Page 7 of Penalty Shots
He studies me. His dark brown eyes search for a crack in my facade.
This is Keelan Landry. The man who somehow has always managed to be there when I needed him the most, even if I didn’t want him to be. My now best friend’s brother. Houston’s golden boy. And in this very moment, the bane of my actual existence.
"He's not my ex yet. And you havenoidea what you just did," I grit out.
His face doesn't falter. Not even for a split second. He really thinks he did the right thing. And that's what upsets me the most.
There’s a soft knock on the door, and it briefly breaks our battle of the wills.
“So,” his sister’s voice says, entering the room without an invitation. “Anybody want to explain what the hellthisis all about?”
She holds her phone up and re-plays the viral video of her brother and my ex—the remix that Toby mentioned, loud enough for all of us to hear.
"Sh-sh-she's my wife… my wife… m-m-m-m-m-m-m-my wife!"Autotuned with such a catchy melody that if it wasn't the voice of the man I can't stand followed by the man I can't stand to be around saying,"Not anymo-o-o-ore!"I might actually like it.
Izzy blinks in my direction, still holding up her phone and waiting for an answer.
I didn’t tell Izzy that I was getting divorced. There was just absolutely too much going on at the time. It was the last thing I needed.
The start of the season. Busy training and traveling schedules.
But when Redmond stormed into the practice earlier today announcing that he was going to do whatever it took to win me back in front of the entire team and staff, the plan to keep the divorce on the down low flew out the window.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t be this easy.
I should’ve known trying to keep a secret this big with the likes of a soccer superstar would bite me in the ass.
So here I am, face to face with the consequences of my actions, standing at the entrance of the bridge I once said I’d deal with when it was time to cross it.
Maybe I can just burn the bridge instead of actually having to deal with it.
Izzy walks in like she owns the office, wearing her signature black yoga pants and an orange Heatwave tech shirt. She sets her camera and phone down on my desk and hops onto it, crossing her legs as she looks from her brother to me. “Well?”
Keelan opens his mouth first. “Whatever the consequence,” he begins. “I’ll pay it. I’ll sit out games. I’ll pay the fines. But what I’mnotgoing to do is apologize tohim.”
He says it to me, not his sister. And without another word, he pushes off the desk and storms out of my office.
Now I’m left in the presence of the other Landry—my best friend.
“You know,” she says. “I figured something was wrong when you RSVP'd for only one. But I thought to myself, Rina would tell me if something was up. She wouldn’t just keep something big from me. She’dtellme.”
I’m still staring at the now-empty doorway that Keelan just walked out of. “I didn’t want to ruin this time for you,” I admit, finally chancing a look her way.
“So, you think that by telling me that you’re getting a divorce while I’m planning my own wedding, you would somehow… ruin things for me?” Izzy struggles to understand. I can tell by the way she furrows her brows.
I rise from my chair and join her sitting on top of my desk.
“Izzy, you and Ryker are meant for each other. You deserve all the good things and to enjoy every last detail. So yeah, I didn’t want to bring you down with my own… bullshit.”
Izzy shakes her head at me. “That’s not how this works,” she says, motioning between us. “I don’t get to live in pre-wedding bliss while my best friend is going through hell.”
“It wasn’t hell,” I assure her. “We were parting amicably… well. I mean, we were. Until all that.” I wave in the direction of the Heatwave arena.
“Even so.”
“Izzy, look. I love you. And I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine, okay? Right now, I just need to figure out how to minimize the backlash for the team’s sake. And get your brother back in good standing.”
She watches me for a moment—those damn Landry eyes, just like her brother's, made me the center of her attention.