Her phone buzzed in her hand and her heart stuttered as she saw the incoming text from Colin.
Colin: I'm here on set. Can I talk to you? Just a few minutes.
Wendy swallowed and steadied her hand before texting back.
Wendy: Sure. I'm in my trailer.
Colin: Thanks.
Wendy looked at the words on the phone but all she could think was, I'm in my Star Ship. I'm in my doggie basket.
Then she heard him knock at the door.
“Come in,” she called, and she stood up from the couch. She for sure was not going to answer the door, so they'd be all pressed into the confined space of the short stairway. No way.
Colin came in and walked up the steps, stopping a few feet from her.
“So,” Wendy said, “Is my little tantrum trending on Twitter? It must be, to get you here so fast. What have I messed up for you this time?”
He took a step closer. “Nothing, Wendy. That's not why I'm here. I don't know if you're trending on Twitter or not. Lola texted me.”
Wendy's jaw muscles tightened. “So, her star's nationally humiliating fling with her brother is screwing with the show. So she demanded you come fix it.”
“Wendy, no. And you know it's not like that. Lola loves you. And she saw that you were hurting. And she knows that I'm the one who hurt you.”
“So you hopped on a plane, but this isn't about keeping me in check?”
Colin shook his head. “No. Wendy, I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you weren't good enough. Or awesome, exactly as you are. Because you are. Amazing. A force to be reckoned with.”
A force to be reckoned with. He'd called her that once before. Wendy could feel herself unspooling. Was Colin here because he wanted to try again? “Colin?”
And Wendy tried not to wince at the way he jolted when he saw that she might have hope.
“We aren't right for each other,” he jumped in to say. “But just because we don't go together, it doesn't take anything away from you. And I'm so sorry if I made you feel that way.”
Wendy nodded quickly, feeling red hot foolishness burn in her very core.
“I'm sorry everything got so messed up,” he said. “I really am.”
“Me, too.”
“I think you're a wonderful person. I think I'm not so bad. But we don't belong together.”
Wendy nodded. “Okay. Well, good-night, Colin.”
He nodded back. “Good-bye.” And he left her trailer.
Wendy heard the door click shut behind him and then she launched herself to the stairs and out onto the pavement. “Wait one minute, Colin Scott!”
He turned around.
Wendy marched up to him on the almost deserted backlot. “No. You do not get to say we don't belong together. No. We're not together because YOU messed up!”
“You're blaming me?”
“Yes!”
“You're the one who—”
“I'm the reason we were together in the first place. You ended it.”
“After you stood up and tried to rip away everything I've been working for.”
“I was trying to save what you told me mattered most to you. And for the record, when I said you could step down, I wasn't thinking you would ever leave New Orleans and come to Los Angeles to be my boy toy. I know your life is there. The coaching, the kids, the city. But no, you had to suspect the worst. You assumed I was trying to hijack your life for my own nefarious purposes.”
“You'd already done it once.”
Wendy took a deep breath. “So I did. But the first time I needed your help. My intentions have never been as selfish as you've always thought. And I'm done trying to convince you of that.”
“Good. So we're done here?”
“We're done. Except ...”
Colin stood there waiting.
“I figured it out.” She creased her brow. “I fell for you so hard. And I think you started to fall for me.” She looked right at him. “But if that happened, if you let that happen, then at some point, you would have to make some kind of choice.”
Colin didn't say anything, but his eyes glinted like iron.
“And I think,” Wendy said breathlessly, “I think that for a second, you thought about choosing me. And you liked the feeling. So you had to get rid of me, make me the bad guy. Because the Great Coach Scott could never do something as selfish as choose something for himself to make himself happy.”
“I am not some damn character you can analyze.”
“But you know what, Colin? I never would have made you choose. Ever. I would have commuted. And as amazing as this show is, it won't last forever. And I won't always be tied to Los Angeles. In the end, I would have come to you.”
Colin shook his head the tiniest bit, his jaw still so tight.
Wendy turned around and went back into her trailer, and Colin got in his car and drove off the lot.
* * * * *
Lola: Did you talk to her?
Colin: Yes.
Lola: What happened?
Colin: We had a big fight.
Lola: Come to the house. You can stay over.
Colin: I have to get back.
Lola: You can't leave. You and Wendy have to fix this.
Colin: I apologized for making her feel bad.
Lola: And?
Colin: And I'm on a plane. I'm going home.
Chapter 48
ANDRE
“Coach?”
Coach's head snaps up from the desk where it looks like he thunked his forehead down and just left it like that.
“Andre. Hey. I thought all the players left.”
Coach is so way off on this score that I know I'm right to be doing this.
I sit down in the chair opposite him. “How was your trip to Los Angeles?”
He tilts his head, like he wasn't expecting the question. And he kind of holds that pose, like he doesn't know how to answer me.
“Good.”
He's lying.
“Really good. I … uh … saw my sister and her family. That's always good.”
Coach leans back in his chair. I'd say he slumped back in his chair, but Coach wouldn't slump.
“You didn't see Miss Hunter?”
