Quarterback Keeper (Fall Lake Ballers #1)

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

KYLIAN

S everal days had passed, and the ink from Gia’s signature and mine was dry on the contract my lawyer had sent over. The argument we’d had several days ago, about who she was and why she was on my boat, was mostly forgotten.

It was a goddamned miracle she let me drive her to my mom’s place. That’d been an hour-long argument I couldn’t get back. Had I known she was so stubborn, or cautious about being alone with me in my SUV, would I still have gone through with it? I glanced at the leggy brunette sitting next to me in a pretty blue-and-white sundress that fell to midthigh. Yep. I would. A hundred percent yes. She was hot as fuck, and when she pushed my buttons, she made me forget how sad I was.

I turned down Mom’s street then pulled up along the curb not far from the run-down brownstone. I put the SUV in park and took a deep breath. That was it. We needed a game plan, and the best way to execute it was to share information. “I need to prepare you before we go inside.”

Gia and I sat in silence while I struggled with what to say.

The idea that Mom wouldn’t be there at some point—and watching her fade away—killed me. “Mom has a hard time accepting help, but she needs it. The treatments take a lot out of her.”

The tension between us eased a little, and I was grateful that she let me take the time to think about what I wanted to share with her.

“Mom is the most important person in my life. She’s been my biggest cheerleader, no matter what shit we went through.” I let the reality of our well-intentioned deceit settle over me. It was the right thing to do. Anything was if it brought her joy. “It’s my turn to be hers.”

Gia gave my hand a brief squeeze, then she quickly retreated to her side. The rare show of solidarity between us was enough.

I got out of the SUV, and it was blissfully silent as we climbed the stairs to my mom’s apartment, while I fought the strange urge to grab Gia’s hand. I ran my palms down the sides of my jeans before knocking on the door.

“Relax, superstar,” Gia whispered. “This’ll be a piece of cake.”

I grinned but noticed how she’d tucked her hair behind her ears more than once. She was just as nervous as I was. I guessed that was good. At least she was taking it seriously. It’d been four days since we’d signed the contract. I’d also fixed the keypad she’d broken on the boat and told her the passcode. We’d exchanged numbers, too, and I’d given her some spending money. It wasn’t much, just a couple hundred dollars to get her through the upcoming weeks.

“Hey, don’t call me superstar around my mom. My dad does that, and she hates it.” I did, too, but the only information that mattered was about Mom.

Gia observed me with wide eyes. “Is your dad here too?”

In this dump? He might have owned it and been one of the acting slumlords, but he wouldn’t be caught dead in there. “No. They’re divorced.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t follow politics?” I could have sworn she knew who my dad was, that there was recognition of more than my football status as Fall Lake’s starting quarterback.

“Not that well. I do when it’s time to know the issues so I can make a well-informed vote.”

I placed my hand on her lower back and got a glare that made me laugh. “You’ll have to get used to me touching you.”

“Not when no one is around.” She sidestepped, adding distance between us and effectively shrugging off my hand.

A part of me wondered why she was going along with the deal. Is it just about the money and a place to stay? Or is there another reason? The questions swam in my mind as we waited for Mom to answer. I would bet all my money—what little was left, sixty thousand to be exact—that there was more to Gia’s story.

The door opened, and I had less than a second to school my features. But fuck—Mom looked like she’d lost even more weight from the nothing that she had to spare. Her cheeks were gaunt, her collarbones more pronounced.

“Welcome!”

Mom wrapped her too-thin arms around me, and I pretended for that one second that she wasn’t smaller and weaker and that I wasn’t worried about snapping her in half if I hugged her too hard. She turned to Gia and hugged her before waving us into the apartment.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Gia.” Mom shot a reproachful glance my way. “Kylian’s been keeping you a secret, but I’m glad I have the chance to get to know you now.”

“I am too.” Gia smiled.

“What’d you make? It smells amazing.”

My stomach growled in approval, and Mom laughed.

“Stuffed pork chops.” Each step toward the kitchen was slow.

