The Game by Vi Keeland by Vi Keeland

“Did you drive here?” he asked, rolling up the sleeves on his white dress shirt.

My eyes snagged on his muscular forearms, and by the time I tore them away, I’d completely forgotten what we were talking about. “Umm... I’m sorry. What did you ask?”

The corner of his lip twitched. “I asked if you drove here.”

“No, I actually don’t drive. I came with Miller.”

He looked over at the three men now talking with Coach. “Double date?”

“No… Well, at least not that I was aware of. Though I think Miller might’ve had other ideas.”

“Can I drop you home then? We can take Coach first.”

“I actually live in the City.”

“So do I.”

“Oh. Then I guess yeah, sure.” I smiled, but felt a bit nervous. “I need to let Miller know.”

Miller was still standing with Trent and Travis when I walked over. “Hey,” I said. “I’m going to go with Christian to drop off my grandfather. He’ll give me a ride home after.”

Miller’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and I noticed Travis’s smile wilt a bit. When I went out to the seating area to double-check that I hadn’t left anything behind, Travis joined me.

“Hey.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Do you think maybe I could get your phone number? Take you out to dinner sometime?”

I always felt terrible saying no when a guy asked me out, especially when he was nice. In fact, I’d gone on a few dates solely because I’d felt bad declining. At least this time I had a reason to give him, not that I needed one.

“I’m sorry. I recently started seeing someone I used to work with, and I have so much going on at work these days, I just don’t think it’s the right time.”

Travis forced a smile. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

“But it was really nice meeting you.”

“Sure. You, too. Thanks for having me today. I had a great time.”

When Travis turned away, I noticed Christian watching me through the glass. Unlike when most people get caught staring, he didn’t look away. Instead, he smirked and kept his eyes trained on me as I approached the door and opened it.

“Broke his heart, huh?” His grin widened as I walked through.

“How do you know what Travis and I talked about out there?”

“I know the look of defeat.”

“Oh really? So a lot of women turn you down?”

“Nah.” He grinned. “I’m usually the reason they’re turning down some other guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Full of yourself much?”

Christian shrugged. “Just being honest.”

“Come on, honest Abe. Let’s get out of here. The cleaning crew has looked in a few times to see if we’re still here. I’m sure they’d like to go home in the near future.”



***



An hour later, we’d dropped off my grandfather, and Christian and I were alone in the van.

“So today was your first time sitting in the owner’s box, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “I went to all the team’s games over the last two years, but I sat in regular seats. My sisters weren’t going to welcome me unless they had to.”

Christian was quiet for a moment. “It must’ve been crazy to find out who your father was and that he’d left you a football team, both on the same day.”

I nodded. “It was. Most people probably think I won the lotto by inheriting the majority of shares of a professional football team, but it didn’t feel like that at all. It made me sad to realize my father had known I’d existed and didn’t bother to get to know me.”

“You really had no idea he was your dad, huh?”

I shook my head. “My mom was only nineteen when she had me. She always said my father was a guy she met at a concert out of state, and she didn’t even know his last name. After she died, I went to live with my aunt for a short time. I asked her if she knew more about who my father was, and she admitted that my mother had confided that he was a married man. But she didn’t know his name, and she suspected my mom might not have told whoever it was about her pregnancy.”

Christian’s eyes slanted to mine. “But John obviously knew, if he wrote you into his will.”

I nodded. “Though I have no idea if he knew from day one or found out years later. My mom was a hostess in the luxury boxes at the stadium for sixteen years, from the time she was eighteen. She sometimes worked in the owner’s suite. They could’ve had a long-term affair or only a night together. When I first found out, I tried to talk to my half-sisters and find out what they knew. But they weren’t exactly amenable to speaking to me, much less sharing anything personal they knew about their dad.”

“Not surprising, knowing Tiffany and Rebecca.”

“Yeah.”

“They must’ve freaked out when the will was read.”

“I would imagine. I wasn’t there for the actual reading. One day a lawyer knocked on my door and said a bequest had been made to me from John Barrett. I didn’t even know who that was until the attorney explained he owned the Bruins. I figured maybe he had been friendly with my mom.” I shook my head. “Anyway, I had to work, so I didn’t go to the reading. I found out what I’d been left that night on the news.”