“I think I hate your mother.”
She choked on her tea, spitting the sweet stuff out on me. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, blushing furiously as she wiped me off. I wished she’d sprayed me on the crotch instead of the thigh. The softness of her hand on my skin was making me hard.
I covered her hand with mine before I embarrassed myself. “It’s athletic gear. It’ll wash. Don’t worry about it. Finish your story.”
She breathed in deeply. “Alize — her real name is Helen Jean, by the way — was born on a farm in Tennessee but was ‘discovered’ when she was on a school trip in Nashville. She became a model when she was fifteen or so, and was even in some soap operas and pretty awful movies. She met my dad, who was in his sixties by the way, and got pregnant with me when she was nineteen. He was very rich, and they got married, but he died when I was just a baby.”
“And that’s how you became wealthy,” I stated, the puzzle coming together.
“That’s how she got wealthy. My father hadn’t set up a trust for me or anything like that, so all the money is hers. That money, plus all the money she’s gained from marrying rich four more times. She never lets me forget that it is her money that buys — well, used to buy — my apartment, clothes, paid for my education, blah, blah.”
I whistled, and Eliana nodded. “Yeah. My mother has made a career out of marrying well. I’ll never be like that. I do live in the apartment she bought just because the rent is so crazy around here, but as you can see, I do pay rent. Well, my roommate and I pay the rent.”
“What happened that you couldn’t start school this year?”
She blushed, but it wasn’t from embarrassment this time. Anger and disappointment combined to just make her look sad. “Alize was going to pay for school, and I had everything ready. I’ve been accepted, and my class schedule was set. On the last day tuition was due, Alize changed her mind. She said that she, in good conscience, couldn’t support me in tossing my life away.”
“The bitch.”
Eliana laughed, but the sound was bitter. “Yeah. The thing is, if I’d known she was going to go back on her offer to pay for school, I could have made other arrangements. Scholarships. Loans. Found another job. But because she pulled out on the exact day of the deadline…” she lifted a shoulder.
“You were screwed,” I finished for her.
She nodded. “Pretty much. So now I’m working and saving every penny that I can. I’ll also apply for loans and scholarships. I have expensive clothes and purses,” she pointed at the one beside her, “that Alize bought, and I’ll try to sell. I have options. It will just take me a little longer to get started.”
“Did you ever consider moving to Tennessee and staying with your grandparents? You could go to school there.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I’d love that more than you’d ever know. I stayed with them every summer. I wanted to live with them full-time and go to high school there, but Alize thought people would feel poorly about her if she didn’t bring me back.”
Right. Image is everything.
“My grandpa was a vet, and I got to be his ‘assistant’ when I was there. They were both so wonderful, and they were going to fight Alize for custody, but there was a fire, and…” She shook her head sadly, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again.
“Why homeless animals?” I asked in order to change the subject.
She sniffed hard and her forehead wrinkled. “One day about a year ago, I was passing by an alley and heard this man screaming and a dog barking like crazy. It turned out that somebody reported the man to the local humane society, claiming there was no way he could take care of the dog on the streets. The man, his name is Joseph…”
Ah. Joseph and Target.
“He was devastated and crying so hard, it cracked something inside me. I went to the shelter and adopted Target and took him back, promising to feed him every day. After that, I noticed more homeless dogs and…”
“You take them all food. Treat them for fleas. Stuff like that.”
“Yes. And if I can’t for some reason, my roommate, Zoe, does. She’s going to vet school too. She actually did get to start this year, so I help her study which helps me better prepare for when I get started. It works out great.”
“And you’re able to pay for all this on your own? Grooming dogs?”
She smiled. “Long Islanders are crazy about their pooches and pay a crazy amount to make sure Fluffy’s fur is perfect. The business is incredibly lucrative.”
The pride in her eyes made me smile too.
“You seem very determined.”
“I am. And I actually like that I get to do it on my own. One less thing I’ll feel indebted to my mother for.”
“And when you graduate?”
“I’ll open my own clinic and offer free services to homeless dogs. Then I’ll get to do more than provide a meal.”
“I’ll talk to Katrina Delaney about what you’re doing. She’s the Beasts’ PR director, and I’m meeting with her this afternoon. She’s always looking for stuff the players can do for the community.”
Dammit. I hated thinking about my stupidity of last night, the real reason I was meeting Katrina.
Eliana’s smile lit up her face. “That would be wonderful.”
An idea sprang to life. “What time do you get off work?”
“Not until about nine tonight. One of my dog moms needed a late appointment. Why?”
“Well, I was going to leave you a ticket at the will-call booth. If you were able to come to the game tonight, I’d introduce you to Katrina. Hell, I would have introduced you to Ace Newman too. He does a bunch for homeless vets, and I heard him talk about pet therapy for vets with PTSD. I’m not sure, but there might be some way shelter dogs could be trained to help?”
“That’s brilliant!”
“Maybe another night? I’m leaving tomorrow for a nine-game road trip. There will be a couple home games before the gala. Maybe you’ll come then?”
“Yes, I’d love that. I’ll go online and look at the schedule to see if something works. Could I bring Zoe too?”
“Of course. Just text me, and I’ll leave you both tickets. Don’t eat beforehand because there will be tons of food available in the suite.”
“Suite?”
I grinned at her. “Yeah, it’s where all the players’ wives and fake girlfriends sit.”
She bit her bottom lip, and I realized I was jealous of her teeth. I wanted to be biting it, sucking on it, slipping my cock... Shit. My ability to concentrate was whacked.
“And…” she said, looking worried, “if I’m able to come to a game, we just go in? Start munching on the buffet?”
“Yep. Eat, watch the game, then I’ll introduce you to Katrina and Ace afterward.”
“That actually sounds like fun.”
It was my turn to preen. She laughed. “Good. Then we can work on our ‘how we met’ story before we hit the red carpet.”
I hadn’t even noticed that the waiter had taken my card until he brought it back with a ticket for me to sign. I paid for our meals but wasn’t yet ready to say goodbye.