Page 58 of Overtime Goal
When dinner ended, we stepped outside into a flurry of camera flashes. Paparazzi shouted questions, and Natalie slipped her hand into the crook of my elbow, leaning close.
“This is my least favorite part,” she whispered.
“Mine too.” I smiled for the cameras, feeling like a fraud.
Back at her hotel, Natalie lingered in the lobby. “Want to come up for a drink?”
Fuck. She was interested, and it would have been easy to go upstairs with her. But I didn’t want to. “I’d like to, but I can’t.”
She smiled, then surprised me. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, relieved to say it out loud. “There is.”
“Lucky girl,” she said. “Or should I say guy? The one I saw you with on the beach, Logan Grayson?”
I almost fell over. “How did you?—”
She smiled and patted my chest. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know, but I thought it was worth a shot.” She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
On the way back to the villa, my heart pounded like it was trying to break free of my chest. I needed to see Logan. We had to fix things because Natalie Langdon, the most beautiful woman in the world, had just made something painfully clear: the person I wanted wasn’t in a five-star hotel. He was at our villa, probably pacing and pissed, but he was mine. At least I hoped he could be.
23/
logan
After seeing Quinn,I went down to the Via del Brigantino, overlooking the beach, and had genuine Italian pizza. I drew that out as long as I could, then stopped at a ceramic shop before heading back up the mountain. It was almost eight, so Riley would surely be gone.
Fucking Riley. I still couldn’t believe he’d known about the date all fucking day and didn’t say a word, even when we were making plans. That was a form of lying, inexcusable since we’d promised to be honest about seeing other people. Of course he wanted to go out with Natalie Langdon, and he should have said so as soon as he talked to his agent. I don’t know if I’d have taken it much better then, but at least I wouldn’t have felt like he waited until he had no choice to drop the bomb.
And fuck his fucking agent too. Threatening to quit was the oldest trick in the book, and Riley should have been smart enough to realize that. Did he think Frank would forego his cut of Riley’s three-million-a-year salary? The Warriors were almost sure to double or triple that figure next year when it was time to renegotiate his contract, and no agent in his right mind would miss out on that.
I have to go because he threatened to quit.I mimicked Riley’s stupid voice as I navigated up a trail, ignoring the chirping crickets and strong jasmine scent in the air.
So, despite all my resolutions to be calm when he went out with a woman, I’d had a fit, and Riley had gone on his date. I wondered if they were eating dinner. For all I knew, they’d skipped the meal and were fucking at that very moment. If not, they’d be doing it later. He certainly wouldn’t be home anytime soon.
Since I’d known all along what to expect, I had no one to blame but myself. I was hurting because after a lifetime of keeping straight men at arm’s length, I’d let myself fall for one. Why hadn’t I pulled away as soon as I realized what was happening? Had I really believed he’d change, that he’d want to spend his life with me? Ridiculous. The sex had been the best of my life, and although I’d never forget it, the memories would always be bittersweet.
If he came home tomorrow, I’d talk to him. Not about being in love, but about how close we’d let ourselves get. I’d tell him it had to stop, that we needed to find people who could give us what we needed. I’d even bring up my date with Quinn and tell Riley to go spend the night with another woman.
The car was gone when I got home, and the villa seemed to be holding its breath. Without Riley pacing around barefoot, rifling through snacks, or tossing out dumbass jokes to make me roll my eyes, the place was stripped of everything that had made it good.
I’d better get used to it, because back in Buffalo, things couldn’t go on the way they had before. There would be no more movie nights that turned into sleepovers, and no lazy mornings pretending we weren’t as much as living together. I’d find a boyfriend, someone I wouldn’t have to share with supermodelsand social media, a man who could give me what I needed and wouldn’t break my heart.
My book was still by the chair where I’d left it earlier, so I read until I got sleepy and then took the book to bed. I set an alarm for eight-thirty, but before I settled back into my book, I opened Instagram. My PR person insisted I post once a week, and a few photos from Italy would look good. I scrolled through my feed, hoping to get a glimpse of what some of the boys were up to, when I stopped cold. My stomach clenched so hard I thought I might throw up.
The photo was like a car wreck I couldn’t look away from, and I stared at it until my eyes hurt. My heart pounded, my throat filled up, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. It was a picture of Riley and Natalie, glued to each other outside a restaurant. He was wearing his gray suit with the goddamn tie I’d given him because it was perfect with his eyes. She was in a dress someone must have painted on, with a slit running so far up one side he could probably see her ass when they were walking. Their eyes were as bright as stars, and they were both smiling like they’d won the lottery.
A sob burst out of me because the last of my hope had died. There was no way I could ever compete with women like that, and though it hurt worse than any injury I’d ever experienced, it was time to accept it.
I slammed my phone down on the nightstand and went to the bathroom to wash my face. When I got back into bed, I’d just picked up my book when the front door clicked open.Oh, hell no.Surely he hadn’t brought her back here so I’d have to listen to them fucking through the wall.
There was only one set of footsteps, so after a moment, I relaxed. I listened as he wandered through the villa, then out onto the terrace and back in. When he started down the halltoward the bedrooms, I dropped the book on the mattress beside me, sank into the pillow like it could soften any of this, and closed my eyes.
He knocked once before opening the door. “Logan?”
I kept my eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.
“Logan,” he repeated, louder.
