Chapter 36
Sam
A SOFT KNOCK on the door has me lifting my gaze, and it snags on khaki pants before finally rising to Colin’s hesitant expression.
“Got a minute?” he asks.
I look at the space behind him, well aware of the guys in the weight room.
I’ve made myself as scarce as possible since our disastrous loss last week, unsure if our situation had anything to do with it but absolutely certain I didn’t want to make it any worse.
Ollie has been a complete wreck, moaning about and probably causing all sorts of issues on the team.
We don’t talk about it. He’s come over a couple of times, but all we do is eat an entire sleeve of Tim Tams and watch reruns of Friends.
When the package is empty, he pats my leg and leaves without a word.
For Colin to appear here can’t be good. “Is it one of the players?”
He shakes his head. “It’s…personal.”
Of course it is. Because we still need to sort ourselves out, however that works. “Sure.”
He steps in, a piece of paper folded into thirds tucked into his hand. “I think I found a solution.”
It hurts to hear him. Just to hear his voice. It’s ridiculous. I’m ridiculous.
“Sam?”
I snap back to attention. “A…solution?”
“To the thing you asked for.”
My heart sinks. Right. “The divorce?” I say, making sure my voice is low.
He nods, his expression grim. “The team has to travel to Las Vegas at the end of next week, and the only way to do this is if we both appear before the judge.”
My mouth goes dry. In a weird way, I’d gotten used to being married. There was nothing conventional about it, of course, including that my husband and I barely speak to each other. But the idea of going through with it feels so final. Irreversible. “A judge?”
He nods. “I called and, um, made arrangements.”
“What kind of arrangements?”
“Just the date and time. I can cancel if you don’t want to do it this way –”
“I want to.” The lie is sour on my tongue.
He stares at me, jaw clenched, before he nods. “Right. Of course.” He holds the paper out, not moving from his place against the door.
I get up, feeling how hungrily his gaze tracks me and wanting more of it. Despite everything, I still want his attention.
His eyes close as I take the outstretched paper, opening only once I’ve backed away. “You’ll need to come with us. I’ll get you a seat on the plane and I’ll sort everything out with Bill. Same for the room.”
My brows furrow. “He always takes the away games.”
“I’ll sort it out,” Colin insists. He stares at me again, not speaking, before finally jerking his chin down. “Right. I’ll text you the info.” He turns away.
I let out a long breath, but he pokes his head back in the door.
“If that’s okay.”
“If what’s okay?” I look at him quizzically.
“Texting you the info. Is that – do you still –”
“It is.” Does he honestly think I’d block his number? He’s the head coach of the team I work for. Hard to block someone that important. Plus, it’s…it’s him. I could never.
“Okay. Thanks.”
I stare at the empty space where he stood, my heart beating like hummingbird wings.