Page 27 of Accidentally Falling for My Fake Wife

“Dude, are you okay?” Darius whispers over my shoulder, pointing at my pencil.

I shrug. “Depends on what you mean by okay…” I whisper back.

He gives me a questioning look but doesn’t say anything else as Coach switches from last week's game to our next opponent this week. It just so happens to be the Jags, which is good because I don’t have the bandwidth at the moment to study a new team.

“Daniels.” I snap my head up, put the pencil on my desk, and look at Smitty. “Have any inside information that can make our job a bit easier planning this week’s strategy?”

My lips lift at the corner, and I nod slightly. The tension in my body eases a bit as my focus shifts to easily accessible information.

“Good! I’ll check in with you after your workout.” The sound of chairs scraping against the floor floods the room as the offense gets up and heads out to tackle our workout.

Turns out that physical activity was exactly what I needed to get my mind in a better place. Then sharing trade secrets about my old team with Smitty felt good.

Last, I take a shower and then head out. I throw a Mavs sweatshirt over my head and grab my phone for a quick look.

No new texts from Finn. I’m concerned, but if Finn tells me he’ll fix it, he’ll fix it.

I grab my duffel bag and start to head out.

“Daniels, wait.” Owens’ voice follows me as I head down the hall. I stop and wait for him to catch up to me. “How are you adjusting?”

His words catch me by surprise as we walk down the hall toward the exit together. “It’s moving in the right direction. Sunday’s win with the team helped a lot.”

I look over at him just as he rolls his shoulder and see him grimace. “How are you? And don’t tell me you’re ‘fine’; I can tell you aren’t.”

He shrugs. “Coach had me do some PT today, and Shawn is concerned enough to send me for a CT and MRI first thing tomorrow.”

I nod but don’t offer any comforting words because injuries are the one thing no player wants to think about.

Injuries and being traded are taboo subjects, so we continue to walk to our cars in silence.

“Talk to you later,” I say as Josh continues on his way to his car, which is a few spots further than mine.

I slide into the Jeep, start the engine, and begin my drive home. I dial Finn’s number, and he answers on the first ring.

“I don’t have any real news for you yet.” I squeeze the back of my neck and groan. “I know. I’m doing my best.”

I blow out a breath. “What exactly is the problem with my visa?”

Finn laughs nervously, and my stomach knots. “Well, it’s a funny story, really. My old assistant may not have sent in your paperwork.”

“What?!” I yell, heat creeps up my neck, and I clench my jaw. “Are you telling me that my visa has expired? Finn, please don’t tell me that—”

“I’m not sure if your visa has expired,” he responds, his tone calming, like he’s talking to a wild animal staring at him like he’s lunch. My hands grip the steering wheel. “I’m trying to find out what happened. But until I know more, I don’t want you to worry. Okay?”

I scoff but don’t say anything.

“Adam, I know that these last three weeks have been tough. I—”

“You think,” I snarl. My reaction to this news is completely out of character. I usually take everything in stride, but this is just too much. Being traded was bad, but the thought of not being able to play at all is soul-crushing. “What do we do if itisexpired?”

“Let’s not talk about that yet—”

“Finn,” I cut him off. Panic rising. “What if it is? I need to know what my options are…”

A nervous giggle comes through the line, but what he says next has me wondering if he’s completely lost his mind. “You could always get married.”

Did he just say I could get married?

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