something about it. Surely you don’t want that?”
I hesitate. “I don’t. But—”
She takes a step closer to me. “Then let me help. Let me do this.”
I look down at her.
Up close, she smells like sleep and my soap and the faint copper of the bruise on her collarbone, and my wolf goes quiet for the first time since Sterling walked up the drive. Quiet in a way that terrifies me more than any of the noise did.
“Fine.”
Her shoulders drop a fraction. Relief. She thinks she’s won an argument. A few feet behind her, Coach is watching me. I don’t look at him.
Chapter Sixteen
Miranda
Sterling slides the first page across the kitchen island. I sign on the line he taps with his pen.
I’m not reading it. There’s a part of me, the practical part that used to triple-check medication doses at three in the morning, banging on the inside of my skull about due diligence. But my hand is shaking from low blood sugar. The bruise on my collarbone throbs every time I lean forward. The man whose shirt I’m wearing stands across the island with his arms folded, not looking at me.
I sign the second page. Then the third.
“This one’s the standard nondisclosure,” Sterling murmurs. “Two-party. Anything you observe inside this household stays inside it.”
“Got it,” I mutter, still marveling over how quickly he had the papers drafted and sent over. The coffee Grayson made has only just started cooling on the counter.
The pen scratches against paper. I can feel Coach Ramirez’s eyes on me from the chair he’s pulled around to the end of the island. He’s a bit intimidating, so I try not to hold his gaze for toolong. Right now, I don’t even know what I’m doing, or if this is the right decision. All I know is that I want to protect Ethan and Grayson, and this seems to be the only way possible. Grayson has only ever mentioned his ex-wife in passing, and even that didn’t really leave a great impression on me.
He’s a good father. If nothing, I believe in that. And children deserve loving parents.
“Miss Carver.” Sterling places the next page in front of me. “This covers media protocols. Any photo opportunities Grayson’s publicist arranges, you commit to attending. Same goes for charity events, team functions, anything that puts the two of you in front of cameras together.”
“How long?” I ask hesitantly.
“Until the case resolves. Best estimate, four to six months. The contracts cover six months.”
“And if it takes longer than that?”
“I will draft up new papers for you to sign.” Sterling’s voice doesn’t shift. Sterling pauses, and I see him glancing at Grayson before he slides another document toward me. “This is a compensation package, to be released after everything is over.”
I blink. “Compensation package?” I lift the papers, confused. “I didn’t ask for anyth—”
