Page 131 of Pucking the Team

“All of us, just now,” Ben said. “Getting into your Jeep.”

“Sons of bitches.” He banged the steering wheel. “Can they really move that fast? They have no morals.”

“It’s all good,” I said then closed my eyes and rolled my neck backward, forward, and then to each side. “Really, it’s going to be fine?”

“Pippa, are you crazy? This blows you up, all these photographs, and now a shot with all the guys you’re…you’re…carrying on with and—”

“Trevor.” I opened my eyes and stared at the palm-tree-lined street. “No one is dead. This is manageable. This we can handle, overcome, live with.”

Trevor went quiet. So did everyone in the car.

I let the pieces fall, let perspective show itself. It wasn’t ideal for the press to have the information they did about me, and I hated the feeling of being stalked by them. But alone, with my four men, I was perfectly fine. We were all together, healthy, and happy.

“Talk to me, sweets.” Trevor was pacing again, I could hear it in his voice.

“Sit down,” I said to him. “And drink your tea.”

He hesitated then sighed. “Okay, okay, I’m just worried about you, it’s my job and has been for a long time.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. But I have four boyfriends now, and they’re a great support and they’re all with me. Don’t bother replying to any questions from the press until at least tomorrow and then just say ‘no comment.’”

“Yeah, no comment,” Dylan said. “We’re none of their business.”

“Trouble is, you guys come with your own huge fandom,” Trevor said. “People want you to be their business.’

“Which we can handle, we have done in the past,” Ben said. “Seriously, man, chill, we’ve got this. Pippa is safe with us.”

“I believe you,” Trevor said. “I’m just used to being—”

“Trevor, I love you dearly,” I said, “and we’ll speak later, drink your tea and go home and hug your husband. All will be well.”

“It’s good to hear you say that. I was so worried that you, that you would…that it would send you into a dark place again and…”

“I’m strong, Trevor, you know that, so give me the credit for it.”

“I do. I really do. I know the hell you’ve risen from in the past.” He paused. “We’ll speak later, but call if you need anything.”

“Might just be from a deserted island in the Caribbean,” Theo said. “Extreme measures and all that.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

We stopped on the driveway of Ben’s and Theo’s house. Theo turned the engine off, and silence surrounded us.

“What do you need?” Dylan asked me after a few moments.

“Just you guys to stay with me for a while,” I said. “And perhaps a cup of tea.” I smiled.

“You’ve got us for as long as you need us,” Eduardo said. “And tea we can do also.”

We got out and walked to the door. Once in the hallway, I pointed to the stairs. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

They didn’t say anything, just watched while I calmly climbed the stairs with my purse strap over my shoulder and my head held high.

It was strange, this feeling of peace, this feeling of letting go of something I couldn’t control. A weight had been lifted from me.

I liked it a lot.

In my room, I set my purse aside and stared in the mirror. Did I look any different without this weight? No, my hair was still long, blonde, and shiny, my skin clear and my bone structure perfectly symmetrical. My big blue eyes were framed with dark lashes, and the small freckle above my right brow, in exactly the same place as my mother had had one, was still there. My reflection was the same, but I felt different.