Page 43 of Love on the Sidelines

“Well, we all thank you for your contributions to this team. I should probably go in and make sure no one is killing each other.” Not that I need to worry about this group of girls that much, but I need some distraction.

He takes a step back from the door so I can open it and step out. Before I can get too far away, he reaches out to hold my hand–the traitor. It reminds me of the last few nights we’ve ended up out on the porch chatting about life.

“I’m sorry, Ava. I care about you and I don’t want you to think that I go around lying all the time.”

Shaking my hands, I say, “That’s your business. I will do everything I can to make sure that Emily gets recommended to some of the top schools, but I can’t do this.”

“Don’t say that,” Charlie says, and his tone causes me to glance up at him.

“You said it yourself, that you’re everywhere. You’ve lived in dozens of places and I will probably live in my grandmother’s house after she dies just to keep the memory of someone I love alive.” Tears have entered the chat and I don’t want him to see me this emotional.

“I’m working on settling down and I’d love to see where this can go.”

“You’re a couple of years too late. The jaded Ava is all that’s left.”

I turn and walk away, my insides ready to combust from the different emotions flowing through me. When I enter the house, I can tell the girls have probably been spying on us, but I can’t face them now. So I do what I do best when things don’t go how I think they will. I hole up in the room and pretend the conversation didn’t happen.

22

AVA

“Wake up, Coach,” Marsha says, pulling back my covers.

“Just five more minutes,” I say, reaching for the blankets because it’s surprisingly cold in this room.

“It’s time to get the girls going. They’ve already had breakfast. We just need to load up and head to the field.”

I stretch and head over to my suitcase, pulling out a separate pair of black running shorts than what I wore yesterday.

With a bright yellow shirt to match the team colors and a pair of tennis shoes, I’m ready to go.

Marsha hands me a protein bar before picking up a bag identical to the one Whitney is carrying.

“Did you pack for an army?” I ask, chuckling.

“It’s going to be a long day at the field. Might as well be prepared,” Whitney says. She doesn’t look as chipper as she usually does at this time of the morning, but she probably didn’t sleep well in her bed.

Me, well, I don’t think I’ve ever slept better. It’s only then that I realize Marsha and I are probably sharing Charlie’s room. How embarrassing.

The girls file into the vans. We drive ten minutes to the fields. Once we’re out, I see that there’s no car following.

“Where’s Charlie?” I ask Marsha in a low voice. I don’t want any of the players to think I’m worried about him or might have feelings for him, which I’ve been debating for the last twenty-four hours as it is.

Marsha sighs, giving me a placating smile. “He left early this morning to take care of some business. I assured him that Emily would be okay and that we’d make sure she got home.” There’s a hesitant pause and then she says, “What did you do?”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“We all saw your little display in the driveway yesterday. Why did he leave?”

So much for keeping things under wraps.

“He’s the owner of the new NHL team in Salt Lake. That means he’s not just a millionaire. His net worth is probably in the billions.”

“You’re probably the only woman on the planet who turned down a hot billionaire.”

Letting out a long breath, I say, “It’s not like that. There’s no stability for him. He’s lived in so many places and probably has a house in all of them. The house we’re staying in? It’s his.”

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Who cares if he likes to work and has a project for something he’s dreamed of doing since he was a kid? All you had to do was talk to him to know about that much. Or watch the news. Actually, don’t do that. It’s depressing.”

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