His eyebrows shoot up, like, Miss Hunter? Oh, her? “I saw her on the set of my sister's show. We said hello. It was fine.”
“Fine? But I saw her on TMZ when they were following her around. She looks sad.”
Coach nods. He does not look happy. And I see his jaw get tight like he's about to yell at me. But in the quiet, scary way.
“Are you happy about The Dorm, Coach?” I switch momentum to save my ass. “The crew will have it ready by Christmas, I bet.”
Coach smiles. “It's a good crew.”
“It is,” I agree. Then I strike, knowing I'm putting my starting spot on the line. “Are you the one who made Miss Hunter look so sad?”
His head snaps up, but I keep my gaze on him steady. Don't ask me how I do it, but I do it.
I'm past the point of no return, talking to Coach like this, so I take another swing. “Is she the one who's making you look so sad?”
He takes a few seconds. “We made a lot of mistakes, Andre. That's life.”
That's life? Is he kidding with this shit? He would never let one of us get away with messing everything up and then wallowing in our mistakes. Never. “You made mistakes? So fix them.”
He shakes his head.
“Coach, you have to fix this.”
He shakes his head again. “Nope. Truth is, I wrecked everything, Andre. I saw her in Los Angeles. I talked to her. She's better off without me.”
“Says who?”
“Says her.”
“She really said that?”
“Pretty much.”
“Pretty much?” Man, my heart is racing and I can feel myself shaking. But I'm just saying to Coach what he would say to me or to any of us.
“She tried to fit in here, into my world, and we all saw what happened. And I don't
belong in her world.”
“Did you ever even try?” Oh, man, I'm about to get kicked off the team. But I keep going. “Because she tried. And she fit in great here until that asshole at the meeting blasted into her. You gonna let that guy rule your life? It's between you and you, Coach. If you want Wendy, go get her. Show her you belong in her life, that you can be part of her world.”
“Andre, her world is in Los Angeles.”
“You think I don't know that? You think I don't know what I'm saying, here?” I thrust open his office door with one hand and yell down the hall. “Get in here, now!”
I stand up as Nic and Jason file in with the whole team. “We talked about it Coach. And we're letting you go.”
“Letting me go?”
Nic clears his throat. “You know you've set up a strong team, Coach. Here and with The Dorm. You set up a strong system. It can work without you.”
“What?”
“There are tons of kids in L.A. who need your help. And it's not so bad, us all having an L.A. connection.”
Coach bolts up from his chair. “How the FUCK is it possible that I'm losing everything I've been working for over the past five years?”
Jason steps forward. “Because you did a good job, Coach. What you built has taken off. Now go make your life right. Or the rest of your life is going to suck, no matter how many championships you win.”
And I can see the words hitting him … and sinking in. His words. We're saying to him things he's said to all of us so many times.
“Coach,” I say. “You know what you have to do. You know it. And we all know that we're the only ones holding you back from doing what you have to do. So we're telling you, we'll be fine. You made it so we'll be fine. So go and make your own life fine. We're good.”
Chapter 49
THE STORY OF WENDY AND COLIN
Colin pulled the butter-soft sheet around him. His Gramma's sheet. She'd made life so wonderful for him and Lola. But he wasn't a little kid anymore. It was his turn to make the magic happen. Unless he wanted his life to suck.
But what did he want? Wendy popping into his life as a satellite lover? Maybe even a weekend wife? No. In his deepest soul, that wasn't what he wanted.
He grabbed the pillow and flipped it to the cooler side. But he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. He knew what he had to do. He knew what he wanted in his life. And he had to make it happen.
Forty minutes later Colin stood under the light of the apartment door, knocking quietly. He didn't want to wake the neighbors. But he needed to wake her. After three minutes of quiet, incessant tapping, she answered the door.
“Colin?”
“Hi, Tanya.”
She stood there in the doorway, that body of hers that just wouldn't quit clearly naked beneath her robe.
She looked him up and down. “What do you want?”
“Are you alone?”
She pulled back and stood up taller as she crossed her arms. “That's none of your damn business. What the hell are you doing here? It's past one in the morning.”
“Tanya.”
“What?”
Colin looked right into her snapping hazel eyes. “I need you.”
Chapter 50
TANYA
At 4:32 I slip off my robe and slide back into bed, letting the sheet settle against my naked skin. I lie still and let it all crash over me, the force of the past three hours. Tonight, out of the dark, sultry blue, Colin Scott showed up at my door and Rocked. My. World.
Chapter 51
Three hours ago
TANYA
Tanya got still and let her ire slip away. Colin. Colin Scott. She looked intently at him and shivered from her neck to her toes. Something was up. Something was seriously up.
She knocked the door wide. “Come in.” And as he crossed her threshold, she flipped the switch that flooded the living room in warm light. “Do we need coffee?”
“Yes.”
Her eyebrows arched at that. The Great Colin Scott was going to consume caffeine so late at night? Damn, something was going down. “Follow me and start talking,” she said, leading him into the tiny kitchen.
“Don't you want to change? Put something else on?”
