Page 31 of Gossip Game

Charlotte hadn’t been playacting with him any more than she had been with the little boy, Dalton, last week. Or when she’d confided to Noah about her lack of confidence. The woman he’d met and fallen for in London wasn’t a mirage. He’d been angry at her all this time for no justifiable reason.

Or maybe he did have a good reason.

Self-preservation.

He couldn’t fail her if he didn’t try.

Meemaw rambled on. “The fans love that she’s your good luck charm.”

“Us losing on Sunday has nothing to do with Charlotte and me. You know that, right?”

“Of course, I do. And don’t tell your daddy I said this, but football is only a game. Life, it’s the real thing. And in twenty-eight years, I’ve never seen you look as content in your own skin as you did when you were looking into that woman’s eyes.” She sighed. “When you look at her, the weight of trying to shoulder all the burdens within this family or within your team is washed away. You’ve got to stop taking the blame for things that aren’t your fault. Go find yourself something else to focus all your positive energy on. Or someone.”

“I’m not sure I’ve got what it takes to hold on to a woman like her,” he surprised himself by admitting.

“Pish posh. What does that even mean? You know how to treat a lady. You are kind and compassionate, with a great job and a college degree to fall back on when football ends. A catch by any woman’s standards.”

Except Charlotte Davis isn’t any woman.

“Invite her to my birthday party next weekend,” she insisted. “If it’s just chemistry, she’ll show her true feathers. Consider it your birthday gift for me. You never know. I’m getting up there in years. I’ve always wanted to meet a princess. This could be my last chance.”

Was she serious right now?

The idea of Princess Charlotte accompanying him home to his rinky-dink town for any reason, much less a potluck birthday party for his grandmother at the VFW, was laughable. So why wasn’t Noah laughing?

Because he wanted the happy ending, dammit. With Charlotte. The question was, could she want one with him? Somehow, he doubted it.

“She’s not an actual princess. That’s just a nickname the tabloids gave her. And I told you a million times already, we are not a couple. Stop trying to guilt me into bringing her. You’ll have to be satisfied with me showing up solo to your party.”

She made a rumbling sound from deep in her throat. “Can I help it if I want to see my only grandson settled and happy?”

“I am happy.” Sort of. “And you’ve got plenty of life left in you to see me settled.”

“Says you!”

His chest tightened up. Was there something his grandmother wasn’t telling him? His family wouldn’t be holding back bad news because it was the football season, would they?

“Meemaw, is everything okay with you? Tell it to me straight or else I’m calling dad.”

She huffed into the phone. “Everything is fine. I’m fit as a fiddle. Leave your dad out of this. He’s already smothering me.”

“He cares about you. We all do.”

“If you care so much, see what you can do about throwing passes to your receivers so they can catch ‘em. That’ll be a nice birthday present for an old lady. Not as nice as meeting a princess, but as you say, it’ll have to do.”

He bit back a groan. Because really? His passes were landing right in the receivers’ bread baskets. It wasn’t his fault they couldn’t hang on. But it was no use pleading his case with his grandmother. She never lost an argument.

“I’ll do my best.”

NINE

Unfortunately, his best wasn’t good enough.

The plane ride from Arizona back to Baltimore that Sunday night was quiet. Mainly because the Blaze had dropped another game. Thankfully, the blame for this one could be laid squarely at the feet of their kicker. Noah had perfectly executed three long passes down the field to get them in scoring position with only three ticks left on the game clock—only to have the field goal bounce off the left upright.

To be fair, one of Arizona’s players got his paw on the ball as it passed over the line of scrimmage. Otherwise, Taylor’s kick would have given them a walk-off victory. Still, Noah was relieved not to be the scapegoat for this one.

Beside him, Brody Janik chuckled as he scrolled through his phone.

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