24. Beware of Scallops
24
BEWARE OF SCALLOPS
Zane
Be outgoing. Be friendly. Be the guy the brand bought.
I repeat my at-bat strategy thirty-six hours later as I head into Ava’s Bistro off Park Avenue.
I walk to the hostess stand and flash my friendliest smile to a brunette wearing a painted-on black dress. “I’m here to join the LeGrande party,” I say, like it doesn’t ache to speak his name aloud.
“Right this way. Two of them are already here,” she says coolly.
Clenching my jaw, I fight off the emotions—the latent thrill of seeing Maddox mixed with the cutting pain of his rejection. The hostess guides me through the hip eatery, weaving past tables of well-dressed New Yorkers dining on tapas and sipping designer cocktails.
When we near a table in the corner, I spot the back of a man’s head, the dark, wavy hair I adored roping my fingers through, the strong shoulders I loved to grasp hard.
You can do this .
Like when I’m at the plate, I assess the field. Vance is next to Maddox, but they aren’t chatting. They look…uncomfortable.
Boo-fucking-hoo.
Then Vance’s familiar voice calls out when he sees me. “Buddy! How the hell are you?” He pops up, wrapping me in one of his big hugs.
“I am excellent,” I say, faking it like a badass Oscar winner.
In three seconds, I’ll have to make believe for the man I fell for.
Maddox stands, turns to me, half smiles.
Ah, shit. Is he gonna come in for a hug? I’m not that strong. I’m not that good of an actor, especially with this elegant, intelligent, giving man…
Nope, that’s not who he is.
He’s the man who dumped me.
Maddox sticks out a hand, preemptively cutting off a hug.
Well, screw that too.
With a practiced smile I reserve for jackass reporters, I shake his hand. “Good to see you, Maddox,” I say.
I’ve only rehearsed those words ten thousand times since he took off yesterday morning. I practiced them last night when I should have been sharing the evening with him. When I would have asked him if we could find a way to do this relationship thing after New York. But he cut me off at the knees before I could even get the words out.
Now look at him. He’s wearing a dark blue shirt and no tie. Does he think I can’t handle it if he wears a tie?
Well, guess what, Super Agent?
I can. I’m a pro athlete. I’ve got balls of steel.
“Good to see you too,” Maddox says, letting go of my hand first. “Priyam should be here any minute. Can I get you a drink?”
I meet his dark gaze. “I’d love a daquiri,” I say, like a smug asshole.
Let him feel a little pain.
He blinks, then schools his expression in seconds. Does he feel nothing? Was it all in my mind?
When he heads to the bar, I sit with Vance. We catch up on baseball, recapping the three-game Comets series that ended with a day game we won this afternoon.
Soon, Maddox returns with the cocktail, then hands it to me. “Here you go,” he says, in a strained voice.
I take a big, thirsty gulp, and my goddamn brain freezes again. But I don’t let on. I ignore the pain. “Mmm. Makes me feel like I’m on a tropical island,” I say, since apparently I like being a dick tonight.
Maddox looks away. Vance chuckles.
A few seconds later, Priyam arrives. I’m more relieved than I expected to be to see him. I don’t have to fake a damn thing around the older gentleman. He is kind. He is warm, and I mean every word from the bottom of my heart when I stand first, shake his hand, and say, “So good to see you again. How was Chandra as the wizard? Did she break a leg?”
Priyam’s grin is magnetic. “She was brilliant, if I do say so myself.”
“That’s awesome, Pop-pop. You should be proud,” I say.
Another smile. “And how was your stint as a Little League coach for your niece?” he asks, taking the seat next to me.
For the next few minutes, I regale him with tales of my niece. He shares stories of his grandkids. When it’s time to order, I don’t even ask Maddox what’s good. I’m a grown man. Don’t need his help. I pick the herbed scallops, and Maddox holds up a finger. “I wouldn’t?—”
I shake my head. Don’t want his opinion. “Love scallops,” I declare, doubling down on my choice.
When the scallops arrive, they’re bland as fuck.
Serves me right.
By the time the meal ends, Priyam has promised to take me golfing in England. “It’s a sin that you’ve never been to London, but I’ll be changing that soon. I want you to come to our facilities there. I’ll show you around. We can do a video shoot, some photos, the whole works. London is fantastic,” he adds.
I find the will to smile even as my heart aches. I don’t let on that I wanted to go to London with Maddox. To see the sights, hit the clubs, dance with him. “I’m so there,” I say to Priyam. “I want to see everything. The river, the bridges, but I especially want to see as many football matches as possible.”
There. Football was never on my Maddox travel list. Football doesn’t break my heart.
Priyam grins, then tugs on his pastel yellow bow tie with penguin illustrations. “So, bow ties. I’m envisioning a whole campaign for them. What if we have you teaching other guys on camera how to tie a bow tie? Like you did in the sample video you sent? But we expand on it. Go big with it. Make it a whole thing.”
I grin. “I’m in.”
“Love it,” Vance says.
Priyam shifts his gaze to Maddox. “What do you think?”
Maddox’s lips twitch almost imperceptibly, then he meets my eyes and deadpans, “Zane knows his way around ties.”
Way to stab me in the chest with that dig.
But I don’t intend to strike out looking. I square my shoulders, hunting for a retort. Except, my heart hurts too much. I’ve got nothing.
Maybe that’s why Maddox turns back to Priyam, switches to his professional tone, and adds warmly, “Zane’s definitely the man for that.”
There he goes again. Praising me. Talking me up. Doing his fucking job.
And all I’m thinking is …I could have been your man .
Even though I’ve no clue how we’d make us work. I doubt there’s a how-to video anywhere explaining the trick to moving a forbidden romance out of the dark and into the light.
When the dinner ends, we fan out to the classy block in the Sixties, surrounded by beautiful brownstones and canopying trees.
“Thanks again for dinner. I’m heading uptown, so I’ll catch you all soon,” I say.
After our goodbyes, we go our separate ways, Priyam and Vance walking toward the East River, Maddox heading downtown. That’s the same direction I have to go, but I can’t handle walking the same way as him, wondering if we should share a car, making awkward small talk.
Instead, I walk up Park Avenue. After a few feet, I turn around, lean against a building, and catch my breath.
Don’t look.
But I don’t listen to the wise voice in my head. I turn my gaze his way, lingering on his silhouette as it fades into the New York night and he walks farther away from me.