I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against me until her back hit the closed door with a soft thud. I needed to feel her, to erase the time apart,the uncertainty, the back and forth with a love that had always been undeniable.
“I couldn’t wait another second,” I murmured against her neck, my lips brushing over the soft, warm skin there.
Her breath hitched.
“You smell amazing. Strawberries.” I dragged my nose along her jaw, inhaling her.
“You know I don’t even use strawberries,” she half-moaned, half-laughed, her fingers tightening against my chest like she wasn’t sure whether to pull me closer or push me away.
“So it’s just your skin.” My voice was rougher now, desperate for more.
“Yeah, right.” She exhaled sharply and pushed at my chest—just enough to create space. “Now tell me, Owen. Why did you get on a plane?”
I stilled, steadying the rush inside me.
This was it.
I stepped back just enough so I could look into her eyes. Into all the shades of hazel-brown I’d memorized.
“Because I wanted to tell you in person that I turned them down.”
Her whole body went rigid. “You didn’t.”
“I did.” I held her gaze, watching the disbelief flicker across her face. “They offered me the exact same thing I had before—the spot, the salary, the spotlight. But I don’t want it anymore.”
She pushed off the door. “Why?”
I closed the space between us again.
“Because I wanted to comehometoyou.” My voice was steady, sure. “Coming home to you is the best part of my life.” I took her hand in mine, grounding myself in the warmth of her skin. “When I was there, I realized—fully realized—that it wasn’t what I wanted anymore.Thatlife belonged to someone else. Not me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Ever.”
She seemed at a loss for words. “But you love football,” she blurted. I could see she wanted to say more.
“I do. Always will. But I don’tneedit.” I took a breath, squeezing her fingers. “I need you. There’s nothing I love more than you. Without you, everything else just feels ... fragmented. Incomplete.”
Rio sucked in a breath, like she needed more air to take this in. “I would have come to you, Owen. I was planning to. I wasn’t going to let go.”
She probably didn’t realize that with those words, she’d just given me everything. “I wouldn’t have let go either. Not for anything. I don’t need to be there to do football. I can do it anywhere. It’s not a necessity anymore.Youare.”
She blinked, her fingers tightening in mine. “And the World Cup?”
“You’re my World Cup.” With her hand held in mine, I tugged her closer. “You can keep it on your vision board. It’s all yours. I’m done chasing something that doesn’t feel right anymore. My career used to be the only thing I was certain of, but ...” I lifted her hand to my chest and pressed it over my heart. “You’re the part of my life that makes everythingelse make sense.” I bent my head. “I feelwholewith you.” I mumbled the ‘you’ against her lips.
We kissed, soft and slow, but I could feel her squirming with more questions. She tilted her head back, her gaze skimming my face. “So you just told them no?”
I grinned. “I broke up with them.”
Her brows furrowed. “What?”
“Texted them a ‘we need to talk.’”
Her laugh was breathy, disbelieving. “Owen, isn’t that a breach of contract?”
“It is.” I shrugged. “But I’m willing to pay the price.” I pressed another quick kiss to her lips. “You, Walter, the way I feel when I’m here. That’s what’s real. That’s what I’m choosing. No—scratch that. It wasn’t even about choice, because nothing could ever compete.”
