The Proposal, page 14
Leo jumped up and rushed to the flap masquerading as a door.
“Get dressed,” I hissed. Not that his body wouldn’t be a distraction for Kathleen—hell for any woman, with those smooth planes and hard lines.
Focus, Zara. I searched for the clothes that I’d shoved in a laundry bag last night. They’d be crusty and paint-covered, but I didn’t have a choice.
“Here.” Leo shoved a hanger with a plastic laundry bag over it at me.
Holding it up, I looked back to him. “What the hell’s in here?”
“Your clothes from yesterday. I had them laundered. They were hanging outside our tent.”
“You sent them out.” He’d gone out of his way to do me a favor. Was that a flutter in my stomach?
“It was either that or have you show up with in the yurt pajamas. We have to make a good impression on Kathleen, and reminding her that I sucker slapped you in the face with a giant balloon isn’t a good look.”
A good look. Right, he didn’t want to look like the bad guy.
We both threw on our clothes. None of those hard to place fuzzy feelings were there anymore. They’d been replaced with a determination to win the brunch and move onto our final camp-inspired event.
On the dew-soaked walk over, what we were pretending to do kept gnawing at me. What if we slipped up? What if Leo’s handsy exploration went a little too far and I had to amputate a limb? What if waking up against his chest was one of the most serene moments I’d had in too long and I became obsessed, breaking into his apartment just to cuddle with him? “What if we fessed up to Kathleen?”
“About…”
I twirled the ring around my finger, slipping it over my knuckle.
Leo jogged ahead a step and turned, stopping me in my tracks.
“Are you trying to blow our shot?”
“No. Of course not, but yesterday was a success. Everyone loved it. Almost everyone who was here yesterday signed up for our next one. If that doesn’t prove our worth, I don’t know what does.”
“And you think she’ll be fine with us lying to get a leg up on the competition?”
“She’ll understand.” Getting this close to him wasn’t okay. The touches, the looks, the late nights working together and the last night’s talk. It was too close. He was too close. I pulled the ring off and slapped it into his palm. “It’ll be better this way. Trust me.”
He shot me a disbelieving look, shaking his head, but he didn’t fight me on it. Instead, he slipped the ring into his pocket and we walked to the restaurant in silence.
A man pushed open the wood and glass doors at the top of the wraparound porch. Their eyes lit up when they spotted us. “You two did an amazing job. Our team won.” He high-fived Leo and jogged down the stairs like he was about to run a marathon.
A woman with blonde—well, it used to be blonde—hair, patted Leo’s arm as we walked into the main dining room. “Yesterday was the most fun I’ve had in years. You two make a great team. Thank you.” She grinned before running off to the buffet line.
He seemed a bit stunned. “They actually liked it.”
“Wasn’t that the whole point? You were going on about how much fun everyone would have and how we needed to shake things up and you weren’t even sure yourself?”
“Fake it till you make it.” He shrugged, laughing.
I’d put this whole thing on the line with him fighting me for every inch, and he wasn’t even sure. If we hadn’t been surrounded by people I’d have throttled him.
Kathleen waved us over, standing before we got to the table. “It looks like you two had a wonderful night under the stars.” Her innuendo wasn’t lost on either of us. The crimson flush of Leo’s ears proved I wasn’t the only one a little uncomfortable at someone broadcasting my sex life, whether real or imagined.
I patted down my hair and kept my head down.
Leo pulled out the seat for me and I sat, shielding my face with my hand.
“Kathleen…” I looked to Leo for back up, he nodded at me to continue. “We—”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to embarrass you two. I remember those days. When my husband and I could barely keep our hands off one another. But then he couldn’t keep his hands off anyone with a set of breasts and a working vagina, so I guess it wasn’t all that special.” She shook out her napkin furiously and sat it in her lap.
“It’s probably why I have such an allergic reaction to liars. Once I’ve found out someone has lied to me, it’s over and done with. They’re dead and buried to me.”
As panic seized my chest, I squeezed my fingers into my thigh and tried not to let my eyes bug out. Had she seen I wasn’t wearing the ring? Had I blown our cover? Why had a clear conscience suddenly become more important than keeping Tyler in boarding school and a roof over my head? Leo tapped my leg with his foot to get my attention as he slid the ring out of his pocket and slipped it back onto my finger.
Some of the panic subsided, but the fear lingered in the back of my head. If we didn’t pull this off, we were screwed. If she knew we’d lied, we were screwed.
“It was a little chilly.” Leo ordered his coffee and a cappuccino for me.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” I covered his hand with mine. “We had the thick blankets, so it was fine.”
“Look at you two love birds, not using the heater to snuggle up to one another.” She made a swoony face and sliced up her pancakes.
Leo and I stared at each other wide eyed, mouthing heater? at the same time.
“I can never get enough of her.” Leo smeared butter onto his croissant and smiled at me.
For a second, for a split second, this was real. He was looking at me adoringly. The ring on my finger wasn’t one his friend had gotten through questionable means, and we were chatting with a woman who loved that we were in love—and held the key to our financial security in her hand.
It was a boot to the chest once I zipped back to my reality. Leo was as good an actor as he was a football player. Maybe he’d be up on the Oscars stage one day.
