Risky Play (Red Card #1)(72)

I gulped.

Me: And what did Slade say?

Matt: Oh sorry, Slade’s in prison with Jagger right now—they went after Alton, more details on that soon!

Me: WHAT?

Matt: Don’t worry, they’ll get roughed up, I’m sure, but they’re fine! Are you sure you really want to do this?

Me: Yes.

Matt: Alright . . . I trust you.

Me: And Slade? What about his trust?

Matt: He let his fear speak for him. I would extend a bit of grace to the guy.

I smiled down at my phone.

Me: I’ll be set up at seven p.m. We’ll have wine for the press.

Matt: Oh good, drunk paparazzi. Great idea. Bring a Taser!





Chapter Fifty-One MACKENZIE

I didn’t sleep.

Slade didn’t text.

I tried not to be heartbroken.

I ignored everything and everyone and powered through my day, and when my dad approached me with arms wide—that was when I almost lost it.

I held on by a thread.

And by the time I made it to the press conference, I was a giant ball of nerves and stress.

Matt waved me over to the stage. He’d been talking to my dad for what felt like hours as the press made their way in, enjoying free wine and appetizers.

I slid my hands down my white skirt and adjusted the collar to my black blouse. The idea was to go for classy, not home wrecker, not the sort of girl that would just sleep with a soccer star in order to make a name for herself outside of her father’s business. I was my own woman. I had no reason to go after him, no reason to take what wasn’t mine.

I reminded myself that it didn’t matter. I had money and my family’s backing. I hadn’t needed to expose him or anyone, and Britney was the one to blame for all of this—well, she and Alton, may he rot in whatever hole he was hiding in. On top of it all, they needed to know that I never knew Slade. I wasn’t the one who came between them. I was the one who hopefully saved him—just like he saved me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to start,” Matt said into the microphone. I wiped my hands on my skirt again and exhaled slowly.

I felt the sting of tears.

And hated it.

Hated that the one man I wanted to see.

Hadn’t so much as texted me.

Had broken all contact with me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, opened them, then slowly made my way to the front of the room. I hated the public eye. Hated it. They had thrown me to the wolves after my failed wedding.

I wanted vengeance against Alton.

For myself. For our reputations.

But now that I had Slade? If I even had him?

I wanted peace more.

I wanted to prove to him that I wasn’t going to walk away, that even if he did, I’d fight for him, for us.

“Hi, everyone,” I said into the microphone. “It’s safe to say you probably all know who I am by now.”

The audience chuckled.

“I met Slade Rodriguez—”

“On a plane,” came a loud voice from the back of the room.

My eyes roamed the strange faces until they fell to his.

The one I loved most.

He stood, and beside him was a beautiful woman with silver hair and kind eyes I recognized from family photos, who patted him on the hand and winked at me—his mom.

He was wearing a three-piece suit, and his golden eyes were locked on me with such warmth I almost burst into tears.

“Yeah,” I said, voice shaky. “A plane.”

He made his way up to the stage. He stood next to me and held my hand. He squeezed it tight, and he leaned in and kissed my cheek in front of everyone, like he was claiming me.

And then he whispered just so I could hear, “Partners jump together.”

I hugged him.

I couldn’t help myself.

He held me so tight it was hard to breathe. “I love you.”

“I know.” He chuckled.

“No, I really, really love you. I think I fell in love with you the minute we jumped.”

“Really?” He grinned. “Because I fell in love with you the minute you lectured me on wine.”

The crowd laughed.

I pulled away from him and heat bloomed across my cheeks.

“As you were saying, Mack . . .” He winked.

I smiled so bright, on cloud nine as I explained. “The plane lost an engine. I was terrified I was going to die. I may have shaken Slade awake. I honestly had no idea who he was, just that he was nice to look at.”

“Gee, thanks.” He laughed, making me feel warm all over, it was so easy for him, wasn’t it? And yet, I realized at his side, it felt easy for me too.

Everyone in the crowd was grinning so wide it was almost comical.

“I asked him one thing . . .” I whispered.

Slade tucked my hair behind my ear. “She asked me what I would do differently, just one thing.”

“And then I kissed him.”

“I kissed her back.” He smiled. “And for the first time since my ex-fiancée cheated on me—I felt something other than anger.”

“And I felt something other than fear,” I added.

Slade turned to the cameras. “We spent the day together. Those memories are some of the best of my life, only to be topped when Mack came back to the States. I was a complete ass to her after my father’s death, blaming her presence for the reason I didn’t answer his phone call . . . and she just . . . supported me.”