“And you enjoy this?”
She shrugs. “It’s different, and I love football. I’ve always wanted to be around sports, and this way, I am.”
“And you get to work with your husband,” I point out.
Peyton nods. “There is that benefit.” The use of the word benefit makes me wonder what kind of perks she’s talking about. I’ve read enough romance novels to assume there’s some hanky panky going on when no one is around. Not that I’d ask her.
She takes me down to the field and introduces me to a few more people and some of the players. A couple of them ask for my number, to which I tell them to call the station. They act surprised and maybe hurt but laugh it off. It’s when I’m standing there, looking around at the crowd of people filing into their seats, that I spot Julius. He’s at the wall that separates the spectators from the field, and he’s holding a little girl in his arms. There’s a woman in front of him, and she cups his face with her hand. I feel . . . angry when I see this happen in front of me. This guy was nothing but a complete jerk to me and yet, made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Desire and longing, even though our exchange was anything but cordial.
Julius turns and sees me staring. His soft features turn hard, and he hands the young girl back to the woman. “Definitely his wife,” I mutter to myself. My problem is I can’t look away, even as he heads toward the field. I’m watching him and the woman. Back and forth, my head goes until I finally give up. My first encounter with Julius was anything but enjoyable and needs to be forgotten.
The teams leave the field but only for a few minutes, according to Aiden, who is standing next to me. He gives me a run-down of what will happen while the stadium crew sets up for the game. It’s like the atmosphere changes on a dime when the music switches. The crowd goes crazy, and instantly, there are people around me. Both teams come running out onto the field, and the Pioneers are bouncing on their feet, working everyone up.
“Welcome to today’s match-up where we’ve been promised to have nothing but clear skies for the day.” Everyone cheers, and suddenly my cheeks are on fire. The announcer goes through the starting line-ups, the National Anthem is sung, and then it’s my turn. “Let’s welcome to Portland, the newest member of the MCAX team, Autumn LaRosa.”
I step out onto the field, turn and wave, take a few more steps and continue to wave until I’m at the center of the field, where a referee and six hulking men greet me. The only one I focus on is Julius. He’s glaring at me. If he were a bull, there would be steam coming out of his nostrils.
The referee puts the large gold coin in my hand after showing it to the men standing in the circle. Julius yells out tails. I toss the coin and wait for it to fall.
“Heads,” the referee yells, much to the delight of the other team, who runs off toward the sideline.
Julius stands there, staring off. He finally looks at me and seethes. “If we lose this game, it’s your fault.”
Eight
Julius
When Elena touches my face, I want to bat her hand away, but I can’t. The media reports on our marriage have been nothing but speculation at this point and I’m not interested in giving them anymore dirt. The segment Reggie saw on the entertainment show was denied by Elena’s team, even though everything the clip said was true. She’s having an affair or had one, and we’re getting divorced, except neither of us have submitted the necessary paperwork or spoken to an attorney. I’m hoping everything can be agreed to without bringing lawyers in because then it just gets messy. I know what I want. I know what she wants. I also know what she can have or I’m willing to give her. Money is out of the question unless the kids are living with her full-time. I’ll support my kids, but not her. Not after she’s done me like this.
However, this pretend shit has to stop. I don’t want to play nice for the cameras and it’s only sending the wrong message to the kids. With Elena standing in front of me acting like she’s the doting wife in front of our parents, I can only see Reggie’s eyes. He doesn’t hide things well and the straight up confused look on his face screams loudly. Everything happening right now doesn’t jive with what we discussed a couple weeks back, and that’s his mother’s fault. She knows I’ll play nice for the media because a confrontation right now would take away from the game, and make me look like a complete asshole.