Page 82 of Reckless Hearts

“Fuck, okay, Jade is accusing me of breach of contract, of disclosure of confidential information and of ruining her career.” I let out a snort at the last one, knowing that if anyone is going to ruin Jade’s career, it’s Jade.

When I look up, Alana is watching me, tears still falling. “What are we going to do?” she whispers.

I try to smile, leaning in to kiss her, my hand cupping her jaw. “We’re going to fix this, beautiful, I promise. I’ll call Danielle, suss out what’s going on and explain. Tell her the truth and how there isn’t anything sinister happening.”

“Do you think she’s going to believe you?” Alana asks, her forehead resting against mine.

“She has to,” I say. “It’s the truth. We both know that.”

Alana lifts her head, her hand finding mine as she threads our fingers together. “I know, but I also know how all this looks, and it isn’t good.”

“I know,” I sigh. “Let me make some calls, okay? See if I can’t fix this.”

Alana nods, and with one last kiss, I slide out of bed, pulling on a pair of track pants as I make my way into the kitchen. Mochi follows after me, jumping at my heels as though he’s expecting food or something. I realize we don’t have anything to give him, but when I open the fridge, I see a bunch of leftover burger patties from the other night.

“Hope these are okay,” I say, holding them up as the dog jumps at my feet, apparently not giving a shit that it’s not dog food.

Grabbing a plate from the cupboard, I set the food down on the floor and then grab a bowl and fill it with water. I then put some coffee on to brew before taking a seat at one of the stools at the kitchen island. Blowing out a breath, I scroll through the numbers before landing on the one I’m looking for. Then, with a heavy feeling settling in my gut, I hit call.

“Flynn, hey,” Rob says in his distinctive South African accent.

“Hey, Rob,” I reply, resting my elbows on the bench. “Guessing you’re wondering what’s going on right now?”

He chuckles a little as he says, “Well, it’s not the first time Jade has called in hysterics, but it is the first time she’s mentioned you’ve left her.”

“I haven’t left her,” I immediately say. “I’m still her coach. She’s just...pissed because she saw me with someone, doing something she didn’t like.”

“Okay,” he replies, drawing the word out. “And who’s this someone and what is this something?”

I fucking hate that I have to tell him any of this. Not because I’m embarrassed or ashamed, far from it. I hate it because it feels like it’s demeaning and none of his business sharing everything that Alana and I have and are to each other. Like I’m spilling something private and sacred too.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” I start, my forehead resting in my hand. “Another surfer. Jade obviously isn’t happy about it and assumes I’m spilling all her secrets or worse still, helping this other surfer.”

“Are you?” Rob asks.

“Fuck no,” I state. “I wouldn’t do that, Rob. You know me, you’ve known me for a long time and while we both know your daughter can be difficult to work with, I would never do something like that.”

Rob exhales. “Yeah, I know, sorry, Flynn,” he replies. “So what’s going to happen now then?”

“I don’t know,” I reply, shaking my head. “I’ve gotta speak with someone at ISA and see if I can sort it all out before the media gets wind of it,” I tell him, knowing it’s probably already too late for that given Tim’s message.

I’m assuming Jade leaked the story to him, although why she picked Tim is beyond me. There are a million other reporters she could’ve gone to who would love nothing more than to report a story like this about me, a has-been surfer.

“Can I give you a call back when I know more?”

“Yeah of course,” Rob replies. “I’m sorry, Flynn, I know she’s a handful and that’s probably only gotten worse since I left.”

I let out a half laugh. “Yeah, you could say that,” I reply. “You know she bought herself a dog?”

“A dog?” her dad shouts. “What the hell?”

“Yeah,” I breathe out. “Pretty sure that was my response too.”

As I hang up with Jade’s dad, I feel Alana’s arms slide around me from behind as she rests her cheek against my back between my shoulder blades.

“You okay?”

I rest a hand over hers, turning to face her as I pull her between my legs. “I’m fine. How are you?”

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