Smooth Play (Brooklyn Monarchs 2)

Troy smoothed his hand over his wavy hair. “I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

Andrea looked away. With Troy in front of her and the boxes at her back, she felt trapped. “But it’s your job to protect the team, isn’t it? And, since you don’t trust me, you saw my article as a threat.”

Troy narrowed his eyes. “That’s not fair.”

“I agree.”

Andrea could tell by his tight features that Troy realized she referred to his treatment of her.

Frustration oozed from every angle of his long, leanly muscled form. “I said I was sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

“But you won’t take me back.”

God, she wanted to. “I can’t.”

“I’m in love with you, Andy.” He still wasn’t playing fair. His husky whisper stole into her heart.

“There can’t be love without trust. And this lack of trust isn’t between you and me. It’s between you and your ex-wife.”

Troy felt as though Andrea had knocked him on his butt. “What are you talking about?”

“You have an overdeveloped need to protect the team because no one protected you from your ex-wife’s lies.”

Was she serious? Troy searched her face. She looked serious. “That’s ridiculous. I haven’t even seen her in fifteen years.”

“And you’ve never forgiven her. Until you let go of your past, everything you do will be affected by it.”

Troy shook his head in disbelief. “That sounds like bad pop psychology.”

Andrea shrugged, but she still seemed tense. “I had a lot of counseling and read a lot of self-help books to deal with my alcoholism.”

Troy turned to pace the length of the narrow, crowded conference room. How could he make her understand? “I don’t have feelings for my ex-wife anymore.”

“Yes, you do.” Andrea sounded certain. “They’re negative feelings, but they’re very strong.”

Troy turned to study Andrea’s expression, trying to read her thoughts. “Are you jealous?”

“Of a woman you hate?” She actually laughed. “It bothers me that you won’t trust me because of something she did.”

Frustration whirled inside him. “I do trust you.”

“You trust me today. What happens the next time I want to write an in-depth article on the Monarchs?”

“Now who doesn’t trust who? I admitted I was wrong. I told you I was sorry.”

“I want to write a story on the original Monarchs’ owners and the end of their partnership.”

Troy’s head spun at her apparent change of topic. “Is this a test?”

“Is that a wide-eyed look of hope or horror?” Her tone was wry.

Troy spread his arms. “Why do you want to write that story?”

“Are you afraid I’d play up the sensationalism, the greed, and jealousy that spanned generations?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and forced a casual shrug. “It would sell a lot of papers.”