Page 66 of Thoroughly Innocent Intent

“It’s different this time, sweetheart,” I tell her as she comes to the door and I get a glimpse of her face. She arches an eyebrow. “I’m serious. It’s all a big misunderstanding.”

“It is?” Her tone is innocent, but her expression isn’t. Anthony winces.

“Okay, yes. I have a new girlfriend, but not just any girlfriend. It's during the season. You get that for me to date anyone while I’m playing must make it important, right?” I plead, looking to Anthony for support.

“If it’s so important why didn’t you tell our daughter. Just because she doesn’t live with you doesn’t mean it’s okay for her to learn about your life in the tabloids.” Her lips turn down, a classic sign I’ve disappointed her.

“You’re right--one-hundred percent. I wanted to tell Sawyer about it except technically I’m Sam’s client, and she doesn’t want things with us to make her look unprofessional. It took me forever to convince her to go out with me because of that. I’m her first boyfriend, see, which adds a whole other level of complexity cause she’s got no experience with relationships, so we’ve been taking things really slow. Even the team doesn’t know about her, except for Shane and Dante and their wives. Plus, I wanted to find the right time to spring Sam on her, cause introducing her to Sawyer is, well, a big deal. And…”

“Holy shit!” Anthony interrupts my rambling. Thank God.

“What?” Jen eyes him skeptically.

“Colt’s in love.” He blinks repeatedly, like he’s trying to clear his vision.

“What?” She looks at him like he’s delusional. “Colt doesn’t do love. No offense,” she says to me.

“He does now. Look at him.” Anthony gestures at me. “He’s sweating and blathering like a lunatic.”

“I’m not sweating.”

“Colt, I’ve been there. I recognize the signs. Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?” He gives me a look that says, “don’t bullshit me.”

I hesitate, not sure it’s a good idea to tell these two how I feel before telling Sam. Since I’m at their mercy if I want to speak with Sawyer, I figure I have to. “You’re not wrong.”

Jen’s mouth falls open, a habit of hers when I’ve shocked her.

“Close your mouth, sweetheart, you’re insulting me.”

“I...how is that possible?” She stares at me in disbelief.

“Jen.” Anthony gently touches her arm. “You’re still insulting him.”

“It’s an extenuating circumstance, I’m allowed.” She swats his arm away. “Well?” She turns to me.

“Trust me, I’m just as surprised by it as you. But, yeah, I love her. I haven’t told her that, though. I haven’t told anyone, except you two.”

Jen rests her hand over her heart as Anthony wraps an arm over her shoulder. “Can we not make that big a deal of it?” I plead, feeling a little like a kid who's just made his parents proud, which I’m way too old for.

“I’ll go get Sawyer.” Anthony shakes my hand before heading into the house.

“I still think you should’ve at least told Sawyer about this woman before now, and you’re on your own to fix it with her. But I’m happy for you. Truly.” She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a sisterly hug.

“Thank you.” I exhale deeply as I return the hug. One down, one to go. “Wish me luck,” I whisper as she pulls away and my daughter comes into view.

“What are you doing here?” Sawyer’s tone is flat, just like her expression. Damn, this is a worse start than I was expecting, and I was expecting pretty bad.

Like Sam, I thought we’d done a pretty good job of staying under the radar, and after all that effort I feel a little deflated, and a lot pissed off, about having our relationship outed on someone else’s terms. I knew we couldn’t keep things quiet forever, and I pushed the limit anyway, thinking that would help Sam ease into things with me. Maybe it did and maybe it didn’t, but either way, it’s my own fault Sawyer found out like this. Now I have to fix it.

“It’s different this time.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “You obviously saw the tabloid, and I’m sorry for that because I was hoping you’d hear it from me before the gossip hit, but Sam’s not a fling. She’s special.”

“That would be believable if you’d mentioned her before the paper forced your hand.” Her lips turn down, just the way her mother’s do when I screw up. I hate that look because it screams disappointment. I’d prefer anger.

“There’s a good reason I didn’t. Will you hear me out?”

She crosses her arms but doesn’t walk away. It’s about as good an invitation as I’ll get.

“You know women I dated in the past liked the spotlight, right? They liked having their picture taken and being noticed.” The nod is almost imperceptible, but it’s there. “Sam isn’t like that. She hates that I’m a celebrity, she hates that I’m one of her clients, and she almost didn’t give me the time of day because of that.”

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