False Start: A Fake Dating Sports Romance (Red Zone Rivals)

Kyle wrapped me in his arms once my bags were unloaded from Braden’s trunk the next night. He pressed his lips to my forehead and held them there, his giant frame enveloping me, his heartbeat calm and steady in his chest.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said, and the words made tears prick my eyes as much as they made me smile.

“It’s two days,” I reminded him. I had houses to show and work to catch up on, as well as swim lessons with Sebastian. Kyle had training with Braden, both of them eager to get into the best shape possible before training camp started in just a few weeks.

“Too long,” Kyle murmured, and then he kissed me in a way that made me feel how much he meant that.

The front door to my house opened, and Kyle and I broke apart, him shoving his hands in his pockets and me tucking my hair behind my ear.

My mom stood as a shadow in the frame, the light from the living room shining behind her.

Then, there was the sound of little feet storming through the house, and Sebastian bolted out of the front door and ran straight to me.

“Mommy! Mommy!”

My emotions were about as stable as a chair with two legs missing, and I fought against the urge to cry as I swung him up into my arms with a grunt.

“My goodness, what did you eat while I was away? I think you’ve grown two feet and gained twenty pounds!”

Sebastian giggled and buried his face in my neck, his arms wrapped around me. “You’re silly, Mommy.”

I kissed his hair, eyeing where Kyle was watching us. There were so many emotions sprawling across his face, but I couldn’t name a single one before he smiled and hid them all.

“Hi, Kyle!” Sebastian said, beaming at him.

“Hey, buddy. How was your weekend?”

“Good. Me and Nana went to the museum.”

“You did, huh?” Kyle bent to Sebastian’s level when I put him back on the ground. “Well, I bet that was pretty cool. Did you see dinosaurs?”

Sebastian nodded proudly. “Uh-huh. And there was a whole room of bugs!”

“Bugs! I bet there were spiders. I love spiders.”

Sebastian’s eyes went wide as saucers. “You do? They’re so scary!”

“Nah, just misunderstood. If we ever catch a spider inside together, I’ll show you how cool they are, and we can get it outside safely instead of killing it.”

Sebastian nodded emphatically, looking up at me as if to say, “Did you hear that? This guy likes spiders!”

“I brought you something,” Kyle said, and Sebastian and I both looked at him in surprise and curiosity. I’d been with Kyle nearly the entire trip. When had he had time to get anything?

But he dug into his pocket and fished something out, holding it in his fist in front of Sebastian.

“Do you know what a meteorite is?”

Sebastian shook his head.

“Well, it’s debris from outer space.”

“Space?”

Kyle nodded. “Like a comet, asteroid or meteor. And there are some places in the world where meteorites have been found. Do you know where Argentina is?”

Sebastian shook his head again, hanging onto every word Kyle said.

Kyle pulled out his phone and clicked on the maps app, showing my son the large country.

“And right here, there’s been discoveries of what they call Campo del Cielo — a group of iron meteorites.” Kyle unfolded his hand then, revealing a small, lumpy object that looked like a cross between a rock and a heap of metal.

“Whoa!” Sebastian carefully took it from him, and then gaped even more, his eyes snapping up to Kyle. “It’s so heavy!”

“It is, isn’t it? There was a store in Denver run by two pretty amazing women who have the same love for rocks and gemstones that you do. They travel the world and collect them. When they told me about this one, I thought it would be perfect for your collection.”

Sebastian jumped up and down, his eyes on his new toy like it was the best present he’d ever been given. “Thank you, thank you!”

He wrapped Kyle in a hug so fierce it nearly knocked him over, and Kyle let out a laugh, hugging him back before standing.

My heart was in my throat, my eyes welling.

“Alright, time to get ready for bed,” I said through the emotion, smiling to keep the tears at bay. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth and get into your jammies and Mommy will come tuck you in?”

“Can I sleep with my rock?!”

I bit back a laugh. “You can put it on your nightstand, okay?”

“Okay! Bye, Kyle!”

Sebastian ran inside, and I held up a finger to let my mom know I’d be there in just a second. With one last longing look at Kyle, I leaned in for a brief kiss on his cheek.

“Two days,” I promised.

“Longest days of my life, no doubt.”

I chuckled, waving goodbye to Braden. I could see how badly Kyle wanted to take my suitcase, how much he wanted to walk me inside. But my mom was still here, and I’d asked him on the flight to give me some time to explain things to her. Sure, she knew now who I had been with, but there was so much to catch her up on, so much she didn’t know yet.

