Page 40 of The Wiener Across the Way

The suites were exclusive access, but there were still other people up there, so it wasn’t exactly a safe haven, The longer she stayed up there, the more it would be a glass fishbowl in the sea of the stadium.

My phone buzzed with a message from Jules.

Operation Best Sneak is a go. Be in the family area in 10.

I couldn’t suppress a grin. Trust Jules to come up with something like this.

Ten minutes later, the family area was still buzzing, and I suspected most people were still hanging around hoping to catch a glimpse of Kelsey’s star power. I couldn’t blame them. I pretended not to notice a thing and just swiped through my phone. But all I was doing was looking at my messages over and over, waiting for a tip off.

Then I saw them. A group of ‘maintenance staff’ comprised of three football-player-sized men, and two shorter, softer... men pushing a large utility cart, the kind used for moving heavy equipment. They were followed by my dad, who looked like he was slightly humored that his path was being blocked by this bizarre maintenance crew.

The utility cart was covered with a tarp, but the slight, irregular bulge at one end was a dead giveaway. How they’d gotten away with this was anyone’s guess. As they neared, one of the ‘staff’ who was unmistakably Jules under a baseball cap, shot me a covert wink.

They rolled the cart into the far corner of the room, and the ‘staff’ formed a barrier around it, holding brooms, and I think Trixie was pretending to dust. Until Chris walked over and threw her over his shoulder.

She squealed, and that created the distraction I needed. I moved over toward the cart as inconspicuously as I possibly could and lifted the tarp. Underneath, Kelsey sat curled up, a mischievous smile on her face. “Hi there. Fancy meeting you here.”

A short snort-laugh popped out before I could hold it in. I reached down, helping her out of the cart.

“I didn’t want to miss the chance to see you after the game,” she said, her voice soft.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I replied, my heart racing. “I’ve been thinking about you. A lot.”

Her smile widened, and for a moment, it felt like we were the only two people in the world, but I felt a whole host of eyes on us. I turned and pointed my finger around the room like a sword. “Everybody’s going to be cool, right?”

There were lots of murmurs agreeing, but one little girl raised her hand like we were at school or something. I pointed to her and said, “What?”

“My brother said I’m not cool.”

I looked over at said brother and scowled. “Sweetheart, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that older brothers who think their little sisters aren’t cool, are dumb.”

Kelsey gave her a wink and a nod, and the little girl looked up at her dad, who was another of our linesmen, and said, “Told you he was dumb.”

The rest of the room still gave us some looks, but they understood the pressures of celebrity better than most and grabbed their families and got on their way.

Kelsey stayed quiet but smiled at everyone and returned waves to the kids. When it was just the Kingmans left, she relaxed. We stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other, the noise and chaos of the day gone. “I’ve had my fair share of sneak and peeks, but having a whole fake maintenance crew straight out of an episode of Scooby Doo was a first.”

“Anytime you need some Kingman ninjas to sneak you out, or in, or whatever, we got your back,” Isak said, and then he and the twins moved into a legit Charlie’s Angels pose.

“All right, I think that’s enough K-Team for one day.” My dad made a round ‘em up circle with his hand. “Ms. Best, it was nice to meet you, and I hope we’ll see you again soon. Don’t let this one talk football all night.”

“Dad.” I was going to have to interrogate both Kelsey and Jules later to find out just how much damage control I’d have to do after leaving Kelsey in the clutches of the men in my family for the last several hours. Like... did he bring out the baby pictures?

“I’m sure you can think of something much more fun to do with your girl tonight.” Dad gave Kelsey a wink and then made my entire family file out like we were all still kids in school.

“Did... your dad just...” Kelsey’s mouth hung open as she stared at the backs of my family walking away. “Did he imply that we should...”

I can’t believe she had to spend an entire game in the suite with them without me. I had a feeling I’d be hearing how muchthey’d embarrassed me for years. Years. “Do me a favor and forget you ever met any of them.”

“Uh, no.” She laughed and I loved the sound of it so much, I’d forgive anyone for embarrassing me just to hear it over and over. “The Kingmans are unforgettable.”

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