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“Jaxon said Travis didn’t show up to OTAs today and then I saw the headlines that he was arrested! What’s going on?” Mandy demands.

I rub my forehead as I try to come up with an answer. It’s then I realize I got married over the weekend and my best friend doesn’t even know.

God, this is messy.

I blow out a breath as I pace the women’s bathroom here at the practice facility while Travis is somewhere in this place with his boss. It’s a nice bathroom with a little lounge area toward the front, and that’s where I’m pacing.

Mandy’s been after me all day with texts and voicemails, so I finally called her back when I found a quiet and empty place to do it.

“Travis got my ball back last Thursday,” I begin.

She gasps.

“I don’t know the details, and I probably shouldn’t talk about what I do know. But he got my ball back, and Owen pressed charges since Travis messed up some stuff in his house while he was searching for the ball the night before we left for the Bahamas, and he was arrested as soon as he turned up on US soil in front of Harper and the paparazzi Owen called to document the entire thing.” I keep it brief and factual.

“Is Harper okay?” she asks.

“She’s okay. She’s back at the house with Trav’s parents. He got called in to get yelled at by the team owner and I’m at the practice facility too because he has a press conference in a little bit to clear some things up. I have no idea how that’s going to go.”

“Jeez, girl. How are you handling things?”

“I’m okay,” I say. “There’s something else. Something big.”

“What?”

“Don’t be mad at me,” I warn.

“What is it?” she demands.

“Travis and I…we um…we got married while we were in the Bahamas,” I say, running all the words together quickly once I’m able to spit them out.

“You what ?” she screeches.

“You heard me.”

“And you didn’t invite me?” She’s still screeching.

“There wasn’t time. We knew Owen was going to press charges, and Travis said there’s some family back in LA who wants to try to prove he’s unfit to raise Harper. I told him I wouldn’t let him lose her.”

“So you married him?” More screeching.

“My whole family was there, and it just felt…right.” Although in hindsight…was it? What the hell have I gotten myself into? It’s the same question I keep circling back to.

She sucks in a breath. “It’s fast, but I guess I get it.” She ends her sentence in a tone that nearly makes it sound like a question.

Mandy seems like she’s the one person I can talk honestly to right now. It can’t be my sister, or even my parents. But Mandy is in the same situation in terms of dating a pro athlete—one who’s even on the same team as the man I just married.

So I give it to her straight.

“What Travis and I have is still so new. I mean, I hated him up until pretty recently, and suddenly I’m married to an NFL star who got arrested for defending me. This is all just…a lot, and I’m not sure how to deal with all this going forward.”

“I get that, but you saw this as the track you were heading on anyway, right? Just many many years down the road?” she asks.

“I think so.” My voice is soft.

“That doesn’t sound very sure.”

“Because I’m not sure,” I admit. “When he got arrested at the airport, I felt so alone. I had to get Harper out of there safely, but people were staring at us and taking pictures and making comments. I get the fascination and excitement and all that considering who he is, but the idea that I’d be on the receiving end of it never crossed my mind.”

She’s quiet a beat as she processes that, and I get it. It’s a valid concern she probably hasn’t considered, either, but it could potentially affect her in the same way. “I haven’t really thought about that, either.”

“I guess I’m just not ready for this kind of thing. I’m not sure this is the life for me. You know? I’m afraid we rushed things when we could’ve thought it through and taken a different path, and now I’ve got this ring on my finger and I’m not even totally sure what it means.” I hold my hand out in front of me and stare at the gorgeous diamond.

What does it mean?

“It’s all so confusing. We entered a marriage of convenience, but it felt like more. I know where my feelings stand for him, and I think I’m clear on how he feels about me, too. But…” I trail off.

“But,” Mandy says quietly. “There shouldn’t be any buts when it comes to love.”

I know she’s right, and I know she’s not trying to talk me out of my happiness with Travis. But part of me wishes we could just go back to the Bahamas where life was perfection…the other part of me wishes we could fast forward through this segment and get to our happy ending.

