Jilted Jock - Rebecca Jenshak Page 0,2

choking sound, but I ignored him.

“I can’t do this, Finn.”

“Do what, exactly?”

“Get married.”

I smiled, a little manic perhaps like this was still some big practical joke. “Little late for cold feet.”

“I’m so sorry. My parents should be arriving any minute and they’ll take care of everything. I’ve already contacted the PR office and your agent to give them a heads up.”

Christ, she was serious. The thought of telling all these people that there wouldn’t be a wedding, that I’d been left at the freaking altar like a cautionary tale, had a prickling warmth spreading over my entire body.

This wedding was two months and two party planners working full time in the making. When I’d proposed, Cindy said she wanted to get married as soon as possible. It took a small miracle to pull off this kind of extravagance in that amount of time. Two hundred guests were taking their seats as we spoke. The photographer from People was around somewhere right now snapping pictures. Pictures that would now be evidence of the most humiliating day of my life.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Finnie. I wanted to tell you in person, but Mikey thought it’d make a bigger scene.”

“Mikey? As in Martins? My teammate?”

“Yes, Finn. Don’t be dense. We’ve been spending time together since he was traded to the team and we… we have a connection. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you last night, but then the team threw that surprise party for us and well, it didn’t seem quite right.”

“Didn’t seem quite right?” I barked out a laugh. “What about…” I trailed off unsure what exactly I wanted to ask. What about the commitment we’d made? What about our apartment? Our joint charities? And when exactly had things changed? I thought we were good. No, better than good. I thought we were untouchable. She was sewn into my life so tight.

Spots dotted my vision. The reality of what was happening washed over me.

“Mikey and I are going to Bora Bora. It’ll give you time to get your stuff out of the apartment and when I get back, we can figure everything else out. We’ll need to make a statement to the media.”

The woman was taking him on our honeymoon. Jesus. How had I not seen this coming? My pathetic face would be splashed about with sad headlines and assumptions about why she hadn’t wanted to marry me. Was I bad in bed? Was I a controlling arsehole? And everywhere I went, she’d be there, and on freaking Martins’ arm apparently.

Foster reappeared, set the cat carrier on the ground in front of me, and then pulled out the kitten and offered it to me totally unaware of the situation.

“Finn? Finnie?” Cindy’s voice echoed through the phone. I missed whatever she’d said before, but it didn’t matter. I’d heard enough.

I stared at the kitten, sweat dripping at my temples. It meowed, eyes big, like it wasn’t too impressed with what was happening either. I took her, cradled her to my chest with one hand, then hung up the phone. Cindy’s parents came into view walking up the aisle with matching grim expressions.

“Everything okay?” Chance asked. “You look a little pale.”

I shoved the cat at him and then heaved next to the fancy white tent. But when I stood up straight to tell my hero that I’d just been left at the altar, I didn’t get that rush of calm I got on game day and I didn’t feel like I could dominate anything except maybe a bottle of Macallan.

Adele

I breathed in the top of CJ’s head. A sweet mixture of dirt, sweat, and innocence made my heart squeeze in my chest. Mouth open like a baby bird, my nephew was sprawled out on top of me fast asleep. Finally.

I was contemplating how to get him from the couch to bed without waking him and had almost worked up the courage to lean forward, when the sound of keys jingling in the front door made him squirm. As quickly as I could without jarring him, I eased us to a standing position, clutching him tightly to my chest. CJ’s limp body seemed to weigh twice as much as I carried him to his room and put him down in his bed. I let out a sigh of relief when his eyes stayed closed.

Aubrey’s voice filtered through the house as I quietly shut CJ’s bedroom door behind me. “Easy. Oh, watch the… well, it’s just the floor. You tripped over your own feet.”

I