Page 127 of If You Love Me

Her eyes drop to his left hand and then to mine. “Roman, Lexi. I’ll see you both shortly.” She disappears into her office.

“This is going to be rough,” I mutter.

“We’ll get through it,” Roman assures me.

We will. I know that’s true. It just doesn’tfeeltrue.

Roman knocks on Vander Zee’s open door. The head coach drags his gaze away from the computer screen, glancing between us. The disappointment on his face is cutting in a way I didn’t expect.

“You wanted to see us?” Roman asks.

“Have a seat. Forrester. Hammerstein.” He motions to the conference table, then picks up the phone and dials an extension. “They’re here.”

Roman pulls out a chair for me and takes the seat beside me. He folds his hands on the conference table, wedding band clearly on display. I do the same and try not to crap my pants.

A moment later, Jamie Fielding enters the office and closes the door behind him. “There have been some allegations, which I questioned strongly. But if you’re coming in together, should I assume there’s merit in them?” Fielding slides into the chair across from us.

Vander Zee focuses on Roman’s clasped hands and then mine, eyes flaring. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Fielding frowns at Vander Zee.

Vander Zee’s teeth grind together. “How did this happen?”

“Do you want to fill me in?” Fielding looks lost.

Vander Zee taps his own wedding band and nods to our hands.

Fielding follows his gaze. His eyebrows shoot up as he glances between us. “Well, shit. Is this for real?”

“It is,” Roman replies.

“When did this happen?” Vander Zee asks.

Roman drapes his arm across the back of my chair. “Does the when matter?”

Vander Zee pins him with an irritated glare. “If the two of you are married, we need to know. We have a process in place that’s been blatantly disregarded. Did you learn nothing from your daughter?” He scrubs his face with a palm. “We need to bring Shilpa in.”

Fielding dials Shilpa’s extension. They speak for a moment before he hangs up. The silence in the room is tense as we wait for her to join us. Fielding and Vander Zee both look like they’re trying to keep it together.

Shilpa takes the seat next to Fielding. I don’t know if it’s just me, but she looks as green as I feel. She sets a thick folder on the table in front of her and motions between us. “Is this real? Are you legally married?”

“Yes,” Roman and I say at the same time.

She pinches the bridge of her nose, then levels me with a look that speaks volumes. “You I’ll get to in a moment.” Her attention shifts to Roman. “You’re retiring in a couple of months.”

“I’m aware.” He’s so calm, unruffled.

I want to channel some of that, but there’s a storm brewing and we’re in the middle of it.

Vander Zee clicks his pen in agitation. “Of all the players on this team, you’ve been the one who can prioritize the game and the welfare of the team over your personal relationships. Why, in the final weeks of a twenty-year career, would you choose now to change that? And with the only female-identifying assistant coach in the entire league. Do you have any idea how difficult you’ve just made our jobs, and Shilpa’s? Hemi is going to shit a brick.”

Shilpa looks like she could spit nails. I don’t love being on her bad side.

“Do you think I fell in love to spite all of you? That I did this on purpose?” Roman motions to our superiors and crosses his arms. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been for Lexi?The challenge this poses? It’s my fault she’s in this tenuous position. I pursued Lexi, not the other way around.”

“Are you saying this was coercion?” Fielding crosses his arms.

“Is that a serious fucking question?” Roman snaps.

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