Page 10 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

“It means, of course you leave your notifications on so you can see all your ardent admirers. I bet you like the instant gratification.”

Not for the first, not for the second, not even for the third time that hour, he felt his temper rise. Who the hell did she think she was? She didn’t know anything about him.

He wasn’t about to tell her that he hadn’t pursued a woman in years. And he certainly wasn’t going to tell her the reason he’d even re-downloaded all his socials was to scroll through Max’s feed when the news had first come out.

So instead, he said, “There’s no need to be jealous.”

She scoffed, “Please. If you were to measure my emotions right now, jealousy would be at below-zero levels.”

“What’s below-zero jealousy?”

It was her turn to narrow her eyes, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by his phone ringing, Maya’s name popping up on the screen. She was on the WTA tour, so if she was calling, it either meant something was wrong in the tennis world, or she was making her rounds through the family. She was the one who kept the family together. She had made it her mission to keep everyone in contact after their mom had passed.

“Don’t worry, Moretti. There’s no need for below-zero jealousy with this one. It’s just my sister. I’m gonna take this.” Lucia made a noise, but he was already walking out of her office.

“Hey, Mai. You okay?”

“Yep,” she chirped. “Just checking in with everyone and wanted to talk to my favorite oldest brother.” He knew that meant nothing because he was the only oldest brother, but he loved it anyway. She was his favorite of his siblings, something he did nothing to try to hide.

When their mother had died, Maya had only been twelve. She had been Maya’s everything. Probably due to the fact that the minute their father had realized she wasn’t a future football player, he’d passed her off to their mother without a second thought.

Their mother had been the most dedicated and loving woman Colton had ever met. She’d sacrificed her career the moment he’d been born, always promising that, regardless of their father, she would be there for her children as they grew up. She’d sacrificed seeing her side of the family more than once or twice a year, had given up teaching her children the culture she’d been born and raised in because she was scared of what might happen to them if she tried to leave.

Maya had taken it the hardest when she’d passed, and the loss had made her cherish her relationships more, even into adulthood. While most of Colton’s friends hardly talked to their siblings, Maya always made sure to speak to both of her brothers at least twice a month, no matter how busy she was on her pro circuit.

“How’s the tennis?”

“It’s great! My coach thinks I have a chance at getting a wild card into a Grand Slam this year, which is exciting.”

“That’s great, Mai. I’m so proud of you.”

“Oh, stop it, you’ll make me blush. How’s the ol’ pigskin? I regret to inform you that I have not been watching football the past couple of weeks.”

Probably for the best. “It’s good. Landon’s been doing really well.”

“And you?”

Colton sighed. “I’ve seen better days, but that’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Has our dearest patriarch been up your ass per usual? Who am I kidding, of course he has.”

Colton laughed for the first time in a few days, thankful for Maya’s sardonic humor. “Yeah, it’ll be a cold day in Hell before that stops.”

He heard voices on the other end of the phone and knew Maya was probably with her group of tennis friends. Maya was never without them, something else he was thankful for. She deserved better than their shitty, dysfunctional family. “Go ahead, Mai. I know you’re busy. We’ll talk again soon. Love you to the moon.”

“Love you to the moon, Colt. Good luck on your next couple of games, and I’ll text you if I ever go to the house in Charleston.”

He put his phone on Do Not Disturb again—indefinitely—slipped it into his pocket, and walked back into Lucia’s office. He couldn’t decipher the look on her face, but at least it didn’t seem like she wanted to knife him. She didn’t make any more comments about his “ardent admirers,” and they managed to get through an hour without killing each other.

Chapter five

Lucia

Lucia watched Colton lead the Sabers across the field as the crowd, a sea of green, cheered. The intern had been right. Game day in Charleston was intoxicating. Even the hot South Carolina sun, which had been hidden by clouds the past week, came out to say hello—and was doing its best to burn every fan to a crisp.

Luckily, her position had many perks, one of which was an air-conditioned box where she could work during games. Unluckily, that meant she had to sit with the rest of the analysts, all of whom were men, and none of whom would give her the time of day.

She couldn’t say she was surprised. It had taken over a year of dedicated effort to make friends with her coworkers in Richmond, excluding Charlotte. She was sure it would take many months, maybe years, before her new colleagues saw her as an equal. If they ever did.

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