Pass Protection (Fair Catch Series, Book Five)

by Christine Kersey

  Trying not to gawk at all the food, Olivia took a dainty bite of her poached egg. “Hungry today?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  Not able to contain her thoughts, she asked, “Are you really going to eat all of that?” He looked incredibly fit. How could he eat that much and still look so good?

  One of his eyebrows arched. “Yes I am.” Then he grinned. “Unless you want some? I’d be happy to share.”

  Quickly shaking her head, she said, “No. I have plenty here.”

  He chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”

  He dug right in, and to her amazement, he didn’t seem to be getting full as he ate and ate.

  When he was about halfway done, he set his fork down. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to do today? Besides rest, I mean.”

  She’d been thinking about that. What would help her recover her memories? “Maybe look at some of the albums?”

  Greg’s lips turned up in a smile. “I have a better idea.”

  “You do?”

  “Yep.”

  “What?”

  He softly laughed. “It’s a surprise.”

  Not sure she wanted a surprise, she asked, “A good surprise or a bad surprise?”

  Crinkling his forehead like that was a silly question, he said, “A good surprise.” Then he went back to eating.

  Mollified, Olivia ate what she could, but there was still plenty of food left on her plate. Greg’s plates, on the other hand, were empty. Still amazed that he’d been able to put that much food away, she wondered how often he worked out. It had to be frequently. How else could he manage to look so fine and eat so much?

  “Do you exercise?” she heard herself asking. Then heat raced up her face. Still, she didn’t take it back. She was curious.

  “Went for a run while you were getting your beauty sleep, and I’ll be working out later as well.” His lips tugged upward. “We have a gym. Which, I might add, you enjoyed using.”

  She did? Huh. At the mention of working out it was as if her muscles perked up, like they didn’t want her to forget to put them to work.

  “Once your ankle’s better,” he added, “maybe you’ll want to get back into it.”

  “Yeah. Maybe.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “If you’re done, I can take your plate.”

  Deciding that she needed to say out loud the questions that kept popping into her head, she asked, “Were you this helpful before?”

  One side of his mouth quirked up. “Uh, maybe, maybe not.”

  She laughed. “I’m guessing it’s more of the maybe not.”

  He laughed along with her. “Yeah. But I’m planning on making up for that now.”

  At least he’s being honest. That thought led her to consider that maybe he was being honest about everything—her mother, their marriage. Everything.

  The notion flooded her with a sense of peace, like maybe she didn’t need to worry about everything quite so much. That maybe she needed to trust him. At least a little.

  “Yes, I’m done. Thank you.”

  With a smile, he picked up her plate. “If you meet me in the family room, I’ll show you the surprise.”

  Intrigued, she said, “Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Once he disappeared inside, she went back into the bedroom and crutched her way into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth, she checked her reflection in the mirror. For some reason she wanted to look her best—well, as good as she could after getting banged up in a car accident.

  Satisfied that this was as good as she could make it for now—and it wasn’t half bad—she made her way into the family room. Greg was doing something with a piece of equipment near the big TV mounted to the wall.

  “Have a seat,” he said as he turned to her. “You ought to put your foot up on those pillows.”

  Touched that he’d gotten everything ready for her, she sat on the couch and rested her foot on the stack of pillows.

  With a remote in his hand, he came over to where she sat. “Okay if I sit by you?”

  She looked up at him, studied his handsome face, and felt a powerful attraction to him.

  What was it going to be like when she finally remembered him? When all her memories of him, of their past, were restored? It would be spectacular. She was sure of it. But as sure as she was of that, she was unsure if those memories would return at all. She needed to focus on making new memories. That, at least, was something she could count on.

  “Yes,” she said after a brief hesitation.

  A slow smile curved his mouth, which only made him that much more handsome. With his eyes on her, he settled onto the couch, but he kept several feet between them. “Ready for your surprise?”

  Eager to see what it was, she nodded.

  He smiled, then he pointed the remote at the TV and pressed a button. Seconds later a video began. A video of their wedding.

  Olivia caught her breath. This was so much better than mere pictures. And videos couldn’t be faked. Seeing herself with Greg at the alter, taking their vows, kissing as husband and wife…all her doubts vanished. He was her husband.

  Heart soaring with the undeniable knowledge that he’d told her the truth, she settled in to watch her special day unfold before her. Even as she watched, she could feel Greg looking at her, could actually see him out of her peripheral vision, watching her. Not caring, she kept her eyes riveted to the TV.

  Greg could tell that Olivia was entranced, but did any of it look familiar to her? Did the video of them holding hands, taking their vows, embracing, kissing… Did any of it stir a memory? A memory of him?

  She didn’t give any indication, so he forced himself to stop watching her and to watch the video instead. He was beyond grateful that he’d had a videographer film their special day. It had actually been Olivia’s idea. She’d wanted her mother to be able to enjoy it, even if it was after the fact. Who would have guessed that Olivia herself would need to see the video—the proof of their history—in the hopes that she would remember it?

