Three Weeks Later
CONNOR
“Sources say that Connor Haden, starting Quarterback of the LA Lions, is still hiding out from his last conquest, a wedding planner by the name of April Matthews. The wedding planner had organized Haden’s failed wedding attempt to Crystal Wagner a little over a month ago. He was splashed over the pages of every magazine known to the entertainment industry with his sordid rendezvous with Ms. Matthews before falling out of the limelight.
Another source close to the team has stated that Connor is in danger of losing his position to the backup quarterback due to his inability to concentrate during practice. With the first pre-season game coming up in a week, it would be detrimental to the rest of the season if they were to lose their quarterback before it even gets started. All this sports reporter knows is that Connor Haden had better concentrate on his football career instead of his love life before it goes down the toilet as well. Back to you in the studio, Jeff.”
I curled up my lip in disgust as I threw the remote onto the bed, not believing the absolute filth that the media—the sports media at that—liked to report these days. My position as starter was not in danger, even though I had missed a few throws in practice; it wasn’t a big deal… that’s what practice was for!
But we were all stressed to the max with the season starting to ramp up, all the travel and medical woes we would be dealing with this season starting to get to everyone. Already I had lost my starting tailback and running back, forced to work with some of the second string guys to try and bring their asses up to speed. It wasn’t an easy task.
However, I knew in some respects the media guy was right… I had to stop thinking about her if I was going to make this season a success. I walked out of my bedroom and into the kitchen, where I opened up the door to find something for supper. My personal chef had all the meals already lined up for me, my rigorous training for the season something I was already starting to detest even though we had barely started.
No more burgers or fries for me until our season was through. Hell, I couldn’t even have a single drop of alcohol. It was one of the downsides of this profession that not many people knew about. You had to keep your body in tip-top shape if you wanted to compete with the younger crowd coming in, every year adding one less year you were going to be in the professional sporting arena. Eventually my time would be up, but as long as I ate this rabbit food and abstained from anything remotely good—including April, not that she would have me back anyway—I could give myself another year on the field.
Closing the fridge, I walked over to the open French doors to the patio beyond, taking the view of the ocean in for the first time today. When I had bought this house only a week ago, the view had been the final tipping point, the infinity pool looking like it was going to spill over onto the beach and into the ocean. The beach offered its own grueling place to work out and I usually enjoyed jogging on the sand early in the morning before anyone else was out there, taking the time to clear my head and be ready for the day, just like I had on the island. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew very well why I’d bought the place, the similarities mirroring the time spent with April on the island far too much, not wanting to let her or our time go.
But ever since I got back to the States, my quiet time gave me the opportunity to reflect on that one singular day in paradise where I had let April walk away from me forever. It was the dumbest thing I’d ever done in my life, and I had done a lot of idiotic things. It had only been three weeks, but to me it felt like a damn eternity.
I’d thought about going after her, begging for her to reconsider our relationship, but every time I thought about stepping out of the house, the damn media was right outside my gates, hounding me for a statement about my little trip. Even Crystal had gotten in on the action, taking the opportunity and running with it. Now her sad, tear-streaked face was on every talk show as she gossiped about the scandal, the betrayal, and how I’d broken her heart (yeah, right). She was soaking up the attention—wallowing in it like a pig in mud—while I was trying to avoid it. That would have been how our marriage would have turned out and I thanked my lucky stars every damn day that I had avoided saying those vows to her.
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the burn of my earlier workout still affecting my muscles. I should go to her, see if there was even a remote chance she would take me back. Maybe she would’ve calmed down by now… I could explain about the bet, properly explain this time, tell her it meant nothing.
Since it all came out in the press I knew she was probably being bombarded with the media as well, which pissed me off. April was a good person, one that shouldn’t have to deal with that kind of shit. The guys had given me a hard time when the ‘news’ first broke, but I’d ponied-up to their bets since I didn’t actually last the full two weeks, and I was about eighty grand poorer. Even though I’d survived one week with the wedding planner who’d apparently fallen deeply in love with me as well as pretending to be my wife. The pictures, however grainy in the magazines, were there to prove it all. But survive wasn’t the right word; I’d loved every minute of it with her.
I fucking hated all of the photos I kept seeing. They showed a time in my life that was truly the pinnacle of my love life, but the media had gone and exploited it, tearing apart that greatness about it. My chest still ached every time they showed us entering the tent, then coming out with our hands clasped together and the looks on our faces that belied what had happened inside. I wanted to punch that fucking cameraman; the camera I’d taken off him that day had most likely been a bloody decoy.
The sun started to sink down into the ocean as I turned away, wondering what I should do. I couldn’t sue all of them and I couldn’t make their lives miserable like they’d done with mine.
The doorbell rang and I looked in that direction, my heart hammering in my chest at who it might be. What if she had come? It wasn’t hard to find my house, certainly not after the media had reported the sale, accusing me of trying to hide away out here. But what if she’d made a decision to forgive me, to see this thing out like I knew I wanted to?
