Page 98 of Trouble in Love
“You know what? I would have done the same thing … sort of. I would do anything to protect you too, but I could never leave you, Pol.”
Without letting go of me, Luca stood, hitched me higher onto his waist, and kissed me. “If you want to go home and leave Chris, or Christian and his fucking sister behind, then go … But I’m coming with you because none of it means anything if I don’t have you to share it with.”
Polly
“Okay, tell me again, ‘cause I think the Clara-Chris revelations, three rounds of makeup sex, dinner in bed, and an X-rated shower has dumbed me down significantly.”
A twisted, panting pile of limbs, Luca and I had collapsed onto the sofa and there we remained—me tucked between Luca’s spread legs, my head on his warm, broad chest. After coming so close to losing him, the feel of his warm skin brushing against mine and the thump of his giant heart beating was delicious.
“Okay, but I’m going right back to the start, and if you don’t get it this time, I’m calling this whole thing off.” I nodded even though nothing was stopping what I’d set in motion. “I was drafted in high school but didn’t play until after college.”
“And that’s common?”
“Yup. And becoming more so. Players want to have a degree, so they’ve got something to fall back on if they never get a game or get injured. Apart from helping me set that up, the first agent I had was a complete douche who not only ripped me off but hiton my mom every time he saw her, so I got rid of him as soon as I was drafted.”
“Aww. You spoil sport. Maybe Marta liked it?” I stretched and brushed my lips against Luca’s stomach. “Maybe she wanted to bone him.”
“Fuck, stop, please. I was sure she did, that’s why I fired him … well, that and the few thousand dollars in hidden commissions. After that, I was too nervous to sign on with anyone else, so me and Ana dealt with everything.”
“See? How can you doubt your intelligence all the time when you could do all that?”
“Ahh, really easily,” he scoffed. “It was a stupid thing to do, but I trusted that the team I loved my whole life would look after me more than I trusted my ability to choose the right person to do it. Things got a bit out of hand when the sponsors started calling, so Rory introduced me to his manager, Jason Brown, who happens to be Coach Brown’s brother … and Chris’s boss.”
Scheming began before Luca had finished his sentence. “Brothers, you say? Hmmm. What I’m hearing is that not only are you brilliant, but the hockey world is as tight knit, interconnected, and gossipy as Byron. The big difference here is that people don’t want to see you tarred, feathered, and crucified in the main street. They actually … gag … like you and want to help you. It’s time to use that to our advantage.”
“Gotta say, Princess, it makes me nervous when you rub your hands together like that. It’s super cartoon villainy. You look like a sexy Mr. Burns.”
“Excellent,” I replied in a drawn-out purr, tapping my fingertips together.
From there, our dilemma about what to do with Chris and Clara boiled down to a game of Chinese whispers. Luca called and spilled the tea to Coach Brown. Coach Brown called his brother, who called his partner at Brown and Cartermanagement and squealed like a pig. Bada-bing bada-boom, Chris was facing the unemployment line, and Luca was gifted the honor of kicking him to the curb.
But how to do it?
Despite the late hour, Clara was lured to our home by text message from Luca.
Luca: She’s left me, Clara. Gone without a word. I’m all alone. What am I going to do?
We didn’t even bother messaging Chris, who was bound to show up with his sister and really drive home the wedge they tried to place between us.
And Luca, well, he was going over the lines I gave him, panicking and trying to change my mind.
“Toilet papering Chris’s house is a much safer option. It was my go-to prank as a kid. I even have the camo gear.”
“You are the cutest, kindest man alive and as yummy as you’d look in all black with grease smudges under your eyes, it’s not necessary.”
“Are you sure, Pol? It’s not too late to call everything off and go with my idea. I really think we would have fun.”
“I’m sure we would, baby.” I smiled while patronizingly patting him the same way I would have done to Toto if she’d taken a dump outside. Like the puppy, he seemed to enjoy it. “But you leave this underhanded scheming shit to me. I’m in my element here. Let me have it. I need it.”
Yes, up till this fuck-stick of a day, I had been enjoying my life as a married, suburban good girl. And sure, I wore a lot less black than in my past. But the devil in me had not departed, and it was her time to shine.
My plan was tame compared to the old days, but I was determined Christian and Clara wouldn’t get away with their deceit. Their comeuppance had to be less … me. Luca was apublic figure with too much to lose, and I loved him too much to see him lose it.
“Shit. There’s a car here.” Luca sprang from the couch we’d not left for hours and unceremoniously dumped me to the floor before apologizing profusely, picking me up one-handed, and dumping me back on the sofa. It was fucking hilarious. As was his tiptoe run to the door and his peering through the window beside it. “Oh. Looks like Brookes. Good. Great. Awesome.” His teammate must have been a less terrifying choice than the siblings, as Luca’s shoulders dropped from their precarious positions around his ears. Centering himself with a deep breath, he rattled the lever a few times and then opened the door. “Dallas,” he said sternly. “Good to see you. Come in.”
Righty skeptical, Dallas took a step and then paused. “Promise me you’re not going to beat me to a pulp and toss my bloody carcass into the ocean, and I will.”
“You have nothing to fear from me, Brookes. But once you see and hear what you’re about to, you might be ready to toss yourself in.”
