But I can’t force it, no matter how badly the coaches want me to. I have to gain the trust of my fellow teammates, just like I have to really trust them. We’re all still wary of each other. I hate it.
“You didn’t think you were going to win?” She pulls away from me slightly to gaze up at my face, her forehead wrinkled with worry, her lush mouth turned down in a frown. Reaching out, I draw my index finger across her crinkled brows, trying to ease her mood.
“I wasn’t sure,” I confess. “We lost the last two. I feel like my team’s losing faith in me.”
“More like you’re losing faith in yourself.” She shakes her head and pulls out of my arms completely, though she at least takes my hand. Like she doesn’t want to lose the connection, and I feel the same exact way. “I think I know what my mission is for the next few days.”
“What, rolling around naked in bed with your husband?” I raise my brows hopefully and she laughs, shaking her head, much to my disappointment.
“Well, that sounds like a perfect plan, but I was also meaning that I need to work on building up your confidence. I don’t like hearing you so down on yourself.” She smiles. “Do you need a rescue, Drew?”
Hell yeah, I do.
I say nothing, though, merely drag her with me down the long walkway until it opens up to the private parking lot that only the team and any people involved with us use. My brand-new truck is in the near distance, the dark blue color gleaming beneath the bright overhead light. We’ve indulged in a few things since I got the outrageous contract with the Niners. The house and everything inside it, my new truck, the heavy diamond band that’s around Fable’s finger …
But hell, I have no time to spend money these days. I’m too busy practicing or playing or traveling. Fable’s never had this kind of money before, so she’s scared to death to spend any of it for fear it’ll up and walk away from us one day. Irrational, but she knows it, and realizing is half the problem.
I take advantage of this sort of situation. I’m used to money. I’ve grown up with it. To actually make it on my own is another feeling entirely, one I could get real used to. I’m comfortable with it and Fable’s not. I sometimes think she believes her life is one big fairy-tale dream and at any moment she’s going to wake up and find out none of it is real.
“Callahan! Hey, wait up!” an unfamiliar voice calls from behind us.
My defenses up, I tug Fable close and turn with her behind me to find some reporter running toward us. A guy I recognize who works for one of the networks and who’s always trying to get me to talk to him.
“What do you want?” I ask wearily, reluctant to talk and eager to get the hell out of here.
“Is this your wife?” He tilts his head to the side and nods toward her. “Is this the infamous Fable?”
She steps out from behind me, her jaw hanging open. “Infamous? Are you serious?”
Hell. This is the last thing I want.
“Well, yeah.” The guy smiles easily—I think his name is Joe? John?—and takes a step toward Fable. I throw out an arm, shielding her from him, but she gently pushes it away with a little snort. As if I’m ridiculous wanting to protect her. “Everyone wants to know more about Drew Callahan’s new wife.”
“I find that hard to believe. Wouldn’t you rather talk to Drew? He’s the famous football player.” She waves a hand in my direction.
“And you’re the famous football player’s beautiful and soon-to-be-equally-famous wife. The public is looking for any hint, any little bit of information they can get about you.” He smiles, full of easygoing charm. It’s a façade, I’m sure. The guy is as sharp as can be and as hungry as a starving tiger looking for prey. He’s eyeing Fable like she’s his next meal. “You should give me an exclusive. I’d love to talk to you. Find out more about you, about Drew and your relationship.”
She glances at me and I send her a stern glare, hoping she can read into the look I’m giving her that I don’t want her to do this. I’m sure she doesn’t want to either.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
I can’t f**king believe she just said that. “Give us a minute,” I tell the reporter, grabbing her arm and steering her away from him so he can’t overhear us. “Are you crazy?” I ask the moment we’re far enough away from him.
“What?” She extracts her arm from my grip, looking at me like I’m nuts. “I don’t see the big deal in talking to him.”
“He’s just trying to dig up information.” I slam my lips together. There’s a lot of information I don’t want anyone to ever find out about me and she knows this. She has her own secrets to hide. Letting a reporter in is like an open invitation for him to dig and dig and dig until he finds the real juicy dirt.
We’ve got a ton of it, too. Our past could fill up an entire book. Maybe two.
“I know. So instead of us hiding from the media all the time, we’re going to tell them only what we want them to hear.” She smiles, so brilliantly I feel like I’ve just been momentarily blinded. “Right?”
Ah. My girl is … so damn smart. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“I know.” Her smile turns smug. “We give them a little bit of info and they’re happy. If we look like we’re hiding, then they’ll think we are. And then they’ll never leave us alone. We don’t want that, do we?”
“Hell no.” I grab her again and pull her into me, my arms tight around her waist as I kiss her soundly. So soundly she blinks up at me, her expression dazed when I finally pull my lips away from hers. “You’re sneaky. You know that?”
“I know. That’s why you married me.”
Chapter Six
Drew
A year later and my wife really is as famous as me. She’s been featured in magazines, the paparazzi stalk her, and it’s … it’s f**king ridiculous. Only during football season, though, when she’s more visible and attending the games. We tend to go into hiding during the off-season, go back home to spend time with Owen and our friends, spend time with each other. We go on vacations, short getaways. I never get enough alone time with her, though.
Is it selfish of me to admit I’m glad Owen’s in college now? He graduated high school last summer and despite Fable wishing he would apply to Stanford, he didn’t. The kid finally got on track, but he doesn’t follow everything his sister wants him to do. He’s completely focused, doing well both at football and in his classes, and he earned a football scholarship and is attending the same university that I did.