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The knot that had formed in my stomach as soon as Philip started speaking tightened. “Please don’t play games with me, Mr. Philip. ”
He arched a brow. “Even though that’s what I do professionally?”
Game-masters never ended up in the healthiest positions. Not every berry contained antioxidants. “What I write shouldn’t affect him at all. ”
Across the room, Abe turned to football socialite Lucinda Levine and leaned down so close that his lips brushed her cheek. My body, which had been numbed by cold, flushed hot.
Philip laughed. “Of course, maybe he’s moved on already. You’re not anyone’s favorite person right now, Ms. Rosenfeld. ”
A movement alerted me to a new presence at my side. “Are you harassing my reporter, Philip?”
He smiled, and it looked slightly less like the awful mastermind expression he’d favored with. “Ah, Tanya. I’m thrilled. ”
She narrowed her eyes. “Only when you’re making money or torturing souls. ”
“And aren’t those your favorite entertainments too?”
She tossed him a disdainful look and steered me away. “Don’t listen to him,” she instructed in a low voice. “That man’s scum. ”
Well, I hadn’t been going to say it, but yeah.
Abe was at my side in seconds, and I glared at him. “I told you to stay away. ”
Tanya looked at him. “What are you doing here, Krasner?”
“Trying not to take a swing at the owner. ” He tried to take my hand.
I took it away and frowned. “That’s like a fifty-thousand-dollar handhold. ”
“I don’t care. ”
Tanya shook her head. “You kids. ” Then she frowned. “You get fined for talking to her? You two still together?”
“No,” I said quickly.
“Yes. ” Abe remained staunch.
Tanya’s pencil-thin brows rose.
I shook my head. “No, you can’t print that. That’s not a story. ”
“Come on. The Leopards trying to break up true love? People will eat that up like candy. ”
“No, I don’t want to put Abe in the spotlight anymore. ”
Her lips twitched. “Precious. Fine, I’ll hold for now. But I’m keeping it for when we really need to pull you out of the trenches. Look, there’s Jensen Clay. Go find out why he crashed his car two nights ago instead of studying the playbook. ”
“Don’t let Clay be an ass to you,” Abe warned.
I wanted to kiss him lightly, but didn’t, of course. “I can handle Jensen. ” I nodded at Tanya, and took off.
* * *
The rest of the evening went all right. I left twenty minutes after Abe and hurried down the frozen streets toward our meeting spot. Snow drifted down, silencing the city.
A hand reached out and caught mine. Abraham whirled me into his arms, kissing me softly. Snow melted down on our skin as his mouth explored mine. His gloved hands were rough against my cheeks, but he was warm, and he was safe. I leaned my head against his chest and sighed. “That was a horrible night. ”
“I wanted to punch Philip. ”
“Thank God you didn’t! As it is, you’re probably going to get fined. ”
“I don’t care. ”
“You should care. ” I shook my head, indignant. “He couldn’t even be bothered to get my name right! Called me ‘Rosenberg. ’”
Abe started laughing. “I don’t think that was a mistake. ”
“Um, I think it was. It’s not my last name. ”
Abe couldn’t stop laughing. “It’s the last name of famous traitors from World War II. Soviets. ”
I stared at him. “Were they Jewish?”
“Yeah. Lived in New York, too. ”
Well, that was awkward. “Oh my God. He called me a Soviet spy. ” I paused. “Do you think he came up with that on the fly or has he’s been waiting to use it all week?”
Abe leaned his head against my shoulder. “I hope he’s been storing it up for months. ”
“It’s not actually a bad pun. Rude. But not bad. ”
But now Abe’s laughter dried up, and he lifted his head. “It was rude. In fact, you know what? I didn’t like anything about that. Not how they treated you. I didn’t like not defending you. We’re going to have to cut this secret stuff. ”
“No, we’re not,” I said just as stubbornly. “Because then you’ll get in trouble. ”
“I don’t care. Fuck them. I want to go out with my girlfriend, I’m going out. ”
He knew that wasn’t an option. “Abe, we can’t be seen together. ”
“They’re not running our lives. Dammit, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. We’re going to go to the movies and get Chinese food and to hell with the rest of them. ”
My lips twitched. “What, are we going to go in disguise?”
He stopped pacing and stared at me, roguish light illuminating his face.
It must have been contagious, because laughter burbled out of me. “You know, I always wanted to be a redhead. . . ”
Chapter Twenty-Five
We painted my hair red with twenty-four-hour dye and then blew it dry. The straightened length of my hair always shocked me; it flowed well below my shoulder blades. I liked the red, and kept staring in the mirror and giggling.
When I came out of the bathroom, I struck a pose. “Introducing the new locks of L’Oreal. ”
Abraham grinned slowly. “I still think you should wear black leather. You know. Just to make sure no one will be able to recognize you. ”
I laughed. “More like you should wear a beard. ”
He tilted his head. “And maybe a Bisons’ jacket. ”
“Ha! Then they wouldn’t let you back on the team, even without my help. ”
To be truthful, we weren’t actually concerned that anyone would recognize us. I might be famous in the news, but certainly not to household name status—more like “that reporter girl who wrote about her NFL boyfriend’s concussions. ” Even Abe didn’t rate household recognition, which was reserved for Carter, Lindsey and perhaps the new rookie QB. As long as we stayed away from the haunts of League staff, we’d be in the clear.
But it still leant the excursion an illicit thrill, and I’d been delighted for a reason to dye my hair, even if it would wash out next time I showered. We made up elaborate backstories for each other—I was a fugitive from Greece trying to escape an assassin after witnessing a politician’s murder, and Abe was WHO—and then buried our disguises in layers when we bundled up in all the layers necessary to face the bitter winter wind. We probably could have walked straight into the Leopards Stadium and no one would have recognized us, not with all the down jackets and scarves and hats.
We went to a cash-only restaurant in Chinatown for lunch and ordered mango bubble-tea and loads of food, just like all the other Jews who’d settled in for the day. After that, we headed to the movies for a double feature of Audrey Hepburn.
We were in such a good mood afterward that Abe suggested heading over to the rink at Rockefeller Center. I raised my brow at him. “Can you even ice-skate?”
He looked affronted. “I can take down three-hundred-pound men. I think I can ice-skate. ”