Page 80 of Tight End

It’s not a complete lie, but fuck him all the same.

Theo drops his weights, sitting up with a laugh. “Jesus, years? I didn’t realize it was that bad. You should have said something, Devlin.”

“And you would what? Invite me over to your grandmother’s house for a double date? Perhaps you’d introduce me to a geriatric neighbor? Maybe you have a lady friend who power-walks through the mall in the morning.”

He stares at me, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. “Are you saying I’m old?”

“You live in a house covered in doilies. Fuck off.” Also not a lie. When his grandmother died, he inherited the house and has been living there since. The poor guy hasn’t had the heart to redecorate, and he really should. I’m not kidding about the doilies.

“So, what ...” Heath trails off with a mumble, one that’s entirely indecipherable. He leans on the weight bar with his elbows, like really leans. I’m almost afraid if he goes a little farther, he’s going to topple over the bar and on top of Theo. His eyes are squinted, trained off on the far side of the Aces’ gym. “Who is that?”

I follow his gaze to a petite woman with raven hair and an attitude the size of Texas. She’s working with one of the rookies, leading him through a series of resistance exercises.

“Who? Easton? He’s one of the rookies. Safety, I believe.”

Heath turns to me slowly, giving me an exasperated look. “Does it look like I mean him? For fuck’s sake, Devlin. The girl.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. Oh, I knew exactly who he meant, and he’s really not going to like my answer. “Oh, her? Well, my new friend, that is Coach Wolfe’s daughter. His very off-limits daughter.”

“Are you for real?” He’s still staring at her, although his heart eyes have turned sad. “Fuck.”

Theo shrugs and tosses a grunt in her direction. “I don’t know. I think Wolfe might make a great father-in-law if you like your holiday dinners with a passive-aggressive undertone. Or maybe just aggressive.”

“Doesn’t matter. She doesn’t like football players.” Gunner leans back on the bench, gripping the bar, and lowers it to his chest.

Heath curses under his breath, and I give his shoulder a light slap. “It’s for the best. London would absolutely eat you alive. And not in a good way.”

He grumbles to himself before pulling his attention back to us. “It’s a good thing I like a challenge.”

Oh, fuck. He’s going to end up kneed in the balls, and then we’re all going to be on the field doing suicides until our legs fall off. We can only hope he forgets about her and fast. While she seems to have a chip on her shoulder when it comes to her dad, he’s made it no secret how much he’d dislike it if any of us even looked at her wrong.

Best change the subject, which means now is probably the best time to come clean about things. Most of the team aren’t here yet, but they will be.

“So ...” I help Gunner with the bar as he finishes his set, and I take a deep breath. It really doesn’t do shit to calm my nerves. The other guys will be fine, but he’ll probably be a bitpissed I didn’t tell him sooner. “Don’t want to make this a big deal or anything, but I was married before.”

Gunner instantly sits up, flipping around on the bench to stare at me. “The fuck?”

“What he said.” Theo points toward Gunner, both of them looking at me like I just told them dicks were falling from the sky.

“It was in college before I met you guys.” I wince, fully aware this makes me sound like a complete asshat.

Gunner continues to stare at me, his jaw working back and forth, and he almost looks like he wants to punch me. “Do you think that makes it better? If you’re married, then where the fuck is the lucky woman?”

“She’s dead.”

They don’t say a single fucking word. In all fairness, I essentially dropped a bomb in the middle of the conversation and ran before it detonated. It’s so quiet, I can clearly hear Easton complaining about his Achilles.

Heath is doing his best to blend in with the weights behind us, and I don’t blame the guy. He just got here, and it’s a little early for him to be pulled into all our bullshit. I give him what I hope is an apologetic smile, but it feels like more of a grimace.

“I’m going to need you to tell me a little bit more than that.” Gunner points at me. Aggressively.

I take another breath, blowing this one out slowly, and grip the back of my neck. I tell them all about our relationship, our short marriage, and the night that changed everything forever. They listen through the whole story, and by the end, Theo’s face softens. Gunner’s does not.

He’s running his tongue along the inside of his cheek, studying my face for what feels like several minutes before heblows out a breath. “I’m sorry you lost her. I really am, but I think you’re a dick for not telling me sooner. Why now? Why tell us at all if it’s some deep dark secret?”

“I didn’t know how.” I run a hand down my face, briefly closing my eyes. “The thought of sharing that with someone was something I couldn’t even fathom. Things feel different now. I don’t know. If it helps, Dean doesn’t know.”

“Well, that makes me feel better. At least I knew before that fuck.”

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