I wrapped my arm around her waist to help, but she swatted my hand away.

“I’m fine, Kyl. Stop hovering.”

“Mrs. Wilder, can I do anything? Set the table?”

“Call me Evalyn. And everything’s set, except for pulling the pork chops out of the oven and getting the rolls from the toaster. I had all day to get ready for you two to visit. Kyl, why don’t you shut the TV off, and Gia and I can put the food on the table?”

I left them alone for as long as it took to do as Mom had asked. The living room appeared as if she’d vacuumed. Maybe? It was hard to tell, since the carpet didn’t fluff up anymore. Everything else was in its original place. Only her blanket sat askew on the recliner, with her tea on the end table. The place was still depressing. Anger for how Mom lived rolled through me, and I had to take a second to breathe. She would notice and chastise me about how she liked her place. Her friends were there. I’d heard it all before, and it wasn’t the best time to rehash it.

I paused at the entry to the kitchen, watching the two women interact.

Gia leaned forward and inhaled while carrying the dish. “Did you use apple in your stuffing?”

Mom beamed as Gia set the heavy dish on the small kitchen table. “Yes. It adds nice flavor and helps the pork chops stay moist. Not many people know that.”

As I slipped into the kitchen, I caught the renewed interest in Mom’s expression as she eyed Gia.

“Sit.” Mom waved us to our seats. “I wanted to do something special, since it’s our first evening together, and this used to be one of Kyl’s favorite meals.”

“Anything you cook is my favorite.” I kissed her on the cheek before pulling out her chair. I rubbed a hand over my chest, massaging the slight ache from watching Gia be kind to Mom.

Mom smoothed her napkin over her lap with trembling fingers. Before she tried to lift anything, I served her then passed the food to Gia. She’d overextended herself, and I was annoyed that I hadn’t insisted on bringing takeout. Seeing her so fragile and tired scared the hell out of me. Mom was my rock, and I didn’t know what I would do without her. First Grandad had passed, then Dad had changed and eventually divorced Mom, and after I started college, she’d been diagnosed with cancer. I was fucking terrified of losing her. It’d been us against the world for so long.

“Tell me about yourself.” Mom didn’t bother eating as she focused her attention on Gia.

“I’m not that interesting.” Gia set her fork on her plate and smiled. “I moved here not too long ago from California, where I was living with Uncle Jimmy. After he died, I realized I needed a change of scenery. And here I am.”

California? I should have been asking her questions instead of prepping her for dinner. I leaned back in my chair, chewing slowly. But would it have made a difference? With me, she was tight-lipped. One conversation with my mom, and she willingly opened up. Or was her story a lie? I wouldn’t put it past her.

“And here you are.” Mom beamed, erasing the lines of tension that’d bracketed her mouth for so many months. “I’m sorry to hear about your uncle. Do you have relatives living nearby?”

“No.” Gia tucked her hair behind her ear again. “It was always me and Mom. My dad was never in the picture. She caught an antibiotic-resistant pneumonia when I was just going into middle school and passed away suddenly. My uncle, her brother, took me in.”

“I’m so sorry.” Mom reached across the table and covered Gia’s hand, which she gave a light squeeze before letting go. “Such a hard time too.”

I found myself drawn into Gia’s orbit, barely resisting the urge to put my arm around her shoulders and pull her close. But a gesture like that so early in our newfound alliance would make her uncomfortable, and I didn’t want Mom to witness her pulling away from me.

“Yeah.” Gia shrugged, a rueful grin curving her pink lips. “I wasn’t that easy to get along with at first. That’s when Uncle Jimmy introduced me to football and cooking. Once we established a routine, living without Mom slowly became bearable, and I came to love staying with my uncle.”

“Well, I can see how your love of football makes things easier for Kylian. It takes up a lot of his time, and if he goes into the NFL like he plans, it’ll be even more demanding.”

“We’ll make it work.” Gia’s smile was sweet and sincere.

“Though”—Mom shot me a piercing glance—“NFL careers aren’t always long. Just make sure you two are in this relationship for the right reasons.”

