City of Champions (39 page)

"Ooh, now that sounds promising," she giggled, then added, "I'm glad I told you about the surgery, and what's coming next. That way we don't have any more secrets."

Wyatt opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish, gasping for air. He wanted so much to tell her the truth, to explain why he was so desperate to make her change her opinion on his shoulder. That even though his motives for spending time with her hadn't been pure at the beginning, his feelings now
were
. Yet, no words came.

"Wyatt, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm just really glad you told me, too. No secrets."

The shame in his gut ate at him, but it was too important he be there for her. Their feelings were a tender new plant that could grow into a strong tree someday. He simply needed to protect it from harm — even if one of those threats was of his own making.

"That's great. You know, they say what you do at midnight is what you'll do all year," she said, with a mischievous smile.

"Is that right?"

"Yep. So, I was thinking… What I'd like to do this midnight is
you
."

"That sounds like one hell of a year, Doc," he replied, with a deep laugh.

"Now get those lips of yours over here, Mr. McCoy, and make my New Year’s wish come true."

"I told you…to call me, Wyatt," he teased, before closing his lips over hers. He relaxed his body against hers, reveling in the way she fit perfectly against him. As he slipped inside of her, he let all his fears disappear.

She was falling for him, too.

Everything was going to be okay.

A slight tickle at the skin of her cheek interrupted Jenna's slumber. She rolled over and a whiff of coffee pleasantly wafted into her nose. As her eyes fluttered open, she smiled at the sight of Wyatt seated next to her on the edge of the bed. He was stroking her face lightly with his left hand and wearing nothing but light cotton pajama bottoms. Two coffee mugs steamed next to him on the bedside table.

After the intensity of the night before, Jenna was filled with joy at their easy domesticity. Maybe they were just playing house, for now, but she felt confident she didn't want this wonderful game ever to end. She clumsily reached up a hand to stroke at the smooth muscles of his chest, letting her fingers slide down the rippling edges of his stomach.

"Morning, Doc. Are you having fun pawing at me?"

"Yes. I can't help it. I think I may be obsessed with your body," she mumbled, still groggy.

"That works, since I
know
I'm obsessed with yours. Though, it really interferes with finding the motivation to leave this bed."

With a sigh, she reluctantly stopped groping him and sat up.

"Oh, that reminds me. I need to get my butt in gear. I have to be at Tea's house in a couple hours."

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and the wrinkles in his brow looked so cute, that Jenna had to nuzzle his neck for a moment.

"It's all good, I promise. Every year we make a traditional Southern New Year’s dinner. Well, she cooks. I mostly try to keep her from dropping things while I watch the Rose Bowl. I'd probably poison everyone if I tried making actual food."

Wyatt moved so he was sitting next to her and gently stroked the part of her leg that had escaped from under the sheet.

"You know, Doc, after you help me do my shoulder rehab exercises, I don't have any other plans today. One of the few benefits of not making it to the play-offs is getting some more free time. How about I come with you today? You can finally tell your friends about us."

Jenna's heart squeezed at his question. The idea of opening their relationship to the world was thrilling, but also terrifying. His eyes hardened with her hesitance and she could tell he felt hurt. The realization made her feel terrible.

"I'm your dirty little secret. I get it."

Jenna wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly.

"It's not like that at all, Wyatt. I promise."

"They're important to you…part of your family. You met my family. They know we're together."

"And I love that they know about us. I can't wait to tell my friends about us, I swear. I just want to handle it perfectly. Tea has a lot going on right now. Plus, she's got a full house for the holidays, so it's extra crazy over there. I also feel bad now that I didn't say anything about us sooner. That means I have to handle the news carefully."

"Why do these sound a lot like excuses, Doc?"

"They aren't! I mean it. I'm going to tell them today. I have a whole plan I've been working on. I was thinking I could call you after I tell her and you can come over then?"

"Yeah?"

She nodded and he kissed her. "That's a promise and I’m going to hold you to it, Doc," he murmured against her lips. Wyatt's strong hands snaked around her bare waist and she immediately considered canceling every appointment she ever had for the rest of her life. Wyatt broke the kiss and she leaned against his chest in comfortable silence. His voice finally broke through the calm.

"Are you going to tell them about your…you know…"

"My lumpectomy? Maybe. And you know you're allowed to say the word." He hugged her so forcefully to him she was worried he'd crack a rib. "Wyatt, you're gonna squeeze the stuffing out of me."

