Page 24

Evie

You know what they say about experience being the best teacher? Listen, because I'm speaking from experience lying is bad. Any kind of deception is bad. It's bad for your reputation and bad for your soul. And believe me when I say the second is worse than the first. I mean the soul part.

Lying is draining. I'm exhausted. And when you forget the details of the lie? Ugh.

"I think everything changed for me the night of the gala," Wild says. "She was wearing this red dress, and I started to see her differently. I spent the whole night warning my teammates away."

We are yet on another 'keeping up appearance' dinner with Megan and the club's general manager, Larry. According to Wild and Mrs. Izaacs, I look good. But I don't feel it. There's a block of ice deep in my stomach. My shoulders are tense, waiting for an axe to drop. My senses are hyper-vigilant from trying to keep up with my co-star.

“Cute." Megan smiles at the bespectacled GM. "Right, Larry?"

Larry, a middle-aged man with his glasses perched on the tip of his nose, has his eyes fixed on Wild—a puzzle he's spent all night trying to solve. "Billy believes this engagement makes Carrington a changed man?"

"A family man,"Megan corrects, "a committed man."

"Because he fell in love suddenly in the space of how many weeks since he's returned?"Larry isn't convinced.

Wild knocks my foot against his.

On cue, I flash Larry a smile. "We've known each other all our lives. Honestly, Wild was mostly like a protective older brother—"

"And then something changed."Larry sounds bored like he's heard it all before.

Swallowing my pride hurts my throat, but I manage it. "I've always had a crush—"

"They started with text messages,"Megan makes an encouraging noise for me to take up the slack.

"Lots of messages.”I laugh, but my dinner companions don't find it funny. “I mean, we've always texted, but over time, the tone of the messages—"

"And the messages themselves,"Wild adds, sounding likehe'sremembering the messages.

There were no such messages. I don't know what's putting that look on his face.

Larry shakes off his boredom and pushes his glasses up his nose. He's suddenly a different person. "But he just said things changed for him during the gala because of her red dress. Which is the truth?"

See that thing I said about deception sucking your soul? There's a bell ringing in my head. It goes, gong, gong, gong. And it won't stop. I'm so over this fake engagement.

"Uhm,"I start, trying to line up my thoughts into some order.

"That's Wild's viewpoint,"Megan explains to Larry. "His feelings bloomed during the gala, but Evie has always had a crush. The childhood sweetheart thing, right?"

"Yes,"I say glumly. I need this dinner to be over yesterday. "You've paid serious attention to our love story."

It's not a compliment. It's me being catty and taking out my frustration on an innocent bystander. However, there's nothing innocent about the sparkle in Megan's eyes.

“I’ve always been a big fan of reality TV,” she says with an evil gleam in her eye.

Okay.

The rest of dinner is mostly them talking club business. The block of ice in my stomach finally melts. I relax and take a peek at the other diners. The restaurant is decorated in business-like tones, brown and black, and high-backed chairs. Their clientele is mainly suited to severe-looking business types. Megan and Larry fit here.

From the little I get when I tune into the conversation, the team has a real chance at gunning for a championship with Wild. Without Wild, they have a sixty percent chance. Add potential injuries and other pitfalls of a title run, and the odds fall to forty percent. Throw in Coach Billy's coming retirement, how long the club's been without a championship (ten painful barren years), and the publicity the coming reunion with Wild will bring, and then it makes sense that I endure the block of ice in my stomach.

Wild needs this: a championship to crown a successful but controversial career.

Still, I'm drained.

No matter how much I try, I can't get the kiss out of my head.

My head keeps playing peekaboo with the possibility of Wild being attracted to me. And what if it's the charade messing with his head?

No. My heart contracts at the prospect of another rejection. It's more than Wild turning down a childish crush. It's my mother and stepmother and my childhood all over again.

Better to be self-sufficient than suffer the heartache of disappointment.

I'm relieved when it's time to leave. As we walk past a group on a business meeting, I falter because there's something familiar about one of the ladies. Wild's hand comes to my elbow. His touch feels like a brand. I can't remember when I used to be unaffected by his touch. When my ‘burned and buried’ chant worked. I need those old times back. My wall of defense was so high I was unshakable.

Now, even his smiles leave me breathless.

I've never been happier to say goodbye to a person before. I'm so glad I even give Megan a quick hug. Wild leaves a message for Daniel, and we're ready to go.

"Remember the cream-colored blouse with that necktie and brown trousers you wore for your first day at work?"Wild asks just as I'm about falling asleep.

He was around for my first day at work. He drove me to work and back because he was excited for me. At the time, it was just an us thing. But now? He's ruined everything. I'm melting because he remembered.

"That woman you were staring at? She was wearing the same thing."

I picture the woman. He's right. "No wonder she looked familiar."

"Except for the shoes. She wore heels."

"I think I was wearing—"

"Sneakers. You were supposed to wear leggings and sweats, or something, like during your volunteer days, but you had the 'first day at work'syndrome."

"Yeah,"I agree, my voice thick with fond memories. "Do sports people get that?"

He repeats ‘sports people’ under his breath and shakes his head. "Yeah, especially in the locker room. When you're new, you're trying to understand team dynamics, get people to like you, and not step on any toes. It's...not fun."

And yet Wild purposely did this seven times in his career because of his fear of commitment. Now he wants a championship, andhe'sstaying put for two years to get it. Two years is the average length of the contracts Wild has signed with all the clubs he played for after leaving the North Cats.

I need the reminder.

"Can you drop me atCharlie's?"

Charlie's not home. Kristyn is in the bedroom. There are baby clothes and toys piled high on the bed. Her hair is pulled up in a rough bun on her head. Her beautiful face is ragged. And she now has a visible bump.

"Kris?"I call out in a wobbly voice.

The baby clothes she's holding slip from her hands. "Evie? What happened?"

I step forward and throw my arms around her.

"Evie?"

"I'm trying not to love him,"I whisper near her ear.

"Evie,"she whispers back with feeling as her arms come around me.