I get out of the bed and make my way to the bathroom, looking over my shoulder to see him watching me, a soft smile on his face. Sometimes the best love stories don't win because the game is easy. They win because neither person ever stops showing up. Championships are won in four quarters. Forever is won one choice at a time.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
ASTON
The walkfrom my truck to my front door nearly freezes my balls off. I shut the front door behind me and drop my keys on the table in the hallway to the kitchen. My house is quiet, and my head is finally clear for the first time in months.
It was so hard leaving Eva this morning, but she needed to get into the office. But the memory of her silky skin, her hands on my body, and the promises we made keep rolling through my mind.
I pull my phone out of my coat pocket to text her and let her know I got home. The screen is lighting up with a cascade of notifications that puts me on alert. The fear of something happening to someone in my family has me scrolling the screen quickly to look for some hint of what’s going on.
There are seventeen text messages. Five from Liam. Three from Brody. A single line from Saint that reads:That was one way to go public.Then there are four from Aiden, three from Archie, and six missed calls from my mother. All of these pouring in within the last five minutes.
What the actual fuck is going on?
My stomach drops, and I don’t even read the rest of the texts. I tap the voicemail button, and my mom’s voice hits my ear.
“Aston Lee Griffith.” Her voice comes through sharp and slightly terrifying, spiking my anxiety. She never uses my middle name unless I’m in big trouble. “You have some major explaining to do, son. Your brother is really upset. And honestly, I don’t blame him because I’m upset too. I’m sitting here looking at your picture on the Instagram, and I’m really confused. You need to call me back immediately. Do you hear me? Immediately.”
Pictures? What the hell?
I haven’t even opened the app before my phone starts vibrating in my hand with Eva’s name flashing on the screen.
I accept the call instantly. “Hey, Hon?—”
“Aston,” her voice breaks in. “Have you seen social media?”
“No, what’s going on? I just got a weird message from my mom, and my phone lit up with a ton of text messages.”
“Okay, well, just listen to me before you look.”
“Eva. What happened?”
“There are pictures of us,” she says sharply. “From the park. Someone caught our argument—a fan, a reporter… who the hell knows, because it doesn’t matter. There are several pictures of us clearly upset, and of us kissing too. And then they must have followed us back to my place because there are more pictures of us kissing outside my building.”
A cold weight settles in my gut. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck,” she mutters. “But wait. It gets worse. There’s a headline that says ‘Conflict of Interest or Locker Room Companion? Media princess Evangeline Carrington Caught in Secret Park Side Meltdown with NFL star Aston Griffith.’ They’re spinning it like it’s a scandal. They’re questioning my integrity and making it sound like I use my position to hook up with the players. They’re making our relationship look cheap and like I don’t take my career seriously because I’m sleeping with the players I’m supposed to be covering stories on.”
“Well, we both know that’s bullshit,” I grit out, my teeth grinding together hard enough to make my jaw ache. “You’re the hardest working producer in the business. What can I do to fix this?”
"Yeah, well, I got promoted to Executive Producer, and that's all buried somewhere in this article too." She lets out a bitter laugh. "Instead, I'm a nepo baby who slept her way through the NFL. A media princess who uses her last name to land football players."
“It’s all bullshit.” I shake my head.
"This is everything I've spent my entire career trying to outrun. It's why I started at the bottom—getting coffee, taping down cables, doing every thankless job no one else wanted. I needed people to believe I earned my place." Her voice cracks. "And now this article just confirms every lie they've ever wanted to believe about me.”
I put my head in my hands, feeling frustrated that I can’t fix this for her.
“My father and I are already handling it, and our legal team is filing a cease-and-desist on the distribution within the hour. We can handle the fallout. But you … probably need to talk to your family as soon as possible. Ace is going to know if he doesn’t already.”
“Right,” I sigh, and the air feels tight in my chest.
“If someone does enough digging, they might figure out I dated Ace in college.” Her voice quiets. “Just go take care of it on your end, and I’ll handle it on the media side. I’ll call you when I have an update.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too. Now move your ass.”
