He scooped them off the grill. “Coming.”
“We’re not getting tickets to any games now are we?” Liam asked as we headed toward the door.
“Not a chance.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE
LAKE
We stayedtwo days with my family, ending with a stunning fireworks display along the lake. I’d seen it a million times, but I’d never watched it with Cage, which made it feel brand-new again. He made my whole life feel brand new again.
Jessica once told me that she really did feel a complete separation from Jillian Knight. She was always Jessica with Luke. I think she needed that clear distinction to let go of AJ and give her whole life to my brother. I never truly understood it until Cage. He wasn’t with “Ben’s girlfriend.” Part of her died the day Ben died. It was a poignant realization.
Survivors sacrificed a piece of themselves to move on, a proverbial shedding of weight to keep from drowning. Jillian left part of her heart in the past to move forward as Jessica. The day I accepted the loss of my leg was the day the rest of Ben’s girlfriend died, and in that moment I became a real survivor. That’s who Cage loved, not the girl who wore a cloak of bitterness and hated the world—hated God.
We blinked and training camp swallowed up Cage’s days and his presence. Minnesota still held their training camp away at a college campus—something to do with “bonding.”
No Cage.
No sex.
No fun.
Even his birthday fell right in the middle of training camp. We talked for twenty minutes on the phone before he was taken away by his buddies.
Once my new layer of skin resembled something human again, I flew back out to L.A. for the photoshoot—without the beach time. Our jobs succeeded at keeping us apart. When he was free I was busy and vice versa. Shayna made claim to some of my free time as well, but the world’s best qualified and hottest nanny still continued to make the news.
Jamie also continued to hold the title of best knocker. Three swift knocks. I grinned, knowing I’d be met with his usual shoulder shrug as Shayna pleaded her case.
Peephole check. Yep, they both stood on the other side of my door with beach towels draped around their necks.
“Lake! You have to come with us!”
I smiled at Shayna then met Jamie’s shrug with the same smile.
“She’s relentless,” he said in his perfect British accent.
My responses to him always had a two-second delay because I enjoyed letting the way he said his words hang in the air.
“Yes, she can be.” I pinched her nose and wiggled it until she scrunched her face.
“To the pool! We have to go!” Shayna clasped her hands under her chin.
I knew if I didn’t answer soon she’d drop to her knees.
Why did my decision have to come after weighing the possible fallout of being seen in public with Jamie? Cage told menever to alter my life for his reputation or the media. Flint? He wasn’t of the same opinion. I fell somewhere in the middle.
“The pool won’t be open much longer…” Jamie cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips.
Great. Just what I needed, both of them with the pleading puppy-dog eyes.
“I’ve been watching my sun exposure since my L.A. incident.”
Shayna stuck out her bottom lip. Jamie looked at her and then at me.
“Wear a big hat and sit under one of the umbrellas. We’ll only be there for two hours at the most.”
