by Kata Čuić
“Really? Okay. Wow. Then, let me step into your shoes for a minute.” She turns a determined gaze to me. It’s the kind I’m all too familiar with after so many years of watching this woman dig her heels in to whatever problem faces her. “If she ever so much as makes you shed a single tear, I will rip her hair out, tear off her eyelashes, then maybe pull off her fingernails for good measure.”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter then cringe—because we’re in a church and all. “You missed your calling as a CIA operative.”
Evie shrugs beside me. “Not really. I’m just not giving up my calling as your sister because I’m married.”
“Getting married,” I correct her.
A smile spreads across her face. The tension in her muscles bleeds away until she’s relaxed and poised beside me. “I’m already married. I have been for a long time. This is just a big party we’re throwing for everyone who missed the announcement.”
“If anything happens, we’ll pick up the pieces,” I promise, squeezing her hand and choking back tears of my own. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it, but I respect the way she’s choosing her own risk this time. “Alex and I will be there even if you can’t be. We won’t let him face the road alone.”
“I know.”
That’s all she says before the doors open and the chords of a familiar piano tune fill the air.
The small church is full. All the guests rise as we take our first step into the center aisle.
“Remember when most of these people thought we would be getting married?” I whisper.
Her family watches us with sharp eyes and wide smiles. The time of mistaking me for her boyfriend instead of her adopted brother feels like forever ago.
“No,” she murmurs, her gaze locked on the man who’s waiting at the other end of our approach. “I don’t remember anything before Rob.”
Her sarcastic words make me laugh. There was a time she didn’t remember him either. Some circles can never be unbroken though.
I have never empathized with that idea as much as I do now. My eyes land on an extra bridesmaid. One who wasn’t supposed to be here. A woman who takes my breath away with a single glance.
This is Evie and Rob’s day, so I don’t want to question how or why Tori is standing at the front of the church with all our other friends.
I get an answer anyway when I place Evie’s hand in Rob’s.
He leans forward and wraps me in a bone-crushing hug. His words are a whisper in my ear, “Selfless, not selfish. Now, go get your own happily ever after and stay the hell out of mine.”
I laugh and tamp down the urge to cross to the wrong side of the aisle and kiss Tori senseless. There will be plenty of time for that later. Instead, I take my place beside Alex. “No hard feelings about who got to walk her down the aisle. I was here before you, buddy.”
His deep chuckle is drowned out by the priest chanting in Greek. “I get it. I know my place.” He glances at me for a split-second, but a world of promises drift between us. “We’re a team, Mitchell. For better or worse.”
He gets to hand over the ring. I get to walk back down the aisle with the most beautiful woman on my arm.
We make a big deal of double-teaming the best man’s speech. One woman’s laughter rings louder in my ears than anyone else at the packed reception hall.
She’s perched on my lap while we all watch Rob and Evie have their first dance as husband and wife.
“Oh!” she gasps as Rob pulls back, an expression of absolute shock crossing his face. “She told him! Yay!”
I glance down at Tori. Her eyes are filled with the kind of hearts the emoji was created to represent. “She told you?”
“I found out when we were getting ready.” Tori smiles. It’s one of the most perfect expressions of pride she’s ever shown. “I’m in the circle of trust now.”
Alex cackles beside us. “I claim best man at your wedding!”
He doesn’t even question it.
Maybe it’s growing up with sisters who swooned over everything to do with weddings, or maybe it’s the mood in the air, but I’m falling for it. Head over heels.
It’s not a potential disaster I’m fighting against anymore. It’s real. It’s tangible. It’s going to happen.
I smile at Tori. “We have two years to come up with a scavenger hunt and tests of worth to award best man honors. Get your genius ideas ready, Peaches.”
She glances between me and Alex with obvious confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Alex downs the rest of his champagne then rolls his eyes. “Rob made us do this stupid scavenger hunt for best man honors way back in college. We really thought we were running all over campus to win. He never told us it was always going to be a tie.”
