Luke: We’re free for the next half hour if you’re around to talk.
I glance up and see Nicki reading a text on her phone, too. This must be the official call your wife time.
“I’m gonna call Josh,” Nicki says.
“I’m going to head home. It’s Pepper’s dinner time anyway and I just got a text from Luke, too.”
She gives me a quick hug. “You can come back here for dinner if you want. I’m ordering Chinese.”
“Thanks, but Debbie left me chicken tacos. You’re welcome to join me.”
She glances around her kitchen and sighs. “Thanks, but I’ve got a project I can’t give up on now.”
I laugh. “Check in tomorrow, okay?”
She nods. “I’m actually getting together with the other football wives tomorrow for lunch. Come with me. You’re one of us now.”
I nod. “Okay. That sounds fun, actually.” Not only will it give me something to do, but it actually does sound fun. It’s time I get to know some people in the area—even if it’s not the best idea to get attached to the football wife lifestyle.
I call Luke as soon as I walk in the front door.
“Hey,” he answers softly, and his warm voice sounds exhausted.
“How’s the first day?” I ask.
“Reminding me why the average age in the league is twenty-six.”
I chuckle. “You okay?”
“Let’s just say I’m looking forward to the cryotherapy in the morning.”
“What exactly is that?” I ask. “You’ve mentioned it a few times.”
“It’s cold therapy. I stand in a chamber in freezing temps for three minutes.”
I make a face even though he can’t see it. “That sounds awful.”
He laughs. “It helps with muscle pain. It’s worth the three minutes of freezing my ass off for the benefits.”
“So what was today like that you’re already in pain?”
“It’s the first day. Everyone pushes hard to show they didn’t fuck around in the offseason. The rookies are trying to prove themselves—well, the ones who don’t walk around like they know everything, anyway. And the old guys—that’s me—are trying to prove they’re still relevant.”
“You’re still relevant,” I say softly.
He sighs. “I like to think so.”
“Does the owner go to camp?”
“Not this leg of it,” he says. “He’ll be there when we’re back home, but he doesn’t come out here. This is just coaches and players. It gives us a little time to get back into things, to get to know the new guys, and to get back in shape.”
“And to use the cold chamber.”
“We have a chamber at our practice facility, too,” he says. “Out here, they have four. We only have one, and the line tends to get lengthy waiting for it.”
“What does a vineyard need four cold chambers for?” I ask.
“Aside from actually freezing grapes, we’re not the only guests who frequent this facility. There’s a whole therapy wing that gets used pretty much year-round by different athletes.”
“Interesting. So what’s next on the agenda?”
“Dinner in, well, fifteen minutes now, and then we have meetings with our position coaches. What have you been up to today?” he asks.
“Trying to find something to do. Pepper has been well-exercised and I’ve realized how entertaining you must be.”
He chuckles. “You know, a few guys mentioned to me how impressed they are with my social media presence.”
“They did?”
“Yep,” he says. “I actually had two who asked me if my publicist is taking on more clients. If you’re interested, I’m sure I could rally up more than just two guys. As long as I always come first.”
“Seriously?” I’m in awe. I just wanted to help the guy who offered me a place to stay, and now I’m working for him, married to him, and he’s pimping me out—in a good, professional way, of course. “What did you tell the ones who asked about me?”
“That I’d talk to you about it. I know you said you don’t know enough about athletes to take them on as clients, but from what I’m hearing...that doesn’t really matter. You’ll research what you don’t know, but what you know about PR more than makes up for what you don’t know when it comes to the game. So I guess...just think about it.”
“I will,” I promise...even though it’s a no-brainer. Of course I’ll take on more clients. He’s right. I’ll research what I don’t know. Are there people better equipped to take on athletes as clients? Absolutely. But I don’t know all that much about architecture, and one of my clients was a firm in Chicago. I don’t know that much about lingerie, but I learned when I had to work with Todd on a client who needed a total rebrand after a celebrity was caught gifting their goods to a hooker.
And I’ll learn more about football, too.
Especially since it’ll help make Luke even more indispensable to the Aces, which is my end-goal in the first place.
CHAPTER 14
Leah, Nadine, and Krista are already sitting at a round table when Nicki and I walk into the restaurant.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Nadine says to me, and I grin widely and flash my hand so everyone can check out my sparkly new hardware.
“Good catch,” Leah says. “So many women have tried to tie that one down—including Calvin’s daughter. How’d you manage to do it? And so quickly?”
I shrug, trying not to feel defeated that Michelle has already been brought up as I slide into an open chair and Nicki takes the one beside me. “We’ve known each other a while through Josh. The timing was just right, I guess.”
“Didn’t you just break up with someone?” Krista asks, and I get the feeling she doesn’t believe what Luke and I have is real.
“Yep. But when the timing is right with Luke Dalton, you jump at the chance. Am I right?” I get a laugh out of most of the ladies gathered. Not Krista.
“Well congrats, girl,” Nadine says. “But now you’ll be a one-night stand virgin forever.”
Everyone shares a laugh, and I don’t correct her. Because I’m not anymore. Not really.
“So tell me everything I need to know about being a football wife,” I say, trying to push the spotlight off me and allow these ladies to shine.
Leah launches into the same warnings she gave Nicki about lifting your husband up so some other woman doesn’t swoop in, Nadine talks about how important it is to maintain my own identity and have things that are just for me, and Krista tells me who I need to get to know in the staff offices. Apparently there are tons of activities for the wives and families of players, things like ladies’ luncheons, community events, charity work, and even Bible study groups if I’m so inclined to be part of any of it.
And I am inclined. I don’t just need something to fill the hours...I need a community. But does it make sense for me to become a part of this community only to have to leave it in a year?
I’m scared to form attachments that I won’t get to keep. And nothing says I won’t still be around in a year. We can stay together forever if that’s what we decide, but the contract only stipulates a year.