CHAPTER 5 JOLENE

I'm trying to hold it together, but so far I'm failing.

I woke up this morning to a text from Rivera.

Rivera: You had your chance.

I didn't know what he meant, but it took me all of five seconds to find the article.

I read it, and just as I finished, the text from Lincoln came through, as if he had some sort of extrasensory perception about what we're about to face together.

He wouldn't have done this if Marcus was here. That's the sole reason he was able to get it in print.

Fuck. Fuck! What are we going to do?

"He did what?" Lincoln roars, and the soft and tender greeting he started this conversation with has transformed significantly.

"They're on a gossip site but I know it was him and I don't know what I'm supposed to do now and our parents are going to find out and our credibility is ruined, both of us, and—"

"Stop," he demands as he interrupts me, and it's probably good he interrupted me or I might've gone on forever.

I suck in a breath.

"Is it just the pictures? Or an article, too?"

"An article," I say. "The pictures we could've probably explained away. But the article is pretty damning."

"Read it to me."

I put the call on speaker and pull up the website where I just found the article.

"The blind item printed last Thursday is confirmed with photographic evidence," I read aloud. "New Vegas Aces head coach Lincoln Nash was seen canoodling new VG03 team correspondent Jolene Bailey outside his Las Vegas home a few nights ago. According to sources, this isn't the first time they've been photographed together, and their relationship stems back as early as March of this year when the coach was first hired. The pair are embroiled in a bitter battle of hatred between their families, but even worse than the famous feud is the fact that Coach Nash was photographed last night with Samantha Reynolds, the woman he's been spotted with on the town on more than one occasion over the last few weeks. Reynolds isn't just the coach's girlfriend, however. She's also Bailey's roommate and close friend, making Bailey the other woman in this equation as the coach is painted in his own rather negative light. If he's willing to cheat on his nurse practitioner girlfriend, what else is he capable of lying about, and where else might we catch him cheating? All eyes will be watching closely as the season opens in two Sundays at home in Vegas against the Seahawks."

"Jesus Christ," he mutters. "That's slander."

"Technically you mean libel, but either way, defamation is when someone makes a false statement. What's false about what that article says?" I ask. "We have been together since March. We were canoodling on your front porch."

"Leave it to the reporter to get down to the nitty gritty of it."

I try not to take offense to that. He's upset, and I get that. I am, too. But facts are facts, and there is going to be a bigger fallout here than we were prepared to deal with. "What would you prefer I do?"

He sighs. "This is…not how I saw this day going. It's more fucking distractions I don't need."

"I'm sorry I'm a distraction to you," I say, tears filling my eyes. I know I'm reacting emotionally right now, but I don't know what to do. I don't know how to get ahead of this. I don't know how to keep my family from being torn apart over this.

He blows out a breath. "You know that's not what I mean." I hear a voice at his office door, and then he says, "I have to go. We'll deal with this later."

That's fine and dandy for him to say, but the truth is that he's going off to work but I am going to have to deal with this now. And I'm going to have to face the offender in an hour all by myself.

I'm still in my pajamas when I emerge from my room and find Sam in the kitchen making lunches for the boys, who are awake but not out here yet.

"Morning," she says cheerily, already dressed for work in her scrubs as she dances around the kitchen.

"You're in a good mood," I say.

"It's all an act. I've already told the boys three times to get dressed, and neither of them has come out here yet with clothes on. So I'm dancing my worries away." She twirls at the end, and I wish I could be as lighthearted as she is right now, but the heaviness of what I'm about to face is standing in my way.

"I take it you haven't Googled your own name this morning," I say dryly.

She stops dancing and peers at me. "I've…actually never done that before. Why?"

"Rivera printed the pictures," I say. "The article basically said I'm the other woman, Lincoln is a big fat cheater, and you're the victim."

Her jaw drops, and that's when I hear a gasp behind me.

"Lincoln is a cheater?" Jonah's little voice says, and when I whip around, he stands there with a deep sadness in his eyes. Dressed, at least, but the look in his eyes breaks my mama heart.

