Chapter 26
NOVA
“How was your LA trip with Brooke?” Mari asks as we get out of the car.
“Great. We did all the shopping. Okay, mostly she did,” I amend.
“I hope the game wasn’t too boring.”
“Boring? Not at all. But not as exciting as tonight. You officially have a night off wedding planning,” I declare as I link my arm through hers.
The charity auction takes place at a fancy hotel, with chandeliers and white fabric draping the walls. I expect to not recognize anyone, but there are actually a lot of familiar faces. Everyone I make eye contact with offers me a nod or a smile.
Since Brooke and I got back from LA, I’ve been focusing on Mari, including trying to find that song recording of my mom’s. I could’ve sworn I had the file backed up. But after searching my phone and every cloud drive, I’m empty handed.
“Nova! It's so nice to see you again.” Robin, dressed in a blue satin cocktail dress, embraces me when I arrive.
“You know one another?” Mari demands when Robin turns away.
I don’t want to lie to my sister. “Yes,” I say. “But Harlan swore me to secrecy.”
Her eyes glint.
A tall, handsome guy pulls up next to Brooke before she can reply.
“This is my date,” she says.
He introduces himself, flashing perfect teeth to go with his square jaw. “We went to school together. I’m in town for the week for work.”
I scan the room. Harlan’s on the other side, chatting up donors. I see Jayden in another circle of guys in suits.
It’s a slice of what it must be like for the Kodiaks to be on the road and in a different city all the time.
Glamorous, sure.
But hard. Exhausting.
My gaze is drawn to Clay, deep in the heart of a crowd.
He texted to say that he'd had a good talk with Rookie. I’m so proud of him.
If only he could make peace with staying in Denver.
I did some searching online that corroborated the LA team is the top in the league. They have the biggest budget, the most glamorous profile, and they win.
I can understand why they would be appealing. But I wish he could be happy here, with what he has, and give the guys and the team a chance to see him as more than just the number of points he can put up in a night.
“Hey, Nova. You seen Brooke?” I’m waylaid by an irritated-looking Miles.
“She’s over there.” I point. “Everything okay?”
“Great.” He rubs a hand over his smooth-shaven jaw. “Who’s that guy?”
“Brooke’s date. She knew him from school.”
“She didn’t go to school here.”
I shrug. “I guess he wanted to see her.”
Miles looks desperate. “That why she said she couldn’t dog-sit for me earlier today?” He grunts something I can’t hear before stalking off.
I bite the inside of my cheek. Apparently, I’m not the only one with guy drama.
The beautiful tables are laid out with auction merchandise that will be sold in a few minutes. Maybe I’ll buy myself a treat.
“Do I need an Apple Watch?” an older man in a suit with graying hair asks me.
It takes a second for me to recognize him as the Kodiaks' coach. It’s the first time I’ve seen him up close.
“I’m not the person to ask.” I hold up my bare wrist. “But I hear it tracks all sorts of data and metrics.”
“Well, I don’t want to put the assistant coaches out of work.” His eyes crinkle, and I laugh.
“I’m Nova, Harlan’s future sister-in-law.”
“Call me Bill. And I know who you are,” he says, eyes sparkling. “I’ve seen you drawing up in the box.”
My gaze flies to Clay, but Coach continues down the row of items for auction.
“You seem to be fitting in well.”
“I’m only here until the wedding. It feels strange to get to know people only to leave them again.”
“Describes nearly every job in the NBA,” he says dryly.
That never occurred to me. “But surely people can build a career in a city if they want to. Harlan’s here to stay—he has a house and an office and five cars.”
“Five, huh?”
Coach laughs, and I blush. Maybe that wasn’t public knowledge.
“From the scouts to the GMs to the players, we drag our asses across the country and around the world for the chance to be a part of this sport we love. The moment you think you have control, you realize you’re at the whim of something bigger.”
I think about Clay’s stress over his injuries, his desire to play where he can make a name for himself. Or build on the one he has.
Everyone on the team wants the same things, but they need to realize it.
I scan the ballroom and send off a text.
Nova: I need your help.
It’s not a minute later when I feel him come up behind me.
“Hello there.”
“Hi.”
I turn and smile up into Clay’s handsome face. In a suit, he looks incredible.
“Coach and I were just talking…”
I turn and gesture to the man behind me, and Clay realizes he’s been caught out.
“He was wondering about this Apple Watch. I figured since you’re so into technology, with your electric car and everything, you could advise him.”
Clay’s eyes narrow. I’m on to you.
I shrug, innocent. What?
But the two men start to talk, and satisfaction rises up in me. I’ve given him the perfect opportunity to mend fences. Maybe even to talk about his future here.
I continue down toward the auction table, proud of my job well done.
My attention locks onto a display of frames.
The contents are intimately familiar, and my heart starts to thud.
“Wait, what are…?”
My drawings.
Five of them.
One for each of the starters, including Clay.
