Page 65 of Fumbled Love

He smacked his hands together. “It looks like my work is done.” His phone dinged with a text, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “My parents are looking for me. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” He started walking away but stopped and turned to fully face me. “A piece of advice, brother. Don’t let that snake Della fuck up what you have going on with Kinley.”

I watched his retreating back get lost in the crowd and mulled over his words, which did nothing to ease my guilty conscience.

Speak of the devil. Della slid up to my side, wrapping herself around my arm. “There you are.” I saw the camera flash go off from the corner of my eye.

I brushed her off and cleared my throat. “What the hell were you thinking getting involved with Beckett?”

“It’s complicated,” she grumbled without making eye contact. I mentally replayed all their interactions, trying to figure out what I missed.

“Seems pretty straightforward to me. You knew he was married. Had a family at home. There is no excuse for that kind of shit.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “I was lonely and he was saying all the right things. He took advantage of me and I regret it.”

I frowned at her. Della might have been a good friend to me, but she was no victim.

“Everyone knows he’s still in love with his wife. What you guys did was wrong. It’s as simple as that.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes. “If he was still in love with his wife, he should have kept his dick in his pants.”

“And you should have thought about the team that signs your paycheck and had a little more self-respect.”

For a split second, I thought about reading her the riot act, but decided against it. She wasn’t my problem, and it wasn’t my job to keep her in line. But if she was going to fuck with my team, then I needed to at least address it.

“Are you siding with him?” I could see the tears building. Della didn’t have many friends; sometimes, it felt like I was the only one. She was visibly upset, and now I felt like shit.

“I’m not laying the blame completely at your feet because it takes two to tango.” I reached for her hand. “Just try to do better next time. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I pulled her into my arms and hugged her because it felt like she needed one.

Melissa Marks, a well-known sports reporter, approached. The event was mostly closed off to the media, but Melissa was one of the few who made the cut. “Hi, Maverick.” She smiled and looked at Della on my arm. “Got a second to answer a few questions? I promise to keep them short and move along.”

I stepped away from Della and put some space between us. I didn’t want Melissa to get the wrong idea. I usually avoided the press, but Melissa was one of the few I could tolerate.

“Of course.” I winked and prepared to answer questions about my injury. It was a sore subject but one I couldn’t avoid.

“We’ve missed seeing you out on the field lately.” She smiled and moved to the side so her camera guy could get a good shot. “How’s the recovery going?”

I forced a tight smile. “It’s definitely gotten a lot better. Every day I feel more strength coming back.” I shook my leg out for show, and she laughed.

“Does that mean we can expect to see you on the turf next season?”

I tilted my head to the side. “That’s a question you’ll have to ask my physical therapist here.”

“Oh, that’s right.” She turned to Della. “You are one of the team trainers. I didn’t recognize you at first, all dolled up. I thought you were Maverick’s date.”

“I’m both.” Della sidled up next to me again and rested her palm on my chest. I narrowed my eyes at her hand. What was her angle?

“I didn’t realize the two of you were an item?” Melissa looked intrigued as her eyes bounced between the two of us.

I was about to tell her we weren’t when Della stepped forward. “A lot of people don’t know this, but we were pretty serious in college. I actually followed him here after graduation. We’ve been in each other’s lives the entire time.”

What. The. Fuck!

I gritted my teeth. “What she’s trying to say is…”

“Actually,” Della cut in, “I can’t remember a time in my life when we weren’t together.”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and slowly counted to ten. But, unfortunately, it did nothing to calm me down.

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