“We’re gonna do it today, Phoebe.” He gave her a resounding smack and set her back down on the ground.

“I know you are. Good luck.”

She watched as the Sabers joined the Stars on the field. Their starting quarterback had been reinjured in the last game, making the Stars a narrow favorite, but Ron had warned her that, even injured, the Sabers were a great ball club.

As the kickoff approached, she could no longer avoid looking at Dan. She saw the strained tendons in his neck as he spoke into the headset to the coaches’ box and then said a few words to Jim Biederot, who stood at his side. Only when the players were in position for the kickoff did he turn in her direction. Their eyes locked, but his expression was blank, revealing nothing of his feelings. She fumbled for his gum in her jacket pocket as he came toward her.

It hadn’t taken the fans long to grow familiar with the Stars’ pregame rituals, and the crowd watched for the moment when the kicker would tee the ball and Phoebe would pass over the Wrigley’s. As Dan drew up next to her, she tried to sound normal.

“I didn’t forget your gum.”

He studied her for a moment, his mouth set in a tight, hard line. “Bobby Tom gets soul-kissed and I get a pack of gum. I don’t think so.”

Her eyes widened as he whipped off his headset. Before she could react, he leaned down and gave her a long, punishing kiss.

Strobes flashed and the crowd roared with laughter, hoots, and cheers. When Dan pulled away, Phoebe forced herself to smile. The crowd thought it was a joke, but she knew it wasn’t. His kiss had been filled with anger and intended to hurt. He was letting her know that he hadn’t forgiven her for insulting his honor.

He moved abruptly away and turned all his attention to the field as the ball soared through the air. The Sabers’ return man caught it deep in the Stars’ end zone.

Despite her own turbulent emotions, she was quickly wrapped up in the excitement of the game. She knew from Ron that part of Dan’s strategy was to force Saber turnovers, and the defense’s aggressive play did just that less than four minutes into the game, when Elvis Crenshaw knocked the ball loose from their tailback. The Stars quickly established control and by the end of the quarter, they had posted seven points and the Sabers were scoreless.

She made her way back up to the skybox, where the atmosphere was as tense as it had been on the field. The Stars were building momentum while the Sabers struggled to get into the game, but it was still far too early to relax. Ten minutes later, when the Stars intercepted a thirty-yard pass, Phoebe knew she couldn’t stand the tension any longer. They were playing brilliantly, but what if they fell apart?

Muttering to Ron that she was going to take a walk, she slipped the chain of her purse over her shoulder and left the skybox. She nodded at the security officer outside, then began to pace in the otherwise deserted hallway. As another gale of cheers came from behind the closed doors, she rounded the bend at the end of the hall.