Page 71 of Personal Foul
“I told Tom it was for you, so he said he put the stuff on it you like. I don’t know how you’ve managed to bring that curmudgeon around to your side, but he’s a fan.”
He gives me another little smile as he takes a big bite of the burger. I’ve gotten more smiles in the last two minutes than I have in weeks.
“Tammy was also singing your praises tonight. Pretty soon I’m going to be chopped liver in my own bar.”
“You just gotta talk to them right. Especially Tammy.” He grins as he pops a cheese fry in his mouth, and something dances in his eyes.
“You better watch how you talk to her. A cougar like her will tear you limb from limb.” I smirk at him.
“I might like it though.” He wiggles his brows, and it feels good to be teasing him again. I miss this. Missuswhen we can be like this.
I sigh, and he looks down at his food, stuffing another bite in his mouth like he wants to avoid the questions he knows are coming.
“What’s wrong?” I ask anyway.
He shakes his head. “Just a rough week.”
“What made it rough?”
It’s his turn to take a deep breath, and he reaches over to the little fridge he has next to his bed, grabbing a pop, and opening it. He takes a long drink stalling for time and just watching him swallow, the movement of his throat has me pressing my thighs together. I should not have come here tonight. Should not be sitting here gawking at him like this. His eyes dart over my face like he knows what I’m thinking, but he looks down at the bed instead of making another comment.
“The Combine didn’t go as well as I needed it to. I needed my performance, my times, to be lights out. And it wasn’t my best. Between that and the drop… I might go undrafted.”
“I doubt that. They’re gonna look at your whole year. At the energy you bring. Your size and the way you block. And that game against Pacific? You had four touchdowns. They’re gonna remember that. Everyone remembers that. Not to mention that one-handed catch you made in the last game. That offsets the drop in my opinion.”
“Too bad you aren’t drafting me then, huh?” There’s a bitter tone to his voice.
“Just wait and see before you let it get to you. I’ve seen the mock drafts. You’re in all of them.”
“Mock drafts don’t mean shit.”
“You have back-up plans. You’ve been doing phenomenal on everything with this project. There’s a good chance we get the interview. And even if we don’t… your dad, your brother. I’m sure they have connections, don’t they? They could probably get you hooked up with a whole host of marketing firms. And you’re a genius at this stuff.”
“Yeah, the king of the football dynasty will fuckinglovehaving to call in favors to get his bastard a job.” He starts to laugh.
“What?” I ask sharply, not sure I heard him right.
THIRTY
Wren
His lips twist in a half-anguished,half-amused grin.
“Yeah, Princess. That’s the dirty family secret we don’t talk about. Probably shouldn’t say anything, but then you don’t want anyone to know about me in the first place, so I doubt you’ll say anything to anyone, right?” He flashes a look up at me and then takes another bite of his food.
My heart twists in my chest. I have to fix this, make him understand that’s not the way I feel but his statement is so loaded. We need to unravel one thing at a time.
“What do you mean the family secret?”
“I’m a bastard, Princess. My dad had a little mid-life crisis. Went down to Vegas with his friends for a guys’ weekend. Tripped and fell into some showgirl. And nine months later she dropped me off on his porch. Well, metaphorical porch considering his house is in a gated community.”
“But you look so much like Tobias, and your mom.”
“Stepmom,” he corrects. “And yeah. That was the lucky part. No one asks too many questions. And Donna was willing to play along. Pretend to be my mom.”
“Where’s your bio mom then?”
“Who the fuck knows. Probably fucking older rich dudes on The Strip still for all I know. The only thing she gave me was my name before she shoved me back off onto him. She didn’t even try to get money out of him or anything. That’s how little she gave a fuck before she ran off. Just wanted to make sure someone else took me. Must have thought she was real fucking clever naming me East West, right?”
