Page 76 of Undeniable Love

“But maybe…”

“No,” Jax said firmly as he made a plate for himself and sat down. “You’re not coordinated enough. If you even try to use that thing near anything breakable, you’ll break it. Trust me.”

It was the kind of silly teasing and bantering she had with her own brothers, so she felt right at home. And as Jax moved his chair close beside hers, he looked at her with a goofy grin on his face.

“What?” she asked softly. “Why are you smiling?”

“Seeing you here with my family makes me happy,” he said before taking a giant bite of his sandwich, and honestly, being here made her happy too.

It had killed him to have to leave Lucy in his bed and head out to practice, but…that was the way it had to be. He had cut out of practice early yesterday, so he was going to have to make up some of that time today. Last night, Lily and Jules had talked about doing a girls’ day with Lucy—something about manicures and pedicures and lunch—so he figured he wouldn’t be missed. Still, it felt kind of shitty to have asked her to come for the weekend and then not be there with her.

So he powered through practice.

He did his time in the weight room.

And then he sat through an hour-long film session with the coaches going over last week’s game.

“Wylder?” Coach called out when he was leaving. “A minute?”

That was never good.

With a weary sigh, he nodded and walked across the room. “What’s up?”

“Have a seat, Jax.” Coach Floyd was always fair and they had always had a decent respect for each other, but he could tell by the look on his face that whatever he wanted to talk about, it wasn’t going to be great.

Taking a seat, he let out a long breath and waited.

“You’ve been taking a lot of time off. You were very open and up front with the staff that you were starting up this camp and while it’s a great thing and it helped give you some good press, there are a few executive staffers who don’t feel like your heart’s totally with the team.” And with a pointed stare, he put the ball right in Jax’s court.

Shifting slightly in his chair, he knew he owed it to the team to be honest, but he wasn’t crazy enough to make a retirement announcement just yet. Hell, he wouldn’t even say those words anywhere near the stadium for fear of it getting out before he was ready.

“I guess the camp project has been a bit of a distraction,” he admitted, “and I’m sorry about that. Between that and my injury, I know I haven’t been playing my best.” Pausing, he tried to think of something to say, but really, he had questions. “Knowing all of that, I don’t get why anyone’s commenting on where my heart is or my commitment to the Warriors. I’ve given this team everything for years and I have been one of the loudest supporters of our organization.”

“You’re making stupid mistakes,” the coach said evenly. “On the field and off. We understood the shoulder injury and we appreciated all the hard work you put in to get back on the field, but…”

“But…?”

“The whole party incident has left an unpleasant taste in people’s mouths. You know the Reeves family is very protective of the Warriors brand, and your behavior wasn’t particularly…uh…family-friendly.”

Good grief…

“Okay, I made a mistake months ago, but it’s not like I’m the only player in the NFL who’s ever had a lapse in judgement!” And yeah, getting loud totally wasn’t helping, but he was frustrated, dammit!

“The Reeves family isn’t concerned about the other players in the league, just…our players.” Shaking his head, his coach took a seat beside him. “Look, I’m not saying I agree or disagree, and believe me, I know a lot of your teammates were at that party, but you’re the only one who had it publicized so…publicly.”

It was hard to argue with that.

“Then…there’s this.” Taking out his phone, he tapped the screen before handing it over to Jax. “Seems like this girl is still looking for her fifteen minutes of fame.”

Slack-jawed, Jax read a letter Tiffany had written to the team owner’s wife, stating that she was pregnant with Jax’s baby and was demanding money to keep quiet about it.

“Are you freaking kidding me right now?” he demanded. “This is a total lie and extortion! I never slept with her!”

“She says differently,” Coach said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Our legal team is working on everything but…you are seriously going to have to pull a rabbit out of your hat to clean this shit up. Anymore PR opportunities we can use?”

With a snort of derision, he glared. “Five minutes ago, you were telling me my PR stuff was a problem and making people question my commitment to the team. Now I need more?”

“Honestly, Jax, I don’t even know what you need. Most guys screw up and move on. This season has just been one long, slow…” He sighed. “Hell, I don’t even know what to call it.”