Page 30 of Love on the Sidelines

I hope there is a large tub in this place because I need to soak and get my senses back to normal. All the anxiety from the day has zapped my energy. Although I can’t say it was all bad. Spending that much time with Charlie was definitely a plus.

Marsha opens a door to a queen bed. “Charlie, this is your room. Hopefully it’s far enough away from any shrieking that you’ll at least be able to make business calls without people thinking someone is dying.”

I chuckle at that. One girl, Hadley, likes to pretend she’s an ancient pterodactyl with the high-pitched screech and everything.

“Thank you. That will definitely help this week.”

He walks in and sets one of his bags on the bed, but I see little more because Marsha has pulled on my arm and is tugging me in the other direction.

“Marsha, what’s the rush?”

“Just showing you to your room. Why?” Her mischievous grin has me thinking she’s got other plans.

“Because my hand is going to lose circulation and fall off if you don’t stop squeezing.”

Marsha glances down at her hand on mine and lets go. “Sorry about that.”

She leads me into what I’m guessing is the primary suite. There's a giant king-sized bed and a walk-in closet and a shower, tub, and vanity bigger than my entire room at home.

“I’m sharing with you, if that’s okay,” Marsha says.

“Of course, I don’t think I need all this. How did you pay for it?” I ask, waiting to hear some white lie that actually means Charlie paid for it.

Marsha chuckles. “We got it all worked out. I thought you didn’t want to worry about the money.”

She has me there. When I’d agreed to coach the team, I told her I didn’t want to be in charge of anything that didn’t involve working on lacrosse with the team.

“You’re right. I’m just grateful we’re not stuck in a hotel.”

“How was the flight with your boyfriend?” Marsha asks, clapping her hands together quietly.

I frown. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Raising an eyebrow, Marsha says, “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Charlie is amazing, but there’s a lot more to it than that. The guy is loaded.”

“And that’s a bad thing because…?”

“Look, Marsha. It would be a joke to think Charlie Danielson would even look at me like a potential date. The guy wears two hundred dollar sport pants, while mine I got on sale for ten bucks.”

“There’s nothing wrong with using the money you have,” Marsha says, taking a seat on the bed. It looks so comfortable.

“What if I start liking him and he dumps me and moves on to greener pastures? Or worse, calls me a gold digger?”

Marsha says nothing, only standing to walk over and give me a hug. Like my grandma, Marsha is a mother figure to me.

“Then he wasn’t right for you,” she says.

“I’m surprised you didn’t start defending him,” I say, wiping under my nose as I step out of the hug.

She shrugs. “We don’t know him that well. But sometimes we have to go out on a limb when the opportunity is there.”

“Well, it’s not there.” That’s a lie. The guy basically kept me comforted the entire way here, holding my hand and talking to keep me distracted. “He’s the guardian of one of my players. I don’t want any complaints of favoritism.”

Marsha places a hand on her hip and says, “You do remember who we are as parents, right? I’m pretty sure we’re more occupied with you being happy and still trying to learn all the darn rules for this game. I think the only one who would complain would be Rainy’s dad, and that’s because he doesn’t get to see all the games.”

“I’m not sure if Charlie will be around a lot after this. The guy travels for work often.”

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