Page 79 of King

“Are too,” she replies. “And don’t even try to deny it. It makes you look shallow and uninteresting. Own up to the fact that you like this guy so much you’re gutted by what happened, vomit all of your feelings about it to me and then we’ll figure out how to fix it.”

Most of that statement pisses me off and makes me defensive, but it’s the last little bit that has me deflating.We’ll figure out how to fix it.

With a heavy sigh, I admit defeat. “It’s eating me alive that I walked in on King with his ex-girlfriend.”

“Talking,” Brittany reminds me. “They were talking. Nothing more.”

“But he never once told me they’d been in contact again. She actually showed up to one of his away games and they had dinner. And he never said a fucking word to me. Ask yourself why that is. Because I sure have and I can only come up with one reason.”

Brittany raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Because you think he slept with her?”

“I don’t know,” I confess, a mix of frustration and confusion brewing inside me. “But why would he keep it a secret if nothing happened? Was he feeling guilty? And then there’s Scott, planting doubts in my mind about all pro athletes being cheaters. I can’t believe I’m still letting that douche get inside my head.”

Brittany takes another sip of her wine, studying me carefully. “Do you trust King?”

“It’s not that simple,” I snap defensively. “I’ve been hurt before. Scott was abusive and a cheater, and I never saw that coming. Didn’t think he was capable until I found out he was. How do I know King won’t do the same?”

“That’s why I asked if you trusted him,” she replies. “Because you will never know for sure. All you can do is evaluate what you know about King and make a gut decision, knowing you’re at risk of being wrong and it will hurt if you are.”

“That’s absolutely no help,” I say dismissively, taking a large gulp of wine. But in truth, I know she’s right. I’m just too stubborn to admit it.

I feel like continuing my rant. She did say to purge everything. “And then he called me immature for getting upset. Of all the insulting things he could have said. I’m a smart, rational, thirty-three-year-old doctor. I’m in no way immature.”

“And yet you blew like a rocket and left without talking. He’s only twenty-five and wanted to discuss it to resolution.”

I glare at my sister but I’m not feeling great about the way I acted. I’ve never done that before, even when I was at my angriest or most disgusted with Scott. Still, I had my reasons.

“Whose side are you on?” I demand with narrowed eyes.

“Always yours, sis.” Her tone softens for a moment before hardening again. “But I’m going to call you on your bullshit. That’s part of loving you and being on your side.”

I stew silently on that. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I was immature for not handling it calmly. But I’m an emotional person. Surely he’ll give grace for that, so why hasn’t he called?

Because he left the ball in my court. King is a lot of things, but he’s not going to grovel and kiss my ass.

Brittany lets out a deep breath before speaking gently. “Willa, you’re only human. You reacted in the moment. But if King explained everything and apologized, don’t you think you owe it to yourself—and to him—to at least hear him out?”

I stare into my wineglass, her words weighing on my mind. “But what if he does it again? What if I’m just setting myself up to get hurt?”

Squeezing my hand, Brittany looks at me with understanding. “You can’t let fear control your life. King is a good guy. He made a mistake by talking to Emily and not telling you, but you also made one by assuming the worst. The difference is, he’s apologized. Now you need to do the same. Be the bigger person and fix this before you lose something special.”

I wish the answer were that easy. I’m so confused by my past history playing into my present relationship. More thananything, I’ve got so little confidence in my ability to judge character, I have no clue what’s real and what’s not. I don’t want to get hurt but it also feels like doing nothing means I’m going to get hurt anyway.

The insecure woman inside me wants King to walk in, force me to talk and make it all better. But the realist in me, the one who knows if I want something I have to do it myself, accepts that’s not going to happen. Four days of silence and his line has been drawn.

If I want to cross it, I’m the one who needs to take the next step.

CHAPTER 23

King

Ileisurely navigatethrough the brightly lit aisles of the grocery store, my mind preoccupied and distant. My friends invited me out, but I turned them down. My mood has been sour for the past few days, ever since I left that lengthy voicemail apologizing to Willa. It’s been five days exactly, and she still hasn’t responded. Two home games have come and gone, and now I’m headed off to face the Vengeance in an away game in Arizona tomorrow morning. It seems my life is back to where it was before I met Willa.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, startling me out of my thoughts. Probably the guys with pictures showing me how much fun they’re having. I’ve given up on hearing from the one person I want to hear from.

I pull it out to check the notification and my breath catches in my throat when I see a text from Willa. It simply reads,Meet me here, followed by GPS coordinates. Confusion clouds my mind as I stare at the message. Does this mean she’s finally going to talk to me? Part of me wants to ignore it, to make her feel the same way she’s made me feel these past few days, but I know that’s not who I am.

Without hesitation, I reply:On my way.

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