Page 73 of Jilted Jock
“Call me when you get there so I know you made it.”
“Worried about me?”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
Finn
As luck would have it, I was on a plane headed back to New York on Wednesday. My agent booked an interview on a morning show. Typically, I declined that type of press, but an hour of being uncomfortable to spend a night with Adele was definitely worth it.
“What are they interviewing you about?” she asked from her bed. Sleepy-eyed and hair mussed. If I weren’t already running ten minutes late, I’d never get out of here without touching her again.
“You mean besides the fact I’m a famous soccer star?”
“Yes, besides that, of course. I don’t see many interviews with soccer players on daytime television.”
“The host is a friend. He’s been asking me to come on for some time and it finally worked out.”
“Your life is bizarre. Interviews, parties, celebrities.” She waved a hand in the air and smiled.
I pulled my jacket on. “Speaking of parties, the team has a media event next weekend.” Before she could shoot me down immediately, I bent down to kiss her. “David Beckham is rumored to drop by.”
She sat up as I walked to the door. “No way.”
“Yes way.”
She stood on top of the bed when she could no longer see me over the bookshelf. “I swear to God, Finn, if you’re dangling Beckham just to get me to California, I will kill you.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”
The interview took most of the morning and with Adele at work, I had a few hours to kill. I stopped by the café and took my usual table.
“Hey, handsome. Back for another go at winning your girl?”
“Won her back. Now I’m just here to kill some time until she gets off work. What’s on special today?”
“Cinnamon rolls.” She smiled and grabbed my coffee. The place was quiet, so she took a seat. “She came to her senses, huh? Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“Doing the long-distance thing or have you convinced her to move back to California?”
“Nah. Long distance for now.” I hoped someday I could convince her to come back, but I’d hop on a plane every week if that’s what it took to be with her. “I think she enjoys the independence and challenge of being on her own.”
Flo raised a brow.
“What? You don’t think so?”
“New York is a tough city but being on your own is hard no matter what or where. Take it from me. I’ve moved ten times in five years. And sure, it gives me some satisfaction to know I’m capable of starting over each time, but if I had a man like you offering to move me across the country and take care of me… well, even I’m not dumb enough to turn that down.”
I didn’t think Adele would see it that way. Furthermore, I wanted her to see herself the way I did – as a woman who could have everything, do anything.
“Ten times in five years?”
“Don’t ask.”
She slid out of the booth to go check on her other tables. “The more comfortable someone is, the easier it is to accept change. You want your girl to move across the country, help her conquer New York first.”
As I sat at the table by myself drinking coffee and staring out the window to the people coming and going about their day, I thought about Flo’s advice. One thing that stuck out above it all is that I should have been helping her all along. I’d been so focused on proving myself to her that I didn’t think about what she needed. For starters, I knew she needed to know she was capable on her own.
