Anthony hadn’t slept well. It’d been one of those nights he tossed and turned in the sheets until his alarm went off at six. He pushed snooze, which he never did.

He kept replaying his dream over and over—he was proposing, then Kyle was kissing Cassidy and Anthony punched him. Unfortunately, he never felt better after punching Kyle and Cass always ended up yelling at him.

When he finally hopped out of bed at seven-thirty and put on his workout clothes, he was madder than the night before. This was not supposed to be how his second chance with Cass went down!

After lifting and practice and the coaches meeting and another practice, he’d tried to have a good attitude for his brother. After all, it was a huge day for him and there was lots of happiness about the baby. Kade had asked him how the proposal went, but Anthony had simply told him he hadn’t done it. There had been no time for details.

As he was leaving the practice building, he wished Kade would have stuck around to talk, but he figured Kade would be rushing back to Felicity. He didn’t blame him. But as he got to the exit, Anthony saw Kade walking into one of the team meeting rooms with Cassidy. He abruptly remembered Cassidy was supposed to interview Kade today for the exclusive.

Unable to leave, he paced the halls and waited. He had to see her. He had to talk to her, convince her that she had to pick him.

Feeling like he would wear a path down the hallway with all his pacing, he timed how long the interview took and was relieved when the door opened twenty minutes later.

Kade came out first, his face solemn. Obviously she’d told him what had happened. Gripping his shoulder hard, he gave him a pound on the back before retreating. “That’s crazy, bro. But I gotta go see Felicity. Call me later.”

“Yeah.” He waited.

Cassidy brushed past him, pointedly looking away.

“Wait,” he said, catching up. “I need to talk to you.”

Abruptly, she stopped. “When were you going to tell me that you were the one who insisted I do the exclusive on you?”

This hadn’t been the conversation he expected. “What? How do you even know that?”

She sighed. “My father told me this morning.”

Immense irritation and confusion raged in him. Why would his father do that?

Scowling at him, she pushed his chest.

His gut reaction was to grab her and kiss her, but he expected that would be the wrong move at the moment. So he asked the real question. “Are you back with him, Cass?”

She looked away and rubbed her temple. “I need time,” she sighed, shaking her head. “He just came back from the dead. Can you give me a second?”

He hated the fact he knew she was right.

Then she met his eyes. “Why did you want me for this exclusive?”

He felt guilty and completely on the spot. “Because you’re good.” Which was the truth, but it didn’t change the fact he was hiding something from her.

Her eyes narrowed and he saw those reporter instincts come out in her. “Anthony.” Her tone sounded just like a mother dealing with an obstinate teenager. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

For a second, he almost just admitted it, but then his pride got in the way. If he was going to lose the girl anyway, there was no point. “No.”

Hesitating, she shook her head. “Okay.”

He waited, wanting her to tell him she loved him. Wanting her to tell him that Kyle meant nothing to her now. Wanting her to … say something!

She didn’t.

He couldn’t take it. “Okay.” He took off for the parking lot, emerging from the stadium feeling like he wanted … something. Pills. No! He chastised himself. Honestly, he hadn’t even thought about it until this moment. Anthony swore and continued walking to his truck. The worst part of having all this anxiety was that he had thought about pills. He hated the fact he’d even thought about them. Suddenly, he more than just thought about them; he craved them. Even thought of three different places he could go looking for some.

At rehab they had taught him strategies and tools on how to adjust. What were those tactics again? He got into his truck and turned the engine.

Someone pounded on his window, and he was startled to see Scar. Annoyed, Anthony rolled down his window. “Not in the mood, dude.”

Scar shook his head and pulled off his sunglasses. “I overheard your little tiff.”

It ticked Anthony off, but that was illogical—he knew he’d been talking loudly to Cassidy.

Scar went around the side of Anthony’s truck and got in.

“What are you doing?” Anthony asked, resisting the urge to pummel something.

“I know about your little stint in rehab.”

Anthony’s heart raced. “You do?” How could he know, and why he hadn’t leaked it already to the press if he knew? It would hurt Anthony and that would help Scar’s career.

Scar sighed. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to buy you some lunch, then you’re coming to my gym and we’re going to spar. You need to punch something.”

Anthony thought about kicking him out, but he gunned the gas and headed into the city, toward Scar’s gym. It was a narrow escape, but for now he’d escaped. “Hitting something is exactly what I need.”