Chapter 21
I like my odds.
Gage
I kiss Nora’s cheek. “Thank you for a lovely lunch.”
She grins. “Thank you for cooking and cleaning up. You’re a good influence on the kids.”
“Mom,” Addy growls.
Nora blinks at her daughter. “What? It’s the truth.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I’m quite certain I proved to you how I can change.” I wonder what she means. There’s a story there.
“And yet some things never change.”
“I want you to find love. It’s not a crime for a mother to want her daughter to settle down.”
I like Addy’s mom. She’s not afraid to say what she thinks. And she’s not afraid to call out her kids when they mess up. Not in a mean way. She’s kind and gentle. The way a mother should be.
Addy rolls her eyes. “I’m happy with my life.”
“I tried, Gage.”
I wink at Addy’s mom. “Thanks, wing woman. ”
“Don’t you need to leave, Yard-Getter?”
Addy’s been trying to kick me out since I arrived. Doesn’t she realize by now I’m not easy to get rid of? Even with my phone blowing up with messages and calls from my coach and teammates.
I snatch her hand. “Walk me out.”
I don’t give her a chance to fight me. I tug her outside the door. Nora shuts it behind us, but from the corner of my eye, I can see her siblings standing in front of the window, spying on us. I chuckle. Her siblings are a blast.
“Thank you for a wonderful morning and lunch.”
We reach my SUV and I lean against it before pulling her into my arms. She squirms to be let free, but I tighten my hold. I will always hold her tight to me. Because I’m not letting this woman go. She’s mine.
“Wonderful?” She snorts. “We went to the jail to spring my brother.”
“He never should have been in jail in the first place,” I growl. I hate bullies.
“And then my siblings argued through most of lunch.”
“They also teased each other and laughed,” I remind her.
“It’s a miracle!”
I smile down at her. “You’re lucky to have them.”
She rolls her eyes. “Should I get Penelope’s dictionary for you to look up the word lucky?”
I brush her hair from her forehead. “You are lucky. Some people would kill for a family like yours.”
Her brow wrinkles as she studies me. “Someone like you? ”
I consider running away. Not telling her about my past. I never tell anyone about it. I never talk about it, period. I don’t even discuss it in therapy. I’ve shoved all the memories into a box I never open.
But I can’t be with Addy and keep my past hidden from her. It’s no way for us to move forward. And, make no mistake about it, we will move forward. Maybe at the pace of a snail. But we’re doing it.
“Yes.”
She palms my cheeks. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I love her for giving me an out. But I’m not accepting it.
“I grew up in care.”
“Foster care?”
I nod. “I never knew my mom or dad. They abandoned me.”
She gasps. “Why would anyone abandon an innocent child?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I’ve never been interested in searching for my birth parents. Why bother? They couldn’t be bothered with me.
“And you weren’t adopted?”
I shake my head. “Apparently, I was a sick child. No one wants to take on a sick child. Especially when the medical history is a mystery.”
“I can’t believe you were a sick child. You’re the strongest, fittest man I know.”
I kiss her nose. “Thank you.”
“There’s no reason to thank me. I’m simply stating a fact. ”
“By the time I was a teenager, I’d bounced around from home to home. No one was interested in adopting a young kid.”
“I’m sorry. I never should have complained about my siblings.”
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s obvious you care deeply for them. You practically raised them.”
“Mom didn’t get herself together until after Mila was two. She couldn’t hold down a job. There was no food on the table unless I paid for it.” She shakes her head. “Sorry. I’m moaning about my life, but we were discussing yours.”
“It’s okay, songbird. There’s not much to discuss about my life.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Were they bad? The foster homes? I’ve heard stories.”
“Once I started bulking up to play football, I didn’t have any troubles.”
Her light brown eyes fill with pain. “But you did before?”
“Hey now.” I squeeze her middle. “Don’t you go feeling sorry for me.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you, but I can sympathize with a little boy who didn’t grow up with a loving family.”
“Everything turned out all right for me in the end.”
“It sure did, Mr. Famous Football Player.”
