Chapter 5: Mae
Three days later…
"Your meeting with Dexter is waiting in conference room C," Sienna whispers as soon as I walk into the office, carrying my usual coffee and breakfast bagel from Frank and Lou’s shop next door.
"Shoot, am I late?" I ask, glancing at my watch. It’s only 8:50 in the morning, and we weren’t supposed to meet until 9’oclock. Dexter is hardly ever early or on time for that matter.
"No. I think Dexter was just eager to see you," Sienna responds, wiggling her brows at me. "Though the potential client he brought with you may have been too. Damn is he good looking. I almost got lost in his green-blue eyes while he was speaking to me. I didn't even hear his name. We have the best job, you know that, right?"
I laugh to myself because if this guy managed to catch Sienna’s attention—a woman who’s seen just as much shit from men as I have—then he must be one of the good ones.
None of my employees, except Sienna, know about my past history with Dexter—or howSterling Sports Public Relations, my company, really started. I’d confided in her on a terrible night years ago when Elsie and I were holed up in her apartment, hiding out after hearing a rumor that Vance might’ve been inLas Vegas. We didn’t want to take any chances, not with the possibility of him finding us. Thankfully, the threat turned out to be empty. He never showed up, and the last time I saw him was still nearly nine years ago—just a few weeks after Elsie was born.
When Dexter came into my life and helped me launch my PR firm, I packed up everything, moved Elsie to Nashville, and brought Sienna with me. I swore her to secrecy, and she’s never judged me for what I had to do to protect and provide for my daughter. She’s known me for almost eight years now, and somehow, she understands me better than the people who were around during my younger, messier years.
Sienna gets it—because she’s lived it. Like me, she’s an ex-NFL wife. But unlike me, divorcing a player didn’t scare her away from the dating scene. She jumped back in, even with professional athletes. Meanwhile, I’ve avoided them like the plague. Self-proclaimedmarried to my jobinstead.
I grab the bagel I’d picked up earlier, drop it off in my office, and snag my tablet from the desk before rushing to conference room C. A few strides later, I reach the door and spot Dexter inside, seated and gesturing animatedly to someone across the table. Predictably, the moment I step inside, he’s on his feet, circling the table like he owns the place and is eager to see me.
“Good morning,” Dexter greets, pressing an exaggerated kiss to my cheek before pulling me into one of his signature bear hugs. “You’re just as beautiful as the night we first met.” His eyes sparkle with mischief, and if anyone were observing us, they’d think we were lovers.
Dexter hasn’t changed much—still all muscle and effortlessly tanned, like he spends every waking moment on the beach. And he does, as much as his training schedule allows him to. He’s still as smooth as he was the night I met him in that casino, back when I was barely scraping by. These days, fatherhood has tamed his legendary charm a bit, but he can still win over almostany woman with one of those dazzling smiles.
Except me.
We’re more than that—closer than that. Dexter has been my rock, my confidant, the one person I’ve leaned on through thick and thin who’s always been there for Elsie and me. And while there was a single night when we first met and crossed that line, it’s a boundary we’ve never breached again. He’s always respected that. I think he sees me the way I see him—as family. We’ve had each other’s backs when no one else did, and that bond is unshakable.
Now, I’m planning his retirement party in Los Angeles while helping him search for properties in the Tennessee mountains, where he dreams of splitting his time between London and the States. It’s hardly the work of a CEO running a top-tier sports PR firm, but for Dexter? It’s the least I can do to repay him for everything he’s done for Elsie and me—even if he’d never ask for it.
"It's good to see you, Dexter," I reply, hugging him back.
"When are you going to marry me? I know Elsie would love it," Dexter teases, his grin wide and unapologetic.
I laugh, shaking my head. "You're a mess, you know that, right?"
"I know," he says with a wink before turning toward the table where my prospective client waits. "Alright, Mae, this is the old friend I was telling you about—the country music singer, Cody Cameron."
The name hits with no warning, and my stomach does a flip as my eyes follow Dexter’s gesture.
And that’s when I see him.
Cody stands, his smile warm and familiar, like the last verse of a song I thought I’d forgotten. It’s a smile that brings back everything—the love we shared, the heartbreak I buried, and the dream that had slipped unbidden into my mind just days ago.
A dream about my first love.
Now he’s standing there, larger than life, my new consult, my prospective client, and the man who once held and broke my heart.
***
Ten years earlier...
“You don’t need to work.”
I fold my arms across my chest, trying my best to seem taller, or older, I’m not sure which one but I hope that it’s working because I want this. No, I need this. “I understand, but I want to. Don’t you think it’ll help with college applications if I show that I have some work experience? Plus, I turn eighteen next week. I’m about to be an adult with no job experience.”
My mom scowls and then rolls her pretty blue eyes. The same ones that I have. I’ve always loved looking into hers but right now they don’t leave me with a warm feeling. “Your name alone will open doors for you, Mae. Working at a dirty rodeo as a waitress hardly counts as impressive work experience, and your senior year starts in two months. You’ll have to quit then for school anyways.”
“Dad…” I whine, looking at my father, who’s rubbing his jawline pensively, listening to my mom and me argue over my plans for this summer.
