Page 136 of Play Book

She smiles. “And your personal life seems to be going well too. How long have you and Saylor Bonetti been dating?”

“Aw, come on, Jan. You know my personal life is off-limits.”

“The whole world has seen you together.”

“Hey, Jan.” Bristol sweeps in and rescues me. I told her that Saylor and I broke up, because there had been some pictures of us from the Alexa Humboldt fashion show, and I wanted her to be aware in case there was any unkind or sketchy gossip. It’s not mandatory to inform our PR team about our personal lives, but in a case like this, it makes things easier.

It also gives her the opportunity to step in like she’s doing now and save me from overzealous journalists.

“Hi, Bristol!”

“Did you say you wanted to talk to Gabe? He’s got a minute now…”

“Yes, thank you.” Jan rushes in that direction and Bristol winks before strolling behind her.

“They were circling like sharks tonight,” Ivan says as we head back to the showers.

“Overtime, the playoffs, Harper… there’s a lot to talk about.”

He shrugs. “Eh, just another day at the office.”

I chuckle. “Something like that.”

“You going to pick up Ally from the gallery?”

“Yeah.”

“You going to talk to Saylor?”

“That’s the plan.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, turning on the water as I take off my gear. “I need to tell her how I feel about her. But I can’t do that in front of Ally. So I have to find a way to get her alone.”

“You want me and Chey to come along, say something about going for dinner or ice cream, and then she can ride with us since you only have a two-seater?”

I hesitate. “I don’t know that Saylor will want to ride with me. She’ll have her own car.”

“Yes, but if we leave first, you can stay behind and have a few minutes with her.”

“You’re a good guy,” I say. “The problem is…how do I tell her I love her in one breath, but then ask her to wait for me in another? Nothing has changed since we broke up.”

“Then you don’t tell her that. Just tell her how you feel.”

“To what end?”

“What do you want, Canyon?”

“I want her, but?—”

“Why is there a but?”

“Because my niece needs me.”

“Is Saylor going to stop you from taking care of her?”

“No, but?—”

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