Page 52 of Whiskey Wednesdays

I leaned forward. “What exactly–”

He cut me off. “I’ve said more than enough. You’ll need to talk to him about any specifics. He also has some baggage he needs to take care of.”

“What baggage?”

He ignored my question. “The second thing is his daughter. If you get involved with him, she’ll also be a part of your life.”

“I hope so. Of the two of them, she’s the bigger draw right now.”

He smiled and relaxed against the booth. “Just don’t get hurt.”

My grin faded. “Life is full of hurt and pain, Titus. There are never guarantees.”

He nodded solemnly. “I know,choux. And I’m sorry you already know it too.”

Chapter 14

On Wednesday afternoon I realized I had a problem. Jackson texted me late that morning and let me know at least eight players planned to come to our game night.

I called him back and started pacing. “Jackson, I thought we’d be lucky to get three or four players to come. My dad’s little house can’t hold that many people, and I have a tiny one-bedroom apartment.” I started brainstorming. “Maybe we can have it at a park, or see if there’s a multi-purpose room at the arena we could use.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll call Titus and tell him we’re moving it over to his place. He’s got a nice house in the Indian Canyons neighborhood in Palm Springs.”

I stopped pacing. “He does?”

“Yeah. He’s almost as rich as Connor. He plays in the national league, and he’s just playing on our feeder team for now because he was injured.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Okay. Ask him, and if he agrees let everyone know where to meet.”

Less than an hour later, Connor called me. And he was furious. “You and Titus are not having a fucking party at his house.”

I hadn’t heard a word from him since Saturday evening. “Hello to you too. And why is it any of your business?”

“Bella, that’s a fucking stupid question,” he growled.

“I don’t know why you’re so angry. And it’s not a party. It’s a team-building potluck dinner and game night.”

He scoffed. “I don’t give one holy fuck what you call it. You and Titus are not throwing a goddamned party together.” He paused, obviously trying to reign in his anger. “Bella, it’ll look like you and Titus are… together.”

I knew what he’d almost said. I let out a long breath and tried to control my own temper. “No one’s going to think that. We had to move it to his house because we needed more room.”

“Honey, don’t do this.”

The endearment made my insides clench, which made me angrier. “It didn’t start out at Titus’s house. Dad invited Jackson over for dinner, and we decided to expand.” I didn’t tell him it was all my idea, and I’d roped them into helping me.

“How did it go from you, your dad, and Jackson having dinner to the whole fucking team, eh?” His accent was showing.

I grimaced. “It’s not thewholeteam.”

Okay, it sounded like the whole team might show up, but he didn’t need to know that.

He cut me off. “If Titus is there, it’s one too many.”

I tried to reason with him. “They lost again on Sunday, and they haven’t been playing well together. They need to get to know each other and maybe become friends. This is a good way to start.”

“You’re their fucking PA intern, Bella,” he snarled. “Not their coach, their agent, or even their girlfriend.”

Hurt sliced through me. I was quiet for a moment. “I’m also their friend, I care about them, and I showed up to their last game.”

---