Page 28 of Personal Foul

“Yeah?”

“Nice to talk to you, too,” Pace said dryly. “Listen, a few news outlets contacted me about you doing some interviews.”

Interviews were nothing new to him. He’d been on a few late-night talk shows back in California, but that was when he had a career.

“Shouldn’t I wait until I hear something from Coach Sigworth?”

“We should capitalize on your notoriety. Get your name out into the public—”

“My name has been in the public for all the wrong reasons,” he interrupted. “That’s why we came up with…”

He trailed off and glanced at the open door. He’d almost fucked up and said that aloud where Romilly could’ve heard.

“That’s why we came up with our plans,” he managed to finish. “I think they’re going to tell me something soon.”

Pace huffed. “You should check social media. The first part of your plan seems to be working. Pictures of you and that woman are circulating, and people are loving the blossoming love story.”

Every single time the true reason Romilly was in his life came up, the guilt chipped away a little more of his emotions. He didn’t want to hurt her, but by now he walked on a road he didn’t know how to get off.

“I will,” he said. “If I get on the team, let’s set up theinterviews.”

Pace was silent for a long moment, and then he acquiesced. “Very well.”

“By the way, I found a charity.”

“Great. Which kind?”

“I had a young fan come up to me and he told me about his school needing football equipment and probably a new travel bus. That’s something I can get behind. Helping kids out who can’t afford equipment.”

“Brilliant. What school is it?”

“Sterling Pines. Can you set that up?”

“Certainly. I’ll be in touch.”

Once again, Kaiden disconnected the call. Bringing up his social media links, he saw that the paparazzi had been doing an excellent job plastering his dates with Romilly all over the place. There were a lot of chatter speculations, good and bad, although most of the posts were still about his fall from grace. Comparing him to his father, wondering what James Demay thought about his son’s exploits. Kaiden couldn’t change the past, but he was working hard to move past it, and all he had to do was walk the straight and narrow.

He left the bedroom and went in search of his new roommate. Romilly sat at the table sketching in a notebook, with earbuds in her ears. He wondered if they were for his benefit, to give him privacy to talk on the phone. Around her were mailing boxes, bubble wrap, and other supplies. Several art racks lined one wall holding numerous paintings.

Not wanting to startle her, he moved around the table until he was in her line of sight. She glanced up and closed her sketchbook, smiling up at him as she took out her earbuds. Desire hit him in the solar plexus, causing all the air in his lungs to escape in a whoosh. The area around his heart burned, and he absently rubbed around it.

“Good talk?” she asked.

He gave a little shrug. “Yeah, I suppose. You know how moms are.”

She didn’t say anything, only blinked up at him as her smile wavered a little, and he mentally kicked himself.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine,” she replied. “Truthfully, I barely remember her. What I really miss the most are her hugs. She’d wrap them around me and pull me in so I could hear her heartbeat. They were the best hugs in the world.”

Even before she finished speaking, he was pulling her into his body as he wrapped around her in a tight hug.

“I know it’s not the same,” he murmured.

She settled into his embrace and hugged him back. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

Remorse tried to claw its way up his body. It took an effort to push it away, and each time was proving more difficult than the last.

---