Page 64 of Fumbled Love

“Why, Carrie, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her smile was tight, and I noticed she didn’t deny it.

Everybody on the team knew that Beckett and Carrie were having marital problems, but I had no idea that Della was sleeping with Beckett. She's been acting different and disappearing a lot over the last few months, but I'd been so preoccupied with my recovery and Kinley I haven't given it much thought.

“Please.” Carrie rolled her eyes. “Save the innocent act, Della.”

“Maybe you should lay off the alcohol,” Della said, trying to keep her voice low.

“And maybe you should stop screwing other people’s husbands.” Carrie’s nostrils flared. “My damn kids did not need to see a naked picture of you on their father’s cell phone.”

“What?” I snapped my head to Della’s. All I could do was stare at her. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“Oh, she did all right.” Carrie swayed on her feet a bit but kept the words flowing. “On my anniversary of all days. We were on our way to meet my in-laws for dinner. Becket let Xavier play a game on his phone while he drove to the restaurant. Xavier clicked on the message when it popped up. It was a video; I’ll let you connect the dots on what kind of video it was.” Her lips curled in disgust. “Let’s just say it wasn’t the Disney videos my seven-year-old son was used to watching.” Carrie grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray from a passing waiter. She raised the glass in a toast. “To home-wrecking whores.” She tipped the champagne back and drained it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some fresh air. It’s starting to stink in here.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

“I had no idea she would be here tonight,” Della whispered against my shoulder.

JP gritted his teeth. “Maybe if you weren’t fucking half the team, you wouldn’t have to worry about being dressed down by their women.”

Della blinked back tears. “I don’t need this right now. I’m going to the restroom.” She hurried away, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. Hopefully, she’d make it to the bathroom without finding any more trouble.

I shook my head and looked across the crowded room. “What the hell just happened, and why are you here with Carrie?” I asked, pulling JP aside.

“I could ask you the same thing about Della?” He raised an eyebrow. “What does your girl back in New York think about you bringing her as a date?”

My jaw clenched. “Everyone knows Della is just a friend,” I said, not admitting that I was too chickenshit to tell Kinley. Things had been a little rocky since our phone call the other night. And she’d been dealing with some drama with her friend Chad, and I didn’t want to add to her plate.

“For a smart guy, you sure act like a blockhead sometimes?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How do you think she’s going to feel when she sees your ugly mug splashed all over social media with another woman on your arm?”

I pulled on the collar of my dress shirt. I wanted to be pissed that he was calling me out, but he had a solid point. Bringing Della didn’t look good, but my publicist suggested it, so I went with it, and now I fucking regretted it. “I didn’t plan on bringing Della. Sylvia set it up. We just drove together.”

He shook his head in disappointment. “You are dumber than I thought.”

“C’mon, man. You know Della is just a friend.”

“You mean a friend you used to fuck?”

Tonight was clearly turning out to be a mistake, but it was too late to turn the train around now.

“That was years ago, and speaking of fucking?” I whispered, feeling the urge to turn the tables on him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Della and Beckett? Don’t you think that’s something the team captain ought to know?”

He sipped his beer. “Didn’t think you would care.”

“I would have talked her out of attending,” I said, narrowing my eyes. JP snorted, and I inched closer and lowered my voice even though no one was listening. “And speaking of making bad decisions. Carrie? Why would you do that to Beckett? You know how drama like that fucks with the team.”

He stiffened. “I’m doing our friend a favor.”

I looked at him like he had lost his mind. He lifted his head and nudged it to the left. My eyes followed until they landed on Carrie and Beckett, who were in a heated discussion.

A sly grin split my face. “You dirty bastard.” I laughed. “I always knew you were an asshole, but damn.”

“Oh, come on.” He took a sip of his beer. “Somebody needed to open Beckett’s eyes. He’s been moping in the locker room and playing like shit. Carrie has been showing up after every practice and somehow thinks my shoulder is the perfect one to lean on. I got sick of playing therapist between the two, so I gave him a nudge.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” I laughed while watching the two of them walk away. Beckett had his hand on her lower back. Carrie turned her head and mouthedthank youto JP.

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