Sterling looked as confused as Buck felt. “With who?”
Rocky shook his head. “My client list is extensive and colorful. It might include the Cattaneo family.”
Sterling blinked. “Who?”
Despite being beyond blown away, Buck wouldn’t leave Sterling in the dark. He bumped shoulders with Sterling and pretended to speak from the corner of his mouth. “The mafia, babe.”
“Oh.” Sterling merely sounded surprised. Otherwise, he seemed completely unbothered.
Rocky kept talking like nothing happened. “Anyhow, as I said, they’ve lost their right to demand non-disclosure from you. That hasn’t stopped them from trying different avenues. As you know, you have a year left on your contract. If you want to play out the remainder of this year, you have to sign away your right to give interviews and whatnot on the matter. As much as I’d like to say that it isn’t legal, in this case, it is. They are free to cut you looseand withhold the last eight million dollars you’re owed to finish out your contract.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Buck hadn’t meant to speak out loud, but damn. “How dare them fuckers demand anything of Sterling?”
Rocky nodded as if he agreed. “On the other side of things, I was contacted by a publisher, asking for you to write a book. The numbers look pretty good.”
“I don’t know anything about writing a book.” Sterling sounded defeated.
Rocky shrugged. “It’s actually more like you’re answering questions, and a ghost writer writes the actual book. If you don’t want to return to Miami, this is an option.”
Sterling looked his way. They held each other’s stare. Buck swore he read Sterling’s thoughts. He wanted to play the game he loved, but he loathed the idea of giving the team owners the satisfaction of silencing him. But Sterling also didn’t want to talk about it and have his entire season be about his victimhood.
Buck tried comforting him. “I know.”
Sterling’s throat worked like he might cry. “I don’t want to leave you again.”
Okay. Maybe Buck hadn’t known what Sterling was thinking. “You can’t give up your dream for me. I’d always know it and hate myself for it.”
Rocky cut in. “There’s more. I have thoughts, if you’re interested.”
Sterling looked at Rocky like praying for a lifeline. “Okay.”
“Your old local medium-goal team has reached out to me. They’d love for you to return. Obviously, they can’t offer the kind of money as your current team does, but between the book and their salary, you’d come out better than finishing out your contract. You’d still get to play, and you wouldn’t have to travel more than two hours one way in any direction. I think you’d have a better quality of life. Obviously, this means taking a step down, but—”
“I’ll do it,” Sterling said, cutting off Rocky.
Buck glanced over, trying like hell not to hope. He already felt sick and ready to break over Sterling possibly leaving again.
He found Sterling looking at him, as if waiting for Buck’s attention. Like he needed Buck to understand why he had made the choice he had. “I don’t love the idea of a book. But I understand it’s important to speak up, so other people know they’re not alone. And I can’t leave you, baby. Not again. I might not survive it next time.”
It seemed as if there should be some argument Buck should make. He couldn’t. Things were way too real now. They weren’t playing games or doing some sort of crazy tug-of-war any longer. They weren’t a secret. This was very real. He wanted the future Sterling offered. “Me either.” He knew his answer sealed the deal on Sterling walking away from a one-year multi-million-dollar contract. In his heart, Buck knew this was for the best. Sterling really might not make it otherwise. That wasn’t an option.
For the first time since Sterling came home, he felt at peace with his mind. His inability to decide his future had been tearing everything apart inside him. He honestly hadn’t known what he could live with, but he knew what he couldn’t live without. A weight had lifted off his chest. Sterling felt lighter and free. He never would have left his lower tier team in the first place if he hadn’t convinced himself he would regret not moving up a rank for the rest of his life. That was a dream that didn’t come true for many people. Sterling recognized the honor his hard work had achieved. But now, he also knew it didn’t mean shit without Buck.
Sterling hadn’t stopped holding Buck’s stare since the moment Rocky left. He wanted to fall into those sexy eyes and drown. “There’s another decision we need to make.”
Buck didn’t look away. “Okay. Hit me.”
“I have a house to sell in Miami… unless you’d like to keep it and we could be snowbirds.”
“I doubt that would go over well with Tip, considering Quince already has an all-over-the-place schedule.”
“You know you don’t have to work anymore, right? I might not be great at a lot of things, but I learned at my brother’s feet how to grow money. Not to sound like that guy, but yeah. There’s no reason to work.”
Buck smiled. Laughter filled his voice. “Just like you, there’s no way I can sit still across the street from the ranch and do nothing. It takes a massive amount of work to keep the place running. It may not be my land, but I’ve worked it long enough to care about its success.”
Sterling shifted to his knees and straddled Buck’s lap. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to follow you around everywhere on my days off.”
Buck ran his hands up Sterling’s back. “I approve of this plan.”
