The Set Piece (5 page)

Amy watched the trail of Casey’s wet footprints as if they were magical. “Great. That was a terrible first impression.”

“Don’t worry too much about it. She’s a tough nut to crack.”

Was Tammy trying to make her feel better?

“All you have to know about Casey,” Tammy said, “is that she is devoted to Diego. As we all are, if you get my meaning.” The veiled threat came through loud and clear. Tammy leveled her gaze at Amy. “No one here wants to see him hurt.”

“I don’t plan on hurting him,” Amy said, suddenly on the defensive. If anything this game would hurt her.

“Good. Because, you see, we’re all wondering a little. Diego has never brought any girl over before. Not even for dinner. And suddenly he’s moving one in?” Tammy left the question hanging, then continued, “It’s more than a little disconcerting. Maybe for Casey more than Tom and me. Tom thinks that she may have deeper feelings for him.” Tammy tilted her head and her gaze seemed to bore straight into Amy. “We all just want to make sure you’re in this relationship for the right reasons.”

“I am,” Amy said simply. She’d read somewhere that if you were going to lie then do it in a few words as possible.

“Good.” The smile returned to Tammy’s face but didn’t spread to her eyes. “Let’s get you back upstairs. I’m sure you want to settle in. Diego will be home soon and finally in a good mood since the Atoms won.”

“I know. He scored the go-ahead goal. The drought’s over.”

“From your lips, sweetie. From your lips.”

As Amy unpacked, her worries came back to haunt her. How could someone live for twenty-five years on God’s green earth and have so little to show for it? Was she that much of a failure? She’d packed her clothes, toiletries, a few books, and her mother’s pearls. Everything else her parents had left was in storage. The second she shut the door on the storage unit she’d closed off her own life. Looking at the half-empty suitcase before her, she realized there wasn’t much to her. She felt hollow. Tammy’s warnings had unnerved her. The woman was blunt, if nothing else. In Knight’s living room, the proposition had seemed like a way out of her current drudgery. Now she was achingly aware that real people with real feelings could be hurt by this, and Simon had been her wakeup call.

And finally, there was Casey. Not having enough information had nearly blown her cover. That was Paul Knight’s fault. But fixating on how nice the PA’s ass looked in sopping wet jeans was a problem all of her own making. She was in trouble. She could already feel the anxious flutter in her chest.

A sharp knock at the door disturbed her thoughts.

“Who is it?” Amy asked.

“Casey. Sorry to bother you.”

Amy froze then quickly fluffed up her hair and pinched her sallow cheeks in the mirror. She hesitated. What was wrong with her? She was having the fake relationship with Diego, not Casey.

When she answered the door, she couldn’t even look Casey in the eyes. Her gaze fell away to the lean, hard body. Casey had changed into an Atoms T-shirt, shorts, and black and purple flip flops. A delicate soccer ball tattoo rode her left ankle. Amy’s eyes lingered on the design for a long moment. Sexy.

“Here.”

Amy looked up to catch the single sheet of white paper Casey thrust out to her.

“Knight wanted me to give you Diego’s schedule for tomorrow. There’s a photo shoot for Adidas in the morning, and a televised publicity event at the park in the afternoon. There will be press cameras at the park, if that makes a difference to you.”

“Should it?” She met a cold, hard stare. A jolt ran through her body. What had happened by the pool was happening again up here. It was inexplicable. Her body was reacting in a way that her mind couldn’t stop.

“I thought you might want to dress for the photo op. Diego will be in his Adidas stuff, of course, but you can come however you want.” Casey’s eyes narrowed slightly, making Amy feel like an ant at a picnic.

“Okay. Thanks.” They stood awkwardly in the doorway and regarded each other in silence.

“Look, if you give me your information, I can just text you the schedule next time,” Casey said. “That way I won’t have to bother you in person.”

“Sure. That works for me.”
I’m a liar on all fronts now.
That zap of lust, guilt, confusion, whatever it was, left her tingling all over. It was vaguely uncomfortable. It was also the first time she had felt something really physical for over two years.

Casey swiped open her cell phone and handed it to Amy who quickly entered her contact information.

“Hey, you two.” Diego in all his casual glory strode along the hall. Dulce trotted along at his heels. His smile shifted ever so slightly as he met them in the doorway.

Amy’s brow furrowed. Their first meeting in their new home was about to be witnessed by his PA. They were unrehearsed, and unless they got really lucky, a lot could go wrong. Amy struggled for the right words. “You scored. I saw the goal. It was great!”

Diego’s shoulders visibly relaxed. Soccer was the perfect subject. They could both be enthusiastic about it, and maybe fool Casey into thinking that they were being enthusiastic about each other.

“It was a garbage goal. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. But I’ll take anything right now. It’s so good to see you, here.” He swept past Casey to take Amy in his arms. He gave her a delicate hug picking her up and cradling her for a moment. He dipped his head down to hers to whisper softly in a voice only she could hear. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

He dropped her back to her toes and planted a kiss that was more noise than touch on her lips.

Amy grinned. Who knew Diego would be so good at this? A lifetime of hiding his sexual identity would make anyone an expert actor, she guessed.

“It was a good goal, Diego. It’s all about positioning,” Casey said, as soon as they broke from each other.

Amy noticed that her face softened as she looked at him. What was it Tammy had said? Something about liking him too much?