Because there has to be a happy ending for us somewhere down the line.

The thought of losing him, of losing Harper , tears at my soul.

But…

But.

There shouldn’t be a but, but the little voice in the back of my mind is starting to question whether that happy ending is even possible for us.

“I should go back out to the lobby. I’m sure he’ll need me once he’s done with the big boss,” I say. “But I need a Mandy-Jaxon update soon. Maxon? Jaxy? What do you want your celebrity name to be?”

“What’s yours?”

“Tratoria,” I answer immediately.

She giggles.

“What?” I demand. “It’s not like I was going to go with Vivis.”

“God, I love you.”

“Love you more,” I say.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Emily Green broke her leg in a jet ski accident and they’re looking for someone to cover the rest of her summer school classes. Any chance you can do it?” she asks.

“A jet ski accident?” I echo. I can’t commit to anything right now, but it sort of feels like the exact distraction I could use this summer. “I’ll have to check my schedule and talk to Travis, but I can probably make it work.”

We end the call, and I walk over to the bathroom area to use a stall before I head out to the lobby…and that’s when I spot movement out of the corner of my eye under one of the stalls.

Oh my God. Someone else is in here, and I just spilled every detail about what went down with Travis and me…including why we got married in the Bahamas.

A wave of fear bolts through my chest and tingles all the way up to my head as I stare at the feet, and then the stall door opens and a woman walks out.

I swear I looked before I got on the phone. Didn’t I? I thought this bathroom was empty…but life has been hectic lately, so who knows?

She looks close to my age. She has dark hair and brown eyes, and she doesn’t look at me as she walks toward the mirror and washes her hands. I should ignore her. I should walk into the stall and shut it behind me and do my thing. I should act natural.

But I can’t. This woman just overheard everything I said, and I have no idea who she is.

She clears her throat. “You married Travis Woods?”

I swallow thickly as I stare at her reflection in the mirror where our eyes meet, and then I slowly nod.

“How interesting.” The water shuts off and she grabs a paper towel from the dispenser to dry her hands, and then she tosses the paper towel in the trash and faces me. “You see, he told me he never wanted to get married. He told me a lot of things, actually, but the one that hurt the most was when he said he was just a one and done kind of guy. He wouldn’t give me the time of day when I told him I wanted to see him again after he spent the night with me at the club where he’s a member. I assume you know which club I’m referring to…you know, as his wife and all.”

I press my lips together nervously as I try to come up with some reply, but words are failing me right now.

“I’m Jillian,” she says, sticking her hand out to shake mine. “I’m meeting my boyfriend here after practice today.”

“Your…your boyfriend?” I echo. Didn’t she just say Travis rejected her? Now she’s with some other player?

“Yes, Cory Marshall? I’m sure you know him.”

I nod a little nervously. He’s been around a lot when we’ve gone to the Gridiron, and I know he and Travis are close. He plays the same position as Travis, and I also know he’s not exactly the settling down type. Last I heard he neither wanted a girlfriend nor did he have one.

But Travis didn’t have a wife a few days ago, either. Things change. Obviously.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. He’s a good guy.” I offer a smile, but she doesn’t smile back, and the whole encounter makes me incredibly anxious.

She stares at me a little longer. “Hard to tell what these men are thinking,” she says, and I get the impression from her words as well as the way she looks me up and down with disdain that she’s not referring to Cory at all…but she’s referring to Travis and why he chose to marry me when she was clearly desperate to be the one he chose.

I nod and smile tightly. I just want her to leave, but I also have the urge to ask if she heard my call.

She had to.

I need to do something.

I need to tell her not to say anything.

“Sure is,” I say in response to her words. “Listen, if you heard my call to my friend—”

She cuts me off. “I did. I heard it all.”

“I’d appreciate your discretion,” I say.

“I’m sure you would.” She leaves those as her parting words as she stalks out of the restroom, and I stare after her with a whole lot of fear over what I just did…and what she might potentially do next.