“I think he just wanted us out of their hair for Valentine’s Day,” I admit.
Tori raises an eyebrow. “Do you all usually spend Valentine’s Day together?”
In hindsight, I feel a little guilty. I can’t imagine Rob and Alex crashing my romantic plans. “Uh…yeah. Well, we used to. Before we lived in three different parts of the country.”
A slow smile spreads across Tori’s face. She stares at Alex. “I can see so many ways of making this work in my favor.”
He barks out a laugh. “You’re gonna fit right in, Tori.”
She already does. In the most important place that matters.
I tighten my arms around her waist. “No wife swapping. Don’t get any ideas.”
He grins, licks his lips, then winks at her.
Tori blushes then just as quickly smiles. It’s not her cute one. “You couldn’t handle me, Fossoway.”
I nearly choke on air.
He opens his mouth, probably to list in graphic detail all the ways he would handle her.
“Make a hole!”
All of us turn our attention to the dance floor, where Evie’s suddenly—literally—in Rob’s arms, holding her hand over her mouth. He races through tables and bodies, then they disappear through the doorway.
Alex cocks an eyebrow. “Is the reception over already?”
Tori digs beneath the table then comes up with a pack of crackers and a bottle of ginger ale. “I thought you two knew she was pregnant? She has morning sickness!”
Alex looks zero percent less confused. “It’s seven o’clock at night!”
Tori rolls her eyes then abandons my lap and follows the same path Rob and Evie took.
I stand, too.
“Where are you going?” Alex hasn’t moved a muscle.
“To see if they need anything. To help?”
His lip curls. “I’m pretty sure they’ve got it covered. Why would you want to see Evie barfing?”
I roll my eyes, too. Alex has never been the touchy-feely type. Some things haven’t changed.
There’s an awkward moment of hesitation just outside the Ladies’ Room door. Then, I shrug it off and push inside, half expecting to see Tori peeing again.
Instead, there’s a ball of white fluff practically swallowing Rob on the floor. He’s leaned back against the wall, and Evie’s leaning against him.
It’s already a party in here. Tini’s wetting some paper towels at the sink; Alyssa and Jess are yapping about baby shower plans; Tori’s crouched beside the happy couple, offering crackers.
Even Alyssa’s husband, Jeremy, pokes his head through the door behind me. “We good?”
“We’re great!” Rob smiles. There are still visible tear tracks on his face. Even the toughest football player in the league wouldn’t blame him if he knew the full story of the road they’ve traveled to get here.
I stuff my hands in my pockets. Alex is right. Everything is covered.
I’m not needed anymore, but judging by the way they both smile at me, I’m still wanted. “Is this going to be a ladies-only shower?”
Jess and Alyssa stare at me like they can’t tell if I’m seriously angling for an invite.
“No,” Jess drags out. “It doesn’t have to
be. How are you going to get away during the season though?”
“I can make time for important things.” I mean it as just another way to let Tori know we can make it through whatever the next two years throw at us, but somehow my words shift the mood in the room. Snickers of awkward laughter bounce off the tile walls.
“I bet you can, stud.” Alyssa winks at me. Which is weird. The whole look on her face is weird. “How long did it take to get that custom-molded dildo made?”
No one in the room even breathes.
I only have one question. “Peaches? How does she know about that?”
Suddenly, voices shout over each other like some higher power pressed the play button.
Tori. “It was an accident!”
Evie. “It was my fault!”
Alyssa. “So naughty, Mitchell.”
Tini. “Circle of trust!”
Rob. Coughing and sputtering like he’s going to puke next.
Me, too.
Jeremy steps up beside me. “How expensive was that? Did it take long? Did the wax burn your dick?”
Just when I think things can’t get any worse, I turn around.
To find Alex grinning at me.
Oh, sure. Now, he cares enough to see if anyone needs help. He’s about to offer it. I can practically see the shit building up behind his mouth.
I point at him. “Not a word.”