“I don’t care about the fame. It’s my least favorite thing about my life. I hate having to post content on social media. I hate how women flock to me and my teammates at the bar because we play football. ”
“But you love the game.”
“Football is life.”
She barks out a laugh. “You remind me of Otis.”
“He’s good, you know. He could get a sports scholarship to college.”
“You’re serious? He’s good enough to get a scholarship?”
“All we have to do is get a scout to come to one of his games.”
“We?”
I tweak her nose. “Yes, we. We’re a team. You and me.”
“We’re not a team. We’re friends.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Friends? After last night, we’re more.”
She blows out a breath. “I don’t know, Gage. You’re leaving at the end of the summer.”
“Which means we have the summer to explore whatever this is between us.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip. I want to be the one nibbling on her lip but I hold back to give her time to think.
“Come on.” Guess I’m not holding back after all. “Your family loves me.”
She narrows her eyes. “Did you cook and help clean up to get in their good graces?”
“I cooked because I was starving. And I helped clean up because I have manners.”
“How did you end up with manners after your childhood?”
“Not all of the families I lived with were bad. Some were nice enough. It’s not their fault they were too busy caring for several kids to pay me any special attention. ”
“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll stop bringing up your past.”
“It’s okay. If you have questions, ask. I want to get to know you. It’s only fair you get to know me, too.”
Her eyes widen. “How are you single?”
“What?”
“You’re nice, have manners, have the tendency to say the right thing at the right time.”
“Plus, I have a sexy body.”
She laughs. “And you have a sexy body. Yet, you’re single.” She narrows her eyes. “You’re not hiding a wife and children somewhere, are you?”
“One thing you’ll learn about me is how impossible it is to have secrets when you’re an NFL player on a winning team.”
“Do you want to keep us a secret?”
I kiss her forehead. “Quite the contrary. I want to post on social media about how I met the most incredible woman who can sing and write songs and takes care of her siblings and doesn’t give a shit about my fame.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Have I met this woman? Is she my competition?”
“You’re the only one for me, songbird. There’s a reason I haven’t had any long-term relationships in the past.”
“There is?”
“I haven’t found anyone worth making the effort for before. You’re worth all the effort.”
She relaxes in my arms and I pull her closer. “What do you say, songbird? You want to go out on a date with me? I promise to be romantic and woo you.”
She rests her head against my shoulder. “You’re going to woo me?”
“Yep. I already borrowed Penelope’s dictionary to figure out what woo means.”
She giggles. “Okay.”
My breath hitches. “Okay?” I pinch her chin and lift her face to meet my gaze. “You’ll go out on a date with me?”
“Don’t make me regret this, Run It Gage.”
“You won’t. I promise.”
I press my lips to hers. Her lips are soft and sweet but I want more. “Open for me,” I demand.
She sighs and I sink my tongue into her sweet mouth. I crave her taste. I won’t ever stop craving it. Addy is it for me. The end zone. The end game. Everything.
“Stop kissing my sister!” Otis yells and I wrench my mouth away from Addy’s.
I bury my face in her shoulder. “Did I say I like your family? I was wrong.”
She bursts into laughter. She can laugh at me every single day for eternity. I don’t care. As long as I’m holding her tight.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. As much as I want to stay exactly where I am, I need to go.
I kiss Addy’s forehead before climbing into my SUV and driving away. The second Addy’s house is out of view, I accept the call.
“Where the hell are you, Gage?” Coach Knox asks before I have a chance to say hello.
“I told you I had a family emergency. ”
“I don’t care what kind of emergency you had. Get your ass to training right now or you’re benched. And not just for today.”
“You wouldn’t bench me for missing one training because of an emergency. Tanner’s in trouble all the time, and he never gets benched.”
“We’re not discussing Tanner. We’re discussing you. Get your head out of your ass or this season won’t start the way you think it will.”
He hangs up before I can ask him to expand.
Shit. I didn’t think missing one practice would be a big deal. Football is my life. I can’t get kicked off the team. I press the gas down and speed toward practice.