After being cheated on by their long-term partners, can a pro-wide receiver and a PR agent remain friends with benefits without falling for each other?
I've been in love with Ava since I was fifteen. She was my first, my only, my everything, destroy...
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My throat tightened as Ellie and I walked the fence barrier around the field. Bypassing the front row with a few familiar faces, she sat in the last row and crossed her legs. She gave a polite smile to anyone who waved but curled herself smaller. Her foot's twitch returned, and her eyes darted around as if she expected an ambush from every angle.
Approaching an empty field didn't relieve my flutters of nerves and pounding heart. Despite the team's attendance restrictions, some press set up on the sidelines. My stomach knotted around itself, and my smile felt pained and shaky.
Ellie ignored a few curious glances from the other bleacher attendees. "So, PR events?"
"Yes. Are there any charities you or Logan are involved in?"
Her smile was polite but guarded. "Yes."
My eyebrows shot up. In my list of fifty-one WAGs, only she had no listed charities. I assumed earning her Master's degree kept her busy. Logan's off-season appearances at team events like rookie camp and his brother's golf tournament were public.
He was a terrible golfer, but Dante couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if he threw a club at it. If I had a club in hand, I would swing it at his dimpled balls.
Ellie's eyes flashed the sparkle of a guarded secret. "Logan and I prefer to keep our charity involvement private."
The seriousness in her voice hinted I'd struck at something deeply personal. So, why not shine exposure on them? Her unconventional and refreshing modesty was not helpful. She carried herself like she was older than her twenty-four years.
And so, so secretive, like a tiny diary whose key I'd lost and couldn't crack open with my bare fingers.
Her eyes studied Jada, a dark-skinned woman standing at the fence. "But, I'm happy to help one of the other women's charities, and we'll support any local charity. Seattle is our found home."
Her humility was an invisible slap to my earlier judgment. She couldn't be this genuine, could she? I palmed the bench, using the cool metal's prick to ground my warm palms.
I probably gaped like a fan who met their idol, but she shifted in her seat and tucked her chin. Her gaze narrowed at a photographer's camera pointed at us. Whether they wanted her or me, they got a two-for-one.
"Are you telling me, no matter what, you're in?"
"No." Her giggle was a quiet, sweet sound. "Phil Peterson already emailed the events to the WAGs mailing list. I'm not sure I can make all of them. School takes a lot of time."
All? I was hoping for one. "Wait." I frowned. "You knew about the events and still met with me?"
The glimmer in her eyes was no help. "I did."
"Why?"
Ellie's face shifted as she sat upright. Pride filled her eyes, arching them into half-moons, and her smile opened into a low laugh. Her gaze tracked the offensive team taking the field. Not two steps onto the turf, Logan's blond-haired head tipped back and his eyes found her. He stilled, almost missing a ball thrown at him. Breaking into a huge, boyish grin, he recovered the catch and pointed the end of the ball at her.