“They’re stunning,” a woman next to me says. “A good idea to get them signed by the players.”
Because, I realize, they are signed by the players.
After dinner and the auction, I’m still in shock.
Someone put my images up for auction. And people bought the pieces, one after another.
More than seventy thousand dollars for charity.
Until the one of Clay was scheduled to come up and the auctioneer conferred with a colleague before coming back to the mic. “I’ve been informed this piece was acquired by a private collector for an unnamed amount.”
The crowd groaned.
Robin finds me after it’s over. “Nova, that was a very generous contribution.”
“How did I not know you were doing this?” Mari demands. “Is this what you’ve been doing sneaking around and spending all that time around the team?”
“It’s wonderful.” Harlan nods in appreciation.
“But… how did you get them signed?” Mari asks.
“I helped.” Brooke loops an arm around my waist, a coy smile on her face.
Then who did this?
I can’t ask, not here.
She turns back to her date, and I sneak outside to the pool for a breath of fresh air. The patio area is empty at night, the bright-blue lights of the pool shimmering.
I suck in oxygen, grateful for a moment alone to process.
I’ve never dared to put myself out there. Since art school, I haven’t had an exhibition. This was unplanned. The emotions rushing up, hope and gratitude and excitement, are overwhelming.
“You are sneaky, trying to get me and Coach on good terms again.”
The familiar voice and footsteps at my back make me turn.
Clay hovers in the doorway a dozen feet away.
The tips of his tattoos creep out of his collar. He’s like an animal playing at being tame.
“It’s a benefit for you and for the team. You mad?”
He takes leisurely steps across the pool area until he stops next to me, hands in the pockets of his tux.
“I’ll get over it.”
His smile feels like a secret between us. “And what about you? You’re the woman of the hour in there.”
I press my hands to my chest. “Those sketches were some of the first I’ve done in ages. Now they belong to people I’ve never met. Because of you.”
No one else knew about my drawings or would have had the motive.
“You’re pissed.” He doesn’t try to deny it.
“Yes. No.”
I love my art. I’d be flattered and excited if anyone showed an interest in my drawings.
“It’s incredible people would pay that much for signatures,” I say at last.
“They’d pay that much for your art,” he corrects. “You see people in a way that’s better than how they see themselves. I wish you could see yourself like I see you.”
“How is that?”
In the water, our silhouettes are reflected from the lights behind us, his dark eyes holding mine prisoner in our shared reflection.
“When I see your drawings, I see you. You’re brave and kind and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at you.”
My heart beats in my ears. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me.”
“Stolen your possessions and auctioned them off?”
“Exactly. Thank you.” I stare out at the lights shining over the pool, feeling like I’m seen and like I belong.
In the last place I expected, I feel like I belong.
“Even Harlan looked happy,” I go on. “He’s good for Mari.
I can’t imagine a better guy to have in the family, even if you and he don’t see eye to eye. ”
His smile fades. “You remember the girl back in college that cheated on me and the entire team lied about it? Harlan was the one who told them to keep it quiet.”
My heart wrenches at the bitterness in his voice. “I don’t believe—”
“It’s true. I caught them two weeks before Finals. She admitted it had been going on and who had helped cover it up. It was Harlan’s idea not to tell me so it wouldn't mess with my game. He knew the entire semester but decided that winning mattered more than the truth.”
My chest tightens. “I’m sorry. That must have been hell.”
“For a while. Then it didn’t.” He doesn’t explain more. “I decided she was dead to me and so was management. I played out of my mind so that I never had to rely on suits or anyone else ever again.”
“And it worked,” I murmur.
He became an all-star. Revered. Untouchable.
“Maybe Harlan made a mistake. Maybe he’s changed.”
“I don’t care if he has. I’m not giving him another chance to burn me like that.”
I understand a little more why he’s closed off the way he is, why trusting people in general and Harlan in particular feels dangerous.
I can’t help asking, “Was she the last woman you loved?”
Clay shifts on his feet. “Could be it wasn’t even love. I’m not sure I’m made for that.”
My heart aches for him, for the fact that he’s missing out on the beauty that can happen when you let another person in.
Not like I’m the poster child for choosing romantic partners, but I want to believe in that kind of love.
A sound outside reminds me where we are. That there are people who’ll notice soon that we’re gone, if they haven’t already.
“Harlan’s marrying my sister in two more days,” I say quietly. “I get that you have history, but they’re happy. I won’t let anything get in the way of that.”
“No inviting a herd of LA fans to crash the wedding. Got it.”
My lips twitch. “Now if only I could find this song of our mom’s. I thought I could fit it into the music during the ceremony to surprise her. It would be like Mom and Dad were there.”
His hand brushes mine, and he laces our fingers together. “You have a good heart, Pink. You’ll figure it out.”
We stand like that for a minute or five. I don’t want to move, just be here with him.
“So, someone bought you,” I comment. “I wonder how much they paid.”
He grins. “Not enough.”