He slung an arm around Casey and gave her a quick side hug. “I don’t care what kind of goal it was as long as it gets the reporters off my back. That’s all I really need right now.” He swept them into the apartment. Dulce nipped playfully at Amy’s feet as they moved. “You settling in all right? Have everything you need?”

“I do. It’s wonderful. And so is this little one.” She bent down to pick up the wriggling dog.

“She’s a very good judge of character. So I’m happy to see she adores you. Just like me.” Diego stroked Dulce as she snuggled into Amy’s arms.

“I’ll let you two have some privacy,” Casey said in a voice a little too loud. She moved back to the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

Diego jumped back a step as he put a finger up to his lips. He silently mouthed counting to ten and then broke out into a shy smile. “That was good!”

“Oh my God.” Amy giggled. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“I know. I thought it might be over before we started. Casey’s pretty shrewd. Talking about the goal was a stroke of brilliance.”

“You picked up the lead. I think this fake relationship might really go the distance.”

He grinned at her. “Well, right now the only distance I want to travel is to the backyard. Tammy’s set out dinner for us. You ready to eat?”

“Sure, that sounds great.” Their first dinner together. Amy’s heart raced as if it were a real date. Obviously nothing romantic would come of it, but the evening would set the tone for their entire relationship. It was off to a great start. Now she had to make sure it stayed there. She eased Dulce from her arms and followed Diego downstairs.

A romantic dinner for two graced one of the patios. Two plates of grilled chicken breast with sides of zucchini and carrots sat on a small bistro-style table, complete with lit candles. Spray mist cooled the air, taking the heat in the patio area down from unbearable to balmy.

“It’s not just sugar I avoid, I try to eat healthy at all times,” Diego said, almost apologizing for the food. Tammy came out with sparkling water in a wine cooler which she placed on the table. “As you know, of course,” he added.

“I do. Remember when the server didn’t believe that you had ordered the salad and not me?” She turned her attention to Tammy. “I had to reach for the hamburger off his plate, before the server realized we weren’t joking. It looks great, Tammy.”

“I know what he likes to eat. He’s my boy.”

“Good cover,” Diego said softly, as Tammy returned to the kitchen.

“I think it’ll get it easier to keep up the charade as we go along,” Amy said, as she watched Tammy take up sentry at the kitchen window to keep an eye on them. Then she dropped her gaze to the beautifully plated meal. Far better than the prawn-flavored chips she and Simon used to steal from Reggie’s for dinner.

“I hope so. I need to start playing better. Get my stats up. This has been a really difficult spell for me.”

“You could change that. You could come out. It might help.” She said the words before she realized how very stupid they were. “Sorry!” Her face went red. It wasn’t as if that solution was even revolutionary. Obviously, he would have considered and dismissed that scenario long before Knight found him a beard. “I’m talking myself out of a good gig.” She tried to lighten her gaff.

“It’s okay. If this is going to work, at least you and I have to be honest with each other.”

She studied Diego. He was right. They had to keep their relationship as authentic and as candid as this bizarre situation would allow. But did he mean it? They had grown closer since their first meeting at Knight’s house. Even though little alarm bells rang in her head, she decided to take a chance. “Okay, so why don’t you?”

“I just can’t,” Diego said, sighing. He seemed relieved to talk about it, but still he spun the dial on his expensive diver’s watch as his gaze drifted away from her eyes. “I mean I’ve thought about it, of course. There’s times that I would like nothing better. But I take care of my entire family. Financially, I mean, through all these damn endorsement deals. It’s about so much more than me.”

“But professional athletes are coming out these days.” She pushed the conversation right to the edge. Why couldn’t she just shut up? Everything had been going so well, and now she might get fired before the meal was over. She put a piece of chicken smothered in creamy mustard sauce into her mouth so she couldn’t speak anymore.

“Some are. Mostly after their careers are over. Very few are coming out before they’re superstars. That college basketball player, for example. He came out right after he graduated and dropped at least three rounds in the draft because of it, or so some people said.”

“True.”

“Besides, if I was white, it might be different. But I’m the face of Hispanic advertising. Latinos and Latinas want to connect with brands that embrace their culture. For better and for worse, I’m that brand. And there’s the problem. I need to connect to both the traditionalists and the second generation-plus. At least that’s what they tell me.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s two completely different demographics. Traditionalists are immigrants who arrive here with all of their ideas shaped by the culture of Mexico. The rest of us are second, third, and fourth generations. We’re more American in our likes and dislikes.” His tone was sure, but he spun the dial on his watch like a top. “You see. I’m hip, I speak English as well as any native.” He grinned ruefully.

“Better.” Amy finally found a word that didn’t flirt with trouble.

“Thanks. So far my endorsement deals are only with the brands that do well with Hispanics. I need a Nike, or Gatorade, or Levi to be really safe.”

“And your fans? They wouldn’t support you?”

“Are you kidding me? For Christ’s sake, Mexican fans chant puto, or faggot, at games when a player makes a bad move. And FIFA’s not doing anything about it. They say it’s not discriminatory in this particular context.”

His words hung in the air between them. It sounded to Amy that, despite what Knight thought, Diego had a handle on more than looking like a movie star and producing on the field. “So you’re stuck in this and all sorts of other lies?”

“That’s about the size of it. It would be nice if all this were about playing soccer, which I love. But I haven’t had that feeling about soccer since high school.”