Safe Bet (The Rules #4)

  Call me.

  My heart starts to race. Why am I so nervous to talk to him? It’s just Gabe. He won’t judge. He’s done so many stupid things, he can’t say squat to me about bad choices. Besides, this ridiculous rumor is just that—a rumor. I’m not having an affair with my boss.

  So why am I afraid to talk to Gabe about it? I need to call him. I need to reassure him that everything’s okay.

  Just as I’m about to dig up his number, my phone rings.

  “I thought you were avoiding me,” is his greeting.

  “I was.”

  He chuckles, but there’s not much humor there. “I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.” I sigh. “It’s all just a huge misunderstanding. It’s not even true. None of it.”

  “I figured. What happened?”

  I give him all the details, and he lets loose a string of curses after I finish. “Sounds like the media is a bunch of lying sacks of shit.”

  Leave it to my big brother to be so blunt.

  “They are. They won’t let the story go either.”

  “I know. I saw you on the cover of some trashy magazine at the grocery store.”

  Closing my eyes, I exhale loudly. “It’s so embarrassing. What’s Mom saying?”

  “You don’t even want to know.”

  “Just tell me.” God, seriously I don’t want to know, but he’d tell me regardless.

  “At first, she couldn’t believe you even had a job. That’s all she could focus on. Then she didn’t understand how you got it in the first place, and that you were working for such famous people—direct quote.”

  “Did you tell her you helped me get the job?”

  “No way. I wanted her to think you’re fully capable of taking care of yourself.” Gabe pauses for a moment. “You are, you know.”

  I say nothing to that particular statement. I don’t feel like I can take care of myself. Instead I end up making a big mess out of everything.

  “Is she embarrassed? Is she ready to disown me for life?”

  “Funny enough, she doesn’t believe any of it.”

  If I weren’t already lying down I probably would’ve fallen onto the floor at that particular statement. “Are you serious?”

  “Oh yeah. She insists you would never do something so crazy.”

  “She’s right.” Now it’s my turn to pause. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  “Hell yeah, I believe you. I know you wouldn’t bone your boss. I mean, sure. He’s famous and he’s good looking or whatever the hell, but you’re not crazy, Syd. Not that crazy, at least.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Despite my sarcastic tone, relief floods me at my brother’s reassurance. I close my eyes against the tears that suddenly threaten. “I’m so scared they’re going to fire me,” I whisper.

  “Are they mad over what happened?” Now Gabe sounds pissed. “You can’t control the media. Neither can they.”

  “No, no. They’re not mad. Not at all. They’ve been really cool about the entire thing. But still. I’m a nuisance. I’m the Naughty Nanny—that’s what one of the gossip blogs called me and they’ve all started running with it. Can you believe it?” I’m the farthest thing from naughty. I had a few boyfriends in high school, the most serious one my senior year, and yeah, we had sex a few times before we broke up, right as he was about to leave for college.

  And I’ve been single ever since. I haven’t even wanted a boyfriend. I’ve been too busy trying to figure out how to survive to worry about finding a guy.

  “Well then, just roll with it. All this gossip will eventually die down, right? It freaking has to. And once it does, they’ll forget all about you and your supposed affair with Drew Callahan. The Naughty Nanny will disappear and you can go on with your life,” he says.

  “It’s just so unfair that I’m being dragged through this.” I can whine with my brother. He’ll let me, but only for a little while. “I’m innocent. Drew’s innocent.” And they definitely don’t want to mention Fable fainting at the restaurant. They want all of us to keep it a secret, and I’m fine with that. Truly, they’re lucky no restaurant employees saw it happen.

  “Life’s unfair sometimes, sis. You just have to learn how to roll with the punches and keep making it happen,” Gabe says.

  “Okay, Mr. Cliché,” I tease him. But then I get serious. “Thank you for talking to me. For supporting me.”

  “I will always support you. And talk to you. Anytime you need me, don’t hesitate to reach out, okay? I love you.”

