Page 98 of Wildcat
“I should have. This is how it always went with him.”
“What do you mean?” Leo stares down at me with a puzzled expression.
“You already know the reason that Rhyse and I broke up, but the reason we started hiding it in the first place is because of this.” I wave a hand toward my open laptop. “It’s a long story, but the short of it is that Rhyse’s father was a F1 driver too. Rhyse is like racing royalty. He can do no wrong, and there is no woman good enough for him. When we first started dating, we weren’t hiding it, and the backlash was awful. His fans came after me like I was stealing their most prized possession.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. It was crazy. We thought it would blow over, but his team wasn’t willing to risk it. They suggested we keep our relationship a secret until the end of the season. They banished all evidence that we’d ever been anything, and after a few weeks, no one questioned it. He had a reputation as the single, bad boy, fun-loving guy, and they just fed into it and made it seem like I was a nobody he once hooked up with.”
“Being a couple wasn’t good for his image, and I could see that the constant need to defend me was wearing on him. So, I agreed at first. One season became two.” I shrug. “I got tired of being hidden. If we went to an event, I had to arrive separately, and we couldn’t appear like we were a couple. Sometimes he even had dates to keep up the charade.”
“I want to kill him,” Leo grumbles. His hand rests behind me and rubs small circles absently on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry they’re dragging you into this mess.”
“I’m used to ignoring that crap. As long as I play good hockey, no one will care tomorrow. But this…” He motions between us. “This means something to me. I will battle for you, if you’ll let me.”
“I hate that you feel like you need to.”
A yawn escapes me, and my body goes limp against his. It’s been a long day.
“We should get some sleep,” he says.
“I should go home.”
“Tonight? It’s after one.”
“Yeah. I just want to crawl into my bed, turn off my phone, and avoid the world.”
“You can do that here.” He stands and pulls me to my feet. When I reach for my phone, he steals it. “We’re avoiding the world together.”
He takes me to bed and holds me tightly against him. It isn’t long before his breathing evens out into a slow rhythm. His grip remains tight, and I lie there staring up at the ceiling, feeling embarrassed and angry and a million other emotions. It’s easy to say, ignore it or it’ll blow over, but I’m a real person, and the things some people say are awful.
My accounts are already private, thanks to learning this lesson with Rhyse, but that won’t stop people from sending me nasty messages any way they can. They know nothing about me, Rhyse, or Leo, but they think they do.
Sleep is fitful, but I doze off at some point and wake to an empty bed. My eyes burn, and my head is fuzzy. I walk toward Leo’s voice downstairs. His hair sticks up, and he’s running one hand through it as he paces the length of the kitchen.
He smiles when he sees me and pours me a cup of coffee.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He leans down to kiss me and then speaks into the phone, “She just got up. I’ll talk to her and let you know. Thanks, Blythe.”
“Damage control?” I so hate this for him.
“She called to see if there was anything she could do to help.”
I nod toward my phone on the counter. “How bad is it this morning?”
“A few more sites have run articles, but someone must be squashing them because they disappear as quickly as I find them.”
“I’m sure Rhyse’s team is monitoring any that mention him.”
He makes a disapproving sound deep in his throat.
“I’m not their concern.” And I don’t blame them. At least not anymore.
“Well, you’re mine. What can I do?” He runs his hands along my shoulders and down to my elbows and back.
