Page 57 of The Billionaire Benefactor

Chapter 17

“Mom, these seats are awesome! Will you tell Roman thanks? You think he’ll come back sometime soon?” Matt was practically jumping in his seat at the stadium.

“I’ll try,” Jenny said.

Jenny’s mom gave her a look. They were settling into the seats Roman had sent along with the guys on her moving day. Right on the fifty-yard-line in the front row, close enough that they could see the whites of the players’ eyes. Which made her nervous. She didn’t really want Roman knowing she was there.

They hadn’t talked since she had confronted him about paying off Amanda. The thought of the conversation still made her ache with regret. She had overreacted. Of course. As she always did. Yes, Roman should have told her or even asked her beforehand. She knew she would have protested, though, and he probably knew it too. He’d been right about this choice. His lawyer had contacted Jenny the next week, assuring her that since Amanda was in breach of her contract, she was in a tough spot. They would hold her to the no contact clause or she would owe them a lot of money. Amanda wouldn’t be in touch again. It was over.

Jenny understood now that Roman had done what would protect her the most, even if it’s not what she wanted him to do. While she didn’t know exactly how much he’d paid Amanda, it probably didn’t even matter to his billion-dollar fortune. It felt like a huge gift to her, but for him, it was probably like the equivalent of going out for fast food. They could have talked through it. Instead, she had told him to stop waiting for her. She cut him off and ended things.

She had made a mistake.

She knew that now, but she was too prideful to consider calling him to tell him. He was busy. The week after that call, they’d had training camp and then the preseason training. Jenny had never followed football so closely. Matt was thrilled and got up in the morning talking to her about players and stats and projections. She could almost talk about football with the same ease and lingo that he could. Jenny didn’t have the heart to tell Matt that she cared only about Roman. When he rattled off stats and trivia to her, she tried to look interested. And at least she could answer back, what with all the message boards and blogs she now followed, just to get glimpses of Roman.

According to all the reports, Roman was gearing up for his best season to date. His conditioning was intense and there was talk of a new training regimen. People threw around words like “monster” and “beast” and “unstoppable.” These made Jenny grin, though it faded a little when she read words like “reckless” and “dangerous” from a few people who had seen inside of their training camps.

Those thoughts made her nervous now, watching warm-ups. She had to look at the program in her hand to get Tony, Blake, and L’Trel’s numbers, but she didn’t need to look for Roman’s: Number 5. Even if she hadn’t known it, she would have recognized him on the field. The message boards were not wrong. He had an energy to him that almost made the other players seem sleepy. Nothing halfway, even though it was warm-up. He was throwing his body into every play. So much so that one of the coaches pulled him, talking animatedly to him on the sidelines and then sending him running off the field, out of play.

“Mom, look!” Matt grabbed her shoulder and pointed down to the sideline. Blake had taken off his helmet and waved up at her, smiling.

Jenny smiled back, glad they were still far enough away that he couldn’t see how forced it was. Not that it wasn’t good to see him, but it just confirmed that Roman would know she was there. Would he look up and wave? Did she want him to?

Yes, I do.

The flip-flopping of her heart made this clear. He was a good man. Kind and with a big heart. Blake assured her that his mother had been wrong—Roman didn’t like Jenny just because he was helping her. She still had doubts about it working long-term. She came with her children and a history of being cheated on and suffering a complicated loss. He came with fame and fans and a family fortune, plus an incredibly atypical job. It was nonsensical.

Then there were her own insecurities. He could have any woman he wanted. Jenny was a few years older. Her body was…fine. But it had been through childbirth, twice. She worked hard to bounce back, but her body never quite looked the same, in or out of clothes. Why would Roman ever choose her? Her thoughts pointed towards him, desperate.

Look at me, Roman. Look up.

But when Roman joined Blake on the sidelines and Blake half-turned up toward where Jenny was sitting, Roman only stiffened. He kept his eyes trained on the field.

Jenny swallowed back the lump in her throat. What else could she expect? She cut him off.

But a secret, not-so-small part of her wished that the same part of Roman that made him ignore her request to leave Amanda alone would make him ignore her plea to leave her alone. The hard line of his shoulders, clear even in his full pads, made her realize that this was probably not possible. She pushed him away and it was over.

Jenny wished she hadn’t come. It would have killed Matt to miss it. And her parents were excited, even though they didn’t know the whole story. Jenny had simply told them that they enjoyed their date to the charity ball, but that’s where it ended. She could tell that her mom wanted to ask more, but she didn’t.

“I want to see Mr. Roman,” Lucy whined. She moved to Jenny’s lap, tugging at her hand. “Mommy, I want to say hi.”

“Mr. Roman is working right now. Football’s his job. We can’t bother him right now,” Jenny said.

“But Blake waved,” Matt said. “Hey! Roman!”

Before Jenny could say a thing, Lucy joined him, her tiny voice somehow packing in the volume. Her cheeks burned. “Mr. Roman! Mr. Roman!”

Blake turned first, lifting a hand. Then he punched Roman in the shoulder. When he didn’t move, Blake punched him in the lower back. Slowly Roman turned around. He didn’t remove his helmet the way Blake had, and it was impossible to see his eyes. Jenny could see the flash of white teeth, though. A smile? Looked like the ones Jenny knew from his posed photos, not the one she remembered from her time alone with him. Her heart wrenched.

Lucy squealed and blew him a kiss. Matt waved, obviously excited, but trying to play it cool. Jenny felt so aware of her own hands. She should wave, too. It wouldn’t be strange. Probably stranger if she didn’t.

Just the same, she couldn’t do it. She squeezed Lucy tight in her lap instead, plastering a smile as fake as his on her face. He turned back to the field.

“He saw us! He waved! This is so cool.” Matt had a huge smile on his face.

Lucy pulled at Jenny, angling herself to whisper in her ear. “That’s my boyfriend,” Lucy said. “He gave me flowers.”

Jenny worked to hold back her tears. She would not cry here, not with her kids and parents right here. “He sure did, Lu. And they were beautiful.” Lucy beamed down at the field, then darted to Jenny’s mom, who had bought nachos.

---