Page 9 of Quarterback Keeper

Even if it was—and I wasn’t positive he would give up that easily—I wouldn’t push my luck and wave a flag with my location on it or drop my guard completely. It would be safer to stay on the water and stick with Kylian’s added muscle and notoriety.

The papers Kylian had written our mutual terms on were within arm’s reach. He was due to arrive in a mere two hours, but I didn’t have to wait. Not any longer. After pulling them into my lap along with the pen, I signed, giving up my last name on paper. We had a deal.

CHAPTER FIVE

KYLIAN

Several days had passed, and the ink from Gia’s signature and mine was dry on the contract my lawyer had sent over. The argument we’d had several days ago, about who she was and why she was on my boat, was mostly forgotten.

It was a goddamned miracle she let me drive her to my mom’s place. That’d been an hour-long argument I couldn’t get back.Had I known she was so stubborn, or cautious about being alone with me in my SUV, would I still have gone through with it?I glanced at the leggy brunette sitting next to me in a pretty blue-and-white sundress that fell to midthigh. Yep. I would. A hundred percent yes. She was hot as fuck, and when she pushed my buttons, she made me forget how sad I was.

I turned down Mom’s street then pulled up along the curb not far from the run-down brownstone. I put the SUV in park and took a deep breath. That was it. We needed a game plan, and the best way to execute it was to share information. “I need to prepare you before we go inside.”

Gia and I sat in silence while I struggled with what to say.

The idea that Mom wouldn’t be there at some point—and watching her fade away—killed me. “Mom has a hard timeaccepting help, but she needs it. The treatments take a lot out of her.”

The tension between us eased a little, and I was grateful that she let me take the time to think about what I wanted to share with her.

“Mom is the most important person in my life. She’s been my biggest cheerleader, no matter what shit we went through.” I let the reality of our well-intentioned deceit settle over me. It was the right thing to do. Anything was if it brought her joy. “It’s my turn to be hers.”

Gia gave my hand a brief squeeze, then she quickly retreated to her side. The rare show of solidarity between us was enough.

I got out of the SUV, and it was blissfully silent as we climbed the stairs to my mom’s apartment, while I fought the strange urge to grab Gia’s hand. I ran my palms down the sides of my jeans before knocking on the door.

“Relax, superstar,” Gia whispered. “This’ll be a piece of cake.”

I grinned but noticed how she’d tucked her hair behind her ears more than once. She was just as nervous as I was. I guessed that was good. At least she was taking it seriously. It’d been four days since we’d signed the contract. I’d also fixed the keypad she’d broken on the boat and told her the passcode. We’d exchanged numbers, too, and I’d given her some spending money. It wasn’t much, just a couple hundred dollars to get her through the upcoming weeks.

“Hey, don’t call me superstar around my mom. My dad does that, and she hates it.” I did, too, but the only information that mattered was about Mom.

Gia observed me with wide eyes. “Is your dad here too?”

In this dump?He might have owned it and been one of the acting slumlords, but he wouldn’t be caught dead in there. “No. They’re divorced.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t follow politics?” I could have sworn she knew who my dad was, that there was recognition of more than my football status as Fall Lake’s starting quarterback.

“Not that well. I do when it’s time to know the issues so I can make a well-informed vote.”

I placed my hand on her lower back and got a glare that made me laugh. “You’ll have to get used to me touching you.”

“Not when no one is around.” She sidestepped, adding distance between us and effectively shrugging off my hand.

A part of me wondered why she was going along with the deal.Is it just about the money and a place to stay? Or is there another reason?The questions swam in my mind as we waited for Mom to answer. I would bet all my money—what little was left, sixty thousand to be exact—that there was more to Gia’s story.

The door opened, and I had less than a second to school my features. But fuck—Mom looked like she’d lost even more weight from the nothing that she had to spare. Her cheeks were gaunt, her collarbones more pronounced.

“Welcome!”

Mom wrapped her too-thin arms around me, and I pretended for that one second that she wasn’t smaller and weaker and that I wasn’t worried about snapping her in half if I hugged her too hard. She turned to Gia and hugged her before waving us into the apartment.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Gia.” Mom shot a reproachful glance my way. “Kylian’s been keeping you a secret, but I’m glad I have the chance to get to know you now.”

“I am too.” Gia smiled.

“What’d you make? It smells amazing.”

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