He’d never let anything affect his game play. But losing Haven had an effect on his concentration. All he’d thought about during the game was her. It had shown in his performance today, too. Even now, after the game, he wondered where she was—how she was feeling.
He wanted to call her, to talk to her, but he couldn’t. Not after all the things he’d said. Not after he’d kicked her out of his life.
And he had his friends here today. Garrett and Alicia had come down to Dallas to see the game, and his friend Gray Preston was here, since he’d had an auto race in Dallas yesterday. Drew Hogan was here as well, since he’d flown in to see Gray’s race. They were meeting up for dinner tonight.
Right now he didn’t want to see anyone, but these were his college roommates, his best friends. He had to honor his commitments. Besides, they would help take his mind off Haven.
Garrett and Alicia were waiting for him outside the stadium. He grinned when he saw them.
“That was a decent game,” Garrett said.
Trevor laughed. “That’s a nice way of saying we sucked.”
“At least you won.” Alicia gave him a hug.
“We did win. Barely, but we won.”
“One in the W column. That’s all that counts,” Garrett said.
“Considering how badly I played, I’ll take the W.”
“You can’t always be the superstar, stud.”
Trevor stopped and stared at Garrett. “Of course I can. It’s my trademark.”
Garrett shook his head, then led them to his rental car.
“So where’s dinner tonight?”
“Del Frisco’s. For steak.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Gray and Drew are meeting us there.”
The steak house looked fantastic from the outside, and smelled even better inside. Trevor was hungry, and he smiled as he saw Drew and his fiancée, Carolina, and Gray and his wife, Evelyn, waiting for them. He shook the guys’ hands and hugged the women.
“It’s good to see you. Thanks for coming to the game.”
“It was a good game,” Evelyn said after they took their seats. The hostess put them in a private room. Obviously Gray had connections. Gray always had connections. Everywhere.
“It was a shit game, but thanks for being nice about it, Evelyn. And I’m surprised you traveled without Lucas.”
She sighed. “It’s hard to leave a new baby, but he has a great nanny, and I wanted to see the race. Believe me, I’m on the Preston jet tonight back home to him.”
“It’s been a whirlwind year for you, two, hasn’t it?”
Gray put his arm around Evelyn. “It’s been like that ever since I met this woman. As if I wasn’t crazy busy all the time as it was with racing in a different city every weekend during the season. Then I met Evelyn, and we fell in love, got married, and now we have a son together. She keeps me on my toes.”
Evelyn swiped her fingers over Gray’s chin and smiled up at him. “As it should be. And don’t forget that small thing about your dad becoming the vice president of the United States. That kind of busy, too.”
Gray grinned. “Right. That, too.”
“But enough about us. Let’s talk about your game. Thanks for the tickets,” Evelyn said.
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I couldn’t put on a better show for you.”
“Oh, come on, Trevor. You played good. You only dropped two passes,” Carolina said with a wink. “I’ve seen you play worse.”
Trevor laughed. “Thanks.”
“You did seem distracted. And you have played better,” Gray said. “Something on your mind?”
“Nah. Just not on my game today.”
“Where’s Haven?” Evelyn asked. “I heard she was doing a big interview and feature story about you. I thought she’d be here.”
“She . . . left.”
“Oh. So the interview’s finished?”
He stared at his water glass before lifting his gaze to Evelyn. “Yeah.”
“I’m so disappointed. I was really hoping to see her again.”
“Me, too,” Alicia said. “Besides, I kind of thought you two would end up together.”
He looked at Alicia, then noticed they were all staring at him. “Why would you think that?”
Alicia gave him a gentle smile. “Isn’t it obvious? You were perfect together. I saw it. Liz saw it. You had to feel it.”
His stomach tightened and he felt a pang of regret. “Yeah, well, I guess we weren’t.”
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
“Alicia,” Garrett said, laying his hand over hers.
“Sorry. Not my business. But I really liked her, Trevor.”