“Okay, guys. We should probably cool it. He’s starting to scare the kids,” one of the women from earlier said.
“Bristol.” That terrifyingly gruff voice groaned in exasperation.
Oh, I knew that name. That was the pregnant young redhead I met the day I’d stormed into the arena, guns blazing, to tell Sasha to leave me the hell alone. For how much good that had done me.
“Honey, we were only having a little bit of fun when we caught Goose and his girl going at it like they were teenagers in the backseat of a car.”
I locked eyes with Sasha, whose face paled the tiniest bit at having been ratted out to whoever this guy was.
“Seriously? This is a family event, man. Try to have some self-control,” the man snapped.
“Yep.” Sasha peeked over his shoulder, gesturing with a mock salute. “Got it, Coach.”
Eventually, the chatter resumed, and I took a steadying breath.
“You can come out now. He’s gone.” I allowed Sasha to pull me into a sitting position. His smile was back in place, and he gripped my hip, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Look at you, getting me into all kinds of trouble.”
With his large frame blocking my view of the center of the room, I dared to lean to the side, attempting to peek around him. “Who was that?”
“Thatwas Maddox.”
“Jesus,” I breathed out, a shudder rolling through me.
“He’s not that bad. His bark is worse than his bite.” He leaned in, placing his lips beside my ear. “Just like someone else I know.”
That had a paralyzing thought coming to the forefront of my mind.
Oh, God. How many of his teammates had seen my public meltdown at the DMV? Obviously, Sasha got off on it, but I remembered Enzo saying the comments on social media were less than kind. I could only imagine what they thought of me.
“No, no, no. Don’t get in your head.” Panic seeped into Sasha’s tone.
I pushed on his chest, and he pulled back enough to give me breathing room.
“They all know how we met, don’t they?”
He couldn’t hide the truth in his eyes. “Yeah, babe, they do.”
I tried to stand, to run, but his grip on my hips kept me seated.
“Look at me,” Sasha commanded softly. When my eyes darted about the room, desperately searching for a way out, his voice grew firm. “Gemma. Eyes on me.”
I was dizzy; my vision swam, colors swirling and blending together. My gaze shifted in his direction, but I couldn’t focus on his face.
Slowly, his hands ran up my sides until they cupped my face. “Hey. Listen to me.”
Blue. It was blue that brought me back to reality.
I honed on those brilliant-colored eyes, filled with concern, as I concentrated on taking deeper, steadying breaths.
Thumbs stroked over my cheeks, soothing me. “Just because they were all joking around like they didn’t have a care in a world doesn’t mean every single one of them doesn’t have baggage. And if you think no one’s ever caught it on camera, you can think again. Maddox once had to take a leave of absence from coaching after he barked at Bristol during an interview because his demons caught up with him at the wrong time. Though she wasn’t his wife yet at the point.”
My eyes widened. “Bristol?She’shis wife?” For some reason, I couldn’t picture that bright, peppy girl matched up with a fire-breathing dragon.
Sasha chuckled. “Total mismatch, I know. But it works.”
The pieces clicked, and I blurted, “She’s a reporter.”
“Yup.” He popped the P, nodding. “Took them a while to figure out how to balance their personal and professionalrelationships. And don’t you worry about her. After he went off, she marched her ass right down the hallway, hot on his heels, to give him a piece of her mind. The man had to eat crow and issue a public apology in front of the press.”