My heart in my throat, I crossed the living room to the door, flinging it open in anticipation of seeing her gorgeous face.
“Connor! I can’t believe what you did to me! That was so fucked up!”
My eyes narrowed as I saw Crystal’s angry face in the doorway, her eyes blazing. “Why the hell are you here?” I asked. She turned her head toward the crowd still gathered at the fence a few feet away, and I sighed loudly. “I’m not in the mood to be part of your silly game. Get the hell away from my door.”
“Connor, I was devastated when you ruined my perfect wedding day!” she whined loudly, loud enough for the frenzy out front to hear. “I had everything planned for us!”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand, yanking her inside before shutting the door. “What are you doing?” she hissed, stomping her foot. “I’m not finished yet! They were just starting to eat it up!”
“Crystal, what are you doing?” I asked, angry that she was here, and not April.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her lower lip. “I was enjoying the limelight of course. Your little stunt has paid off dividends for me, darling. I can’t believe you didn’t let me in on this plan of yours.”
I frowned, confused on what exactly she was talking about. My stunt? This was my life I was talking about. She moved up to me, her fingers playing with the collar of my shirt idly. “You know, this all kinda turns me on, Connor. I’m so wet for you right now.” Her hand slid down my body and cupped my cock, her little motions not even getting me hard in the slightest. “Would you like to feel how wet?”
I gripped her hand and removed it from my crotch, sick that she would even think I would consider this to impress her. Her cunning smile faltered as she looked at my hand wrapped around her wrist. “Are you not happy to see me, Connor?”
“Christ, Crystal,” I exhaled, not believing this. “This wasn’t a stunt
. None of it was a stunt.”
“I-I don’t understand,” she started. I had never taken Crystal for a fool—a little blonde at times—but right now, she clearly had no idea what I was talking about. “I dumped you because I didn’t want to marry you. Yeah, I went on our honeymoon with another woman and I don’t regret a single damn moment of it.” I then leaned close to her, until her wide eyes looked into mine. “And the one thing I really don’t regret is that I dumped your ass.”
Her nostrils flared with indignation as she realized what I was saying, yanking her wrist out of my grip. “You, you asshole! How dare you leave me for that ugly ass, pathetic woman, a nobody! She is so ugly that she couldn’t get her own man and had to steal mine! I bet she doesn’t do a tenth of what I did for you!”
I laughed, thinking about April’s body, her touch, the way she could make me hard just by arching a mischievous eyebrow. “She did more for me than you could ever hope to do.”
Her hand came out of nowhere and the stinging sensation that followed only added to the irony of the entire situation. In our entire relationship she had never raised a hand to me and hell, I couldn’t blame her for doing so now. But it would be the only time she ever did it. We were through.
“I hate you!” she seethed, stomping to the door, her heels clicking on my floor with every step. “You can have your little bitch. She will never be like I was to you!”
“Thank god,” I muttered loudly as she opened the door and walked through it, slamming it behind her. That was Crystal, a whirlwind of emotions and mess. I was so fucking glad she was gone from my life now. She thought this was a game? I half wished it was. ‘Cause right now I was losing badly with no idea how to redeem myself.
APRIL
As quick as I could, I pushed the door shut behind me and ignored the frantic callings of my name from the people on the sidewalk, the silence of the apartment a welcome change. Weren’t they tired of me by now? Wasn’t there a bigger story to go and cover? I didn’t understand the fascination of it all, though it didn’t help that Crystal Wagner had plastered herself all over TV talking about how I stole the love of her life. I wanted to retaliate, trust me, but I didn’t want to become some mockery of a war that I knew I couldn’t win. The world would side with her and I would be left out in the cold, largely what I was already facing at this moment.
Depositing the bags onto the table, I pulled out the bottle of wine I’d picked up and grabbed the corkscrew and a glass; enjoying the first sip of the cool numbing liquid as it slid down my throat. I wasn’t an alcoholic, but I knew I was becoming dangerously close as the days went by, relying on a glass or two to calm my nerves and get me through what was fast becoming the worst time of my life.
Eugh. My life had become a circus since I arrived back in the States, reporters waiting for me at the airport to get my story about who I was and how I had roped in one of the most eligible bachelors right under Crystal’s nose. I had said ‘no comment’ enough times that I considered having it tattooed on my forehead. I wasn’t about to spill any beans regarding our relationship, or what was left of it, anyway.
The thought of Connor caused my chest to ache and I took another swallow of the wine, willing it away from my heart as much as I could. He wasn’t looking too hot in the press either, the sports world really starting to eat him alive. But on the other hand, he was getting a ton of free publicity; that would only elevate his status. Surely it couldn’t be all that bad, if you totally forgot that he had ruined my life for any other man ever.
I flung myself on the couch, pushing aside the growing mound of Kleenex that had seemed to appear out of nowhere the last few days. I blamed it on the sappy romance channel and the old stack of paperback books that I had found, but I knew that it wasn’t really just that. I missed him.