  “Love you too.” After I end the call, I realize I still need to get ready before I go talk to Drew and Fable.

  I grab clothes and head into the connecting bathroom, hurriedly turning on the shower.

  Practice this last week has totally kicked my ass. It’s been brutally intense, hours on end of doing drills, catching the ball again. And again. And again. Most of the time, I make it. Sometimes, I miss. Or I drop it. I tripped over my own goddamn feet and went slamming into the ground just this afternoon. A few of the guys laughed at me—I’m sure they were glad it wasn’t them—but I picked myself up and shook it off every single time. The more I go out on that field to practice, the more I want to be there. I need to be there.

  I’m still on the team, too. They haven’t cut me yet. There was a preseason game last Saturday night and I got to play in the last part of the third and all of the fourth quarter. I only caught a single pass but was tackled before I could make it into the end zone.

  Not bad for my first official time playing for the 49ers.

  The whole Drew and Sydney affair has been the talk of the locker room. They say women like to gossip? Pretty much every locker room I’ve spent time in over the years has been full of speculation and rumors. They don’t talk about the scandal in front of Drew for fear of pissing him off, but they’re all whispering about it. Except for me.

  I’m the only one who knows the truth.

  Drew called me first thing this morning and asked if I’d come over for lunch at their house today. Said he wanted to talk to me about something. I figure it has to do with the team, so of course I said yes. I know some of the other guys are irritated with and jealous of my friendship with Drew. I can’t help it that I’ve known him for so many years, that he practically treats me like family.

  And I’m not stupid. I will take advantage of every bit of information Drew feeds me—and he feeds me a lot. He wants to help. I willingly accept that help any and every chance I get.

  The moment I enter the Callahan house, though, I realize whatever we’re going to talk about has nothing to do with football. Drew takes me to the kitchen, where Autumn is sitting at the counter eating and Fable and Sydney appear to be making lunch. Drew gets us both a beer and hands the bottle over before grabbing his own, snapping off the cap and taking a long drink.

  “We need to talk to you,” he says after he swallows, his voice deadly serious, as is his expression.

  I’m a little taken aback by his dire tone. And the way he pushed the beer on me. He’s not a big drinker, especially before the season starts. And neither am I. I don’t bother opening the one he gave me either. I don’t want it.

  “What about?” I ask warily.

  “Oh, don’t scare him, Drew.” Fable comes to stand beside her husband, a welcoming smile on her face. She looks a lot better compared to the last time I saw her. “We have a—proposition for you.”

  I glance over at Sydney, who’s still standing behind the kitchen counter. She looks as lost as I feel, so I’m guessing she has no idea what they’re talking about either. “What sort of proposition?”

  “You want to have some lunch first, and then we’ll discuss it?” Fable suggests brightly.

  “Maybe we should discuss it now.” I’m not one for prolonging conversations. When someone tells you, “we need to talk,” it’s usually bad news. I’d rather get it out right away. No use waiting.

  Drew and Fable look at each other before they turn their attentio
n onto me. “Okay, let’s talk now then,” Drew says easily. “You ready, Sydney?”

  “Yeah.” Her shaky voice makes me turn and study her closely. Her eyes are wide and unblinking and she looks petrified.

  How the hell is she involved in this conversation?

  All four of us go to the small table in the breakfast nook. Drew and Fable sit across from Sydney and me, and it almost feels like they’re our parents about to rip into us for our bad behavior.

  Sounds crazy, I know, but my imagination is wandering.

  “We know this is going to sound odd, but please hear us out,” Fable starts. “We came up with an idea to distract the media, and it involves both of you.”

  We both say nothing and Fable takes that as her cue to keep talking.

  “Everyone keeps talking about Drew and the ‘Naughty Nanny’. “ She even adds air quotes. “Now, the four of us know the stories aren’t true. We were there that night, and we all know what really happened. We want to keep the fainting incident out of the public eye, because first, it’s no one’s business what happens to me, and second…” Her voice drifts and her eyes start to shine. Like she might burst into tears at any moment.

