He made sure my house was lit up in Christmas lights on the years I was too busy to decorate.
He always showed up for me. Big gestures and simple acknowledgements.
But I drew a line in the sand. I don’t date clients.
And Gage is still very much a client.
“You’ve already been the best partner I’ve ever had.” His voice, low and even, pulls me from my thoughts. His dark eyes flash as he turns to hold my gaze. “You know that? All these years…” He gestures between us. “It’s always been me and you, Cal. We’re a team. My career wouldn’t have flourished the way it did without you. I wouldn’t have had the endorsement deals, especially after my last injury, if you hadn’t gone to bat for me. You’ve always, always, had my best interests at heart—regardless of what the bottom line meant for you. I’ve never had anyone look out for me like that, not counting my family. So, I’m not worried about the type of partner you’d be. I already know.”
I pull in a breath, his words nearly undoing me while simultaneously stitching some of my frayed edges back together.
Gage rolls his lips together before continuing. “Football is all I’ve ever known. I’m terrified of what retirement means and yet, part of me is looking forward to it. I want to have hobbies. I want to catch my nieces’ dance recitals and watch my nephews play soccer on a random Tuesday afternoon. I spend a lot of time with my family, Cal. And still, it doesn’t feel like enough. I know what your career means to you, and I’d never resent you. Not ever for standing up for your clients the way you have for me. And while I can’t say there won’t be moments I won’t miss the hell out of you, because it always feels like a part of me is missing you, I promise I won’t be sitting around.” He snorts, tilting his head toward the big house where his family is staying. “You’ve seen the circus. They’d never let me just sit around.”
That morsel of truth makes me smirk. “That’s true.”
“What was the next bit? Ah, resentment.” He gives me a long look. “Not gonna happen, beautiful. I admire and respect you too damn much. I’m also thirty-eight, babe. I know what I want. I want you. No other woman has ever come close.”
Holy shit. I gape at him. At how effortlessly he’s saying the words.
His grip flexes on the railing. “Don’t look so surprised, Calla Lily. I’ve been waiting a long-ass time to fess up to you,” he says, reading my mind. “It doesn’t much matter what I do next. If I play another year, it’ll be just that. One more year. And if I don’t, I’ll be retired. Either way, I don’t have much use for an agent anymore.”
I swat at his arm, and he catches my fingers. Instead of releasing me, he threads our fingers together, until his palm presses flat against mine.
“And trust me, Callie, my satisfaction, as you put it, doesn’t deserve to be a topic in this conversation. There’s no doubt that you could straight up blow my fucking mind. Satisfaction is the least of our concerns,” he growls.
His tone causes my stomach to tighten and my nerves to escalate. Awareness sparks to life between us, as if his words called the feelings we’ve both been fighting out in the open.
The breeze whispers against my overheated skin. My fingers tighten on his hand. His jaw hardens even as his eyes go soft.
Gage straightens and with his free hand, he cups my cheek. His thumb brushes along my cheekbone and I sigh, turning slightly into his touch.
“How can you not satisfy me when just holding your hand feels like fireworks?” he murmurs. “I know you’re scared, Callie. I know I’m laying it all fucking out. But I’m a man who knows what I want. What I’ve always wanted. I didn’t say anything before now because I knew you didn’t want me to. Knew it would be a conflict of interest for you.”
“It still is,” I protest, my voice warbled. My resolve weak.
“Yeah?” He tilts his head, holding my eyes. “I’m not gonna be your client anymore, babe.”
“Does that mean you’re retiring?”
“It means I’m taking my shot. Go out with me tomorrow night. A real date. I want to take you to dinner. I want to show you what this could be. What we could be. Give me a chance, Cal. Please.”
I stare up into Gage’s eyes and want to drown in them. Want to wrap my arms around him and let him hold me. Piece me together and show me everything flickering in the depths of his eyes.
“Tomorrow,” I murmur. “Okay, Gage. Yes.”
A smile cuts across his mouth. It’s bright and brilliant and takes my breath away.
“I never do this,” I repeat.
“I know, baby. But this, us, it was inevitable.” He says it with such confidence that a part of me believes him.
I’m tired of being wary. I’m tired of being lonely, of having to shoulder every burden alone. But deep down, I know Gage has always been in the background, waiting in the wings, just on the periphery. I’ve always been able to count on him and he’s always shown up when I needed him most, even when I didn’t reach out directly.
He’s right. Him admitting his feelings before now would have been a complication I couldn’t have handled. Not then.
But now, after these years of loss and grief, with him on the cusp of retirement…
“You’re catching me at a good time,” I admit.
