Page 30 of Honkers Under the Holly

Sure, the Bandits would want him back too, but I wasn’t sure Violet would be willing to pony up the money the Sharks were prepared to offer. So Sara Jayne and Tommy could break it off because they didn’t want to do the long distance relationship thing. That was totally plausible.

“You go back in first. I’ll follow. Just gonna make a quick phone call first.” I gave Sara Jayne a gentle push toward the suite. “Go cheer Tommy on.”

I watched her walk back into the suite and sent off a quick email to the Miami owner’s secretary confirming that he wanted me to get on their president’s calendar. A couple of giggling women wearing Tiger’s jerseys, probably other players’ WAGs walked past, and then I headed back in to watch the rest of the game, knowing that I was going to make my future everything I wanted it to be.

The fourth quarter was pure magic. Tommy seemed to be playing in a different dimension, breaking tackles, finding impossible routes. When he caught the game-winning touchdown with thirteen seconds left, the stadium erupted.

“MVP! MVP!” The chant started in our suite and spread through the stands like wildfire.

Sir Honksalot added his own triumphant honk to the championship atmosphere. Even baby Jules woke up to join the celebration, gurgling happily in April’s arms.

My phone buzzed. Probably another potential client. I’d already made appointments with two defensive tackles from the Mustangs during the game?—

The text wasn’t from a client.

Check ZMT. Now.

Then another.

What the hell, Mac?

And another.

OMG did Tommy’s fiancée cheat with his agent???

Then,

Oops, wrong person.

My stomach dropped as I opened the link on the first text. There we were, Sara Jayne and I, wrapped around each other in that quiet hallway moments ago. The photos were grainy but unmistakable. The headlines were worse:

SUPER BOWL SCANDAL: Tommy Frayzer’s Fiancée Caught with His Agent in a Love Triangle that Rocks the League’s Biggest Day. Cinderella Story Turns Toxic.

Across the suite, Sara Jayne’s phone was lighting up too. I watched the color drain from her face as she read. Even Sir Honksalot seemed to sense something was wrong, abandoning his game of catch with the Kingman boys to waddle to her side.

“Mac?” Violet appeared at my elbow. “We need to get ahead of this. Now.”

“I’ll handle it,” I started, but she cut me off.

“You’re trending almost as much as Tommy’s MVP performance. This could destroy everything we’ve built.”

Tommy. Oh god. He was down there celebrating the biggest moment of his career, and I’d just turned it into a tabloid scandal.

“Sara Jayne?” April’s voice carried over the chaos. She’d handed Jules to Bridger and was now steering Sara Jayne toward a private corner, dragon-mama mode fully activated.

“I’ve got PR on standby,” Violet said. “But they need to know what statement to make. Was this a onetime thing? Tell me you were just trying to get an eyelash off her face or something stupid. What’s the story we’re selling?”

The truth stuck in my throat. Any version would hurt someone. No matter what we said either we were going to destroy Magda’s faith in Sara Jayne, ruin her reputation, and probably her career. And even if we denied everything, it was going to tank Tommy’s big moment and probably my agency’s future. No one was going to want to sign on with a cheater or a liar.

“Mac.” Sara Jayne’s voice was steady despite her pale face. She crossed to me, Sir Honksalot trailing protectively behind her. “What are we going to tell them? No one is going to believe the truth now.”

“What truth?” Violet demanded.

I looked at Sara Jayne—really looked at her. The woman who’d jumped to save a dead-man-walking goose. Who’d turned chaos into magic. Who’d made every part of my life better just by being in it.

“The truth,” I said, taking her hand. “All of it. It’s the only way.”

From the field below, the MVP chants grew louder. But soon enough, someone would show Tommy these pictures and ask him how he felt. It wasn’t like he was going to be hurt. He’dbeen rooting for us all along. But even he would understand the repercussions of this lie getting out.

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