Page 140 of What About Us

“Sorry! I swear, my brain isn’t here today.”

She returns in my jersey and does a little spin.

“Better?”

“No. I want to know what’s wrong with you.”

The smile falls from her face. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just having an off day. We all have them. And I have to leave early tomorrow morning so I can get to work, and I’m just thinking about all of that. There’s nothing to worry about. Let’s go.”

I shake my head and reach out to brush my fingers through her soft hair.

“I love you, you know.”

Her eyebrows pull together for just a second, and she’s staring at my chest when she says, “I know. I love you too.”

“But do you trust me?”

That has her eyes darting up to mine and she frowns. “Of course.”

“When you’re ready, I want to know what’s going on in your perfect head. Because I don’t buy for a minute that you’re daydreaming or thinking about work.”

She sighs and shakes her head, and then to my surprise, she leans in and rests her forehead on my chest and her hands on my sides.

“I’m a bad girlfriend.”

“Whoa.” I frown and drag my hands up and down her back. “Not true.”

“Totally true,” she says, still leaning on me. “I forgot to put your jersey on.”

“You remembered.” I kiss the top of her head and then lift her chin so I can look in her eyes, and feel my heart catch when I see tears. “Baby, just tell me what’s wrong.”

Her deep inhale is choppy, and then she swallows thickly.

“I just worry about you, that’s all.”

“About me?” She nods, and I brush my thumb over her gorgeous freckles. “I’m great. I really am, and I wouldn’t bullshit you. The knee is holding up well in practices, and this trip has been great. You’re here with me. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

She nods, watching me closely. “So, you’re happy? This is what you want?”

“It’s exactly what I want,” I assure her and bend down to kiss her plump lips. “Don’t worry about me, Red. I’m fantastic, and if that ever changes, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Okay.” She lets out one more shaky breath and nods. “Let’s go to the game, then.”

“Are you sure you want to go?”

“We have to go. You have interviews lined up, and you said you’d make an appearance in the pregame.”

“We don’t have to do anything, so you tell me the truth. Do you want to go tonight?”

“Yes.” She squares her shoulders and nods. “I want to go.”

I kiss her once more and then lace my fingers through hers and kiss the back of her hand.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

She’s trying too hard.

I don’t know what the fuck is going on with my woman, but something isn’t right. Last night at the game, she kept her smile in place, paid attention to the game, cheered, and gave me a replay in the bathroom of our first time in the box.