31. Cleo

31

CLEO

"Dinner's ready." Cat interrupted me with the announcement.

Snapping out of my haze, I closed my computer and plastered on a smile. From the looks of it, Cat thought I hadn't heard a word of the conversation she'd had with her agent in my kitchen.

"Thanks." I smiled as I walked over to the steaming plates of food, planting a kiss on her cheek. We made our way to my small mid-century modern dining table and sat down.

Digging into the food, we both went a little silent as the delicious mango chicken curry hit our tongues.

Through a pleased groan, I shook my head. "Wow, that's delicious."

Cat grinned at me, eager for the praise. "I'm glad you like it."

"Did I hear you on the phone?" I prodded, poking my food around and trying to act cool.

Nodding, Cat pouted as she ate. "Yeah, everything's good. But you should know a couple pictures of our practice leaked. Nothing explicit and you're disguised by the gear, so it should be fine."

Clearing my throat, I took another bite. "Right, that's good." A part of me wondered what she meant. We hadn't discussed how I felt about a public relationship so Cat couldn't be sure that I would have minded if I was recognizable. But maybe she preferred it this way for now.

"Did Tommy have anything else to report?" I had to play it cool and hope that Cat would tell me what I needed to know.

"Some sponsors like my form and want me to consider new deals." Cat tried not to smile, the nervousness of returning to the field hitting her.

Trying to intercept her gaze, I raised an eyebrow. "That's good, right?" Of course, I knew that it meant Cat would have to leave New Winford, at least for a while. She'd have to go back to the city for photoshoots and interviews.

Cat shrugged. "Yeah, I think so." With a shrug, she turned back to her food. But I could tell there was something she was leaving out. Grabbing another bite, I decided to trust her. She'd bring it up when she was ready, and until then, she was sitting around the table having made dinner for me.

It was the only way to get through the next couple of weeks, one meal at a time.

Sunlight streamed through the trees as we drove north.

"I'm so excited." Cat's fingers drummed against the steering wheel as we got closer to the apple orchard. She asked me to take her apple picking since she hadn't been in more years than either of us could count.

Looking over at her, I smiled. "Me too." She was cute – even if she was hiding something from me.

A loud ring came from the car's speakers. The display on the dashboard read "Call from: Tommy."

"I can get this later." Cat swallowed as her finger floated toward the decline button.

"No, no. Take it now, then it's not hanging over your head." Waving off her concern, I shrugged.

Not having a way out, Cat clicked "accept". "Hey, Tom. You're on speaker, and Cleo's in the car."

Tommy laughed. "Cool. Hey, Cleo. Nice to sorta meet you."

"You too." I crossed my arms and smiled like she could see me. Peeking over at Cat, her knuckles were turning white as her grip on the wheel tightened. What is she so nervous about?

Not holding off, Tommy pressed on with business. "I'm sending you a couple contracts. Give them a read when you have a second. There's dates and such for photo shoots and media appearances written in there so just make sure those work for you."

"Easy enough." Cat shrugged, stretching out her arm to the hang-up button. "Okay, cool…"

Squeezing in before Cat could hang up, Tommy cleared her throat. "And do you have the dates for the Championship? The team really wants to see you play."

Cat stammered, looking for the words while avoiding my gaze.

"First weekend in November, likely on Sunday," I interjected, clenching my jaw as I spoke.

"Thanks, Cleo. We'll talk soon, Catherine." Tommy hung up the phone, our awkwardness palpable.

Just as the call ended, the car was rolling into the gravel parking lot of a crowded orchard. I wasn't entirely sure why Cat had hidden that from me but I knew now wasn't the time to bring it up. Odds were that she didn't bring it up because she knew it would mean leaving town. And what was becoming clear to me was that Cat had no intention of seeing this through.

I should've known that it was just some hometown fun.

Shaking my head, I popped open my door and was hit in the face with obnoxiously fresh air.

Cat hesitated in the driver's seat for a second before climbing out and walking over to me. She offered an awkward smile, testing the waters.

"Ready?" I plastered a smile on my face.

"Yep." Cat nodded, not trying their luck.

I had no idea how long we could go without mentioning all of this but maybe it was for the best to pretend like our time together was hurtling to a close.