Page 6 of Marring an Athlete

McKenna gave him an annoyed look as she said, “This isn’t going to be Chase in fourth grade all over again, is it? I don’t need you intimidating my husband. Things are stressful enough around here.” She narrowed her eyes as if that was going to dissuade him.

“Hey, but it got the job done, right? Sometimes, a guy just needs another guy to talk to him.” Overall, Michael liked Sam. If he didn’t then there was no way he would have let his sister marry him. But from the look on McKenna’s face, her frustrations ran deeper than anger. There was a pain there that he couldn’t describe.

McKenna’s expression grew serious. “I need you to promise me right now that you are not going to intimidate my husband.” She turned her face up toward him and narrowed her eyes.

Michael raised his hands. “I promise.” But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have a chat with his brother-in-law. There was no reason why McKenna should be crying this hard.

McKenna didn’t look like she believed him, but she also didn’t look like she was going to push it further. Instead, she sat back down at the table, her shoulders slumping as she glanced down at the test in front of her.

“We’ll figure something out, Kenna,” Anna said, pulling out the chair next to her and sitting down.

McKenna let out a forced laugh. “I wish I were that confident. Sam’s been working more. We barely look at each other. I think my marriage is over.” A sob escaped her lips.

Anna glanced up at Michael. Her gaze was worried as she motioned toward McKenna with her head.

Right. He should do something. He just wasn’t sure what. “There must be something we can do.”

McKenna wiped at her eyes as she glanced around the table. “There is something,” she said as she started rifling through a stack of papers.

Michael felt better. He liked problems that had a solution. He wasn’t the sit around and talk about feelings kind of guy. He liked action.

“Here it is,” McKenna said, pulling out a brochure. “My OB suggested this place to me.” She laid the paper down on the table. “We actually bought tickets to go. It’s all arranged.”

“Rekindle Resort?” Anna asked.

“It’s a marriage therapy resort. You go there and have access to world renowned therapist. They have couple skill-building activities. Plus, all the things that a resort normally has. We are scheduled to leave tomorrow.”

“Kenna, this sounds amazing. I’m so happy you two are going.” Anna smiled up at her.

McKenna glanced from Anna, and then up to Michael. “Problem is, I just can’t go there alone. What if they say our marriage is doomed? And then I’m stuck on an island with my ruined marriage. Nope.” She dropped her gaze. “I need you two to go with me.”

Michael stared at his sister. “What?”

“I need my brother and my best friend there.” McKenna’s voice drifted off. “Please?”

His stomach sank. Did she know what he’d asked Daisy? That he just might be engaged to the Mayor’s daughter? Instead of asking, he decided it was probably best to just act like no one knew. After all, he wasn’t even sure what had happened and dissecting his mistake wasn’t something he wanted to do at this moment.

“Kenna, I’m not married. And I don’t think Anna is either.” He glanced over at Anna who was shaking her head.

“Yeah, neither of us is married. It says on the pamphlet, For Married Couples Only.”

McKenna glanced back up at them. “All my married friends can’t go. And it’s not a big deal if you’re not married. It’s not like they check up on you. You guys can just pretend.”

Michael’s eyes widened. Pretend to be married to Anna? From the feelings that raced through him when he saw her at the coffee shop, it was probably best to stay away from her all together. Faking he was married to her, involved kissing her and holding her. There was no way he could do that, no matter how fast his heart raced from the thought.

Just before he responded, his phone rang. Grateful for the distraction, he pulled it from his pocket and waved toward the back door. “I should take this,” he said as he turned the handle and stepped into the backyard.

Once he closed the door, he took a deep breath. Hopefully this phone call would last long enough for him to sort out his feelings about what McKenna had proposed.

He swiped his phone and brought it up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Is this Michael Jones?”

“It is.”

“Great. My name is Christopher Scott, and I’m with The New York Times.”

Michael’s stomach twisted. How did they find out?

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