Page 91 of The Defender
Noah wasn’t as flashy or press friendly as some of the other players, but he had a solid fan base in the UK. It didn’t hurt that he was also gorgeous. With his green eyes, sexy stubble, and thick, wavy hair, he could be an Armani model.
Silence fell again.
My other attempts at conversation gradually petered out, and the three of us rode to the airport like strangers forced to squeeze into a car together. Noah stared straight ahead the entire time, his expression impassive, while Carina was fixated on the scenery outside the window. She was normally a chatterbox around me, so it was very weird.
If I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn they were actively avoiding each other, but that didn’t make sense. They barely knew each other, and they didn’t have any bad blood as far as I could tell. Yet the tension in the car was so thick, I could slice it in half with a butter knife.
Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to arrive at the airport. It turned out Noah was on the same flight as us, which he didn’t look thrilled about. Then again, he never looked thrilled about anything, so I tried not to take offense.
After we cleared security, I left him and Carina at the food court so I could run to the restroom. I bought a pack of gum from a convenience store on my way back and was about to leave when I spotted a familiar head of dark hair near the refrigerated drinks.
Seth stared at a display of water, looking a little green.
“Partied a little too hard yesterday, huh?” I teased, coming up beside him.
He jumped, but his expression cleared when he saw it was me. “It’s Samson,” he croaked. “Heparties too hard, and he took me along with him. I think I’m still hungover.”
“That can happen. Did you have fun, at least?”
“Well, yes.” His face flushed tomato red. He looked around furtively before he leaned in and whispered, “I kissed someone. She was really pretty.”
I grinned. Say what you will about Samson, but he was an excellent wingman. “I’m glad. Everyone needs a vacation fling at least once in their life.”
“I guess.” Seth finally grabbed the largest water bottle from the fridge. “Speaking of which, what’s going on with you and Vincent?”
My smile froze. “What do you mean?”
“I heard you came back to the villa together last night.” He gave me a knowing look. Maybe he wasn’t as naive as he appeared. “You both just disappeared.”
I let out an awkward laugh. “Well, um, everyone did. I couldn’t find anyone else at the club except for Vincent, so we got food and went back together.”
I wasn’t going to say a word to the team about what happened until Vincent and I talked.
“I see.” Seth sounded a little skeptical, but he didn’t press the issue. “He must be sad you’re leaving Blackcastle though.”
“Not any more or less than the other players.”
“We’re all going to miss you. Jones isn’t nearly as fun during the presentations.” I was gratified by the validation until Seth added, “I guess we should’ve known you would say no when Coach asked for an extension.”
I froze. “What?”
Seth’s eyes rounded with the horror of someone who’d just realized they’d shoved their foot in their mouth. “N-nothing. I’m going to pay for this water then head off. My flight?—”
“Seth.” I crossed my arms, my pulse hammering. “Tell me the truth.”
The kit manager looked around frantically as though searching for someone to save him. When no one did, heswallowed hard. “I overheard Coach asking Lizzie to extend your decision period to a month instead of the usual one or two days. I guess Jones told him he wasn’t sure whether you’d take the offer? I don’t know— I’m just guessing,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I was eavesdropping and—oh my God, Coach is going to kill me. I’m?—”
“Stop. It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not going to tell him you told me. Don’t worry.”
Seth’s shoulders slumped with relief. “So you’re not upset?”
“Not at you.”
My heart thundered with rising anger, but I kept a smile on my face until Seth and I parted ways. Once we did, I let it vanish.
“Hands-off,” my ass. How could my dad ask HR for special treatment for me when heknewpeople would talk? I’d insisted on being treated like every other employee since day one, but he’d undermined me with one request.
I guess it didn’t matter now since I wasn’t staying at Blackcastle, but it was the fact he went back on his wordandbehind my back that bothered me. If he wanted me to stay, or he wanted me to make a quicker decision, he could’ve told me himself instead of trying to manipulate the situation.
