Page 49 of Offsides

Cowboy shot him a look—one that communicated something Theo didn’t fully understand. What she did know was that it was the kind of look you could only give your best friend. One that told them that you loved them and hated them all at the same time, annoyed that they knew you so well. She’d given her own best friend that same look many times. Biting back a giggle, she nodded at Gunnar, turning to Cowboy to lead the way.

“Theodosia,” Gunnar said again, bowing slightly, as if in deference to royalty.

Cowboy shoved Gunnar playfully, knocking him off balance. “Just send Beau over when y’all are done.”

Placing his hand on her lower back, Cowboy led Theo away from the pitch, the warmth from his touch welcoming, even in the summer sun. Her body ached for him to touch her more—wrap his arm around her, hold her hand, anything. But her mind loved that he kept it professional. He was the type of guy who had no problem with PDA, and in any other situation probably would have loved to show off. But he respected her enough to maintain that boundary, to keep up the appearances that were so important to her.

Other than apparently gossiping with his best friend about her.

“So, you let Gunnar in on the secret, huh?” she said when she was sure they were out of earshot. They were slowly making their way over to the spot in front of the training center where the media usually congregated and where she had left Steve to set up the camera. She didn’t have too much time until they were no longer alone, but still, she couldn’t help but hassle him a little bit. “Tell me, did it just slip out over breakfast? Or did you three-way call Cullen during a sleepover you didn’t tell me about?”

“Ha, ha. Gunnar doesn’t know anything. He assumes though,” Cowboy told her. “I slipped and called you Theodosia yesterday at lunch, and well, it wasn’t a far leap for him from there. He won’t say anything though, don’t worry. His comments are mostly payback for my teasing him about how close he and Felicity were getting when he first got here.”

“Gotcha. Although, I have to say, I like watching you two together. It’s a solid bromance.”

Cowboy threw his head back laughing, the deep rumbling sound making Theo feel all warm and fuzzy. How was his laugh so fucking powerful?

“Someday, darlin’, we’ll get you in a room with Cullen, Gunnar, and me, and then you’ll really see bromance in action.”

It was her turn to laugh, unable to keep it inside, the image of the three of them together overwhelming. But in a good way. The thought of an evening out with Cowboy, his two best friends, and their significant others sounded like a dream.

Gunnar’s whistle cut through the air, the shouts and other sounds from the scrimmage dying down. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that training was coming to an end. Which meant that Beau would be headed her way soon.

Slipping back into reporter mode, she paused, turning to face him. “So, Beau has arrived. Obviously, he was training today. Any official comment you would like to make on behalf of the team?”

“We’re happy he’s here. He’s going to be a great asset for us, and we are excited to see what he has up his sleeve.”

“And Petra? Is she here?”

Theo couldn’t help but ask the question. Sure, she could have waited to ask Beau in a few minutes, but that would have only gotten her a nice, canned PR answer. Or so she suspected. Hearing ahead of time whether or not the drama queen had also arrived would help her be able to better place her questions.

“She is not,” he answered, his voice resigned. The sudden change in his tone, along with the now borderline morose expression he was sporting told her something was up.

“What are you not telling me?”

“I won’t comment on a player’s personal life. You know that.”

“Off the record. Did something happen?”

Cowboy sucked in a breath, exhaling slowly, as if he were trying to find the right way to say whatever came next.

“As I’m sure you know, about four months ago Beau announced that he and Petra were expecting,” he started, the wary look still on his face. Theo nodded, remembering the game where Beau had stuck the ball under his jersey after scoring a goal. It was the sport’s special way of announcing pregnancies, and Beau’s gesture had also fired up the rumor mill. “Well, about a month ago or so, they were running some tests. All standard pregnancy stuff from what I’m told. Well, the baby came back positive for something—I dunno what it was. But whatever it is, both parents have to have the gene in order for the baby to have it.”

“Okay…” Theo didn’t follow where he was going with this. Did something happen to the baby? Her stomach churned thinking about it.

“Beau doesn’t have the gene. No one in his family does either.”

“So that means…” Theo trailed off, mind flashing back to a high school genetics lesson. Oh shit…

“Yeah.”

A pain stabbed at Theo’s chest, her heart breaking at the thought. Poor Beau. The man had already been through so much with that woman, and it had seemed like things were finally starting to look up. Apparently not.

“So I should not ask him about Petra.”

“That would be preferable.”

Theo nodded. She didn’t need to ask Beau about his wife for the feature she was putting together on the team. Strictly speaking, the player’s personal life had nothing to do with the team, as long as he wasn't breaking rules or negatively affecting it in some way. A cheating wife certainly didn’t fall into those categories. Although, she was getting the interview no one else would, which also meant no one else would know about this angle.