He mimes zipping his lips, but the look in his eyes tells a different story.
I’m never going to hear the end of this.
Maybe Peaches fitting in with my friends isn’t as perfect as it seems.
The wait is killing me. It’s bad enough that I haven’t seen his face in person or touched his warm skin in three months. The only time I hear his voice is over the phone late at night.
I can make up an excuse to miss classes for the next few days, sneak through Albany airport undetected, take an Uber to Mike’s house with relatively little notice, and even let myself inside without well-meaning neighbors calling the cops, but there’s no way I can maintain my cover by showing up at the stadium. I’m not sure anyone would give me access even if I’m a former Wolves employee.
My cell rings. One glance at the caller ID has me clutching the phone like a physical lifeline of potential information that I don’t have access to.
She doesn’t waste time with meaningless greetings. This isn’t our first exchange of the day anyway. “Shawn finally got through to Mike’s agent. He doesn’t know anything yet.”
The first sob slips past my frozen façade. I’m not sure who I’m trying to keep it together for at this point, since I’ve been in this big house all alone for hours. The game is over. Mike’s agent knows something by now. He’s just not willing to share. Not even with Rob’s agent.
“Calm down,” Evie advises, her voice low and steady. “I know the hit looked bad on TV, but the announcers love to play up that sort of thing for drama.”
“He was in the locker room for the rest of the game,” I hiss.
That was what triggered my call in the first place. There’s no way Mike would willingly not play if there wasn’t something seriously wrong. Evie said I could reach out to her for anything at any time. So, I did.
“That’s a good thing,” she reminds me. “Remember what we discussed about concussion protocol? The trainers decided to play it safe. I would be more worried if they had forced him to play since it was such a close game.”
Judging by the background noise, she’s at a different game on the other side of the country. True to her word though, she’s making time to talk me down off the ledge.
“How have you been doing this for years? I want to crawl out of my skin right now.”
She chuckles. “Did you think I was joking when I warned you that loving a professional football player isn’t easy? Every time Rob takes a hit on the field, I can feel it in my own body.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I admit.
“You’ll feel better when you can see and touch him for yourself,” she responds without any offense. “That’s why I suggested you fly up there. Otherwise, you’ll just spend the next however many weeks until you can see him again picking apart that one single play and questioning every picture you see of him online.”
“Thank you for the flight,” I murmur, embarrassment heating my cheeks. “I’ll pay you back.”
Not sure how since I no longer have even an intern salary. We’re not actually sisters though, so it seems obligatory to offer.
“You can pay me back by calling and telling me how he really is once he gets there,” she says. “There’s no way I can make a cross-country flight right now. Even the private pilot Rob has on retainer won’t clear me at this stage of pregnancy. Probably because Rob has him on the payroll,” Evie mutters.
“I wish we weren’t all so spread apart,” I confess, knowing I should let her go watch her husband play but unable to sever this connection until Mike walks through the door. “I feel guilty for not even checking on Alex’s game today.”
Evie sighs. “I wish that, too. Now more than ever. Sadly, that’s not how any of this works at the pro level. It would take a miracle for them all to play on the same team again.”
“Miracles aren’t impossible,” I hedge. “The reason you can’t fly across the country to check on Mike is proof, right?”
“I’m afraid I’ve used up all my miracles in this lifetime,” she says. “I’ll be grateful if I can pull off one more.”
I don’t quite know how to respond. I’m not sure how far this circle of trust extends yet.
Mike explained to me in bed after the wedding reception that Evie’s pregnancy is extremely high risk. He and Alex promised her to be there for Rob should the worst happen. He wanted to give me a heads-up that he might have to drop everything to fly to Sacramento in the middle of the season.
I was just happy to hear he wouldn’t put football above the most important thing of all—family.
“I will FaceTime you as soon as I can,” I promise, hoping it’s a small part I can play for her not to have anything else to worry about. My words sound way more convincing than I feel. Maybe it’s the marketing professional in me. “I’m sure you’re right, and he’s fine. You can see for yourself in a few hours.”
