Page 14 of Rounding Third

“People like him are always hiding tons of skeletons in their closets, you just have to search hard enough for them.”

“And if I can't find them?”

“You make them up.”

I frown at Bill. We’re in the media. Our job is to present the facts to the public, not to use this as a way to play out your personal vendetta on someone.

“Listen, Liliana. Sometimes you need to fudge some facts to make a story sell. It doesn’t matter. In the long run, no matter how much I drag Powell’s name through the mud, it isn't going to affect him. He has more money than he knows what to do with.”

“Then why try to tarnish his name?”

“Because he’s a prick and he deserves it. You don’t need to know more than that.” He turns back to his computer and pretends I'm not there. “Unless you have another useless question, you can go to your office and begin digging into Powell’s life.”

I rise without a single word. I don’t know what I'm going to do, but I have a few weeks to figure it out. The only thing I'm positive about is I'm not trying to take down Owen Powell.

Chapter 6

Smithy

“Dude, I don’t even know what to do. Something was different last night.” I push around my food on my plate and stare at the mess I'm making. I’m never going to eat this now. It looks disgusting.

“What do you mean?” Leo asks.

I'm glad he’s the only one I'm eating lunch with. Wyatt and Charlie are in a booth to the left. They’re busy staring at each other with hearts in their eyes. Cord and Macy are flirting so hard I'm afraid someone’s going to get pregnant.

Wheeler, Covey, Holden, and Schmidt are sitting at another table. I’d normally sit with them, but they’re being a little too loud for my liking today. When I spotted Leo, I figured he was the perfect person to talk to.

“She didn’t want me there, but then when she thought I was asleep, she said some things that make it seem like she feels a whole lot more than friendship towards me. After that, she curled up on my lap and we stayed like that until this morning.”

“Are you sure you’re not dealing with her being scared?” He lifts his gaze from his burger and meets my eyes.

“Of what?” Folding my arms across my chest, I lean back and watch him.

“Look at Macy. She and Cord dated for years. She couldn’t handle it once he had female fans throwing themselves at him and heneverflirted with any of them. He was always respectful of Macy and her feelings, yet it was too much. I honestly think they’re amazing together, but I don’t know how they’ll make it work long term. She seems more invested this time, but only time will tell.”

“You think Liliana can't handle the female attention?”

“I think Liliana’s afraidyoucan't handle the female attention. Let’s be real here, Smithy, you flirt with every woman you come in contact with. I don’t know if you sleep with any of the cleat chasers, but you definitely don’t avoid them. Hell, we all know we can pass them off to you and you’ll happily deal with them. How do you think that makes Liliana feel? She’s witnessing that every time you go out together.”

“Shit,” I murmur under my breath.

My thoughts turn to all the times I’ve been out with Liliana and a cleat chaser would sit on my lap. I didn’t push them off or ask them to leave us alone. Nope, I’d wrap my arms around their waist and kiss their neck or whisper something dirty in their ear.

Contrary to what everyone believes, I don’t sleep with the cleat chasers. I’ve seen too many players make that mistake and pay dearly for it. Some end up with wives they want nothing to do with and others end up with children they don’t know how to take care of. I'm smart enough to know I only want to marry one woman and have a family with her. No one else will do.

Since I went pro, I stay away from all of them. I'm not saying I’ve been a saint, but I’ve been smart. I don’t want one mistake to ruin the rest of my life.

“Think of it from her point of view. You have so many women who would jump at the chance to fall into bed with you. What makes Liliana better than the rest of them? What does she have that will keep your attention on her, rather than the women begging for your attention?”

“I love her,” I whisper.

“But she doesn’t know that, Smithy. Even if you told her you love her, they’re just words. When your actions don’t match your words, they don’t matter.”

“So… what do I do?”

“You have to show her she matters.”

Smithy: What are you doing tonight, Sweets?

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