  He thought about her comments at breakfast—the amount of food he ate, whether he worked out. At some point he needed to tell her he played in the NFL. If only to explain their lifestyle.

  But now… now he only wanted to focus on her, focus on their lives, their love. The rest could wait.

  Chapter Ten

  A phone rang in Greg’s pocket. Olivia heard it, and though her attention was trained on the TV, she saw him take it out of his pocket, glance at the screen, then swipe it to stop the ringing before putting it back in his pocket.

  “Do I have a phone?” she asked.

  Greg looked startled at the question, but after only a moment his expression smoothed out. “Uh, yeah.”

  Maybe the small device would hold some clue to her past, something that would trigger a memory.

  “Where is it?” At his hesitation—a hesitation that made her eyebrows pucker—she added, “Maybe it will, you know, spark a memory.”

  A tight smile pulled at his lips. “Sure. Right. I’ll, uh, I’ll get it after the video.”

  That wasn’t unreasonable, but she sensed his reluctance and wondered what was behind it. Nodding, she turned her attention back to the video.

  Why did Olivia want to see her phone? Had she remembered something? Would she tell him if she had? Until that moment it hadn’t occurred to Greg that she might hide any of her returning memories.

  There was only one memory that he knew of that she might want to keep secret. The memory of her betrayal.

  Had she remembered the man she’d been seeing? The thought made Greg’s heart sink. Just the night before Greg had deleted all of the text messages between Olivia and the man. There hadn’t been very many, but he wanted all reminders of her betrayal to disappear. Maybe it was wrong to interfere that way, but he was her husband, and if there was anything he could do to keep that man from resurfacing in Olivia’s life, he would do it.

  It wasn’t as if he’d been checking up o
n her when he’d seen the texts the week before. Rather, she’d left her phone sitting on the counter and her phone had chimed a text while she’d been out of the room. Greg had glanced at the screen and seen a snippet of the message—I look forward to our meeting, lovely lady. As much as he’d tried, he hadn’t been able to forget about it and eventually he’d read the entire thread.

  She’d never added the sender to her contacts, so the message thread had never shown a name, just a phone number. Now, as he sat beside his wife, he thought about the text thread. He couldn’t remember precisely what the few texts had said, but the gist of them were setting up times to meet and talking about how eager Olivia was to see him and how the sender found her so alluring.

  Just thinking about it made his gut churn.

  Olivia softly laughed beside him. He cut his eyes toward her, then followed her gaze to the TV. The video was showing Josh Wisner, the Vipers’ quarterback, offering a toast to the newlyweds.

  At the look of interest on Olivia’s face as she watched their wedding video, a sense of hope flooded him—hope that they would be able to rekindle their love, get a fresh start. Put her betrayal behind them.

  The video ended with Greg leading Olivia into a black limo.

  That’s when we left for our honeymoon, she thought. Desperately wishing she could remember those important milestones in her life, she refused to let the frustration overwhelm her.

  “How’s your ankle?” Greg asked.

  She’d been so focused on the video that she’d forgotten about her broken ankle. “It’s actually not too bad.” A bit achy, but she could deal with that.

  “Good.”

  “Can you grab my phone now?”

  His jaw set, but then he nodded. “Yeah. Sure.” Then he stood and left the room.

  What was up with his reaction? Not sure, it only made her more anxious to get her hands on her phone. Then it occurred to her that maybe Greg was holding something back from her, something important. She had to find out what it was.

  Several moments later he returned with a phone. He held it out to her, but for some reason she just stared at it. Feeling foolish—after all, she was the one who’d asked for it—she forced herself to take it from him. “Thanks.” Then she immediately set it on the coffee table.

  Greg sat near her on the couch, his forehead furrowed. “Don’t you want to look at it? See if there’s something there that will help you, you know, remember your past?”

  She couldn’t explain it, but the idea of looking at her phone, seeing what was on there, made her anxious. What she needed was a distraction. Something to take her mind off of herself. “I’ll look at it later.”

  A pained expression flashed across Greg’s face. “Okay.”

  She wanted privacy. He got that. He did. But it made him wonder—again—if she’d remembered something about the other man in her life.

  He had to stop torturing himself this way. He’d never been able to read her mind and he never would be able to. As hard as it was, he would have to trust her. There was no other option.

  “Tell me more about you,” Olivia said as she readjusted her ankle on the pillows and swiveled her head to look at him.

  The question seemed kind of absurd. They were married for heaven’s sake. Still, Greg knew they had to get to know each other all over again. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It would be like when they’d first met. The idea filled him with renewed hope.

  One side of his mouth tugged up. “Where to begin?”

  “Where are you from?”

  Softly chuckling, Greg smiled. “I grew up in Los Angeles, went to UCLA.”

  Olivia nodded. “What did you major in?”

  “Economics.”

  Her head tilted. “So, you graduated?”

  Proud of his accomplishments, he nodded. “Yeah. With honors.” And that was on top of his stellar football record.

  A look that said she was impressed washed over her face. “Nice.” She paused a beat. “Brothers or sisters?”

  “I have an older sister. Melanie. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two kids.”