Nice, that was a not-so-subtle warning to make sure Gia wasn’t after me for money.

Laughter spilled from Gia, lightening the mood and easing the tension in Mom’s shoulders. “Oh, trust me, we are. I didn’t even know who your son was the first time we met. He made a big impression, an impossible one to walk away from.”

I choked on my water, the way we met a clear visual in my mind. “This is amazing, Mom.” I changed the subject. “But you didn’t have to go to all this trouble. Gia and I want to come over again in a few days, and we’ll bring food. Whatever you want.”

“Nonsense.” She picked up her fork, cut a few pieces of pork chop, and moved food around her plate. “You need a good home-cooked meal.”

“I love to cook.” Gia took a sip of water. “My uncle was a Michelin chef. He taught me everything I know, and I would be happy to come over and either help or make dinner for you.”

“Impressive. And thank you, I would love that.” Mom took a small bite. “When did you two meet?”

All my alarms blared at full blast. How could we have forgotten to cover that? My mind raced to come up with a plausible story. At the slight pause, Mom’s hand froze, her food halfway to her mouth, and her eyes narrowed on us. I didn’t want her to jump to conclusions because she had never liked anyone I’d dated in the past. No one was good enough, or they were using me. It was always something. She wasn’t wrong, but I was using them, too, never wanting anything serious out of our arrangements. Mom just refused to see that part.

Gia’s eyes were wide, a hint of panic constricting her pupils.

I took point on the question. “We met a couple of months ago at a party. We’ve been seeing each other every chance we can. I would have brought her around to meet you sooner, but it’s been busy with school and football.”

“Will you excuse me for a minute?”

Gia mouthed bathroom to me while Mom scrutinized my response.

I pointed her in the right direction, waiting until she left and the door shut before I turned back to Mom. “What’s going on? Don’t you like her?”

“The girl is wonderful, Kylian, but there’s no sign that you two even like each other.”

“What are you talking about? Of course we do.” Sweat beaded along my spine. Mom was like a dog with a bone if she sensed something amiss. What did we do—other than forgetting to script how we met—to screw this up?

“You don’t touch. You barely look at each other.”

My hand curled into a fist beneath the table, and it struck me like a lightning bolt how much I’d wanted to touch Gia. “We’re just nervous because this is so important to us both.”

“Please.” Mom huffed. “When have you ever cared if I liked your girlfriends before?”

Leaning across the table, I had the perfect response. “When have I brought one around to meet you? Not since high school, and Tiffany doesn’t count because that relationship crashed and burned after she found out I was going to college here after she got into Notre Dame.”

We both fell silent as Gia returned, her expression wary as she read the room. “Is everything okay?”

“We were just talking, and I wondered how you managed to outfox all the photographers following Kylian since they named him one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors.”

“Oh, that.” Gia laughed, and I hoped Mom didn’t see how panicky she looked. “It hasn’t been much of an issue.”

“Obviously, since there hasn’t been a single picture in any paper of you together.”

“Mom, stop giving her the third degree. Gia’s a master of disguise. Plus, we’ve been meeting up where the reporters haven’t followed me.”

“Yep. His boat.” Gia winked.

“So she’s escaped a lot of the media hype,” I added.

“I didn’t want my picture in any of the papers.” Gia rested her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers. “We didn’t know where things were going before, so staying off the media’s radar made sense. But with how close we’ve gotten lately…”

“Which is why I wanted to bring her here to meet you. Things are serious.” I threaded my fingers with Gia’s, ignoring how tightly she squeezed my hand. “She’s the one, Mom, and it’s important to me that you meet her. That the two of you get along.”

Mom made a noncommittal sound then changed the subject. After we cleared the plates, had dessert, and Mom looked like she was about to pass out, we left.

Despite her glare at the subtle touch, I gently nudged Gia out the door and down the stairs until we got into the SUV. “This isn’t working. She’s not buying that we’re into each other. We need to make an addendum to our original deal.”