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But it made me realize just how much I’d closed myself off and taken on the world alone.

Everett shook his head, his thumb tracing my jaw. “I love you,” he said so simply and perfectly before he stood up and lifted me into his arms. “I can’t wait to remind you that just kissing is its own kind of fun.”

15

WILLA

Everett: I had a dream we lived in that cottage on the beach. Something to think about.

Willa: Seems a bit small.

Everett: Noted.

Ever since dinner at the resort I’d woken up to a text from Everett. By lunch I usually had a voice note. I left him one before I went to bed at night. Several times a week we met for at least one meal. Usually at my place since I lived alone. He hadn’t asked once to meet in public or tell a soul.

But I could tell he wanted to.

We hadn’t slept together again. It was as if our years of friendship put us into overdrive at the cottage, skipping over the normal dating process. So we stepped back and tried again.

Dinner, lunch, the occasional breakfast dates, lots of long phone conversations, especially when one of us was on the road, which was at least a couple of days a week. But there was lots of kissing and a little—tiny—bit of fooling around.

“Hey Willa!” Charley threw herself onto the sofa inside Kristin Holt’s office. The Tangerine’s team owner had called a creative meeting, but really it was more of an excuse for all of us to get together and be awesome.

“Great work on the game footage.” Charley was proving to be an editing genius. Between her eye for it and her love of the game, she managed to turn good footage into emotionally charged action I couldn’t look away from.

“Thanks! I’ve turned one of my guest rooms into a full editing bay. It’s given me the excuse to buy the last few toys I wanted.”

I knew better than to get between a millionaire with a new career path and the excuses they came up with to spend their own money. “Keep up the good work.” Finding someone with her kind of talent was rare. Now I just needed to keep her happy so she’d agree to keep working with me from now on.

It was like she could read my mind. “So, out of curiosity, how important is it for me to be on location?”

“Still planning to retire at the end of the season?”

“I am. And I’m thinking I might need a change of scenery. But I really like working with you.”

“As long as you’re willing to travel from time to time, location shouldn’t be an issue.”

Charley rubbed her hands together. “Excellent. Now to figure out where I’m going. Hey, how was your visit with your dad?”

“Good.” Thinking of Dad instantly relaxed me. “He had a great time. He’s already planned his next trip. He’s thinking of relocating.”

Charley snorted. “Well, if he’s looking to rent out a stupidly useless mini-mansion, let him know mine will be available.”

I doubted Dad would want to rent or live in something so large. “I’ll let him know.”

Kristin, her friend Marley, and Melody, the team’s social media manager, hurried into the room. “I’m so sorry we’re late. There was an accident that had Malfunction Junction even more chaotic than normal. I swear they will never find a solution to that mess.”

Which was why I was really glad I lived on this side of the bay. “No problem. We just got here.” I kind of loved these creative meetings. Usually meetings bored the hell out of me. Quibbling over details that ultimately wouldn’t matter, power plays, clashing ideas…more often than not it was an hour or two wasted.

But not this group. Not only were we all aligned on who did what and where we were heading, but everyone was brilliant in their own way. Add in the fact this was the first all female team I’d ever worked on and well, I was in love with my job.

Kristin dropped a giant bag on her desk, blew her bangs out of her eyes, and looked around the group. “I don’t know what’s changed, but the latest episode you sent me was next level, Willa. Truly amazing stuff.”

Charley sat up when the entourage entered. Marley, an extremely famous and currently brain-blocked writer, sat beside me on the low white couch, and Melody sat opposite Charley in a matching white chair.

“Charley editing the game footage is the difference. She brings a perspective to it all that no one else can.”

Kristin shook her head. “I came in here prepared to have hard conversations about doing two jobs but how can I ask that now? Charley, you’re still killing it on the field and you’re an amazing editor. Bravo. Just don’t burn the candle at both ends. If it comes down to it, your first priority is the team.”