Page 42 of The Trouble with Players

“Well, we are. He has a girlfriend. And I respect that.”

“Well, maybe when we get back, you can hang with me and some of my friends. You might like them.”

“Why would you want me around? We can’t get along for more than a few minutes at a time.”

He stepped in front of me, his blue eyes settling on mine. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to fucking trust me.”

“Why?”

“Because I think I’ve earned it.”

I stayed silent, unsure why it was so important to him.

“I get that your trust issues have something to do with your dad,” he prompted.

I gnawed on my bottom lip, reluctant to admit it.

“I’m thinking he did something unforgivable.” He stared into my eyes, looking for confirmation. “Did he cheat?”

I nodded.

He winced. “Recently?”

“I found out last summer when the woman showed up at our beach house with his daughter.”

Crew’s eyes widened. “Je-sus. I didn’t see that one coming.”

“You’re not the only one. It was like a punch to the gut.”

“I’d say.”

“He claimed not to know she had a kid, but how can we believe anything he says now?”

“Have you met the kid?” he asked.

“Just that day, but I assure you, it wasn’t a pleasant meeting,” I said, the recollections of that day never far from my mind.

“Does he have anything to do with her now?” he asked.

I shrugged. “As far as I know, he pretends she doesn’t exist. But then again, he’s like a stranger to me. So I have no idea what he does when no one’s around.”

“Seems like the kid’s as innocent as you in this mess,” Crew observed, though he couldn’t possibly understand what it felt like to learn your perfect life wasn’t perfect at all.

I shrugged.

“Your hate toward baseball players finally makes sense,” he said. “But we’re not all like that.”

“Are you forgetting I’ve seen you in action?” I asked.

“I’m single. I can have fun,” he countered.

“And have fun you do.”

He cocked his head, unamused by my commentary. “If I had a girlfriend, I’d be faithful.”

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