Game On by Tracy Solheim Page B

admonished Molly. Carly watched as he took a gulp of his water before staring blankly around the table.
    “Elise Wages played Carly in the movie about her mother.” Emma—ever the diplomat—offered an explanation to Shane.
    Shane looked even more confused as everyone else stopped eating to stare at him.
    “You know,
Death in a Sandstorm
.” Emma leaned forward in her chair, enunciating each word as if he were hard of hearing. “It’s always on one of the cable movie channels.”
    When he turned to Carly, both eyebrows raised in question, Emma continued in exasperation, obviously thinking Shane had spent too much time on the turf.
    “It’s about Veronica March, Carly’s mother, who gets beheaded by terrorists. Elise Wages plays Aunt Carly when she was a kid.”
    “Emma, you know how I feel about everyone trivializing Carly’s mother’s death,” Lisa softly chided her daughter.
    Carly always admired the way her sister defended Carly’s mother, a woman she’d never met.
    “I’m sorry Aunt Carly.” Emma sank back in her chair.
    “No offense taken, sweetie.” Carly sent her a reassuring smile across the table.
    Shane was still gaping at Carly. He really was starting to resemble a concussed idiot.
    “Wait!” He put his fork down and gestured for quiet. “You mean your mother was that famous war reporter? The heiress to the World Media? That means your dad”—he turned to look at Lisa—“is Hugh Delaney, the news anchor.”
    “The one and only.” Lisa grimaced.
    “That means you’re . . .” Shane turned his head back to look at Carly. Could he really be that slow? Carly waited for the pity to show up in his eyes. “You’re
Darling Carly
.” She cringed. The moniker the media had dubbed her with as a young child always had the same effect on her.
    “Wow,” he said. “You were a child celebrity. Everyone’s favorite orphan. The press used to follow you everywhere when you were young.” His voice was almost reverent, as if Carly had enjoyed those long, lonely months when the media couldn’t get enough of her pathetic story. She knew what was coming next. Twenty years later she’d once again been in the eye of the media storm, but not in a positive way. Somehow, she was no longer the darling, but the spineless woman who couldn’t hold on to her sports star fiancé. Carly set down her fork, her appetite gone.
    Fortunately, her nephew spoke up before Shane could even go there. “You know, that sleazy reporter who’s always following you around the training center and leaving stuff in your office has the hots for Elise Wages,” C.J. said, startling nearly everyone at the table.
    Matt’s fork stilled in midair as his gaze shot from his son to Carly. “Some reporter is hounding you at the complex?” he asked, his tone lethal.
    “Yeah,” C.J. answered before Carly could. “He probably thinks if he hangs around Carly, he’ll meet Elise or something.”
    “Is this true?” Lisa asked, exchanging a worried glance with her husband.
    “Donovan’s got it handled,” Carly assured them both. “Besides, the guy’s pretty harmless.”
I think
.
    “Anyway, Elise Wages is pregnant,” C.J. mumbled as he reached for a second helping of lasagna. Okay, Carly was grateful for the subject change, but she was definitely mentioning the condoms to Matt.
    “Well, at least we know her baby’s not yours, Shane,” Molly blurted before her father could shove a piece of bread in her mouth.
    Now it was Carly’s turn to choke.
    They managed to navigate the dinner conversation to safer subjects so that everyone finished their meal without necessity of the Heimlich maneuver. Carly slipped out before dessert, claiming that she had over indulged in Mexico and she needed to cut some calories. What she really wanted was to get away from the menacing presence seated next to her at the table. Despite all the embarrassing dinner conversation, Shane had eventually managed to relax and join in the banter. Not