Chapter 6
CLEO
My heart felt as though it was about to beat through my chest and my palms were sweaty, but my nerves were a small price to pay for the chance to set things straight with Rigby.
I twisted my hands together as I faced him, my gaze trapped by his icy blue eyes as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
Steeling my spine, I pushed my hood off my head and nodded. “Yes, a horrible misunderstanding.”
He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, tapped the screen, and turned it my way to show me one of the articles I’d seen before I headed to the stadium.
“Not sure what I could be mistaken about when the entire world is talking about you being that asshole’s mystery girlfriend.
Let’s also not forget that I saw you two together with my own damn eyes. ”
The plan I’d come up with when I was waiting for him flew out of my head and I blurted, “Have you ever heard of seat fillers?”
His brows drew together, and his hand dropped to his side with his phone clenched in his fist so hard that his knuckles were white. “No.”
“Remember how I told you that I’m a student at Tisch?”
He nodded, and I plowed ahead. “Well, one of my friends told me about becoming a seat filler because of the incredible networking opportunities by attending award ceremonies filled with industry professionals. Even if you’re just there to fill an empty seat while someone important steps away for a moment.
” I finally forced myself to stop jabbering and waited.
He was quiet for a few heartbeats, but his expression was thoughtful, like he was simply absorbing all I’d said. “So you’re saying you weren’t there for personal reasons? It was just a job?” he eventually clarified.
I could’ve sworn that I spotted the faintest hint of hope in his eyes, and it helped settle my nerves a little. “I didn’t walk the red carpet or even go in through the front door for the event. I was very much there as a member of the staff, not an invited guest.”
His muscles loosened, but he still pointed out, “You looked close to that guy when they caught you on camera.”
I’d thought it had been such good luck to be assigned to one spot for the entire event, but now I wished I’d played musical chairs like usual.
Sore feet were much easier to handle than the mess I found myself in.
“I am not close to Gustavo Duarte, and I’m certainly not his girlfriend.
I’d never even met him until last night.
The only time I saw him before I sat down at his table was on the television or in the press. ”
“So all those stories about him bringing his new girlfriend were just bullshit made up by the media?” he asked.
I pressed my lips together, frustrated by the fact that I wasn’t supposed to share personal details about anything I had seen or heard last night.
“I can’t speak to what’s going on in his life because I don’t really know him except for the short amount of time I spent sitting next to him at the event.
But the same people are calling me his girlfriend now without any confirmation, so I’m not sure how much you can trust anything they put out there. ”
“That’s a fair point,” he conceded. “They get all sorts of shit wrong about my teammates, too.”
His words send a jolt of hope through my body. “You believe me then?”
He slipped his phone back in his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest again. “You weren’t just at his table, though. You went with him when he came to get you while we were talking.”
I grimaced. “I get how that might look bad, but he had promised to introduce me to some people because I’d helped him out by sitting next to him all evening.
That way, he didn’t look bad by having an empty seat by him when everyone was expecting him to have a date.
You were completely icing me out, and I didn’t want to make a scene, so it seemed like the right idea at the time. ”
“I didn’t like seeing you walk away with him, even though I thought you were playing me,” he admitted.
“I swear, it wasn’t anything like that.” I yanked my phone out of my purse and held it out toward him. “You can check for yourself. I don’t have his number, and I didn’t give him mine when he asked.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw as he asked, “He asked for your number?”
His nostrils flared, and butterflies swirled in my belly as I wondered if his reaction last night stemmed from jealousy and not just thinking that I was a lying cheater.
“Yeah, but I really do think that it was more about him being nice than anything else. The timing of that photo sucks so bad because the kiss on the cheek he gave me was the only thing that could’ve been misconstrued.
Other than when I got there and he let me know he’d asked for a seat filler to remain in that spot all night and when I congratulated him on his win, we didn’t even say much to each other all night. ”
His chin jutted out, and his eyes narrowed as they scanned my face. “Except for when he walked you around the room and introduced you to everyone, like a good boyfriend would do.”
“Only because he was helping me network.” I tugged on the end of my ponytail, and several pink strands fell against my lips.
Blowing out a breath to get them off my mouth, I huffed, “He told everyone I was a student and never called me his girlfriend. Didn’t even hint at a relationship between us of any kind. ”
He pushed away from the wall and began to pace back and forth, shooting me a glance from the corner of his eye as he muttered beneath his breath.
Even though I didn’t really know Rigby, I felt as though so much was at stake while he tried to decide whether I was telling the truth or not.
I had never been attracted to another man the way I was to him.
As wild as it sounded, I could too easily picture us having a future together and we’d only talked a grand total of three times—one of which barely counted as a conversation since it had just been him blowing me off.
I practically held my breath while I waited for him to make up his mind.
My gaze darted away from him as I took a deep breath in an attempt to settle my nerves.
I couldn’t help but take in our surroundings and think that the set had been well staged for our conversation.
The sun was setting and the corner he’d led me to was dark because it was in the shadow of the stadium.
There was a brick wall blocking us from the view of the guard and any of Rigby’s teammates as they headed to their cars—and the darn paparazzi who were camped out in the lot with their cameras aimed at the exit to catch photos of the players.
If Rigby decided that he couldn’t trust me, I was sorely tempted to go over there and give them a piece of my mind.
But that wouldn’t accomplish anything besides embarrassing me even more since I was sure they’d take pictures of me yelling and make up another story once they recognized me as the woman in the photos with Gustavo.
I’d done my best to stay out of their line of sight while I was waiting for Rigby to come out of the stadium, but my luck could only hold for so long.
Heaving a deep sigh, I turned back toward Rigby and braced myself for his verdict. He was staring at me with an odd gleam in his eyes that I couldn’t quite figure out. “How did you get here?”
My stomach clenched as my breath hitched in disappointment.
I’d tried my best, but that darn story with the photo painted a picture that was difficult to defend against. Shoulders slumping, I whispered, “I didn’t want to waste time changing buses since I wasn’t sure what time you’d be done with practice, so I took a rideshare. ”
He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and led me out of our hiding spot and into the fading light.
“Get in my truck.” He jerked his chin toward a black Ford F150 Raptor. “I want privacy for the rest of this conversation.”
I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. It could just be that he wanted to yell at me but didn’t want to do it where anyone might overhear. Or even worse, catch it on camera. “Where do you want to go?”
“My place.”
Rigby had a reputation for being private. No way would he bring me to his home unless he believed my explanation. My eyes filled with tears as relief coursed through my system. Nodding, I walked over to the passenger side and said, “Your place sounds perfect to me.”