Page 35 of All's Fair in Love and Pizza
“He’s doing well here,” I said defensively.
“That’s nice, but it’s not the NFL or the—hey, I have an idea. We’ll do a piece about Cavaretti too. College teammates on separate paths find themselves back in competition, and?—”
“No. This isn’t a personal competition. It’s business, and it’s supposed to be a community event…for fun.”
Bill snorted. “The personal stuff sells the rest. That’s life. Sorry, kid…I got a call on the other line. You know where to reach me. Take care.”
I pulled my earbuds out, frowning as I stared, unseeing, at the Pacific.
Funny that Mateo’s name had never come up in conversation till now. It made sense. He hadn’t made it, and no one talked about those guys. No one wanted anyone’s bad luck to rub off on them. Myself included.
I couldn’t feel bad or guilty. It wasn’t as if Mateo and I had been friends. We’d been teammates whose lives had taken different paths. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to wonder what had happened to him. I’d been consumed with my own worries.
But the years had stripped away layers of defensive pretense and offered perspective.
Maybe Bill was right, and Mateo had been a victim of poor management and terrible timing. He was a smart man, and to some degree he probably knew the cards hadn’t been stacked in his favor. No wonder he’d been so angry when I’d shown up. While I’d played Sunday Night Football, he’d been caring for his ailing father and salvaging the family business. I could just imagine his reaction to a personal puff piece pitting us against each other.
A pizza competition was one thing, but I wasn’t willing to drag Mateo into my narrative for the sake of entertainment.
I didn’t want to hurt him.
I didn’t want to care too much or get too attached, either. Mateo wasn’t the kind of guy you fell for. No, he was the bad boy you fucked and forgot about. And I was definitely going to do that. But I couldn’t deny that I liked him.
Maybe too much.
“You don’t have to bring wine. Aunt Sylvie has the good stuff shipped from Italy.”
“California Pinots are pretty amazing too.” I held up a bottle. “How about this one?”
Mateo inspected the label and nodded. “Sure.”
“I’ll get flowers, too.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he grumbled. “Total overkill. What are you, trying to date my aunt or something?”
“Very funny.” I slugged his biceps and headed for the registers.
I bought the wine and an autumn bouquet much to Mateo’s dismay, and followed him to my SUV, checking my reflection in the driver’s side window to be sure my shirt wasn’t wrinkled.
“You look very nice, dream boy.” He smirked and waggled his brows. “Now open the door, and let’s get this over with.”
I slid behind the steering wheel and dropped the wine and flowers on Mateo’s lap. “How many people will be there?”
“I don’t know. Thirty…more or less.”
“Thirty? For dinner? Shit. I have to get more wine.”
Mateo grabbed my sleeve and shook his head. “No, you don’t. Hey, this is family, Rob. They’re easy. I mean…mostly. They’ll ask a lot of nosy questions, but it’s harmless. For you, anyway. They think I’m lusting after you, remember? And they’re not wrong. You really do look pretty damn hot. I’m itching to mess up your hair and rip the buttons off that shirt.”
“Please don’t. It took a lot of product to get my hair to cooperate.”
He chuckled lightly. “Don’t be nervous. I won’t feed you to the wolves. I promise.”
“I know. I just…feel like I’m lying to them.”
Mateo’s expression softened. “It’s not lying. It’s called not sharing something that’s no one’s business. Including my family’s.”
“Maybe so, but I need to plan my coming-out statement and just do it.” I fitted the key into the ignition and continued. “I talked to my agent about it today.”