"No, honey." I kneel down and give him a hug. "He's not. He's one of the good guys." Despite the way he just talked to me, I still firmly believe that.

"Then why'd you just say that?" he asks.

"I was telling Sam about an article I just saw that was accusing him of some nasty things," I say.

"But they aren't true?"

Well, I mean, technically…it's what it looks like even if it's not the truth. But that's only because we've all been lying for months.

I sigh. "No. They aren't true."

He twists his lips and his brows pinch tightly together. "Okay." He's definitely thinking something over.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his head a little. "Nothing. Well, just…I told Lincoln I wished he was my dad the other day."

"You did?" Tears pinch behind my eyes.

He should have been the father of my children. Instead I made poor choices after I'd been hurt one too many times, and I ended up with Jeremy. But if I didn't make those poor choices, Jonah wouldn't be standing in front of me right now, and because of that, I will never regret it.

There's a knock at the front door, and I'm scared to see what the hell is going to hit us next.

I peek through the peephole and find Devin standing there. My brows pinch together as I open the door.

"Good morning," I say.

He gives me a funny look that I can't quite decode. "Is Sam here?"

That's when it hits me.

He's seen the article, too.

I nod. "Come on in."

"Boys, breakfast!" Sam yells from the kitchen, and she's scrambling to get everything ready for the day and I'm still in my pajamas.

I'm a mess.

My life is a mess.

"Who was at the door?" Sam asks as I follow Devin into the kitchen. She glances up. "Oh. Devin—uh…what are you doing here?"

"Dad?" Cade asks as he walks into the room—also dressed. He runs to his dad for a hug, and Devin bends down and squeezes his son.

"Hey, buddy. Sorry to interrupt your morning," Devin says. "I was on my way to work and I just need to talk to your mom for a minute."

"I have to leave in seven minutes for school," he says, clearly disappointed that he's not going to get to spend any time with his dad, but apparently unconcerned that he only has seven minutes to eat breakfast.

"I'll get the boys to the bus," I offer as a way to give these two a minute to chat, and I run to my bedroom, change clothes, and brush my teeth before we head out the door.

I should give Sam and Devin more time since the bus came a little early today, but I also need to shower ahead of work, so I head inside. I immediately hear Devin's voice.

"It was all fake?"

She clears her throat. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just…I knew you were happy with Maddy, so I didn't think what I did mattered."

"Of course it mattered." His voice is low, and I need to walk by the kitchen to get to my room, but I don't want to interrupt them.

Sam sighs audibly even from where I stand, and I take the moment to pass through. Neither acknowledges me, and I slip into my bedroom.

But I still stand by the door for a beat to listen. It may not be the right thing to do, but I can't stop the nosy reporter in me who needs every detail.

"I should've told you sooner, and I guess that only tells me I should be honest about…well, everything," Sam says.

"There's more?" Devin asks.

"I agreed to this fake relationship to help out Jolene and Lincoln. But I also didn't hate the idea of you seeing me out with him."

"You wanted to make me jealous?" he asks.

"Well, you proposed to Maddy shortly thereafter, so either it worked or you'd moved on anyway."

"Wait a minute. Why would you want to make me jealous?"

There's a long pause, and then she finally seems to gather up the courage to say, "Because I still love you, Devin. I think I've always loved you and I was too stupid or too overwhelmed or too scared to tell you, but now you're marrying someone else when it should be you and me and Cade."

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with that, Sammy?" he yells at her.

Damn. I thought he'd just, you know…kiss her. Take her right there in the kitchen. It's what she deserves, anyway, but I suppose there's another woman in the picture that should technically be out of the picture before they go down a road they can't come back from.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I know this will change things between us, but please, please don't let Cade see it. I'm fine. I've been living with this for years, and I will continue to keep it in check."

He lets out a heavy sigh, and then he mutters, "I need to go."

I hear the front door open and close, and instead of getting in the shower like I should have several minutes ago, I emerge from the bedroom, walk to the kitchen, and take my crying best friend into my arms to comfort her.

What a crap start to what's going to be an epically shitty day.