Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“I didn’t know you’d be here today.”
“Camila wanted to take a trip to Paris, so here we are.” He grinned.
“How’s the baby?”
“Ah, you know how it is. He’s hanging in there. We brought Camila’s mom along with us to watch him while we do adult things.”
“It’s nice that you have that.”
“It is. How are your parents?”
“They’re great.”
“Still in Israel?”
“Yeah, I’m trying to get them out here, but they keep saying they can’t live away from the water.”
“Ah, I bet it would be nice for them to be near Asher though.”
“Well, they’ll be here in a few weeks. Maybe if you’re still here you can come over and help me convince them.”
“I’d like that. We can smoke a cigar like old times.” Warren chuckled. “Are they going to meet the princess when they’re here, or is that old news?”
“I’m glad you’re still reading tabloids.” I was half-amused by this.
“You know I don’t, but the monarchy is inescapable, even in the US.”
“Well, no, they won’t be meeting her. That’s done.”
“Damn, I thought maybe she’d be the one. You looked happy in the photos. Actually smiling for a change.”
“I was. Happy, I mean.” I felt myself smile now. As heartbreaking as the whole situation was, I was still grateful I’d had it. I just wished it didn’t hurt so much to think about her now.
“I’m sorry it’s over then.” Warren looked like he wanted to ask questions but looked up and noticed the team was getting ready to run into the field, everyone standing by the kid they’d been assigned. He patted my back. “Good luck out there today, bro. Let’s catch up after the game.”
I ran over to the kid waiting for me and noticed I’d gotten a female this time. An adorable little girl who must have been around five years old, with big, brown eyes and long, brown hair. She almost looked like Pilar. This was definitely the universe’s way of kicking my ass. She had a piece of paper in her free hand. A lot of the kids had brought things for us to sign. They were supposed to leave them behind, but we had no time for that, so I pretended I didn’t see the paper. We walked onto the field, and the crowd roared. It was our first home game, and everyone was excited about it. Adrenaline soared through me, and I found myself vibrating along with their cheers. The little girl tugged my hand. I looked down and smiled at her, but she was handing me the paper.
“I can’t sign it right now, sweetheart.”
“It’s not for you to sign. It’s from the princess.”
My heart stopped beating. I plucked the paper from her hand, let go of the other hand, and opened it up to see Pilar’s handwriting staring back at me.
I can’t say everything I want to say here, but I can say I’m sorry. I’ll see you after the game. Love, Your Number 1 Fan, Pilar.
Could it be? She’d changed her mind? I read it again surrounded by the roaring crowd and felt myself nearly smile, but not quite. I knew Pilar wouldn’t give this to me right before a big game if she didn’t mean it, but her apology didn’t mean she was taking me back. I looked out into the stands and suites where she’d most likely be, the smile intact on my face. Finally, I looked back at the little girl.
“She was at my school the other day. She’s nice.” She smiled too. “But I’m sorry to tell you, you’re not a prince.”
“I’m not.” I chuckled.
“She says she doesn’t need a prince.”
“I bet she did.”
“She said she needs a cute footballer.” The little girl brought a hand up to cover her giggle right before she ran after the rest of the kids.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I took the note in my hand and placed it in the tiny pocket inside the elastic of my shorts. I hoped the writing would still be legible after the game because I wanted to keep this forever.
CHAPTER 32
Pilar
I waited outside. I didn’t even know what to expect. I’d seen him smiling before the game as he read the note. I’d seen his gaze scanning the crowd as if he might find me in the sea of blue fans. I thought maybe if I tried hard enough, I could tell him where I was sitting, maybe connect our minds for the moment. Obviously, that didn’t happen. This wasn’t a romance movie. It was real life. And often, real love stories didn’t play out the way we wanted them to. Sometimes there was no forgiveness or redemption. Sometimes there were only words of goodbye and other times, no closure at all.
I wasn’t deluding myself into thinking he’d take me back just like that. It had only been a week and a half since we’d last seen each other. And sure, that time had been brutal, but maybe he’d realized that this wasn’t worth it while we were apart. With me, he’d be in the public eye. Asher would be in the public eye now and would no longer have the anonymity he obviously craved, so I fully understood if he walked out here and told me to leave.