Page 9 of Love on the Tracks
Rowan clutches her glass as she sits on the edge of the sofa. Her dad, on the other hand, has made himself at home and takes an appreciative sip of the scotch as he lays an arm along the back of the same couch.
I sit kitty-corner to them in a chair and lay my phone on the coffee table.
“Rowan, Mr. Andrews, so glad you could join us. I’ve got a dinner to get to and I understand Rowan’s got a team meeting soon so I’ll make this quick.”
I wish Stanley were here so I had something to look at, but all I’ve got is a very nervous Rowan who looks as though she could crush the glass of water in her hands. What happened to the bubbly girl from the interview this morning?
“I don’t know if you’ve got your fingers on the pulse of social media, but that’s something we pay a lot of attention to in our industry, and I have to tell you Rowan and Zane’s appearance onTalk Americahas been a huge boost. It’s blowing up every social media platform I can think of and probably some the kids invented yesterday. People love it.”
“That’s great,” Mr. Andrews says. “But I’m not sure why we’re here.”
“Well, I know it was supposed to be a one-off spot, but I think we could make this work for both of us.”
I don’t like the way Stanley and Mr. Andrews are talking about us as though we’re not even here, and Rowan doesn’t seem to like it any better. She’s staring into her empty glass. Empty. Even if I can’t take control of this conversation, I can at least make sure the girl’s not thirsty.
So I reach over and take the glass from her hands, our fingers brushing as I do, and a blush rises on her cheeks. She looks softer, more vulnerable out of her tracksuit, like a regular girl instead of a person who’s about to take the world stage in a few days. When I bring back the refilled glass, she smiles at me, her lashes fluttering as she looks away and quietly says thank you.
“License to Game has an album coming out soon, and we could accelerate the release of the first single to take advantage of the buzz. I know it would be nice for Rowan to have more in the way of sponsors, right? Those custom suits and sleds can’t come cheap.”
When did Stanley become an expert on luge? I guess part of his job is to know things that will nudge deals to our advantage, which apparently means pressing the Andrews’ buttons.
“So what if their appearance onTalk Americawas just the start? We get Zane and Rowan to go out on a couple of dates, Zane shows up to watch Rowan race, we get press to ‘catch’ them walking around the city. America loves its athletes and its pop stars, and it really loves a good romance. We’re hitting all the high points here. After the games, maybe Rowan can show up at a License to Game concert, or maybe they break up amicably and go their separate ways. No muss, no fuss.”
Stanley can be a bit of a shark, but I appreciate that most of the time. The man knows what he’s doing—he’s one of the best in the business. Thanks to him and our agent, our contracts are some of the most favorable you can pull off, and he’s made me and the guys filthy stinking rich. Of course, it’s in his interest to do so, given that he takes a cut, but that means he pulls hard for us and, like a shark, he never stops swimming.
This is the latest in a long line of schemes to keep us in the press.
“So what do you say, kids?”
Now Stanley asks for our approval. Well, he had to get it sometime.
“Rowan?”
She looks me in the face this time, her green eyes wide with nerves. “I don’t want to ruin your vacation.”
She’s so quiet, I don’t think Stan heard her. I’m kinda glad he’s not here right now, because he’d see the half-smile that tugs up the corner of my mouth, genuine, and he’d smell blood in the water. He can turn those killer instincts on his clients as surely as he can the people he’s negotiating with on our behalves. I don’t want him knowing I have more than a passing, purely sports-related interest in Rowan Andrews. “My vacation?”
“You said you were coming to Denver for a break. I . . .” If she had a dusting of pink on her cheeks before, now it looks as though someone with a heavy hand took a paintbrush and smeared her cheeks with red. She fidgets with her glass some more before placing it on the table. “I read it onCelebrinews.”
Oh my god, she’s a total fangirl. I mean, I knew from her reaction onTalk Americathat she likes our music, but I didn’t know she followed us on the gossip blogs. That’s a whole other level. While I usually find it a bit overwhelming, and I want to tell the girls who’ve built shrines to LtG to pay more attention to school, or politics, or something else that’s more important than a boy band—which is, frankly, just about anything—I won’t condescend to Rowan that way. She busts her ass training and I know from my own reading she wants to become a paramedic when she’s no longer competing. So her hobby, which happens to be my career, is charming. Maybe even a bit flattering.
“Well, I don’t feel like spending time with you would be a real hardship,” I say. “And it wouldn’t be a lot. I know you’re not here to date—you’re here to win a medal. I don’t want to interfere with your obligations. Not at all. You’d call the shots on how much we’d see each other.”
Stanley can’t be happy about that, but he keeps his mouth shut. Rowan blinks at me.
I continue, “Unless you know, you find me repulsive. Then I’d understand why you wouldn’t want to hang out.”
Then my Valkyrie giggles. Covers her face, which is a funny habit for such an outgoing girl, but I’m starting to suspect that being outgoing is something Rowan has to practice as hard as she trains. She’s capable and dominant in some areas of her life, like on her sled, but far less certain basically anywhere else. I’m finding the combination increasingly attractive, which is not good.This is not for real, Rivera, this is for the press.
“I don’t find you repulsive.”
“I mean, I know I’m not Teague. We could probably get him out here if you wanted instead, but—”
“No.” My heart thumps extra hard when she cuts me off with her refusal. It’s pretty widely understood Teague’s the real hottie of the five of us, though I like to think I run a close second. Benji’s friendly-looking and generally gets the tween vote, Christian’s got the whole mysterious, broody thing going on, and Nicky’s the goofball. “If I were to do this with anyone, I’d want it to be you.”
She hasn’t quite agreed, but I think we’ve almost got her, so I turn up the charm just a bit. Not so much it’ll seem fake and turn her off, but enough to convince her to sign on, give us both a tick in the win column. Stanley and the guys will be thrilled, and yes, hopefully this stunt will help Rowan out too.
There’s space left on the couch, so I sit next to her, our knees touching, my elbows resting on my thighs and my hands clasped between my spread legs. I knock her gently with my shoulder and turn my head so I’m looking at her. She’s got her hair tied up, but I know how it would look if it were cascading down her back or falling over her shoulder. Lowering my voice so no one but her can hear me, I say, “So we’ll give it a shot? You can change your mind anytime, and I promise to be the consummate gentleman. Chivalry is not dead. You can be my queen and I’ll be your knight in . . . well, not armor because that shit’s heavy as fuck and I can’t imagine it’s warm, but Team USA gear?”
