“That our lead assistant coach will be taking over as head coach.Indefinitely.”
I stiffen.“Why not acting?”He doesn’t answer.“Whose fucking idea was this?Yours or James'?”
“It was mutual.”
“Bullshit.”I hear the truth in his voice.Parker gets off on moving pieces around, looking like a big boy.This is him doing that.“Coach will be back.It could be today.”
“I need you to put the team first right now.”
Nova comes out of the bedroom, my T-shirt clinging to her curves and ending at her knees.
She cocks her head.
"Harlan," I mouth.
Her lips press together.
Yeah, this situation isn’t resolved, but I need to resolve it.
She heads for the washroom, the door clicking behind her.
“Is that Nova?”Harlan asks.A lucky guess.
“Yeah, it is.”My grip tightens on the phone.“Make no mistake, I want her in my life, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to make that happen.If you’ve got a problem with her or me or us, you can tell me right the fuck now.Because this is a fight you’re going to lose.”
Harlan exhales.“Not today.”
I cross my living room and hit the blinds.The morning sun is exposed an inch at a time.
“We need to talk about LA,” he says.
The light at the end of the tunnel.
The reason for every decision I made this past year.
“Not today.”I echo his words before clicking off.
Nova emerges, her face bright as if she just washed it and her hair pulled up into a pink knot on her head.Blue eyes search mine as she crosses the carpet to me.
“Any news?”she asks.
I cross to her and wrap an arm around her waist to tug her against me.“Just that the assistant coach is taking over.”
“That makes sense.”She tips her face back to hold my eyes.
“Only if Coach isn’t coming back from this.Parker couldn’t wait an entire news cycle.”The tightness in my chest is back.
But Nova shakes her head.“Harlan thinks this team is more than any one person.Coach knows that too.Everyone’s trying to do the best they can.”
I frown, leaning my forehead against hers.“You always think about other people.”
“It’s not that hard,” she murmurs, her lips curving.
“Sometimes it is.When you’ve lived your life thinking it’s you against the world, it is.”
Her eyes soften as she looks up at me.
“I heard what you said to Harlan about us,” she says.