"Jenna, it’s okay to be emotional. You didn't tell anyone because you know it's a big deal. Let me worry about you. I'm good at worrying. Just ask Claudia. She'll tell you it's kind of my thing."

Jenna reached her arms around his waist and kissed his neck.

"Fine. I'll let you worry about me. I’ll warn you, though, I might get used to it."

"Good. That's my intention, Doc," he answered, with a kiss to the top of her head that made her sigh with contentment.

Wyatt was dressed and trying to distract himself as he waited for Jenna to call him. His phone rang and he jumped for it. A stab of disappointment shot through him when he saw it was his agent. He'd just have to wait a little longer before Jenna was ready for him.

"Hey Gabe. Happy New Year."

"Cut the bullshit, Wyatt."

"What bullshit?" Gabe was clearly furious about something, but Wyatt didn’t have a clue as to what could have him so riled.

"I've put up with a lot of shit from you over the years, but this is beyond fucked up. I should fire you as a client right now."

"Christ, Gabe, calm down. What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's my fault for not having the balls to nix your stupid Dr. Sutherland scheme in the first place."

"Wait, what about Jenna…I mean Dr. Sutherland?"

"I know you're driven, but I never thought you'd pull something like this. This is so fucking low."

Wyatt suddenly felt cold fear oozing down his spine. He fought to breathe and bit out as many words as he could through the invisible fist squeezing at his throat.

"Dammit, Gabe! I need you to tell me what happened. Right now!"

"Let
ESPN
do it. Or
Fox Sports,
or any goddamn sports news channel you can find."

"What do you mean?" Wyatt asked, but he was already pulling up
Fox Sports
on his laptop. And immediately wished he hadn't.

The title of
Fox Sports
’ latest exposé was:
Gunslinger McCoy Romances His Own Doctor in Desperate Ploy to Stay on Team.

There he and Jenna were — every aspect and stage of their relationship seemed to be plastered all over the Internet. There were pictures of them at the ice-skating rink, afterward in the parking garage, and of him walking into Carol’s restaurant. There were even images of him waiting for her in her parking lot after he returned from the Oakland game, and was so furious at the sight of her with Trey.

No matter what page he went to, there they were. The main focus was the salacious story about his illicit affair with the voluptuous blonde surgeon that consulted on his shoulder. The worst part though, was how the story asserted he was only involved with Jenna so he could use her position to save his career.

"Gabe, what the hell is this? Where the fuck did this article come from? I didn’t want this to happen."

"Then how did Olivia get all this?"

"Olivia?"

"Yeah, it's her story. Her pictures. She quotes you as saying:
Dr. Sutherland was going to see things your way one way or another
. Did she make that up? If she did, we can sue her."

"She didn't make it up," he whispered. "I said it after the New Orleans game. I was all amped up and trying to get her to back off."

"That explains when the pictures started. The first ones came within days of that game."

"Fuck, Gabe, you're right. She must’ve been following me, stalking the two of us. She’s here in Pittsburgh all the time." Wyatt scanned through one shot after another of him pursuing Jenna all the way through to them on his veranda the night before. The image looked like it was taken with a night vision camera. "Me at yoga with her…meeting her for ice-skating. Christ, even us kissing for the first time. It makes it look like we were together while she was still consulting on me."

"At least her opinion on your shoulder was unfavorable. That may help her, ethically speaking."

"Christ. You're right. This could ruin her career. We have to fix this."

"Why do you want to fix it? And you better be honest with me, Wy."

Wyatt sank heavily in the chair in front of his laptop, his eyes fixated on a picture taken in his driveway. He was holding Jenna in his arms after she'd been so upset that she ran from his family. They were kissing and the intimacy of the moment was almost too perfect. Olivia violated that beautiful experience, and now Jenna was bound to hate him. After everything she'd been through with Chase, she would think the absolute worst of him.

And why wouldn’t she? He
was
the worst. His own words made him look like a brutal manipulator. She'd probably hate him, and he might actually deserve it.

"Are you still there?" Gabe asked with a frustrated tone.

Wyatt cleared his throat hard and answered, "I'm here, Gabe. We have to fix this…because I love her."

That answer seemed to appease Gabe, because he sighed and said gently, "Good, but you've really fucked up big time, Wyatt. I'm sorry to say that this may not be fixable."

"I know, man. I know."

Jenna opened the door to Tea's house. She was a little early, but she knew Tea wouldn't mind. It made it that much sooner that Jenna could tell them about Wyatt and get him over there. Then she could stop feeling like a fool for missing him already.