Monica looks up at me smiling, making me almost glare at her. “It really hasn’t been decided. I do visit, but you know I have lots of work to do here. Planning a wedding isn’t easy.” She bats her eyes at me.
What the fuck did she just say? I don’t even skip a beat when he asks his next question.
“Will you guys wait till your break next season or get married before?”
“Excuse me,” I say, looking at her and her father. “There seems to be some confusion on everyone’s part. I’ll set the record straight now so we don’t have to dillydally and you know your sources won’t be confused on the topic.” I look at him, feeling Monica’s dad get tense next to me.
“Monica and myself have parted ways. We’ve actually parted ways even before last season was done. I will also say that this wedding she is planning is not a wedding that I will be attending. I wish her and her new fiancé all the luck in the world. And with that said, I can say that she isn’t going to be moving in with me at any time. It would make my girlfriend really uncomfortable having my ex-girlfriend over,” I say, looking at Monica while her face turns red, but I’m not done. “You guys know I don’t talk about my private life, but since it seems I need to set the record straight, I will say this. Parker, my girlfriend, will be here tonight cheering myself and my team on. I hope you guys catch her ‘cause she’s everything a man needs. Now, if you guys will excuse me, I have a game to prepare for.”
And with that, I walk away, pissed that they made me walk into that shit. I take out my phone, shooting my agent a text saying we need to talk. Right after I press send, I get a text from Matthew. After the last time, I have all the necessary contacts for Parker, Matthew, Meghan, and her father. So I’ll always be able to get in touch with her.
You pretty much destroyed Barbie on national television. Oh, by the way, we were watching.
I text him back with the only thing on my mind.
Is Mom okay?
She was pissed, and I will say she and Aunt Meghan are having martinis, so I don’t know how the rest of the night will be. But she seemed to calm down after you left the reporter asking Monica who her new fiancé is.
I’ll see her later. Hope you guys have fun.
With that, I send one more text before I close down my phone.
I love you.
That’s it. Three words. Nothing else to say. I walk into the dressing room. The interview plays on the screens, some guys laughing at all the shit going on. I close it all off. Zone it all out. I’ve got a game to get ready for, but most of all I have to make my family proud.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Parker
I’m sitting in the hotel room a little bit buzzed. Okay, maybe a little bit more than buzzed. The evening started off great. Meghan and I were doing our hair and makeup when she turned on the television to watch the interviews.
When I saw Cooper on the screen with Barbie next to him, my heart sank. My throat got dry. I didn’t know what to expect, but I smelled a rat the minute I saw her no emotions from her Botox face on the screen.
Now here I am sitting down in my tight blue jeans that make my ass look good, as per Meghan. I put on my Stone jersey, making my way to the full-length mirror. I take in my appearance. My auburn hair hangs down loose, swiped to the side. I only put mascara on with a touch of liner, my black wedges giving me that extra boost.
I look at myself. Really look at myself. I haven’t been this happy with myself in maybe forever. I worked my ass off to come back from where I was, and I sure as fuck am not going to let some plastic fucking Barbie come in and take what’s mine.
I pick up my black purse and tuck my phone inside, the last message received still on the lock screen. Three words. I love you. I smile to myself because he really does love me. It’s time to show him I love him, too.
Knocking on the door where the kids are staying, I tell them it’s time to rock and roll. My beautiful girl runs to me, her Stone jersey on as well. Matthew is on his cell phone but looks up at us. He’s also wearing his Stone jersey. The twins have opted to stay in and paint their nails. Meghan is putting the last touches on her lip-gloss when we walk out.
“Let’s go show our guy how much we love him.” And with that, we cheer all the way to the taxi.
Making our way inside the arena is insane. They have shut down the front of the arena. There are all kinds of different activities for the kids. There is actually a mechanical bull placed in the middle. Every second person is wearing a Stone jersey, which makes me really fucking proud of him.
We make our way inside, our tags hanging around our necks. VIP Stone is written on them.