Page 105 of The Future Play

“Cool.” He grabs his phone and types out a text. “One of my teammates and his wife are putting on an event but their planner delivered her baby really early, so she’s taking time off to be at the NICU with the baby. They need someone to step in.”

“I’m happy to jump in and roll with the plans already formed.”

Then my stomach leaps with excitement. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. But running an event for an NFL player? That could be huge for me. If Jamie is going to be here for almost half the year, my business will be partially based here.

I make a mental note to update my website and make sure my social media aesthetic looks perfect.

There’s definitely going to be a learning curve for Jamie and me through all this, but if anyone can handle it, it’s me. Turning chaos into something beautiful is what I do. There’s no reason I can’t do that in my own life.

Lunch with Mark was fun,but some of his words werea stark reminder of the changes Jamie and I will be facing in the coming months.

I’m headstrong and determined, even on a bad day, so I’ve been plowing through most of the changes so far with a plucky good attitude and bad bitch energy.

Leaving lunch today was a slap in the face of what I can expect, though, as paps waited outside the restaurant and snapped picture after picture while yelling questions at Mark and asking me who I was.

It shook me a little at first, but then I turned my withering glare on them and felt a little better.

Now I’m navigating the subway, trying to get back to our hotel. I’ve checked the stops three times, so I’m reasonably confident, but I still feel very much the small-town girl in the big city.

My phone rings as I wait for the train to pull up, and I smile when I see my favorite name on the screen.Baseball boyfriend.

“Hey, babe.”

“Mands—where are?—”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“When—back?—”

A train pulls to a stop, and I press the phone harder to my ear. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m about to hop on the subway. I should be back to the hotel soon, and we can talk then. I love you!”

Then I hang up and scurry into the car.

Definitely a learning curve for this stuff, but I’m confident I can figure it out and be a pro at all this in no time.

When I walkinto the hotel room, Jamie is on his phone and pacing.

“She’s back,gotta go.”

He hangs up and walks over to me, concern and frustration on his face.

“Where have you been?”

“I went to lunch with Mark. I told you this morning that I was going to. Then I explored the area for a bit. I was getting on the subway when you called. What’s wrong?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, then unlocks his phone.

“This.”

He turns the screen toward me, and it’s filled with articles about Mark… and me.

“Jesus.” I grab the phone from him and read through the headlines.

Some call me a mystery woman. Some imply that I’m a home-wrecker. One somehow knows who I am and questions if Mark is planning a wedding.

Jamie looks over the edge of his phone and clicks on one specifically that identifies me as his girlfriend and has way too many details about me. It also questions whether Mark and I happen to be friends since we both have ties to Ida or if we’re having an affair.

I’m about to turn the screen off, when I catch a glimpse of the first comment. Unable to stop myself, I scroll down to the comment section, my throat tightening as I read through them.

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