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“Well, your killer eye just got you a contract with me if you want it.”
“Are you serious?” I can’t believe my ears. Landing a contract is the last thing I expected to happen today.
“I certainly am serious. Not every photographer has a keen eye for details, and you do.” He passes me his card. “Call my assistant, and she’ll give you the details.”
“Thank you.” I don’t even know what I have a contract for, and I want to squeal. Whether it’s a photoshoot for a toddler or a contract for a major company, I keep my composure because screaming out my joy will be unprofessional.
He nods. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon.”
I watch him walk off. Then, I look down at the card. My breath hitches. My heart speeds up. That was Keith Langley, the majority owner of The Saints.OMG!I just got offered a contract from the owner of the Washington Saints!
This news is just too big not to share. Wayne is the first person I want to tell. Instincts have me pulling out my phone to call him. He’s probably busy since his texts have ceased over the past hour. Before then, he had been sneaking and calling or texting me during every break he gets.
I drop into a front-row seat in the stands and listen to the phone ring. I’m preparing to leave a voicemail until I hear Wayne.
“Baby, I’m sorry.”
The news I want to share halts in my throat. His apology stirs feelings inside of me that I’m not prepared to address. These feelings are the reason I didn’t answer his calls earlier. Now, I’ve brought them on myself.
When I got home after he’d left for camp, the house was empty, and all I could do was cry. Wanting to share my great news with him shouldn’t bring thoughts of one of our worst moments as a couple. I shouldn’t feel sad, but it’s like we’re picking up where we left off after our argument.
Chapter Ten
WAYNE
Make Me Better for You
I was out of my mind calling her all day. When my phone finally rings, I trip over my feet, trying to reach it. My whole mood brightens when I seeMine????pop up on the screen.
“Baby, I’m sorry,” I say as soon as I answer. It’s only three words, but I put as much meaning as possible in them because I need our silent war to end. I need her to understand that I will never again put myself in a position to have another woman’s lipstick on my collar. She has to understand that she’s the only woman that will ever mean anything to me.
The line goes dead with no sound except her breathing. Then, soft sniffles can be heard from her end.
I fucked up, and I know it. “That lipstick was from a woman at the club. She gave me a quick hug thanking me for waiting with her. It was late, and she was waiting for an Uber, so I stood out there to make sure she got into her ride safely. I promise that’s all that happened. I don’t want anyone but you. I put that on God.”
Leslie’s soft reply, “I believe you,” allows me to exhale for the first time since she left me alone after breakfast last week. I couldn’t reach her the entire day, so I had to go to camp without saying goodbye.
“But I’m alienated from that part of your life, so it leaves me in the dark about what’s going on. And a woman can only take so much darkness before she starts adapting to it.”
I let out a long sigh. “I don’t want that for you.”
“I don’t either. I don’t want to start being suspicious when you’re hanging out with your friends. But when I’m at home waiting for you to come home at two or three in the morning, and you come home with lipstick on your collar, that shit is hard.”
“It’ll never happen again.”
“It better not.”
“I’ll keep every woman at arm’s distance from now on because leaving without my good luck hug was the worst feeling I’ve had in a long time. I never want to do that again. We’re better than that,” I tell her.
“I don’t want to do that again,” she says. “And what about our anniversary?”
“I forgot it. I’m an ass.”
“You said it, so I won’t argue with you.”
We burst out laughing. The sound of our combined laughter fills me up in a way nothing else can.
“I need you to know the last thing I want to do is hurt you. I’ll do better. And I know you’re thinking show me and I will. Mark my words.”