Tanya didn't miss a beat in her smooth movements as she made a pot of coffee. “You do not come to my apartment in the middle of the night and tell me how to dress, asshole.”
Colin laughed. “Yeah.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Yeah, everything,” he said, taking a seat at the small round kitchen table.
“Everything?” She eyed him suspiciously as she took a seat across from him.
Colin leaned forward, deciding not to wait for the rich coffee perking on the counter. “I want you to take over The Dorm.”
Tanya pressed the pause button on her heart before it combusted. “You want me to oversee an entire unit of horny teenage boys?”
“Please,” Colin began, leaning in closer. “The phrase 'horny teenage boys' is redundant and you should know better. And you won't be a live-in counsellor like I was planning to be. You will be in charge of the operation. But you can be as personally involved in the Young Women's Fortress as you choose.”
Tanya narrowed her eyes. “There is no Young Women's Fortress. And no money in the budget to make one happen.”
Colin leaned back and smiled. “You'll make it happen.”
“Stop blowing smoke up my ass, Colin. The Young Women's Branch should have been part of the plans from the beginning. But you used up all the money on the young men, so now there's no money left to fill out the team, Coach. God, I would not want you on my staff on Draft Day.”
“I got the money.”
Tanya could see how taut his neck was. “From Wendy Hunter?”
“Yes.”
“So, I'd be working for you two? A figurehead, since she's been banned from the project? You think you two will be pulling my strings?”
Colin did not break eye contact. “Not at all. This is not a joint venture for me and Wendy.”
Tanya didn't say anything. She just waited.
“We broke up. But Wendy left me a sizable check before she went back to L.A.”
Tanya raised her brows and angled her head. “Did she? But it couldn't buy back your affection?”
“It's not about that.”
Tanya watched him for a few seconds. Then she threw back her head and howled with laughter.
Colin didn't react. “Am I missing something?”
Tanya dabbed at her eyes. “It must be killing you to take it.”
He clenched his jaw. “The money isn't for me. She made it clear that it was for the kids.”
But Tanya couldn't stop laughing. “Oh, how you must've wanted to rip up the check and tell her where to stick it.”
“She didn't give it to me. She left it for me.”
“Left it for you? Like, on your pillow? Ouch.”
“Not on my pillow. She left all her clothes that she got while she was here. She didn't have a suitcase, so she asked me to donate everything. The check was with her clothes.”
“Ooooh, even better.” Tanya rubbed her hands together with glee. “No passion. Perfect.”
“Why are you needling me like this? I show up to offer you the job of a lifetime, and you're giving me shit about Wendy? Why?”
“Because you're leaving to go get her, right? Or at least try to?”
“So what if I am?”
“You'll never succeed unless you know, unless you really understand, just how much of a dick you were to her.”
Colin smiled and shook his head. “Shut up. So, will you do it? You'll be running everything.”
“You have the go-ahead for this?”
Colin shook his head, a smile curling into his lips. “Nope. First thing out of the gate, you'll have to go to battle.”
Tanya sucked in a breath, feeling the chills zoom across her skin. Back when she had been in high school, a queen bee with stars in her eyes, she'd drea
med of this kind of power. In college classes and internships, she'd trained for this kind of opportunity. And when she'd worked in sports news, she'd been denied these kinds of chances again and again as her male colleagues grabbed her ass and salivated over her tits.
So, tired of always fighting the system, forever feeling angry and abused, she'd decided to play to her sexpot strengths and become the most badass cheer coach on this side of the Mason-Dixon. Had part of her died when she gave up the fight? Sure. Like anything in life, it had been a trade off.
But now here was Colin Scott, sitting at her kitchen table at two in the morning, and he wasn't trying to get into her robe. Nope. He was recognizing her prowess as a leader and her acumen as an administrator.
And he needed her to take over The Dorm.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly, her heart practically beating out of her chest. “I'm ready. I've been spoiling for a fight for years.”
Colin smiled. “And you'll have help. I know a guy named Ray who's a genius at finding things out.”
“Ray? The guy from the meeting? The shaggy Hollywood guy?”
“He's not usually shaggy. Believe me.”
Tanya nodded, her lips puckered. “Cool. I think he might be able to help me assemble a team of my own.” Then she switched gears. “Do I get to decide what to do with the money, or do you?”
“You. The Dorm is all you, starting now.”
“Right on.”
Chapter 52
RAY
Uh-oh.
I look at my phone again.
Colin: You know how you pledged fealty to me?
My heart feels like it's racing down a runway. Does this have to do with Wendy? Happy or tragic? Exciting or mundane? OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod!
I straighten an imaginary tie then type back.
What do you want me to do?
Chapter 53
MATTEO
Mom is all mopey and Dad should be teasing her out of it, right? I mean, right? But Dad is kind of a downer, too. That buzz of excitement, the one that was flying around the house ever since Uncle Colin and Wendy got engaged? The buzz is gone. And Mom and Dad are being such total bummers when they think we're not looking that I'm scared that the buzz is never coming back. What if the Wendy and Colin buzz never comes back?
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book 3) Page 19