Page 94 of Irreplaceable

She nodded, and I followed her into the room, shutting the door behind me.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. “You were out of line. I know you didn’t like Giada, but you never treated her as poorly as you have Harper.”

“Maybe because I never saw a future for you with Giada. And with Harper, it feels like I’m losing you. I can’t get through to you,” she added quickly.

I frowned. “I know I haven’t been as available lately, but you’re acting as if I’ve somehow changed.”

“You have. I see it happening, and I feel helpless.” She sighed, and when she met my eyes, hers were watery. “Where’s your aggression? Your drive? Everything used to be about soccer, and now it feels like an afterthought.”

“Soccer will always be important to me, just as you will always be important to me,” I said, grabbing her shoulder and meeting her eyes. “And you’re right. Maybe I have changed. But I’d like to think it’s for the better.”

“I thought you were angry and aggressive because of what happened with your dad and then everything with Giada, but I don’t know. It was as if you had all this pent-up energy with nowhere to go except on the field.”

“So now you’re worried that I won’t bring the same level of play to the game?”

“No. I can tell you have a different energy on the field since the move. But you’re also on a different team.” She was silent a moment then said, “I think you were right to make the change.”

I jerked my head back. “Did you just admit that I was right?”

She laughed. “Yeah. Yeah. Don’t let it go to your head.”

I grinned. “I like the new team. And I didn’t realize how unsettled I felt until I met Harper.”

She held my gaze a moment. “I’m still not sold on Harper.”

“I know you’re trying to protect me, and I appreciate it. But I hope you’ll come to realize that she’s not out to screw me over.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope you’re right.”

“She makes me happy, Val. Please at least try to be nice.” I didn’t need Val’s approval, but her opinion meant a lot to me.

“I’ll try. But can you try to be better about answering my calls? You may have been right about the transfer, but we have a long way to go before the World Cup.”

I nodded. “I promise.”

When we returned to the living room, Harper and Mammawere chatting animatedly about food. I smiled and joined them on the couch, pleased they were getting along so well.

“Harper tells me the paparazzi have been harassing her. Why have you not done something?” Mammaasked me.

I frowned, my muscles immediately pulling taut. “They what?”

Harper rolled her bottom lip into her mouth, ducking her head. “I mean, the word ‘harassing’ seems a bit strong. And it’s not the paparazzi so much as the fans.”

“We should arrange security,” Val said. “Some of the comments online have been…vicious.”

I’d assumed Harper hadn’t been online, because she hadn’t mentioned it. But then she said, “I tried to ignore them, but I had to make my Instagram account private.”

I frowned and turned my attention to Val. It was her job to stay on top of this and develop a plan. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

“I would’ve but—”

“Right,” I huffed, waving away her response. I already knew the answer—I hadn’t been as attentive in answering her calls.

“I’ll have Nico arrange security for her,” I said, taking out my phone. I should’ve thought of it before, but Harper had mostly been spending time at the hotel with me or at work.

“Why do I need security?” Harper asked. “I’m not the celebrity.”

“You are now,” Val said. “I mean, at least as long as you’re dating Lorenzo.”

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