“You alive, Olivia?”
“Oh my God … He said he loved me on television. He hasn’t even said it to me inpersonyet!”
“Would you have believed him?”
Olivia paused. “No. I would have thought it was a ploy, or that he said it just because I did.”
“Wait, when did you tellhim?” That wasn’t Nadia.
“Mia, are you at Nad’s place?”
“They’re at mine, actually.” Rosie’s voice came through. She must be on speakerphone. “I was testing out a new recipe on them, which is why we originally called you, then Nadia saw Jake’s spot was coming up and we had to tell you.”
Nadia spoke again. “Answer Mia’s question. When thehelldid you tell Jake the ‘L’ word?”
“At the bar that night, at Fabled. It just slipped out that I loved him, but I couldn’t trust him.” Olivia got up from the couch and began to form an idea. “I’ll take a rain check on the baked goods, Rosie. How soon can you three be ready to leave?”
“Depends on where we’re going.”
“How about a football game?”
Jake passed out water bottles when the half time break was called. His phone sat in his pocket on vibrate in the hopes she’d call or text once she saw the segment. But he was disappointed again. He refused to let it show on his face, however. His focus was his players.
“Coach Jake, did you see me with that pass?”
“Yeah, you did great, Abby! Let’s keep it up for the next half, okay?”
He turned around and slid his phone out of his pocket. Nothing. Maybe broadcasting his apology live on the air on a channel she had admitted to never watching wasn’t the brightest idea. It definitely solved the issue of being his ‘dirty little secret.’ But did it solve the trust issue?
Garret waved to someone in the bleachers behind him. “You came! You came!” Probably his grandparents or something. Jake vaguely remembered Garret telling him once that his grandparents missed football season because they were in Florida during the fall.
“Coach Jake!” Now Garret was tugging at his sleeve, pointing at the stands. “Coach Jake, look!”
“What is it, Garr … oh holy shit.” Jake’s brain short-circuited and he forgot to censor his language. Behind him, Garret was gathering his teammates and telling them the news. He shielded his hat brim to be sure, but there was no question about it. There, at the top of the bleachers, the light glinting off her golden hair like a halo, was Olivia.
She waved, and he waved back in a daze. He couldn’t believe she was there. She wasn’t alone. There were three other women sitting with her that had never come to a game before. Of them, he only recognized Nadia.
Then, the blonde on Olivia’s right held up a sign that said “Olivia”
Olivia raised a sign with big red heart followed by an “s”.
The brunette he hadn’t recognized held up another sign with his name.
And Nadia held up a sign with a big number two on it.
Olivia loves Jake, too.
The kids erupted in cheers and he stood frozen to the ground. She still loved him? God, Jakehadto get to her. He couldn’t leave the field, or he wouldn’t be allowed back on to finish the game. But he needed to feel her, to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. It would be cruel of the universe to wake him up now.
She must have sensed his need, or she felt it too, because the next thing he knew, the signs had disappeared and she was bounding down the bleacher stairs and throwing herself against the barrier. He found himself against the chain link fence, gripping it. Now that she was closer, he could see she was wearing her Sailor Moon choker.
“Olivia,” he choked out. She laced her fingers over his around the chain.
“I want us to work too, Jake.” Water hovered in her eyes. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you so much. I swear I won’t deny you ever again.”
She giggled. “Well, you can’t now. You blasted it all over television!”