  Ah, hell. I hope she’s not going to give us bad news.

  Drew rests his hand over his wife’s before he turns his attention to us and says, “Fable is pregnant again. Her doctor thinks that’s why she fainted.”

  Wow. Another baby. That’s unexpected. “But this is good news, right?” I watch them carefully, noting the worry in both of their gazes.

  “It’s great news,” Drew says as he looks over at Fable. “We’re thrilled. But Fable’s pregnancy with Jacob wasn’t the easiest, especially near the end. She had some minor problems and her doctor warned her they could become worse if she gets pregnant again. She’s going to need to take it easy with this pregnancy. We don’t want her to end up on bed rest. Or worse, in the hospital.”

  “So how do we come into this? How can we help?” Sydney asks, her eyes wide. She seems a little stunned at the pregnancy announcement so I’m figuring she didn’t know.

  “Well, Fable is going to take it easy these next couple of weeks and stay close to home. And while we appreciate all that you do—”

  Sydney doesn’t even let Drew finish his sentence. “You’re firing me, aren’t you.” She’s not asking, she’s stating what she thinks is the obvious. Then she lays her head down on the table, burying her face against her arms.

  If she starts crying, I’m going to lose it.

  “We’re not firing you,” Fable says, her voice gentle. “I definitely need you around, especially right now. But I have another task for you as well.”

  “What sort of task?” Sydney’s voice is muffled by her arms since she won’t lift her head.

  “We want you to pretend to be Wade’s girlfriend,” Fable says, her gaze cutting to mine.

  Say freaking what?

  Sydney lifts her head, her expression incredulous. “You want me to pretend to be Wade’s girlfriend? Why?”

  Damn. Why does she sound so offended? I don’t think I’m the shit, but come on. I’m okay looking, an NFL team drafted me, and if all goes well, I’ll have a solid income for the next five to ten years that could set me up for life.

  I’m not a bad catch, especially if you’re just playing pretend. So what’s her deal?

  “It would be a great distraction for the media,” Drew explains, his gaze locked on Sydney. “They’d forget all about me and you and how we’re supposedly having this wild affair. They could focus on your relationship with the new wide receiver for the Niners instead, right? We could even possibly make a special announcement—”

  Fable interrupts him. “No. A special announcement is a terrible idea. They’ll just twist our words around and make us look even guiltier.”

  Fable’s right. I totally agree. So I decide to speak up.

  “You don’t think the media will be suspicious that we’ve made up a fake relationship to cover up your supposed affair with Sydney?” When Drew directs his thunderous expression toward me, I throw up my hands. “I’m not saying the affair is true. I know it’s not true. But I’m talking about the public perception. Will our newfound relationship look like some sort of publicity stunt to take the focus off of you and Sydney together?”

  “It won’t look like a publicity stunt if you two really play up the fact that you’re crazy about each other,” Fable points out.

  I look over at Sydney, whose cheeks are turning a bright pink. She’s embarrassed. She’s probably not down for this idea at all, despite all that attraction we had buzzing between us a few nights ago. And hey, when I take my personal feelings out of it, I understand. Why should she agree? Why should I? What do we gain out of this? Absolutely nothing. What they’re proposing is insane.

  Yet despite the insanity, I’m still intrigued.

  “I know this sounds ridiculous, but hear us out.” Drew leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “The media is on a total rampage in search of a scandalous story. They’ve targeted me, and they’ve targeted Sydney, and they act like they never want to let our supposed affair go. So let’s give them an entirely different story. Let’s manipulate the situation so it looks like the two of you are together.”

  “But how do we convince people we’re together?” I ask. “And who really gives a crap if we are?”

