Page 130 of Play Book

“No, she’s with her daytime nanny, Colleen. She’s been great about helping out while I look for another nanny.”

“If you’d get your head out of your ass, Saylor could be living with you, and this wouldn’t be a problem.”

I glare at him. “If we were going to be together, it wouldn’t be so she could be my live-in babysitter!”

“I know that.” He glares back. “But from what I hear, she’s miserable. And from what I see, so are you. So, what the fuck happened that you’re not together and you’re both miserable?”

“She let him off the hook,” Gabe interjects, though I hadn’t realized he’d been listening. “She made a hard decision so he wouldn’t have to.” He gives me a disappointed look, the same kind my mother used to give me when I didn’t do well in school.

“What are you talking about?”

He smacks me in the shoulder. “That girl is in love with you. You know that, right? You can’t be so far up your own ass that you don’t know when a smart, gorgeous, successful woman is in love with you?”

I frown.

Because she’d basically told me that.

But she’d been the one to end things, and I’m supposed to be focusing on Ally.

And hockey.

“Look, our feelings don’t matter right now. The only thing I can worry about is what Ally’s feeling. She’s the one who needs me.”

“You think Saylor doesn’t need you with that stalker guy after her?” This from Marty, whom I hadn’t realized was also listening.

“What in the fuck are you talking about?” I whirl to stare at him.

He blinks. “You know, the creep who wrote an ugly word inside her gallery and then again on the outside.”

“The one who sent her the dead flowers?” Jensen interjects.

“Dead flowers?”

I have no idea what they’re talking about.

“That’s why she’s had her bodyguard with her almost twenty-four seven,” Connor adds.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Does the whole team know more about my girlfriend than I do?

Ex-girlfriend.

She dumped me.

She was also obviously keeping things from me.

Another prickle of shame slithers through my subconscious.

“She was trying to protect you,” Gabe says quietly. “You’ve had so much going on, she didn’t want you to have to worry about her.”

“Fuck.” I slam the side of my fist against the lockers. “Dead flowers? I knew there had been more graffiti, but she made it sound like it was just in general, in the alley, not specific to her… God dammit. Is Rage taking care of it? Did they call the cops?”

“Rage?” Connor asks. “Who the hell is Rage?”

“The guy who heads her security team,” I mutter.

A really good-looking guy who heads her security team.

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