AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But there is always going to be stuff like this, isn’t there? If it’s not this rubbish story it will be another one, and even if he does want something more serious, that means that one day the story will be about me.”
Reece sipped his tea. “Then you need to decide how you feel about him and whether he’s worth it. You need to protect your heart too, Miri. If you aren’t on the same page about where this is going, then you’re going to get hurt.”
“I don’t know if I want it to go anywhere. I just want to play football. This is out of control.”
Frankie laughed. “Welcome to the human race. You can’t control everything. Least of all your heart.”
I liked Gabe. I couldn’t help it. I liked his humor and his charm and the way my skin tingled when he touched me. But mostly I liked his gentleness. The way he was nothing like what the media portrayed. There were so many reasons why hooking up with Gabe Rivers was a terrible idea but my heart didn’t want to listen to any of them.
Frankie and Reece exchanged a look. Frankie cleared her throat, her expression unusually earnest. “I’ve never heard you talk about anyone like this before. You should tell him how you feel.”
“It will scare him away. I let my guard down with Jed …”
“Not all men are idiots like Jed,” Frankie said.
“Should I tell him I like him?”
Frankie nodded, vigorously. “Yes. Go now. Go tell Gabe Rivers that you can’t get enough of his BDE. You love him and want to have his babies.”
I burst out laughing. “Why is everyone in this family so weird?”
Frankie frowned. “I mean … put it in your own less poetic words, but tell him.”
I turned to Reece, the only sensible member of my family. “What if he doesn’t feel the same?”
My brother offered a faint smile and raised a dark brow. “What if he does?”
Chapter 34
Gabe
Mothershookherhead,her eyes flashing. Even through a screen, she was formidable. “Do you know what it was like being married to your father? A man that made his money in such a dreadful industry. I knew he wasn’t a saint, but this is ridiculous. You’re going to have to keep out of the public eye until we sort this out and it blows over.”
“Fine with me. I’ve got my head down with work for the women’s team.”
“Forget about the team. We’ll get someone in the interim. You’ll be under the spotlight for a while now. You need to stay out of the way.”
“No. We carry on as normal. I’m not hiding. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“The vultures are circling. I need the heat off this. We issue a statement from the family and then we get you out of here. We’ll say you’ve been going through a difficult patch after your dad. You can stay on the yacht. Take a holiday.”
No. Unacceptable. I was making progress with the team. I couldn’t leave it. Not when everything was going so well with Miri. “You can’t send me out of sight because I’m inconvenient. None of this is my fault. I’m a victim here, too.”
“I’m trying to help you.”
A surge of emotion made my chest contract. I’d watched my father die. I’d found him with my girlfriend and then I’d held him in my arms at the bottom of those steps after he’d betrayed me, and I’d wept for him. He was still my father. Part of me wanted the world to know. It was too much to carry the burden alone.
A wave of exhaustion passed over me. “How was your Christmas, Mother?”
“Christmas?”
“Do you want to hear about my Christmas?”
She pulled an expression of exasperated bemusement as though I were a toddler asking her to play toy trains. “We’re not talking about Christmas.”
“I spent it with Miri and her family. We had a huge dinner and we pulled crackers and we watched Christmas movies.”
Mother wrinkled her nose. “Miri?”
