Page 10 of Hail Marry
“Oh, no one you know.” I waffle. That makes it sound like my imaginary fiancé’s a nobody, and what’s the use of that? “He’s an athlete I met at…a fundraiser.” I consider myself an honest person, but I’m pretty pleased with my choice of lie. Fundraising sounds so posh, and imaginary Tori and her hot athlete fiancé are super posh.
“Wow,” he says. “That’s great news! I’m so happy for you. Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” I say, smiling at the thought of all of this being passed along to Ryan.
Tyler slaps his hand on his thigh. “Well, should we chat about your scan?”
“Yes,” I say, more than willing to change the subject to one that requires less perjury.
“Excellent.” He picks up the chart again. “So, the radiologist looked over the MRI, and it looks like?—”
The door opens, and Luca’s massive frame fills the doorway.
Tyler turns around to look at him, his head tipping back because Luca’s so large. His mouth pulls into a smile. “Aha! This must be the guy!” He stands up and puts out a hand. “I understand congratulations are in order.”
Oh, dear.
3
LUCA
It feelslike I missed something. Our bowl game was back in January, so what exactly am I being congratulated for?
I shake the doctor’s hand and look at Victoria for enlightenment. She couldn’t look more apologetic if she’d just accidentally launched a missile.
“I’ve known Tori for a few years,” the doctor says, looking at her with a huge grin, “and you’ve got yourself a good one.”
Wait, what? I look at Victoria again, and she clenches her teeth. What exactly did I get myself into?
The doctor looks at me and pauses, his hand still gripping mine. “Hold on. I knew I recognized you. You’re Luca Callahan!”
“Yeah,” I say.
Victoria’s brows snap together, and she looks back and forth between the doctor and me. Apparently, his recognizing me is an unwelcome development. I’d like to chat with her on the topic of unwelcome developments….
I take it this doctor is under the impression that she’s my girlfriend, and based on her guilty face, it’s no secret where he came about this idea.
“Fight on!” The doctor puts up the victoryVwith his fingers.
“Fight on,” I echo because it’s ingrained in me.
He turns to Victoria again. “You said you were engaged to an athlete. You didn’t say it was one of the best wide receivers in the conference!”
Whoa, whoa, whoa.Engaged?
Victoria smiles, and her gaze shifts to me with a hint of don’t-throw-me-under-the-next-semi in it.
Why would she tell this guy we’re engaged? Did she hit her head harder than she thought?
Doc turns back to me. “What are you thinking, Callahan? I’ve been telling my buddy Ryan you’re a lock for a mid-round pick, but he thinks you’re too bulky for a wideout and need to shave some time off your 40.”
My jaw clenches. I don’t know who Ryan is, but I do know I’m not a fan. Not a huge one of this doctor, either. Isn’t his motto supposed to befirst do no harm? And here he is, gut-punching me. Not only is the draft an extremely tender topic at the moment, my size and speed are also sore spots. Iambig for a wide receiver, and my agent’s been harping on it for the past few months as we’ve discussed what teams are most likely to pick me.
Well, that question’s a whole lot easier to answer today: none of them.
The doctor and Victoria are both looking at me, waiting for me to say something.
“He’s not a big talker,” Victoria explains with an indulgent smile. “Are you, babe?” She puts out her hand, clearly expecting me to come hold it.
