Page 120 of Pucking Tangled
“He’ll pull himself together,” Owen said.
“What do you think they’ll say?” Luca raised his coffee mug to his lips and took a sip.
“That we crossed a line.” Owen added more bacon to the cast iron skillet.
“That they’re worried about optics,” Casey added.
Mia bit her bottom lip and looked down at her coffee. “And that I’m the liability.”
“No,” Owen said, flipping an egg with unnecessary force. “They won’t say it. But they’ll think it.”
Casey walked back over to Mia and took a seat next to her before pulling her into his lap. She leaned back into him, setting his heart on fire.
“We’ve got you,” he murmured. “All of us. They can’t spin this into something ugly if we don’t let them.”
She nodded but her whole body was still tense.
He wished there was something he could do to magically change the way the world looked at love. Relationships. People who were different. Wholoveddifferently.
“We should get there early. Walk in together,” Luca said as Waylon finally walked in through the slider, shirtless and his jaw tight.
“I agree. Make them see this for what it is. Real. A united front. We don’t flinch,” Waylon added.
Casey’s heart beata little steadier.
They were both right.
They couldn’t control the press. The ‘fans.’ Or whatever headline would hit next.
But theycouldcontrol how they showed up. And what they stood for.
Until then, they’d eat breakfast and get themselves ready to face whatever the day was about to bring.
The conference roomat the Barn Raisers’ front office looked exactly like Casey remembered: long table, uncomfortable chairs, bad coffee. But today it felt smaller. Warmer. Or maybe just more suffocating.
There was a reason he didn’t like to spend a lot of time here.
He took a seat at the far end of the table between Mia and Owen. Luca sat on the other side of Mia, holding her hand under the table. Waylon stood behind them, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed like he’d rather be anywhere but there.
Wouldn’t they all?
The front office staff filed in quietly—PR reps, media advisors, the general manager, one of the team’s lawyers. Last to enter was a man Casey only knew by reputation:Tom Larson.Team Owner. Old-school. Stiff tie. Permanent frown.
Casey heard the rumors. The man had an estranged daughter who was married to a woman. The asshole didn’t even show up to the wedding.
So he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t sit. Just stood near the door like a bouncer, arms crossed.
Not a good sign.
The head of PR, a middle-aged woman named Vanessa, took the lead.
“This is uncharted territory for the team.”
Casey felt Mia take a deep breath beside him.
“Us too, if we’re being honest,” Mia spoke.
Vanessa gave her an understanding smile. “I’m going to be blunt. We’ve been watching everything since yesterday. The footage. The reactions. The backlash. And while some of the coverage is…cruel, the story isreal.”
