Chapter 2

The camera flashes were still going off when I turned away from the field. Behind me, people shouted Mason’s name. Reporters called for him to raise the trophy again. Over the stadium speakers, an announcer told the players’ families to enter the private celebration through the east tunnel in twenty minutes. I had a family credential hanging around my neck. But I didn’t head toward the east tunnel. I walked through a hallway littered with confetti and found a bench near the players’ entrance. The gift bag sat at my feet, the baby onesie still inside. My phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. Friends sent me screenshots from the broadcast and asked if the woman beside Mason was Tessa. Someone wanted to know why I hadn’t been in the family photo. Another person sent me the clip of the kiss followed by three question marks. I didn’t respond. Instead, I opened the broadcast replay and saved the moment Mason said, They’re my family. I took a screenshot showing the time and emailed both files to my private account. Only then did I realize my right hand was still clenched. When I opened it, four deep red crescents marked my palm. "Hannah?" Mason’s voice came from the other end of the tunnel. He had taken off his helmet and turned his championship cap backward. His medal hung around his neck. Oliver was still in his arms, one hand curled around Mason’s shoulder pad. Mason glanced around as he approached. "What are you doing out here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you." I looked at the boy in his arms. "Are you sure I’m who you were looking for?" Mason stopped. "This is the biggest night of my career. Don’t talk to me like that." Oliver leaned close to his ear. "Dad, when are we going to celebrate?" "Right now, buddy." Mason patted his back, using a gentler voice than the one he’d used with me. I bent down and picked up the gift bag. "Why did you tell the cameras they were your family?" Mason shifted Oliver higher against his chest. "Everyone knows you’re my wife." "You saw me standing there." His eyes dropped to my credential. A staff member stopped to congratulate him. Mason smiled and shook his hand, keeping Oliver balanced against his shoulder. I stood beside them until the man moved on. "Tessa kissed you," I said. "She got carried away. I was holding Oliver." He glanced toward the celebration room. The door opened, and music spilled into the tunnel. "You can still correct what you said." "Hannah, not now." He moved closer and lowered his voice. A photographer was coming down the hallway behind me. Mason put a hand at my elbow, guiding me toward the wall. I stepped away before he could move me. The photographer passed without stopping. Mason watched him go. Oliver lifted his head from Mason’s shoulder and looked at us. "Don’t do this in front of him," Mason said. I looked at the arm still holding the boy. "You brought him with you." "I thought you could control yourself." I stopped trying to find a quieter way to ask. The gift bag rested against my leg. One handle had twisted around my finger; I worked it loose while Mason adjusted Oliver’s jacket. Behind him, a player came through the tunnel with his wife. He stopped to kiss her, then took the coat she had folded over her arm. They walked toward the celebration together. Mason followed my gaze. "Go home. Get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow." "Are you coming with me?" He looked toward the open doors again. "The team is celebrating." I waited. He straightened his cap and checked the time on his phone. The sound of heels came down the tunnel behind him. Tessa appeared wearing a team jacket someone had found for her. Her makeup was still flawless despite the chaos on the field. "Everyone’s waiting for you," she told Mason. "Coach is about to open the champagne." Then she looked at me and at the gift bag in my hand. "Hannah, aren’t you coming?" Her voice was calm, as if the kiss had never happened. Oliver answered before I could. "Is she celebrating with us too?" Tessa smoothed his hair. "It’s Mason’s championship night. He should decide who celebrates with him." Mason frowned at her, but he didn’t correct her. I pulled the gift bag against my chest. "You two go ahead." Mason reached for my arm. "I’ll explain everything tomorrow." I stepped back. His hand stopped in the air. I had stood close enough for him to see me on the field. Now I was close enough to touch, and he was still looking toward the room where they were waiting for him. Someone called his name. "I can’t keep the whole team waiting." He carried Oliver toward the celebration. Tessa stopped beside me before following him. "For one night, don’t make him apologize for being there for a child." Her gaze dropped to my gift bag. She had asked about the surprise three days earlier. I tightened my hand around the handles. "Go, Tessa." She waited, as if I might say more. Then she caught up with Mason and rested a hand against his back. He never looked over his shoulder. I waited until they disappeared through the doors before taking out my phone. I sent Brooke a message. [Can I stay with you tonight?] Her reply came less than thirty seconds later. [Of course. Where are you? I’ll come get you.] I sent my location and sat down again. Brooke would text when she reached the pickup area. Across the tunnel, two players stopped Mason outside the locker room. Tessa took Oliver from him and continued toward the celebration. Mason followed the men inside. The bench was tucked behind a concrete pillar. None of them looked my way. The door caught before it closed, leaving a narrow gap. The paper handles of my gift bag had crumpled. I was smoothing them when one of the players spoke. "You need to talk to Hannah. What happened out there was bad." Mason answered from inside the locker room. "Tessa got carried away." "She kissed you. Then you told the entire country she and Oliver were your family." "Oliver was standing right there. What was I supposed to say?" "The truth." A few seconds passed. Then Mason gave a quiet laugh. "Hannah isn’t going to end our marriage over one sentence." "Did you see her face?" "She’s hurt. She’ll calm down tomorrow." "And if she doesn’t?" "Where would she go?" Mason didn’t hesitate. "Our whole life is in that house. She’s spent years building it. She’s not throwing everything away because Tessa kissed me once." I stayed on the bench. I didn’t open the locker room door. Someone inside called for Mason to come open the champagne. His footsteps faded. Then Tessa’s voice carried from the entrance to the celebration area. "Mason, don’t forget next Friday. You promised Oliver that after you won, you’d go to his school’s father-son breakfast as his dad." Mason’s answer came clearly through the tunnel. "I remember."