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His eyes shift to me so he knows the origin of the buzzing of his phone, but he doesn’t check it while he chats with Megan. I’d love to know what they’re talking about, exactly, but their voices are low and I can’t hear them.
I did have a nice conversation with Austin, though. He asked how Jonah is doing and raved about my son’s talent, so of course I enjoyed the chance to brag on my boy, especially since I miss him already.
Lincoln kept shooting us dirty looks until finally he turned to face out the window, and now I find myself doing the same thing.
How different would this be if we could share our secret?
My guess is very different. The team wouldn’t have invited me along, for one thing. Having a significant other at training camp would prove to be nothing more than a distraction, but I’m vowing here and now not to get in his way.
We finally arrive at the vineyard, and it’s a lovely place out in the middle of virtually nowhere. The team rents out the entire facility for two weeks, and there are several practice fields and plenty of space to hold these first two weeks of camp as these men start to work together as a team for the first time.
Before we boarded the bus, Lily was in the parking lot handing out keys, so we all head straight to our rooms upon arrival. I’m in a room all by myself, and I’m not sure if Lincoln purposely arranged it or not, but my room is adjacent to his—as I find out when we both stop in front of our doors at the same time.
I glance over at him with a sly smile before I head inside, and when I get in there, I find that there’s a door connecting our two rooms.
He had to have arranged it. It’s just too big a coincidence that we’ll be able to actually spend time together undetected over the next two weeks. I open the door the same time he does, and we meet in the middle as our bodies smash together and our lips collide.
He kisses me like it’s his oxygen, like this kiss is giving him sustenance, and I’m just about to lose myself in it when he pulls his mouth from mine, but he doesn’t let me go quite yet.
“Oh, this is going to work out very nicely.”
“How’d you manage this?” I ask.
He chuckles. “Purely coincidence. All the single rooms are on this floor, and only a handful of us have them. Close the door every time you leave, but when you’re here, keep it open,” he demands. “I’ll join you when I can.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want either of us to get caught.”
“We won’t.” Even as he says the words, there’s a knock at his door. He draws a single finger up to his lips as if to tell me to be quiet, and then he closes the door on his side separating the two of us. I glance around the room and set to unpacking the essentials before I head over to the window to check out the view. Virtually everyone is in their own rooms right now, but a handful of players are already outside exploring the grounds. I don’t want to get in anybody’s way just yet, and I know there’s a team meeting in another hour, so I decide to just chill in my room for a bit—to decompress after the bus ride and let everyone get acclimated before I start bombarding them with questions.
I’m not invited to all the events. I can’t attend team meetings because of privacy issues, and I can’t go to full practices every day—just an hour of practice every other day. But I can be in the open areas and I can hang out in the cafeteria and on the grounds. I can talk to players in the fitness rooms but not the training room, and I can hold office hours for coach and player interviews, and it’s way more access than my counterparts at other news channels have.
And it’s all thanks to Ellie and the podcast. It was a way to capitalize on the community events, and given that the team owner is her brother-in-law, it was an easy enough sell for her to get me here.
I’m so incredibly thankful, and for that, I shoot Ellie a quick text thanking her. I put my shoes back on and decide to head downstairs for a walk and to see what players do when first arriving at camp, but just as I’m leaving my room, I see Megan coming out of the room next door.
She’s patting down her hair and smoothing down her shirt, and if I don’t know better, I’d think she just had a romp with Coach Nash.
If I didn’t know better, I’d be concerned about the little smile playing at her lips that look red and swollen.
And even though I do know better, a jealous rage still fills me.
It’s the hot temper rearing its ugly head, and I’ve managed to keep it in check since things have been going well between us, but I’m not going to stand by and wonder. The miscommunication and assumption thing might work for other people, but it damn well doesn’t work for me.
“Oh, hey,” Megan says as she passes by me.
“Hi.” I turn to look back at my door. “Oh, shit. Forgot something.” I’m muttering to myself but loud enough that she hears me, and I head back into my room.
I open the door separating my room from Lincoln’s and I start banging on his.
It opens a few seconds later. “Why are you banging on the door?” he asks calmly, as if Megan wasn’t just leaving his room looking all nice and freshly fucked.
Hold it together, Bailey.
“What was Megan doing in here?” I demand.
He looks confused for a beat before he glances at the door she just walked through.
“She’s my assistant,” he says. “She was checking in to see if there’s anything I need.”
