“I hope so, but football doesn’t really take a break, and Thad can’t keep up with all the interview requests. I’m flying to New York tomorrow. Thad and I have two different morning show interviews this week and three talk shows. Then I fly directly to L.A. for more interviews and talk shows. It’s… crazy. I’m just a girl who lost her leg. Thad is the real star. He’s making certain physical disabilities non-existent. He’s creating things that allow disabled people to outperform athletes without disabilities.”
“True, but the article is about so much more than Thad’s inventions. It’s about the emotional struggle—your emotional struggle—things I never knew.”
I nodded to myself. Even I never anticipated sharing so much of myself after the photoshoot when Brandon, the writer scripting the article, contacted me to answer a few questions. Everything I told him fit perfectly with the photos. It was me—honest, vulnerable, unplugged, and naked.
“I never knew you mourned the loss of your identity so much more than your leg.”
Ripping off the top of the tea bag packet, I dropped it in my red mug and filled it with hot water. “I wasn’t born with a disability. It wasn’t a part of me for twenty years. I looked in the mirror and that’s how I identified myself. In a blink I became dependent on everyone around me. I was so angry because I couldn’t see that girl in the mirror anymore. I was on the cusp of my independence, in love, hopeful, and so ambitious. Then it just… vanished.”
“What you said about the shoes brought me to tears… hell, who am I kidding. Every quote of yours in the article brought me to tears. But the shoes…”
I smiled, licking the chocolate hazelnut butter off my finger then putting the lid back on the jar. “I loved shoes.”
“I know you did. It broke my heart when you told me to get rid of them. Did Cage know? Had you told him he was the reason you wanted a new leg that you could wear pretty shoes with?”
“I told him the day he took me to the airport to fly to Beijing, but honestly, I don’t think he realized the true life-changing impact it had on me until he read the article for the first time last week. He totally denies it, but I know he got teary eyed reading the article, and I know it was the part about him and the shoes. Had I not met him I don’t think I would have bugged the hell out of Luke to help me get a prettier leg, and had I not had that pretty leg and the boost of confidence it gave me, I would not have made a profile on the dating site where I met Thaddeus.”
“Well, I hope he’s the one. It would be a crime for one of the Jones women to not be with the hunky quarterback with dimples, and as much as it breaks Lara’s and my heart, you really are the obvious choice.”
I laughed because in spite of the loss in my life, I still had the very best people. “He’s the one, Mom.”
I never told her about our almost pregnancy or our sporadic reckless behavior since then that left me in a constant state of wondering am I? That secret stayed between us, okay, and Penny, but she didn’t count. Penny was my free psychiatrist, so we had an unspoken doctor-patient confidentiality.
“They play Green Bay this weekend at home.”
“I’ll be in L.A. I’ll be gone for a total of ten days.”
“How does Cage feel about that?”
I took a bite of my waffle and mumbled over my mouthful, “He thinks we should both be unemployed and just stay in bed naked all day.”
“Damn! You’re giving me a hot flash.”
I giggled. Only Felicity Jones, part-time nudist, would say that to her daughter. “I’m kidding… I think. I mean… hehasactually said those words, but he loves the game and I love theopportunities I’ve been given in my own life. I think we both feel this obligation to make the most of the lives we’ve been given. But it sucks too. I miss him all the time.”
“It’s a blink, baby. He won’t play football forever, and this fame you have with Thad will not last forever either. Just don’t forget why you’re both doing it. Don’t lose what you have together. When the spotlight no longer shines, you don’t want to be standing alone.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, Lake. Call me when you get to New York so I won’t worry.”
I laughed. “You’ll always worry.”
“Less.I’ll worry less.”
“So damn depressing.”
I smiled as the voice I loved most sounded behind me, even though I could feel the frown on his beautiful face. Staring at the large suitcase on the bed, overflowing with clothes and shoes for the East to West Coast temperature swing, I had to agree with him.
“Our jobs suck.”
“They do.”
The hair on my arms stood erect as I felt him just a breath behind me. I turned, drinking in the sight of my handsome man in a Minnesota T-shirt and jeans.
“We should quit.”
He pulled me into his arms that seemed to be bigger, firmer, and sexier every time he enveloped me in them. “You can’t quit.”
