Troy stood as well. “I’ll help with the dishes.”
Andrea’s smile wavered just a bit. “Thank you.”
She felt awkward as he followed her into the kitchen. Her shoulders still tingled from his earlier touch more than an hour ago.
Troy made subsequent return trips to the dining room to clear the table. He stacked the dishes, serving bowl, platter, and utensils in the sink. Andrea arranged them in the dishwasher.
After carrying in the last of the dishes, he leaned his hips against the white-tiled kitchen counter. “Will you help me expose the Insider?”
Andrea looked away from his long, lean body and model good looks. “Why are you still concerned about her? You don’t work for the Monarchs anymore.”
“I’ll always care about the team.” Troy’s voice was tight. “I want them to be successful. They can’t do that if this gossip keeps hounding them.”
The conviction deepening his baritone didn’t surprise her. Troy was passionate about the Monarchs. Devotion like that didn’t turn on and off like a faucet. What would it feel like to be the recipient of that focus, that kind of passion?
She took her time packing the dishwasher. “The players can take care of themselves. Tell them to stop reading the blog.”
“You sound like my sister.”
He had a sister? She’d learned about Troy’s ex-wife from Mindy Sneal, his former secretary. Now he was telling her about a sibling. Andrea had learned more about Troy as a person in four days than she had in three years. “Your sister sounds like an intelligent person. You should listen to her.”
“Rick Evans isn’t reading the blog, but his wife is. She left him Saturday—after reading it.”
She looked up in surprise. The news saddened her. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Troy continued as though he hadn’t heard her. “From the questions during the postgame conference, you know the media’s reading it. You’re reading it.”
She wasn’t proud of that. “Finding the blogger isn’t going to get your job back.”
“I want my job back. But my priority is protecting the team.” He straightened from the counter. “And if I can prove Gerry is somehow involved with the blog, it would show I’m right and he’s lying. Maybe then I can return to the Monarchs and force the Horn to drop Gerry’s blog.”
Andrea straightened, resting her hands on her hips. “Which is more important to you, the team or your job?”
Troy set his jaw. “Both.”
“What if Gerry’s not involved with the Insider?”
He looked away. “Then I’ll move on to another job.”
“It’s not always that easy.” She knew that from bitter experience. She hoped he wouldn’t have to go through it.
“I know.” He met her gaze. “Will you help me?”
Andrea bent to pour the dishwashing detergent into the machine’s reservoir and locked its door. “We’re friends now?”
Troy looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Resentment stirred inside her. “Even though my coverage of the Monarchs has always been impartial, you cut off my access to the team. You didn’t trust me. Do you trust me now?”
“I had to block your access. If I’d treated you differently from the other reporters, they’d think you had a special relationship with the organization.”
Andrea smiled without humor. “And n
ow, thanks to the Insider, they think I have a special relationship with you. I’d earned that access because I treated the team fairly.”
Troy shifted against the counter. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Andrea crossed her arms. “Is it true the only reason you don’t think I’m the Insider is that I wouldn’t have written that damaging post about myself ?”