“Thank you,” she breathes. “I’ll call you if I hear anything else from the agents.”
The distinct sound of a key turning in the lock to the front door catches my attention. My muscles tremble with anxiety but also with the promise of relief. “Not necessary. He’s here. I’ll call you back.”
She disconnects immediately.
I hop up from the couch and smooth the wrinkles in my shirt. If I don’t do something with all this nervous energy, I’m likely to pounce on him. He’s probably way too sore for that. I’ll be content just to look at him with my own eyes. I hope.
“I’m fine,” Mike grumbles as the door swings open. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Oh, shit. He’s not alone.
Thankfully, it’s Templeman who steps in behind Mike. If anyone on the team is trustworthy, it’s him. “Stop your bitching. You shouldn’t be alone after a concussion, and you know it.”
Mike’s gaze lands on me. A slow smile spreads across his gorgeous face. “I won’t be.”
“I’m not here,” I explain to Templeman in only a slight panic. “You didn’t see anything.”
He raises his eyebrows. “I knew that breakup wasn’t real.”
“Mike told you?” I can’t keep the shock out of my voice.
“Hell, no! This motherfucker lied right to my face!” Templeman smirks. “He wasn’t near grumpy enough for his unicorn supposedly dropping him and tucking tail to Virginia, so I knew better.”
I’m his unicorn. Me.
So, I prance right over to where they’re standing in the kitchen and oh-so-carefully run my fingertips over his face that doesn’t look injured at all. It’s just a little touching. Feather light.
He
kisses my fingers when they roam over his mouth. “Are you here because you’re worried, or because you’re needy since Alex snuck into our hotel room and stole your special present?”
My eyes bug out of my head, and my cheeks flame. It’s not like Mike to say something so personal out loud in front of anyone else. He was so embarrassed about it with his friends who he trusts implicitly.
I cut a quick glance to Templeman, who’s watching us very carefully. “Worried. Are you okay?”
Mike tries to roll his eyes, but he literally stops mid-motion and winces instead. “I’m fine.”
Templeman doesn’t roll his eyes at all. “You have strict orders to rest.”
“I passed all the concussion protocols,” Mike boasts then winces again when his phone rings. “Goddamn, that’s loud.” He taps the speaker instead of holding the phone to his ear. “What?”
“Hello to you, too, Sunshine.” It’s Alex. “Are you okay?”
“Why is everyone asking me that? I’m fine!”
“Great,” Alex chirps. “Then, I guess I should thank you for the new pre-game ritual we have in the locker room. We kicked ass today!”
“Good for you,” Mike grumbles.
The Wolves lost by a field goal.
“Yeah,” Alex continues, barely pausing. “We passed around your dildo mold. Everyone jacked your manhood for luck. It worked! Your rubber dick is magic!”
Mike sighs, closes his eyes, and rubs his forehead. “Why are you the way that you are?”
Alex’s tone changes. He goes from playful to dead serious so fast, it makes my head spin. “I’m boarding a flight right now. I’ll be there in three hours. Is Tori there? Put her on the phone.”
Mike shoves his cell at me. “Just…deal with him. I can’t.”
His admission makes me nervous. Not only does Mike never ask me to handle something that isn’t business-related, but he also never openly admits that he’s not capable. Of anything.
Templeman’s eyes are darting around so quickly that he’s going to give himself a concussion, too. Mike lumbers over to the couch and practically collapses on it.
“Alex?” I leave the phone on speaker for Templeman’s benefit. “I’m here. Why are you flying up?”
There’s a bunch of staticky background noise before Alex’s voice filters through again. “Because that was a test, and he failed miserably. If he was fine, he would’ve been pissed as hell and told me off like he usually does. Listen, I need you to hunker down somewhere safe, all right? Mike’s never taken a hit that violent. I don’t know how he’ll react. Some guys get really belligerent when they can’t think straight, and their playing time is on the line.”