Kathleen’s mouth was moving, but I hadn’t heard a word. “Sorry, I missed that.”
“She was asking how we met.”
I took his insistent gaze to mean I’d be in charge of supplying the story. Maybe we should’ve spared a little time in the hours of prep for the event into creating a little background on us.
A spark of inspiration.
“Fate. You could say the universe threw us together. After our scalding hot introduction to one another, he offered me a bite of a chocolate croissant over my coffee and the rest is history. We’ve been together ever since.”
“How long ago?” She sliced into her fruit.
“A year.”
Her head shot up. “Oh, I thought before you said it was a whirlwind romance?” Her gaze narrowed.
I sputtered.
“Sometimes it feels like it’s only been a few weeks. We spend so much time together, sometimes it feels like it’s been a few weeks, and other times it feels like we’ve known each other forever.”
I brightened my smile and gazed at him adoringly, hoping Kathleen bought it.
Leo leaned in and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close. “When you know, you know.”
Her smile was back in place and she swooned, actually swooned and winked at us.
The panic-induced hysteria remained locked away in my chest.
Brunch ended quickly when Kathleen was called away to put out a few fires of her own, but we got plenty of information and more than a few knowing winks from her about our chances to pick up more projects after this. Maybe even together. There could be more than enough to go around.
“It’s ours to lose.” Leo threw his fist into the air on the way back to his car.
“Which we won’t do.”
“No, we won’t.” He opened the trunk, dumping everything in there before I made it to my door. “Don’t you do it.”
I balanced my bags in my arms. “Do what?”
He jogged from the back and opened my door, holding it open.
I ducked inside, hiding my smile from him. This one felt different than all those at brunch or yesterday when we were surrounded by people.
“You never know who might be watching.” He smiled one of his own, like he had all through brunch and closed the door. My heart sank a little more than it should have.
And the award goes to…
He got in his side and turned on the radio. I was happy to let the music fill the silence between us, but being stuck with my thoughts was never a good thing. They always veered into worst case scenarios and imagined catastrophes. It was a habit after all these years. What would be on the other side of the door when I walked into my house? What would be in the fridge when I opened it? What song would I sing to Tyler to drown out the shouting matches?
Catastrophizing my life kept me prepared for whatever shit sandwich had been shoved into my packed lunch, but here I was, once again, clinging to the hope that things would work out. How stupid was I?
Things didn’t work out for me. They’d worked out for Leo and like any other person living in the beautiful-people bubble, he’d blow past any hurdles that jumped into his way. I’d sure as hell make sure Tyler made it into that group. At boarding school, he was being invited on ski trips with classmates and overseas trips where those parents footed the bill. Almost eighty percent of his class went to Ivy League colleges, straight into a job with a company with a stellar reputation arranged with one of those wealthy parents. He’d make it. I’d had to claw my way to where I was now, but he’d have it easier than I ever did.
I’d do everything I could to make it happen. And I wasn’t letting anything or anyone get in my way.
19
Leo
“Cookie?” I held up a plastic-wrapped cookie.
The mix of spiciness, sweetness, and mouthwatering fried chicken, egg rolls, and shrimp wafted up from the table like a blanket of comfort. I kept myself from ripping into the boxes like a foraging bear. Shouldn’t I be less hungry, no longer burning thousands of calories on the field and in the gym? Somehow Zara seemed to run me as ragged as any coach I’d ever had before.
I’d thought after our night in the yurt things would have changed, but less than a week had passed and she’d snapped right back to her rigid self, not a bend in sight.
Hunter grabbed the bag and passed out the individually wrapped fortune cookies. “Do you even need to ask?”
“I got these before they mysteriously disappeared from the bag.”
August dried his hands on his jeans and searched the table for his beef and broccoli. “Oh, they included the fortune cookies this time. I kept telling them to stop forgetting them.” He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. Classic tell.
I grabbed my cartons of brown rice and chicken. “How interesting that they always seem to forget them when you’re the one unpacking the food.”
He dragged his chair out. “Weird, right?” Keeping his head down, he snagged his noodles and fork.
Hunter cracked his open first. “Nothing seems impossible to you.” He grinned and shoved half the cookie into his mouth. “In bed. Damn right.”
Everest opened his next. “You love Chinese food.” He frowned. “How insightful.” He crumpled up the paper and tossed it to the center of the table.
August broke his in half and slipped the paper out. “Change can hurt, but the path leads to something better.” He ripped his up into small pieces and sprinkled them onto the table.
I opened mine and handed over both pieces to August.
His head snapped up and he smiled. “Never say I wasn’t a good friend.”
“Note from future self: Follow your love and you’ll never be led astray.” I stared at the small white piece of paper.
“Anyone want a drink?” Jameson pushed back from the table.
“Open your cookie first,” Hunter said around a mouthful of beef and broccoli.
“Yeah, open it and give it to me, if you don’t want it.” August tried to put up a nonchalant front.
Jameson held it up to the light. “Bold adventures are in the future. Ha, tell that to my CPA exams. A bold adventure indeed.” Jameson shook his head and slid the paper into his jean pocket.
