Page 8 of Their After Hours Playbook

Zach could hear the wanderlust in Tom’s voice and it killed him a little bit. Tom missed the business. Zach couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “I promise to keep you fully apprised of everything.”

Zach’s mother appeared at the door. “Alright you two. Let’s wrap this up. Dinner is ready, and we’re having Zach’s favorite pot roast, so we don’t want to let it get cold.”

Zach’s heart—and stomach—leaped at the thought. It really was his favorite. “Yum. I’m starving.”

“We can finish talking about this while we eat,” Tom said, pushing himself out of his chair.

“Oh, no you won’t. Meal time is family time.” Zach’s mom shook her head.

Tom looked at her, and Zach witnessed the moment when they both softened their expression and gave in to their true love for each other. “You’re right,” Tom said. “And family is the most important thing.”

Three

Paige enjoyed Las Vegas, but only in small doses. It was an incredibly fun and exciting place to visit, with its bright lights, near-constant hustle and bustle, and what felt like permission to let loose. After all, what happened there, stayed there. Right? It had been an eon since she’d done anything wild. Although she had zero plans to do a single thing that was out of character, it was nice to know it was an option in this city. Even if she’d never act on it.

In truth, Paige couldn’t take Vegas for more than seventy-two hours, but that made the sports expo a little more palatable since it only lasted forty-eight. Of course, some years, even that had been too much. Too often this event became an exercise in humiliation, with the sponsorship offers for her clients being of a much smaller caliber than what male athletes were garnering. Most of the big fish like carmakers, luxury brands and major clothing designers would completely dismiss professional female athletes. There was always an excuse—the demographics were off, or the market research wasn’t pointing them in that direction—but Paige knew it was only because those corporate entities were unwilling to change. Hopefully, this year would be different. Alexis had not only gone number one in the WPBA draft, but she was an immensely exciting player and looked like a supermodel. Grabbing her a few lucrative endorsements should be no trouble at all. Or at least that was the plan.

Paige strolled into the expo hotel, which was right on the Las Vegas strip, where the biggest resorts and casinos were. The lobby was a flurry of activity, with agents, sponsors and exhibitors milling about, while the ceaseless music and clanging of slot machines played in the background. Paige strode straight to the front desk and checked in, then headed to the elevator with her room key.

She wound her way through the sea of people with her suitcase at her side, across plush white-and-gold carpet, past even more slot machines. She smiled and waved at a few people she recognized, but she also glanced in the opposite direction when she spotted some she didn’t care to see. She was about fifty feet from her destination, when she felt a hand at her waist.

“Paige. Wait,” a familiar man’s voice said.

She jumped and whipped around.

“Hello, beautiful,” he said.

Paige took a beat and caught her breath as she peered into the chocolaty brown eyes of her ex-husband. Andre. He’d once been an agent for Moss Sports, but now worked in the front office for Los Angeles’s pro football team. She grasped his arm and lightly pecked him on the cheek. Although their split had been messy, they’d since made amends. And he lived on the other side of the country, so they didn’t see each other very often, which made it much easier to be nice. “Don’t sneak up on me. You know I don’t like it.”

“Oh, come on. You like surprises. At least a little.” He flashed a grin. “I had to say hi and wish you congratulations on Alexis. Well done.”

“Thank you. It was a big night.”

“A big night that you put an awful lot of work into.”

This was the good side of her relationship with Andre—he understood how hard she worked. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“So? How are you doing?”

She shrugged. “Same old, same old. Alexis has definitely been the highlight of my year so far. How about you?”

His smile grew. “I need to tell you something before you hear it from anyone else.” His grin changed into an expression far more serious. “But I don’t want it to upset you.”

Great. The stark contrast of his words and facial expression left her feeling uneasy. She could only imagine what he was about to say. “It won’t upset me. Just tell me.”

“I’m getting married.”

Okay, then. No, she was not in love with Andre, but this still hurt. Surprisingly so. It felt as though the proverbial rug had been pulled out from under her, leaving her fumbling for a way to right herself. Or at least hold on to her dignity. Perhaps she felt this way because he’d moved on effortlessly after her, slipping into a new life with a new job in a new city, seemingly with ease. “Wow. Congratulations.”

“You’re not upset? Annoyed?”

“Of course not,” she said with as much sincerity as she could muster. “Who’s the lucky woman?”

“Her name is Casey. She’s a cheerleader for the team. Incredibly smart. She’s actually in med school. She was just doing the cheerleader gig to pay her tuition.”

So she has a smoking-hot bod, is smart enough to be a doctor and is probably in her twenties. Fantastic. “I’m sure she’s amazing.”

“I think you’d love her.”

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