| |
I am strangely calm for a man about to see his girl for the first time in years. I do not care what anyone says, she is still mine.
I had Becky do a quick search and she found that she is not married. Now, I can only hope she isn’t seeing anyone.
I hear voices outside the door, but cannot make out what they are saying. Good, that means this room is close to soundproof and we will have privacy.
It’s been quiet for a minute or two. Maybe it was not her outside of the room after all.
Just when I am about to text Becky to see what is taking so long, there is a knock at the door.
I stand to open the door and realize that it may be better to stay seated, so I am not so close to her and do not immediately try to wrap her in my arms.
“Come in.” I say with authority in my tone.
She opens the door and holy shit.
She is even more gorgeous than I remember. And man, that tight black skirt she is rocking is sexy as hell. Her white blouse has just enough cleavage to be classy but smoking hot. And oh, my lord, are those fuck me heels?
Shit, I have to get my mind under control, or I am going to have bigger problems that are hard to hide.
“Hello Mr. Edwards.” She says formally extending her hand to shake, which I respond with in kind.
“Hello Maddie.” I say with a smirk. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I wanted to give an exclusive, I will not be sharing with the media after this meeting.” I say with a smile.
Get it together, get it together, get it together. Be the alpha male here.
“I appreciate the opportunity to publish your exclusive.” She is being completely professional.
I kick myself; I need to do the same for the time being.
“May I record our meeting?”, she asks while taking out a voice recorder.
“Yes, of course you can.” I say warmly. Professional Edwards, you can do this.
“Okay, thank you. It is on now. I have a list of questions I would like to ask you, but you stated you have an exclusive for me, would you like to dive into that first or for me to ask my questions?” She is pulling out a notebook and pen and has yet to truly make eye contact with me.
I have my work cut out for me.
“We can proceed however you would like.” I say smirking again. Not that she can see since she refuses to look up at me.
“Okay, let’s get my questions out of the way.” She finally looks up and I swear my heart skips a beat. I cannot hold back my smile.
“Ask away, Miss Wilson.” I say still smiling.
“I know this is crazy, but no one has spotted you with a woman in your two years in the NFL, so everyone is wondering, are you gay?” I can’t believe she just said that with a straight face.
We lost our virginity to one another.
“No, I am not gay, but I gather you know that already.” Whoops. So much for professional, but who was I kidding, I am an athlete, not a businessperson.
I chuckle at myself.
“Something you find funny, Mr. Edwards?” She asks trying to hide a smile. Oh, how I have missed her smile.
“Not at all.” I can’t help the smirk that is playing on my features.
“How do you feel about your trade to the Giants? You were not with the Cowboys very long but were very successful in your first two years.” She asks looking down and taking notes, I guess on the gay thing. I cannot help the chuckle, again.
“I am excited for this change. I loved playing for the Cowboys and will miss my teammates but am eager to meet the new team and begin training.” I say more professionally, maybe I can be professional to an extent.
“I have more questions, but I want to leave some for my assistant and the others out there and am eager to know what you want to tell me about your injury.” She says with an eagerness, and for the first time, I see how much she loves her job, and it brings me joy too.
“How did you know it was about my injury?” I ask because I did not mention that was what it was about.
“I spoke to Becky about it and assured her I would not make her life difficult.” She says matter of fact like.
“Ah, I see.” I rub my chin for a moment and try to recall everything Becky discussed with me before this meeting.
“As you know, I had a head injury at the end of last season. My helmet even came off and I hit the ground without protection.” I pause to let her take her notes.
She is so beautiful. Her hair is longer than I remember.
“I was taken to the hospital. It was not a minor concussion as everyone thinks. I had a major brain bleed and had to undergo brain surgery so they could repair the bleed.” She looks up at me with concern all over her face.
“They did what they could to repair it, but there is still damage, meaning, I have to be extra careful not to repeat the injury, otherwise it could be the end of my career.” I hope I am making the right decision in releasing this information.
“I see why you have not released this information. It could make coaches hesitant to want you. Are you sure you should still be playing?” She asks and I cannot help but notice how scared she looks.
A sign she still cares. Bingo.
“Football is my life. If I could not play, I would have nothing, because I lost the woman I love around six years ago.” As soon as I say the words, I know there is no going back.
She picks up the recorder and drops it into my glass of water I had on the table.
“I cannot do this story. It could ruin you, Lucas.” It is the first time she has said my name informally and it sends a jolt through me.
“Maddie, I wanted you to write the story, because I trust you to take care of me. It will eventually get out, and I want you to be the one to do it.” Before I know what, I am doing, I am reaching across the table and holding onto her hand.
She is staring at our intertwined hands deep in thought.
“Maddie, I never slept with Kate. I never betrayed you. She was pregnant with some other guy, and they are now married and hating life. She saw you and set the whole thing up. I left you a letter, my dad refused to give it to you. It is in his study to this day, not that I talk to him anymore. Maddie, you have got believe me, I never stopped loving you.”
I spit it all out, in one breath, and now I have to wait for her response, and I have never been more scared in my life.