Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1)(84)

“Oh, sorry,” I said, stepping back and taking the seat beside Kinsley on the couch.

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and shook me back and forth. “I can’t believe he’s won four gold medals already! He’s amazing.”

“And he lo…likes you!” Becca said with a look of amazement. “Don’t you feel special?”

My smile fell, but everyone had turned back to the TV to watch the celebration. “Something like that,” I nodded. “Anyway, that’s probably enough for now,” I said, reaching for the remote.

“Wait!” Becca said, blocking my path and grabbing it before I could. “He’s about to do interviews.”

Oh lord. “I doubt it. He’s pretty private.”

But I was wrong. I’d barely stepped into my room when I heard him speak through the TV. The last time I’d heard his accent, he’d torn my heart in two, but as he greeted the reporter, he sounded like his normal self, confident and sexy. I stood just inside my door, listening to him out of sight of the others.

“Do you care to elaborate on what’s been distracting you?” the young reporter asked in response to Freddie’s answer as to why he’d been able to swim faster than usual.

Another reporter spoke over him. “Is it Andie Foster?”

My gut clenched at the mention of my name. I stared up at my ceiling and waited with bated breath for his answer.

“I’m here to win gold, not hearts,” Freddie answered with a clipped tone.

My breath caught short in my chest. It was the right thing to say, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.

“So does that mean the rumors about you and Andie Foster aren’t true?”

“…my focus is on swimming, not American football players.”

I stepped away from the door before I could hear another word. My heart was already ripped apart; there was no need to rub salt in the wound. I reached for my phone and locked myself in my bathroom before Kinsley and Becca could pester me with questions about the interview. They were smart girls; they could connect the dots without having to see the hurt in my eyes.

I turned on the faucet of the bathtub and turned to my phone to silence it. Just before I could set it down by the tub, a text from Georgia caught my eye.



Georgie: He’s only saying that so Caroline leaves you alone. REMEMBER THAT.



I typed out Does it even matter? but deleted it without hitting send. I already knew the answer.





CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE


Andie




I WAS ON my way to the last practice before our final game when the news of Caroline’s pregnancy broke. I knew something was different the minute I stepped out of our complex. There were paparazzi hovering outside the perimeter of the village, snapping photo after photo as we loaded onto the bus. They were far more desperate than usual. An Olympic official was shouting at them to get back, but they kept right on snapping photos until the bus doors closed behind me. I could only imagine what the headline read that morning: Mother Theresa Step Aside, There’s a New Mum in Town. Gag me.

She’d probably given them an array of photos to choose from, all of which solidified her image as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Virginal white, pale pink, pearls, diamonds, nude flats—she knew exactly what she was doing, I’d give her that.

As I walked down the aisle of the bus, I heard whispers about her pregnancy, but no one had the guts to stand up and ask me. Even Kinsley and Becca danced around the issue, focusing on my wrist instead.

“What did the doctor say at your appointment yesterday?”

I shrugged. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what his final decision had been, but I was still proceeding as planned. If Coach Decker asked, I’d lie. There was no other option. Soccer was the only thing I had left.

When we arrived at the practice stadium, I trailed the rest of my team members off the bus, annoyed to find more paparazzi waiting there for me. I shoved my earbuds in and turned up the volume on my music, but I could still hear them shouting.

“Andie!”

“Andie! Are you and Freddie still seeing each other?”

“What do you think about the pregnancy news, Andie?!”

Kinsley reached back and tugged me through the door before they could ask anything else.

The mood inside the stadium was different than it’d been in the weeks since we’d arrived in Rio. Everyone was tired and anxious. The final game was the next day and the tension emanating from the group was nearly tangible. We’d made it to the final round, which meant we were at least guaranteed silver. Even if we lost the game, we’d be the second best women’s soccer team in the world, but that didn’t matter. We only had eyes for gold.

“Huddle up first,” Coach Decker shouted as we dropped our bags on the benches. “We need to go over a few things before we start warm-ups.”

I grabbed for my water bottle and my shin guards then took a seat beside Kinsley on the scratchy turf. The other girls joined us, giving me a wide berth, which didn’t surprise me. Other than Kinsley and Becca, most of my teammates had treated me like a leper the last few days.

“I’m going to cut right to the chase here,” Coach Decker said, clutching her clipboard to her chest. “The doctor didn’t clear Foster for the game tomorrow, which means Erin will have to sub in—”