Page 24 of The No Try Zone
“But you said –”
“I knowexactlywhat I said,” I snap. “And that is Matthew. Full stop.”
Kari’s lips thin.
“Your face is getting awfully red,” Elodie muses.
“You think?” I scoff, then step in the arsehole’s direction.
“Wait!” Kari grabs for me again. “Please.”
I stare at her, then blink down at her hand on my arm. It feels cool against my overheated skin.
She releases me, raising both hands in the air. “He’s the head coach of a professional sports team, Sam.”
“He’s the man whomarriedand thenghostedme, Kari,” I snarl back.
“True.” She sounds like she’s trying to soothe an angry bear. “But this is the team picnic. Do you really want to air your private matters to the entire team?”
“What I want is to rip him in half, but I don’t think that’ll happen.” She may carry herself like she’s tall, but I still look cooly down at her. “I know you’re PR, Kari, but this is my life.”
“And this is mine!” she hisses.
“Excuse me?” I ask, incredulous. She can’t be serious.
“The local ESPN reporter is the younger sister of one of our players,” she explains, nodding discreetly at a huddle of people to our right. “If you cause a scene, then I have to expect it’ll be headline news. It’s fine if you don’t care about your career, but could you at least care about mine?”
I gape at her. She really is serious.
Elodie places a calming hand on Kari’s shoulder. “I think you should stay out of it, Kari.”
Kari closes her eyes and exhales. “Fine. You’re right.” She opens them and looks at me. “I’m sorry. I’m just – fine.”
Another giggle escapes from Allyson. “I need popcorn.”
“Shut up,” the rest of us say.
Kari clasps her hands in front of her chest. “I’m not stopping you. You have every right to confront him. But –”
“There are no buts,” I interrupt.
“I bet he’s got a nice butt,” Allyson snorts as Elodie’s eyes flash at her.
Kari continues, “But Iamasking you to be discreet. Please.”
I hold her gaze as I down the rest of my beer, then shove the empty bottle at her. She takes it, shoulders drooping, and I march over there. Ollie’s got his back to me, and Matthew hasn’t noticed me for how closely he’s paying attention to my brother.
Colin, not Matthew.
He lied to me. The man who inexplicably made me feel safe – still one of the absolutely solid things I know about that night – lied to me. It’s unfathomable.
It’s infuriating.
It shouldn’t surprise me, this new fact, but rationality flew out the window the second I laid eyes on him. My pulse pounds as I stomp closer, my runners practically squeaking on the too-nice grass, and a bead of sweat runs down my back. Matthew – Colin – glances up as I draw near, and it brings immense satisfaction to watch the color drain from his face.
Ollie turns to see what’s caused the change in Colin’s expression, and when he clocks me, his confusion morphs into happiness. He holds his arm out, tugging me into his embrace entirely against my will. “Sis! Come meet my coach, Colin Thicke. And Coach, this is my sister, Sam. She just got a job with the team, too; she’ll be one of our PTs. She’s incredible – kept me healthy all these years.”
A fresh wave of realization hits, this one making my brain buzz. I’m staring at a man I don’t know at all. A man who isn’t just my brother’s coach; he’s my brother’s mentor. A man I’m married to and can’t rip into because of my brother. Ollie doesn’t know what happened in Vegas, and now is definitely not the time to bring him up to speed. It would devastate him.
