Page 10 of Touchdown Under the Mistletoe
I lean back in my chair and let the conversations flow without taking part. Thankfully, Mom doesn’t force us to stay seated through after-dinner coffee. People drift away from the table. Dad and William head to the living room to argue about football stats, Annie follows Mom into the kitchen to help with dishes despite Mom’s protests, and Aspen and Maddox excuse themselves because Rosie’s exhausted.
As they head upstairs, I see my opportunity. I stretch and let out what I hope is a convincing yawn.
“You know what? All that traveling and those training sessions before I left have really caught up with me. I think I’m going to head to bed too.” I glance at Riley, trying to catch her eye. “You coming too?”
She looks doubtful for a second, then nods. “Yeah, I’m going to read a few chapters and then sleep.”
Nobody else even looks up as we excuse ourselves, which is probably for the best. If they did, they might wonder why I’m more nervous about sharing a room with Riley than I ever was about playing in front of 70,000 screaming fans.
Chapter Five
Riley
After brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I stand outside Travis’s bedroom door with my hand hovering over the doorknob like it might burn me. This is ridiculous. I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman. I shared living spaces with roommates in college. I’ve stayed in hostels with complete strangers. Granted, none of them were six-foot-four linebackers with annoyingly perfect McDreamy-worthy hair, but still. I can handle sharing a room with Travis Steelbird for a few days.
Besides, I can’t stay out in this hallway forever doing my usual portion of overthinking. I take a deep breath, plaster on a confident smile, and head inside.
Travis is sitting on his bed with his back against the headboard, scrolling through his phone. He looks up when I enter, and for a second, we just stare at each other like we’re both only now realizing this is going to happen. We’ll be spending the next few nights in the same bedroom.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey.” I clutch my toiletry bag like it’s a life preserver.
“Please make yourself at home. I’m not going to bite.”
“That’s good. I don’t think I got my rabies shot before coming here,” I say and place my toiletry bag down.
He laughs and shakes his head.
I nod toward his phone. “What are you doing? Checking messages from all the women who drool over you?”
“No, my DMs aren’t open to strangers. I was just reading an email from my sports agent.”
“Wow, your agent. It sounds so grown-up.”
“That’s because we are,” he says with a grin.
“I know, but when did that happen? Like, Beau even has a kid. I’m an aunt.”
Travis nods. “I know, right? I’m an uncle too. It’s a shame Beau’s kid couldn’t be here for the holidays, though.”
I pull a face. “Yeah, his ex took her.”
Travis laughs. “You make it sound like she kidnapped her.”
“Well, she demanded to have her for their first Christmas as divorced parents. Which, if you ask me, is totally unfair. She was the one who broke things off, not Beau.”
“How’s he holding up? He doesn’t talk about it with me,” Travis says.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. The divorce really did a number on him. I think being here helps, though. His being alone in that big house would’ve been worse.”
“I feel for him. Seriously. He deserves to be happy. And I also feel bad for not being here enough. I knew going in that a football career asks a lot of sacrifices, but… I guess the reality of it doesn’t sink in until you’re dab smack in the middle of it, you know?”
“Do you regret it? The football career?”
He shakes his head. “No. Not the career itself, but sometimes I regret what it cost me. Like losing touch with people who mattered.”
He looks me square in the eye when he utters those words, and I can’t help but feel flustered.
