Page 105 of Game Changer

“But?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Everything’s different with her.”

I want to show her.

After the wedding, once she has a second to think about herself and not her sister.

I head to the bleachers and grab my phone from my bag to see if she’s texted.

There’s a voicemail from my agent.

“Good news. LA’s putting something together. Guess your performance instilled confidence you’re still the guy to have for their title run. But word is, Harlan refused to take the call.”

Anger burns through me.

Tonight is the rehearsal dinner. The entire starting lineup was invited, but it was a formality. I was planning to go so I could stare at Nova from across the room, maybe drag her into the coat check at the end of the night.

But my feelings for her are overrun by my frustration with Harlan.

The assistant coaches run the team through more drills.

I grab the ball and go in for a drive, going hard at the defense. They stand their ground, and I twist, going down hard.

My knee screams.

I grunt, swallowing the sharp pain as one of the trainers motions me over.

“That looked rough,” he says.

“It’s fine. I’ll walk it off.”

The joint twinges as if silently arguing with me.

Coach crosses to us. “You came down on it hard.”

I take a deep breath.

If I’m hurt, LA won’t want me again. No one will.

I’ll be collecting a paycheck and riding the bench for some team, forced to watch the other guys fight night after night at the only thing I’ve ever been good at.

The trainer pulls up something on his phone. “We can get you in for treatment tonight.”

“Tonight’s the rehearsal dinner,” Jay reminds me.

I exhale hard. “I’ll come later. This matters more.”

28

NOVA

The rehearsal dinner is supposed to be casual, but it’s still two dozen of Harlan and Mari’s friends and extended family.

When we arrive at dinner, Jay, Miles, and Atlas are there, but there’s no sign of Clay.

“He’s coming,” I say under my breath. “He’s just running late.”

Chloe and I have already talked about positions, so I know I’m sitting in the middle of the table with Jay to my left. Atlas is next to him, along with Miles.

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