  “Are you close to her?”

  Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, he said, “We see each other once a year or so. We’re both pretty busy.”

  “Is this weird?” Olivia asked. “Me asking questions about things I should know?”

  Yes, it was definitely weird. But he didn’t want her to feel funny about it, didn’t want to discourage her from asking. “Nah. It’s good you’re asking. Who knows what’ll trigger a memory, right?”

  Olivia appreciated his attitude, because it did feel weird to her. She also appreciated how sweet he was. It was no wonder she’d fallen for him, had married him. And a degree in economics? That was impressive. Maybe he was a financial advisor. A very successful one. That would explain their nice digs. But did she contribute? Was she successful too?

  Wanting to get into more details about their life, she glanced around the large and tastefully decorated space, then faced him again. “What do we do for a living?” What she really wanted to know was what she did for a living.

  Greg got a funny look on his face, like he was proud yet uncertain, all at the same time.

  Her eyebrows tugged together. “What?”

  “I have to admit, it’s strange that you don’t know this part about me. I mean, I know you don’t and I totally get it, but it’s such a huge part of who I am.” He chuckled.

  He wasn’t acting like he was a financial advisor. He was acting like he did something bigger. Was he a movie star? He was absolutely hot enough to be one. But if he was, why weren’t they living in Los Angeles? Intrigued, Olivia waited to hear what he had to say.

  Greg sat up straighter, then grinned. “I play in the NFL.”

  That was the last thing she would have guessed. Not because he didn’t look like he could—completely the opposite was true. He was tall, ripped, strong. No. She wouldn’t have guessed it because, well, because she didn’t see herself as someone who would date a jock. An image filled her mind. Really, more of a feeling. She was in high school and her heart had just been broken by the star quarterback. She couldn’t recall the details, but she remembered vowing that she would never date a jock again. Yet here she was. Married to one. And not just any jock, but a player in the NFL. How had that happened? How had he won her over? True, he was really sweet. At least he had been since she’d woken in the hospital to find him in her room. She had to know more. Much more. “The NFL?”

  “Yeah. I’m a wide receiver for the Sacramento Vipers.”

  The name of the team rang a bell. They must’ve been around long enough for her to have heard of them at some point where she still had her memory.

  Olivia thought about the huge breakfast Greg had eaten. Now it made sense.

  She pictured him on the football field making an amazing catch and scoring a touchdown. The image was hot and a thrill of excitement raced through her.

  His lips quirked up. “You were never all that impressed.”

  Had to have something to do with that vow not to date jocks. But with him sitting right next to her, his grey eyes trained on her, his giving nature on display, she felt drawn to him. Powerfully drawn to him.

  Not ready to think about that when it was as if they were on a first date, she recalled how the day before she’d entertained the idea that maybe Greg was trying to trick her and to steal her money. Now, knowing he played in the NFL, she realized that most likely she didn’t even have any money. That all that they had was probably his money. Embarrassed, her face heated.

  Needing to make up for the negative, yet ridiculous thoughts she’d had about Greg the day before, she said, “That’s an amazing accomplishment.”

  His face lit up and she felt better.

  “What about me?” she asked. “I mean, do I have a job? A career?” Anything impressive? She remembered always loving animals. Maybe she was a veterinarian. They made good money, right?

  “Whe
n I first met you, you were doing some modeling.”

  A model? She was a model? That was kind of cool, but not how she pictured herself.

  “What kind of modeling?” Was she famous? The idea was interesting, but to her surprise, she found she didn’t really care about that.

  “You were in catalogs. Wearing the latest clothes. Stuff like that.”

  Okay. She could accept that. “You said when you first met me. So, what have I been doing recently?”

  “For the last year or so you’ve spent a lot of time volunteering at the Humane Society.”

  Now, that was something she could see herself doing. Wait. Weren’t they wondering where she was?

  She must have looked slightly panicked, because Greg said, “Don’t worry. I told them you were in a car accident and that you wouldn’t be in for a while.”

  “Thank you.”

  “When you feel up to it,” he said, “I can take you to see your friends there.”

  Quickly shaking her head, Olivia grimaced. “I wouldn’t know them. It would be too…well, too awkward.”

  Greg smiled softly. “No worries. I understand.”

  He was so sweet, so handsome, so… Olivia could see herself easily falling in love with him.

  Olivia had to look away. Things suddenly felt too intense—watching their wedding video, learning that he was a world-class athlete, finding herself so attracted to him.

  “Can I get you anything?” Greg asked.

  Maybe it would be a good idea to put a little distance between them.

  “I’d love a glass of ice water.”

  Greg stood. “Coming right up.”

  She watched him go, but as her gaze swept over his athletic body, stopping on his profile as he left the room, her heart fluttered. She hoped he would hurry back.

  Her phone chimed a notification. Startled, she wondered who would be contacting her. She picked up her phone, her eyes going first to the name of the sender—Mom. It was from her mother! Her mother was all right! Relief surged through her. Until her eyes slid to the portion of the message that was visible. Then, her heart nearly stopped.