Page 11 of Sure Shot
“Sure, Big Daddy,” Georgia says, taking Rosie from me. “We will do you the favor of snuggling this baby. Where’s Alex, anyway?”
Becca points toward the grand staircase. “She and Nate disappeared into his office to talk business.”
“On a Friday night?” Georgia scoffs, kissing Rosie’s cheek.
“Have you met Nate?” Becca asks. “I’d better greet some more guests. The new guy looks a little lonely out there. Later, peeps.” She excuses herself, and I resist the impulse to look out the window to check on Tank.
Lonely? That doesn’t sound like him.
Georgia bounces Rosie and gives me a smile. “What’s new? And what’s your brother doing in town this weekend?”
“Tomorrow night he’s taking me out to dinner. This afternoon he sold his condo to Delilah Spark, and tonight he’s out drinking with the guys.”
“Oh, great. Leo will probably come home bombed.”
“Probably,” I agree. “Tell me some gossip, girly. You know you want to.” And agents live for gossip. It’s how we find our clients.
“Let’s see. The new guy is Mark Tankiewicz. I’m sure you heard about the trade.”
“Right. From Dallas,” I say, sidestepping the fact that we know each other. “Your coach is hoping to deepen the experience on the bench after losing a couple of veterans.”
“Yep,” Georgia says cheerfully. “But the transition is looking rocky. The younger players aren’t quite ready to listen to a guy who stole the Cup away from them a year ago. The first two practices were…” She chooses her words carefully. “Not smooth.”
“Bummer,” I say, allowing myself a glance out the window at the veteran in question. He’s standing by a rose bush, looking grumpy. Trades are rough on a guy. They just are. Even if you’re a superstar.
Georgia drops her voice. “Leo was pretty testy last night. I guess Tank and Jason Castro had words. The new guy is a little prickly.”
I groan inwardly, because Castro is my client. And I really hope the rift is only superficial. “They’ll sort it out,” I say.They’d better.
“Oh, of course they will. Tank seems pretty angry about the trade, though. I don’t think he saw it coming.”
“It’s a big deal to have your life uprooted,” I say. “New teammates, new home. His wife probably had to quit her job, or at least say goodbye to her friends.”
Slowly, Georgia shakes her head. “The wife isn’t coming.”
“What?” The question flies out of my mouth. I forget to cushion it with indifference.
“It’s true. I always sit down with the new players to get a feel for their publicity needs. And the first thing I asked him was about his wife. He flat out told me that she filed for divorce a few weeks ago.”
I gasp. Because that’s just harsh.
“Isn’t it awful?” Georgia winces. “I guess she really didn’t want to move to New York.”
“That can’t really be why,” I whisper. “Can it?”
Georgia shakes her head. “Of course not. But it’s bad form to speculate. The blogs are inventing all kinds of reasons already. I heard he fought a teammate. You and I both know not to trust that stuff, but…” She breaks off, looking uncomfortable.
“That bad, huh?” My traitorous gaze goes right to the windows again. “That’s so sad,” I whisper. I’d just assumed he was happily married. Honestly, Ialwaysassume that anyone who’s married is happy about it.
Georgia kisses baby Rosie on the head. “Trades are hard enough when you have a partner by your side. I can’t imagine getting traded and divorced at the same time.”
“Georgia!” someone calls from another room. “Are you in here?”
“Coming!” she calls. “Sorry, if you’ll excuse me?”
“Go!” I insist, taking the baby back from her. Rosie smells like baby powder, and the scent is like a drug to me. I want to stick my nose on her little fuzzy head and inhale.
So I do. Because we’re alone in the dining room now, and nobody is around to see me. Rosie makes a soft coo, and then sticks her fist in her mouth, and I wonder if Eric has found that bottle yet. I walk closer to the leaded-glass windows, so we can both look outside.