Kyle and Braden waited until I was inside the house before they drove off, and I dropped my suitcase at the door, hugging my mom quickly before telling her I was just going to put Sebastian down and I’d be back.

I could see the questions mounting in her eyes.

Sebastian took a half hour to calm down, excitedly telling me about his weekend with Nana, and also studying his new meteorite. He then transitioned into how excited he was for swim lessons that week.

After reading to him a little bit, he finally started to simmer, and he laid his head in my lap as I read one of his favorites — Grumpy Monkey.

“Mommy,” he said when we were almost done.

“Hmm?”

“Did you have a good weekend?”

I smiled, running a hand through his hair. “I did.”

“Good,” he said decidedly, curling up into me more. “You seem happier. I like when you’re happy, Momma.”

I squeezed my eyes shut but couldn’t fight against the tears I’d been warding off all night. One slid down my cheek, and I thumbed it away, shutting the book and leaning down to kiss my son’s forehead.

“Goodnight, my handsome little man.”

“Goodnight, Mommy.”

After turning on his night light, I slipped out of the room, shutting it quietly behind me and taking a moment with my back pressed against the wall in the hallway to collect myself.

It was no use, though, because as soon as I walked into the kitchen and found my mom pouring us two cups of tea, I lost it.

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, and she wrapped me up in a hug, holding me while I sobbed in her arms like I was nine again. All the emotions from the weekend won out, and in the safety of my mother’s embrace, I let myself feel them all.

Eventually, when I’d calmed, Mom sat us down at the island and nudged a steaming cup of peppermint tea toward me. I took the first sip, took a breath, and then filled her in.

I was so angry I was shaking by the time I finished telling her what Kyle had told me about his parents. And though she was doing her best to keep me calm, I could see the rage simmering in her eyes, too.

“Selfish,” she spat, shaking her head. “That man was always so selfish. He was probably worried about their reputation, about what everyone would say.”

“Didn’t he kind of already ruin that on his own that night though?”

Mom flattened her lips and gave me a sorrowed look. “You’d be surprised how many people were willing to look the other way when it came to his behavior. When you’re a partner at a prominent law firm and have your hands in the church, the school, and other charities… well…”

I closed my eyes, gripping my teacup firmly. “He didn’t know, Mom,” I choked out. “Kyle never knew. And now…”

“I know, honey. I know.” She pulled me in for another hug, and when she released me, her eyes were soft and assessing. “What happens now? I mean… I saw the way he looked at you out there, the way he held you.” She shook her head on a soft smile. “He seems just as gone for you as he was at sixteen.”

I smirked, but my chest was so tight the smile didn’t reach my eyes. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I had a plan, you know? Save up commissions, move Sebastian and me across the country and away from Marshall, start over new… but now?”

“Plans change, my dear,” Mom said, but she looked as worried as I felt. “Just… be sure before you make any big decisions, okay? I don’t doubt that Kyle is a good man, but he’s a professional athlete. Being in a relationship with him also means being in a relationship with the media, with the world.”

My next swallow was impossible to force.

“Sebastian,” I whispered.

My heart cracked.

Kyle and I had stayed up so late last night, we’d slept until well past even the late checkout Kyle had requested. There was no time to talk, no time to discuss what came next. We’d packed our things hastily and jumped on the flight home.

But Mom was right.

In our little oasis in Colorado, it seemed like nothing mattered but Kyle and me.

Back in reality, I was staunchly reminded of every little factor that would weigh into our decisions.

“Nothing has to be figured out right now,” Mom said with finality. “You go take a shower and get some sleep. There will be plenty of time for discussions when you see him later this week.”

I nodded, dragging myself off the barstool as the exhaustion from every crashing emotion settled in.

“Thank you for this weekend, Mom,” I said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tight. “For everything you do for us.”

“Oh, honey. I wish we could do more. Your father and I have lost sleep so many nights wishing you’d let us give you the money to help you move the way you want to.” She sniffed, but then smiled a bit. “Then again, I guess everything happens for a reason, doesn’t it?”

I heard what she didn’t say.

If I was already gone, I never would have run into Kyle.

I never would have learned the truth.

And as much as I didn’t know where we went from here, as much as it hurt to discover we’d lived in a painful lie for years… I wouldn’t give up this weekend for anything. I wouldn’t trade what it felt like to hold him and kiss him and have him inside me again for a safe nest on the other side of the country.

The universe had led us to this point, to this collision, to this truth.

I only hoped it had a plan for what would happen now.