  “The paparazzi are after Sydney still. But if they constantly see her with you instead, they’ll eventually give up talking about the Naughty Nanny affair story and move on. And we need them to move on.” He meets Fable’s gaze for a quick moment, his expression softening before he returns his attention to us. “So go out together. Be seen together in public places, at restaurants or wherever you want. Have Sydney over at your place. Have her come to the game this Saturday so she can root for you and look like the perfect girlfriend.”

  “It might look like she’s there to root for you,” I point out. I’m not trying to be argumentative. I just want them to see all the possibilities.

  “Not if you make a big production about her being there. Giving them no doubt that she’s at the game to support you.” Drew shakes his head, appearing frustrated. “Look, just trust us. This idea can work. A fake relationship is a great distraction. We know it is.”

  Come on. How would they know?

  I glance over at Sydney, but she’s not saying a word. Her lips are thin, like she’s pressing them together so tightly they’re eventually going to disappear. She looks as uncomfortable as I feel.

  What Drew and Fable are proposing is totally insane.

  “If we were to agree…”And no, I’m not agreeing. Not yet. “How long do you expect us to keep this up?”

  “All we ask for is a week. That’s it,” Fable says with a nervous smile. “We think a solid seven days will help distract the gossips and get them to focus on something—or someone else.”

  “Or we’ll just fuel their fire and have them questioning everything we do,” Sydney points out, her voice trembling.

  Her statement is the only logical one in this sea of crazy. What Drew and Fable are proposing is nuts. I don’t have time for a relationship, fake or real. I’m trying to put my all into football, into the team, into my teammates. This is a distraction I don’t need, because I know spending one-on-one time with Sydney would distract me.

  And the scariest part of it all is I wouldn’t mind letting her distract me either.

  “Please, Wade.” Fable turns her big green eyes on me, her voice tremulous. “We need your help, and we thought this was the safest, easiest solution. We know this is a big favor that we’re asking of the both of you, and normally we would never propose this type of thing, but all this constant talk of the affair could be damaging Sydney’s reputation, and that’s not fair. She got drawn into this mess because she works for us. She never asked for any of this.” Fable directs her gaze to Sydney. “We’re so sorry, Sydney. I wish we could make all of this disappear.”

&nbs
p; “It’s not your fault,” Sydney says softly, her head bent, dark blonde hair falling into her face. “I don’t blame you or Drew.”

  Fable’s gaze meets mine. “It’s not only Sydney’s reputation that’s being harmed, it’s Drew’s too. And mine. Our entire family’s reputation is at stake, especially now that I’m pregnant.”

  She has a point. The paparazzi would speculate endlessly over her pregnancy, the supposed affair with the nanny…

  “We don’t want Drew to lose his endorsements, all over a false story. And maybe with you gaining a little attention from this fake relationship could help with endorsements for you in the future. You never know.” Fable tries to smile but fails, so she gives up.

  And man, if that doesn’t make me feel like shit.

  “So what you’re telling us is that you want to create another false story to counter all the negativity that’s fallen upon you and Drew,” I point out, stating the obvious. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but that’s exactly what they’re doing. Lies upon lies don’t necessarily solve the problem.

  I’ve learned that a few times in my life.

  Fable actually looks hurt and I immediately regret what I’ve said. “When you put it like that, you make us sound awful, but that’s not our intent. We want to help Sydney. And we need help too.”

  “I hate asking this of you, but it’s only a week. That’s not very long,” Drew adds. “Think about it.”

  I turn to look at Sydney, who’s studying me with a wary gaze. “Want to go outside and talk about this?”

  She doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t need to. Instead, she rises to her feet and we both head for the backyard.

  The moment I shut the door behind us, Sydney’s pacing the length of the patio, scowling at the ground as she starts talking.

  “This is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. Seriously. And I’ve heard some crazy crap in my life. My brother is always coming up with outrageous schemes, ever since he was a little kid. But they want us to be in a fake relationship? I mean…really? That’s ridiculous. You don’t want to be with me, and I sure as hell don’t want to be with you.”