I missed the way he made me feel. I missed the quirky little grin he would give me right before he would kiss me. I missed his smell, his touch, and all of the above. I had fallen in love with the absolute worst person I could have chosen. Connor didn’t understand the meaning of love, relationships or marriage. He didn’t understand that I had put my whole heart into those last few days, really seeing myself as someone special in his life. And I didn’t expect him to see all of that, given his track record. But I had, even if for a moment, thought that I could be his someone special.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I thought about my life now and what I was going to do about it. I had no job, and my savings were running low and would only be able to carry me maybe another month or so before I would have to do something about it. There was no way I could get a job right now. No place would hire me with the crew of photographers and nosy TV reporters following me around. Idly I wondered if they’d leave me alone if I gave them a statement, but they wouldn’t. They were like vultures circling a carcass overhead, looking for the perfect opportunity to swoop down and pick at my bones. Until someone else did something stupider than what Connor and I did, I was stuck with the motley crew out there. It was my life. I had done the deed and now I was paying for the consequences of my actions.
“Oh, Connor,” I whispered. Despite it all, I couldn’t help but wonder how he was doing with all of this. Was he soaking it up like his ex-fiancée, enjoying the limelight that this little scandal had brought? Or was he hiding out like me, wishing it would all just go away? I had no idea how to get in touch with him, all of my contacts in my book were back at my old job.
I didn’t even know if I really wanted to see or speak to him either; the memory of the bet still a thorn in my heart.
How had it all gone so wrong? I wasn’t the type of girl looking for a fling. I was the type of girl who was in it for the long-term and for some crazy reason, I had thought long-term with him. And he’d known that, we’d talked about it. Was I regretting not staying with him? Most definitely, I knew I hadn’t given him a chance to explain… But what if we had stayed on another week in paradise, would I have been able to trust the words coming out of his mouth about marriage and commitment? Could I have trusted someone who’d lied to me from the very moment he’d appeared from the bathroom in the hut?
That I didn’t know for sure. All I did know was that if someone was lucky enough to settle him down and make him believe in the happily ever after, then they really would win the prize of a lifetime.
28
CONNOR
“Just send her flowers. Every woman likes flowers. Speaking of which, you still owe me an apology for going dark those weeks you were sunning yourself. Maybe you should send me some flowers?”
I looked over at my agent with a frown, thinking the last thing I wanted to do was send Crystal flowers. “Crystal deserves my size twelve boot up her ass for the stunts she’s pulled, not flowers!”
Jay raised an eyebrow, a chuckle escaping his lips. He had been my agent since college, walking me through the finer points of professional football and not allowing me to fall through the cracks of the sport like so many other athletes did. I’d also come to rely on his qualities as a friend and he’d managed to keep me out of trouble to an extent, until now. “I’m not talking about Crystal. I’m talking about that other girl you’re so wrapped up in right now. What’s her name? Autumn?”
“Dude, really?” I asked, leaning back in the chair. We had been lounging by the pool, catching some afternoon rays while he’d gone over my latest endorsement with me, some razor company that wanted me to be their spokesman. I had sold a ton of stuff in my career, from athlete’s foot cream to men’s watches. Being a face to a product not only got you extra cash flow coming in, but the perks were sometimes pretty awesome as well. Though maybe not the athlete’s foot cream I did in my early career. That one I could have shot Jay for. “Autumn? Are you just going to start reeling off the names of the month or go through every season till you get it right?”
“Hell, I don’t know, I’ve never been able to remember the names of your conquests,” Jay grumbled. “I guess that’s not her name, then?”
“N
o, it’s not,” I replied with a grin. “It’s April.” The sound of her name upon my lips caused my damn heart to race. It had been three weeks and five days since I’d seen her last. Well, maybe not that long. I had seen her, just not live and in person. Her face was on the news enough, down to her walking into her apartment while shielding herself from the intruding cameras. Every time I saw the footage, I got pissed and added another hole or dent into whatever wall I was standing next to. My new house was starting to look like a war zone.
Jay snorted. “You even said her name with that dreamy look on your face,” he said with a grin. “She’s really got you whipped, doesn’t she? Wrapped around her little finger.”
I frowned, not liking the idea that I was so transparent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jay chuckled and sat up, grabbing a beer out of the cooler. Of course he was drinking, while I was stuck with a bottle of water. There was something wrong with this picture. “You don’t have to lie to me. I had that same, goofy look when I met Polly. Best damn thing I ever did was put a ring on that finger.” I thought about the tall brunette that Jay was lucky enough to be married to. She was a very understanding wife given the craziness that came with being an agent’s wife to a number of high profile clients. But I supposed it helped that she was after all his secretary too. They complimented each other fairly well and I’d been his best man at his wedding a few years ago.
“Shit, man,” I finally said, running a hand through my hair. “I fucking screwed this whole thing up. I should never have accepted that bet.” I could be honest with him. I had screwed it all up. Because of me April was getting pestered constantly about her life. While I was used to people being all up in my grill constantly, I knew she wasn’t.
“Well, that’s a given,” Jay replied. “What were you thinking?”
Bad Boy's Wedding Page 14
