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It’s almost more than I can handle. The overwhelming need to beg her to stay is on the tip of my tongue. She can’t leave like this. I can’t have this distance between us.
“Grace, that woman is no one. I don’t know her name, and after Bizzy threatened her life, Shaw had her escorted from the stadium and banned from the player quarters. She was searching for her five seconds of fame. If she knew anything about me, she’d know I’m taken.”
A menacing smile appears on her face as she gives a guttural laugh. “Not anymore. You need space, remember?”
“You have to know I didn’t mean any of it. You understand the position I was in.”
She tilts her head to the ceiling, and for a split second, I think I’ve gotten somewhere… until she shakes her head.
“Nick, I really can’t do this tonight. I’ve got a crazy week beginning tomorrow. Let’s get together on Saturday when I get off work and talk.”
“Saturday, I’m in Denver.” Has she forgotten my schedule already? I programmed all my away games into her calendar. Did she delete them?
“When do you come home?”
“Monday.”
“That’s no good. My parents are flying down to see me off and help me get my stuff into storage. Then I leave on Tuesday.”
“TUESDAY? I thought you said a week. Tuesday is six days from now!”
“Tit for tat. It’s almost a week.” She says it with such blasé, terror sets in.
“No, Grace, it’s not tit for tat. It’s an entire fucking day I’m losing with you.”
“You’re welcome to come to dinner on Monday night with my family.”
“This shit is ending now, Grace. Quit with the tough act. We’re going to dinner tonight. We’re talking this shit out. We can do it here or at my place.”
“Well, we can’t do it here. My fridge is bare, and my dishes are packed. We can go to a restaurant.”
“We’ll stay at my place.” The thought of having her back in my bed thrills me to no end.
“No, Nick, you’ll stay at your place. I’m staying here. Dinner is it. Take it or leave it, but whatever it is, be quick. I’ve got a lot of shit to do, and tomorrow’s a big day of interviews.”
My sweet Grace has disappeared, and in her place is a woman I don’t recognize. But I’ll take what I can get. “Dinner it is.”
“Give me a minute. I’ll meet you in the living room.” She rips the hairband out of her hair and disappears into her bathroom, shutting me out.
I leave her alone, fighting every instinct to wrap her back in my arms. I avoid her kitchen like the plague, the thought of going back in there sending a scorching pain to my gut. This apartment is full of too many memories, the good weighed down by the last time I was here.
Then it hits me like a freight train. The memory of last year, in Charlotte, with Bizzy. No matter what Shaw’s intentions, he shredded her with his motives.
He thought he was protecting her, shielding her from the situation at hand.
She felt abandoned, alone, and like their lives together were over.
He fucked up.
I’ve done more than fuck up. I’ve fucked up to the point of epic proportions. The love o
f my life needed me to have her back, trust her decision, understand her… believe in her. I let her down.
Thinking quickly, I send a text to Shaw.
I’m in trouble here and need help. Tomorrow morning, your office. All hands on deck, including Gail.
My body starts buzzing as I come up with a new game plan. One thing I know about is the game—the planning, the strategy, the perfectly played execution.
