Page 55 of Keeping the Single Dad
Her quick gaze raked over me. She twisted her gold pendant between her fingers. “What about the new goalie? Alexander McAllister. Any dirt on him?”
My throat tightened. No. Not Alex. I’d never give her Alex. I rolled my shoulders back in a display of nonchalance.
“I don’t know him.”
“Not at all? He transferred from Rangers.”
“Yes. Of course, I knowofhim.” My voice came out shakier than I would have liked. “I just don’t know him.”
Her eyes gleamed with purpose. “There must be something. In my experience, it’s the squeaky-clean family men who have the worst skeletons in the closet. I bet there’s something juicy.”
Heat climbed my neck, but I fought to keep my expression neutral. I folded my arms. “There isn’t. He’s a good guy.”
Her lips twisted. “There’s no such thing.”
She studied my face, feature by feature. For an instant her gaze sharpened. “Now, wouldn’t that be a story? The single dad and the wild child half his age. My editor would jump at that.”
Heat climbed my neck to the tips of my ears. “Are you that desperate that you’ll make things up?”
Her clever eyes impaled me. “It’s true, isn’t it?” There was a trace of laughter in her voice. “I’ve been doing this job long enough to sniff out a story.” She sat back in her chair and regarded me. “He’s almost old enough to be your father.”
“There’s nothing going on.”
“I want the story firsthand from you. All the ins and outs.” She ticked off on her stumpy fingers. “How you met. What dates you’ve been on. What the kid thinks of his new stepmum…”
“We’re not together.” A whoosh of steam from the coffee machine filled my ears and made my heart skyrocket. A circle of ice ringed my mouth. “I’m consulting a lawyer. This is blackmail. You can’t bully people like this.”
“By the time you get anywhere with legal action, we will have printed the story. It would pay you not to forget who holds the power here, Lana.” She held her simpering smile in place as she rapped her knuckle against the table. “I need to put an article on my editor’s desk. It’s you and Alexander, or it’s Logan”
Panic spiraled through me. Karen had me over a barrel as long as I was frightened of her. If I told her things about Alex, then what next? She’d want the next story and the next. I couldn’t spend my life selling out my teammates, but this could send Dad back to the bottle, and maybe this time it wouldn’t just be a slip. At his worst, he’d spent nights sleeping on park benches. It had been hell. I took deep breaths.
I can’t go through it again with Dad.
I can’t put Mel through it again.
An idea came hurtling into my consciousness. I’d told her what I knew about Sean, but it wasn’t everything I knew.
“Wait. What about Sean? He’s more famous than any of the others. I’ll tell you one last thing about Sean, but then you need to promise that this stops. You can’t keep doing this to me. I want it to stop, and we need to shake on it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What have you got?”
Heaviness centered in my chest. This was low. Being a lousy shag was one thing, but the things I knew about Sean would tank his career. It would ruin him. If it ever came back to me, then Skylar would know I’d betrayed her trust…again. But if someone had to take the fall, then Sean Wallace was the last person I’d lose sleep over. Skylar’s words drifted back to me.
He’s a bully. He hurt me all the time.
“You need to promise me that this is the last time you ask me to do this.”
She studied me for a moment then inclined her head in a nod. Was this titbit juicy enough? What other choice did I have?
“I suspect Sean is taking performance-enhancing drugs.”
“You suspect?”
“I don’t know for certain. It’s a rumor.”
“I want facts, not rumors.”
“Since when did the truth matter to the gutter press?”
