Lizzie raised the volume.
“Mr. Morgan, just to remind our viewers, you’re considered the sports agent to the stars. You requested this interview, so let’s talk about what’s on your mind.” The brunette leaned forward, her eyes eager and interested.
“As everyone knows, I went on TV a few weeks ago and splashed my niece’s picture all over the news, tellin’ people she’s single and in need of a good man.”
“I remember that,” the woman said, laughing.
A damn good picture of Sophie, if Riley did say so himself. A little formal for his taste, since she wore her hair pinned back and a prissy, yellow sleeveless dress with a conservative houndstooth design. He preferred her naked and disheveled on his bed.
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he glanced at his daughter, then looked back at the television.
“I’m here to issue a refraction of that story. I was wrong.”
The reporter smiled. “You mean a retraction.”
“That’s what I said. My Sophie is not in need of a man, so you guys out there can stop sending her flowers and plants and chocolates and things to the office.” He slashed his hand through the air.
Riley agreed with that particular sentiment. The only man Sophie needed was him and if Yank saw fit to call off the rest of the testosterone-filled population, Riley was all for it.
“To what do we owe your change of heart?” the interviewer asked.
Yank grinned—a smile that Riley had seen before when Yank was ready to use his trump card and close a big deal.
Lizzie remained silent, watching intently.
“Well, it turns out my niece was holdin’ out on me. While I was worried about her future, she was in good hands the whole time.”
The woman smoothed her skirt. “You mean she’s involved with a man?”
“If you call two recent trips outta town together involved, then, yeah, she’s involved,” Yank said, laughing. “First Florida, then Mississippi. Yep, she’s involved.”
Riley’s stomach clenched and he could swear he felt Lizzie stiffen beside him.
“Who’s the lucky man?”
“Football star Riley Nash, of course. Who else would she go to Mississippi with?” Yank asked, as if the question were a no-brainer.
“Dad!” Lizzie yelled, and jumped up from her seat, a horrified expression on her face.
He drew in a deep breath. Riley was used to being a media focus, mostly for football, occasionally for off-season entanglements, but until now his celebrity like status had never affected his daughter in such a direct way.
Riley pressed the mute button of the remote control and turned to her. “Lizzie, I’ve always told you that you can’t let what you see on television affect how you think about people or even life. Reporters and interviewers want to get ratings or sell papers. They’ll invade a person’s private life to do it. It isn’t right, but it happens,” he said, opting to stay rational in light of her hysteria.
“But that’s your agent and he’s on TV saying you’re involved with that woman. And it’s true, right? I mean she was at Grandma’s with us, right?”
“That part is true,” he agreed.
“Have you seen her since?” Lizzie asked.
“No.” At least he could answer that honestly.
Lizzie met his gaze, her panic and distress palpable. “But you want to, right?”
Riley sighed. He might as well lay it on the line right now, even if it meant dealing with more of his daughter’s drama. “Sit, okay?”
Reluctantly, she lowered herself into a chair.
Riley leaned forward, choosing his words carefully. “Your mother married Ted, right?”