We clinked bottles together and dug into our food, exchanging minimal talking until the edge of hunger was gone.
“You want to do commentary.” Hunter held the chopsticks up high over his head, dropping the noodles into his mouth.
I shrugged. “I’ve thought about it. I’ve even sent out a few resumes.”
Hunter scoffed. “That’s not how you get on TV. It’s all about who you know.”
“Too bad I don’t know anyone.”
Pressing his hand against his chest, he covered his mouth and shook his head like he couldn’t hold back the emotions. “Am I chopped liver?”
“You can get me in front of someone at ESPN?”
“Maybe not right this minute, but give me time and I’ll see what I can do.” He shoveled another mouthful of noodles into his mouth.
“When are you going to learn? Hunter is the man who can get anything.” August clamped his hands down on my shoulder before taking the seat beside me. His face paled and he cleared his throat. “You saw what he did with that ring.”
Hunter set down his carton of lo mein long enough to steeple his fingers in front of him. “I have a particular set of skills.”
“If you can pull that off, I’ll never doubt you again.”
“Challenge accepted.”
“Are those connections how you got this swanky as hell apartment?”
I’d sworn I was in the wrong place when I’d shown up at the address sent to the text group. This place didn’t scream late-twenty-something party guy, which was what Hunter’s appearance screamed.
Jameson set down the five beer bottles on the table, sliding them into our open hands. “No, it’s his grandma’s place.” He seemed to take an extra level of enjoyment out of letting that nugget drop.
“That makes a lot more sense.” It was the floor below the penthouse. A couple bedrooms, but the decor screamed monied older lady. I’d have expected it to be Everest’s, not Hunter’s.
“When she moved to Florida, she wanted someone to look after the place, and I offered up my services.” Hunter took a swig from his beer. “My own fortress of solitude, where I never need to worry about anyone else invading my space.”
Everest laughed and gulped from one of the Dutch beer bottles he’d brought over and stuck in Hunter’s fridge. “I’m sure rent-free doesn’t hurt either.”
“Like you’d know what it’s like to actually pay for something.” I shoveled my General Tso’s chicken into my mouth. Something about his face just irked me. Like it was too symmetrical or too perfect. Never a hair out of place. Everything always came so easily for him. Not a care in the world.
“I paid for dinner, didn’t I?” Everest lifted a smug eyebrow. Such a punchable face. He’d also paid for every spring break the guys went on during college. The one week I’d had off from conditioning and training for the next season, and he’d whisked them off somewhere kickass.
So, I’d had to retaliate. A group trip to Hawaii right after I’d been drafted.
Hunter somehow got our rooms upgraded to suites. And Everest, who hadn’t been invited, showed up at our hotel and arranged a helicopter tour of the island, finished up with lunch on a yacht. Was I an ungrateful asshole? Possibly. Was I still pissed at Everest for trying to show me up? Hell yeah.
Jameson stood and put his hands out. “Can we have one meal without fighting?”
Everest picked at the fried egg roll dough and mumbled, “He started it.”
The rest of the dinner was uneventful. Hunter left to take a call or two as usual, when not responding to texts on his phone.
Jameson headed out to watch Teresa before his mom headed to work. Everest ‘Everested’ around the apartment, which meant looking at artwork on the walls and scanning the bookshelves.
Staring out the almost floor-to-ceiling windows with sculpted Versailles-worthy window frames, I ran my hands down my face. Everyone down there was going about their life, some of them totally sure of where they were headed, and others wandering in circles consulting their phones every few seconds to make sure their destination still existed. Guess which one I was?
August’s reflection popped up behind me. “Why do you always screw with him? Lay off Everest. He’s having a tough time lately.”
“Doesn’t know which shoes he needs to buy to match his belt?”
August punched my arm. I rubbed the sore spot. “You’re not the only one who’s dealt with things not turning out how they’d planned.”
I winced. Standing beside August in front of hundreds of his friends and family and watching the father of the bride walk down that aisle alone, asking to speak to August in private, was up there was one of the worst moments of my life. One thing we’d all agreed on, even me and Everest, was that Helena hadn’t been right for him. But no one wants to say that to a friend who’s in love and can’t be happier. Until the moment when it seemed like he’d shatter into a thousand pieces, I’d never doubted they’d make it work, even if things had always seemed off.
“I’m being an asshole. I know.” I rubbed my hands on my legs.
“A little, but I’m used to the low-level asshole that you are. After twenty years, it’s sort of a given.”
“I wasn’t an asshole in first grade.”
“How about when you replaced all the paste with white paint on paper mache day?”
I laughed. “Mrs. Banks was so pissed.”
“Yeah, she was.” He laughed, taking another gulp of his beer and rocking back in his chair. “So I’ve always known those tendencies were there.”
“Everything is a blur right now. Going pro was supposed to solve all these problems. It’s been the one thing I’ve fought for all my life.”
“The one thing you thought you wanted, and then it was snatched away from you at the last second.”
Somehow I didn’t think we were still talking about my pro career. “Exactly. I’ve lived and breathed football my entire life. And now I’ve got to switch gears? Starting all over with something new? Even this TV thing is a pipe dream.”
