“Yeah,” Liam confirmed. He chuckled, and I knew exactly what he was going to say. “Did you see the video? That woman was w—”
“Yes.” The word was hissed between my teeth. I closed my eyes, trying to keep a hold of the ball of dread taking shape in my gut. “I saw it. Of course I did. You said you suspected the reason was something else. Unrelated to that.”
A sigh came through the line. “I did. My contacts are mostly in the west, but I have a few ears and eyes on Miami. But they…” He hesitated. “Nothing is confirmed. It’s just talk for now. The situation is unclear. It all might be related to the media fiasco, I’m afraid.”
A pair of big, rounded brown eyes popped up in my mind. A set of beautiful lips. The warmth and softness of her hands on my skin. “Tell me what you know.”
A moment of silence. “Are you okay, man?” When I didn’t answer, Liam clicked his tongue. “All right. I hear the team might change hands. Soon. That could explain why someone’d be poking around. My guess, of course.”
Fuck. I brought a hand to my face, trying to rub some of the growing clamminess away. An acquisition? A handover? Worst thing was, Adalyn must be in the dark about that, otherwise she would have told me. She’d be on the next flight out. “How sure are you about this?”
“For now, it’s nothing but whispers.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yeah, man.” A pause. “But what is this about?”
“Can you find out for certain? And keep me in the loop if you find anything? Even if you think it’s probably not important. I want to know.” I didn’t wait for his answer, fully knowing that if I asked, he would. “Thanks for helping with the other thing, by the way. The lodge. I didn’t properly say thanks.”
Liam laughed. “Now you’re thanking me? Christ, Cameron.” I heard him exhale through the line. “Listen, whatever is going on with you, you need to sort it out. Sort yourself out and decide whether you want to finally shoot your career dead. Just… try to be done with this live, laugh, love phase of yours ASAP, yeah? I won’t be playing housies with you anymore. I’m not your PA or your agent—any longer—and I have shit to do. So make up your mind about what your priorities are.”
“I know what my priority is,” I said, no hesitation. “Say no to all offers on the table.” And then, I hung up.
A throat was cleared by my side.
I turned, and that beautiful half smile I was quickly becoming addicted to welcomed me. Something right between my chest and gut tightened with a clarity I hadn’t felt for a long time.
“Taking a little break, Coach?”
My lips twitched at her tone, and I tried my hardest to push aside the information I’d just learnt. But I wouldn’t worry Adalyn over something I wasn’t sure of. That would sidetrack her and quash the hope and excitement about the Green Warriors I could see bubbling in her with my own two eyes. I wanted nothing but to protect this woman from any possible heartbreak or hit. So I’d have Liam find out about every possible angle, and only then, only when I knew for sure, I’d take her myself to Miami and demand an explanation from her father. We’d get through it together. Until then, she deserved to enjoy today, tonight’s pregame dinner, and tomorrow’s game. Win or lose, I’d do anything to give her a taste of the happiness I could provide for her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, frowning.
I squared my shoulders. I pushed all of that aside and refocused on what was in front of me. On today. “I don’t know, boss.” I gave her a very obvious once-over. “You tell me. Am I in trouble?”
Her lips pursed, and the flush in her cheeks told me everything I needed to know. “You might be.” Her voice wavered with barely contained desire. “Now that I caught you delegating your responsibilities to Tony, and there’re only a few minutes left of practice, there’s something I need to discuss with you.” Her throat worked. “Can I see you in my office?” She lifted her chin. “Now.”
I wasn’t going to lie, I grew harder in my joggers at the bossy tone. I crossed the distance that separated us and towered over her until she had to lean her head back. My gaze dipped to her mouth. “Lead the way.” I licked my lips. “Miss Reyes.”
I waited until she moved first. Selfish bastard that I was, I did it so I could watch her ass in that pair of jeans as she walked. The way her hair moved over her shoulders and her hips swayed with every determined step. Boy. I really was starved for her.