Page 92 of Caught Looking

“She wanted his money. Or, the windfall she thought he’d get when he was drafted. Stupid jerk face Lori. She thought all sports were the same. Get drafted, get millions. But we both know baseball isn’t like that.”

No, there were layers between draft day and when that big check finally comes in—if ever.

“But she thought Seth was cute and who knows? Maybe he’d be one of the lucky ones. So she kept him on the hook, telling him how happy she was and how she couldn’t wait to get married. All while she was also dating Keven McKutchin.”

I knew that name. Vaguely. “Football player?”

She nodded. “Yep. Seth’s signing bonus was less than a tenth of Keven’s. So she dumped him and married McKutchin. When he asked why, she told him straight up that if he was just going to be some loser minor league player she didn’t want him.”

Oh Seth.

“And you know him,” she went on. “All he saw was the good. His pretty girlfriend and their perfect future marriage. He was completely blindsided. It took Ev and me two weeks to get him out of bed. And the man who emerged wasn’t the same. He hasn’t been…until you.”

It all made so much sense and it was a relief to finally know what was hidden behind that locked door in his heart, but it didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, I was pretty sure I felt worse. Not only did I finally get the answers behind his back, but he still didn’t trust me enough to tell me himself.

That loneliness I’d been chasing away my whole life, what I thought I might finally be free of with Seth, came screaming back.

And I hated it.

26

ANNALISE

Our schedules didn’t match up for almost two weeks. First Seth was on the road then I was, then he was again. Being apart, I fell into old habits. I compartmentalized. I took care of myself.

I pushed Seth out.

And he noticed. Oh, how he noticed. On top of that, he had a bad game. Seth had missed a fly ball that let three runs score. It had set the whole team off and they never recovered. It was a blowout loss.

Our reunion should have been hot and sweet. Instead it was weird. I was quiet. He studied me, not liking what he was seeing at all. And since he was his own fuming ball of frustration, the car ride back to the mansion was completely, utterly silent.

Until we were almost home.

“What’s wrong?” He frowned at me.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

“Well neither are you!” My voice raised a few decibels.

“Yeah, well I messed up and we lost.” He shrugged his wide shoulders. “So you gonna tell me what’s got you frowning like that or are you going to make me guess?”

“I’m just frustrated.” It was partially the truth. Maybe if I stayed in this foul mood for a few days he’d realize we’d been living in a bubble. We’d been swept up in hormones and chemistry.

When in reality I wasn’t the swoony romantic type. I didn’t do boyfriends. I needed to get back to focusing on my career.

And Seth was…

In love with me.

At least according to Willa.

But if he loved me, why couldn’t he tell me? Why wouldn’t he trust me?

And why couldn’t I pull myself together?

He shot me another look but didn’t press. The mood in the car was damn near arctic when it pulled to a stop at the front door.

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