She moved toward him and rested her hand on his strong bicep. “It’s just speculation, Brody. They don’t have any proof.”
“They have a source!” he burst out, his voice resonating with anger. “Someone actually told that reporter I took bribes from your father. This isn’t a tabloid, where the so-called reporters make up sources to suit their story. Greg Michaels is an award-winning sports journalist—and someone on the team told him I took a goddamn bribe!”
Hayden’s mouth went completely dry. She could barely keep up with the range of emotions flashing across Brody’s face. Anger and betrayal and dismay. Shock and disgust. Fear. She wanted desperately to hold him, but his posture was so tense, his shoulders stiff, his jaw tight, every aspect of his body language screaming back off!
“Someone is trying to ruin me,” he snapped. “Who the hell would do that? I know Wyatt is up to his ears in this mess, but I can’t see him casting suspicion on me. He told me to stay out of it.”
His eyes were suddenly on her, focused, sharp, as if realizing she was in the room with him. “They think you’re sleeping with me to shut me up about your father’s part in it.” He laughed humorlessly.
Sympathy welled up inside her, squeezing her heart like a vise. “It’s going to be okay, Brody. Everything will get cleared up when you meet with the interviewer.”
Another chuckle, this time laced with bitterness. “All it takes is one black mark on your name and teams look at you differently.”
The coffeemaker clicked, and Brody turned his attention to it. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet over the sink, he slammed it down on the counter, filled it to the brim with coffee and swallowed a gulp of the scalding liquid, not even wincing.
Hayden had no idea what to say. How to make this better for him. So instead she just stood there, waiting, watching his face, trying to anticipate the next outburst.
But she wasn’t ready for what he said next.
“I think maybe we should cool things off for a bit.”
Shock slammed into her. “What?”
Setting down his mug, Brody rubbed his forehead. “I can’t be dragged down along with your father,” he said, so quietly she barely heard him. “If you and I are seen together, the rumors and suspicions will only grow. My career…”
He let out a string of curses. “I’ve worked my ass off to get to where I am, Hayden. I grew up wearing secondhand clothes and watching my parents struggle to afford anything. And finally, finally, I’m in a position to support myself, to support them. I can’t lose that. I won’t lose it.”
“You’re breaking up with me?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair, his eyes tortured. “I’m saying maybe we should put…us…on hold. Until the investigation concludes and the scandal blows over.”
“You want to put us on hold,” she echoed dully.
“Yes.”
She turned away, resting her hands on the kitchen counter to steady herself. He was breaking up with her? Sorry, putting things on hold. Not that it made a difference. Regardless of the way he wanted to word it, Brody was pretty much telling her he didn’t want her around.
Everything he’d said last night about how good they were for each other, how well they fit…what had happened to all that, huh?
The memory of the words he’d spoken only yesterday caused the bitterness swimming through her body to grow stronger. It was like a current, forcing all reason from her mind and pushing her into an eddy of resentment she knew too well. How many times had her father chosen his hockey team over her? How many times had the men in her life let their careers take the front seat while she sat in the back begging to be noticed?
“All right. If that’s what you want,” she said, unable to stop her tone from sounding clipped and angry. “I guess you need to look out for yourself, after all.”
His eyes clouded. “Don’t make it sound like that, Hayden. Like I don’t give a damn about you. Because I do give a damn. You can’t fault me for also giving a damn about everything I’ve worked so hard for.”
She edged away from the counter, suddenly wanting to flee. Maybe it was for the best, ending it now. They’d already reached an impasse yesterday, when she’d told him his lifestyle didn’t fit what she wanted in a relationship. Maybe it was better to break things off now, before it got even harder.
But although it made sense in her head, her heart couldn’t stop weeping at the idea of not being with Brody.
Silence stretched between them, until Brody released a frustrated curse and raked his hands through his dark hair. “I care about you, Hayden. The last thing I want to do is end this.” He shook his head, looking determined. “And I don’t see it as an ending. I just want this mess to go away. I want my name cleared and my career unaffected. When it all dies down, we can pick up where we left off.”