Chapter 33
I might need to call an audible.
Gage
I shut the patio door closed behind me before answering the phone.
“Hey, Rob, what’s up?”
“When can you get home?”
“Uh. I’m still at training camp for another week.”
“I mean after training camp.”
I frown. I was planning to spend the short week I have off after training camp before reporting for regular season with Addy.
“You know my report date with the Seals.”
“Can you be here a few days early? I have some opportunities for you.”
“What kind of opportunities?”
He snorts. “Does it matter?”
Uh, yes, it does matter. I’m very selective about what sponsorships I accept and what charities I work with. He knows this.
“What opportunities?” I repeat my question .
“Your shoe and sock sponsor want you to star in their marketing campaign this year. They need you for photo shoots. It’s a big opportunity for you.”
Excitement fills me. It’s a huge opportunity. I’ve never starred in a campaign before. This could mean commercials in print and television. Both of which come with more compensation.
“When do they need me?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Can it wait?”
“If you want someone else to grab the chance, sure.”
I swear under my breath. “They’ll drop me?”
“They want the commercials to be ready to go when the season kicks off. Why are you hesitating? I thought you’d jump at the chance to star in a commercial.”
I don’t care about being a star. It’s the money I’m interested in. I grew up with nothing. I don’t plan to return to needing handouts. But my time as an NFL player is limited. I need to accumulate as much wealth as possible before my career is over.
“Can I think about it?”
“No, Gage, you cannot. I need to give them an answer today.”
“Fine. The answer is yes. I’ll be on the first plane to Steel City once we’re released from training camp.”
I hang up and shove the phone in my pocket.
“The first plane?” Addy asks and I whirl around. I didn’t hear her come outside.
I motion to the chairs on the deck. “Can we talk? ”
Once we’re seated across from each other, I grasp her hands. “My shoe and sock sponsor asked me to do some commercials for them.”
Her eyes light up. “Congratulations!”
“There’s more.” I hesitate a few beats before explaining, “I thought I’d have a week after training camp ended to spend together before I need to report to the Seals.”
“But…”
“They want to shoot these commercials before I need to report for the regular season.”
Her beautiful eyes dull. “And thus, you’ll be on the first plane out of Smuggler’s Hideaway.”
“Why don’t you come with me?”
She jerks her hands from mine. “We’ve gone over this. I can’t leave the island. I can’t abandon my family.”
I understand her concern, but I can’t let her go. I love her. I want to spend all my time with her. I can’t be with her if she’s in Smuggler’s Hideaway full time.
I kneel before her. “I love you, songbird.”
Her mouth gapes open. “You love me?”
I smile. “How can I not? You’re beautiful, smart, loyal, and so talented it amazes me.”
Her cheeks darken. “I’m not amazing.”
“You are.” I squeeze her thighs. “Why else would Juliet Ash want to record one of your songs?”
She shrugs. “It’s a fluke. The rest of my music isn’t worthy of a big pop star. ”
“Is that why you haven’t discussed the contracts with your lawyer yet?”
She glances away but I won’t let her hide from me. I pinch her chin and force her to meet my gaze. “Songbird?”
She sighs. “It’s scary. I’m no one and this lawyer works for the biggest names.”
“One day you’ll be a big name, too.”
She blows out a breath. “Maybe.”
I can tell she doesn’t believe me, but I let it go. I’ve got bigger concerns at the moment. I’ll shore up her confidence about her songwriting skills later.
“Will you at least consider coming with me to Steel City?”
“Gage,” she growls. “I can’t leave Mom alone to care for my siblings.”
“It’s admirable how much you help your mom out. I love how loyal you are. But Otis, Penelope, and Mila are her children, her responsibility.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip. I wait for her to get her thoughts in order. This is important. Probably the most important conversation of my life. I won’t rush her.
“I don’t want Otis, Penelope, or Mila to experience the childhood I had. I know it’s not nearly as bad as yours was.”
“This isn’t a competition.”
“I want them to experience all the things I didn’t.
I want them to be able to play sports, join afterschool clubs, go to prom.
Not to worry about where the next meal is coming from.
If Mom is coming home tonight. How to afford the school supplies on the list in the envelope Mom hasn’t even bothered to open. ”
Fuck. How am I supposed to push her now? When all I can do is admire her for how loyal she is. Loyalty means everything to me.
“Where does this leave us?”
“What do you mean?”
“You won’t or can’t move away from Smuggler’s Hideaway, and I can’t move away from Steel City.”
She gasps. “I would never ask you to give up your position on the Seals. I wouldn’t ask you to give up your dream. I’m proud of you. Of all you’ve accomplished. Of how far you’ve come from your childhood. I would never ask you to give up any of those things.”
“I didn’t think you were.” But it’s nice to hear her say it.
My coaches and teammates say they’re proud of me all the time. But they’re proud of a touchdown or a particular play I made that helped us win a game. Addy is proud of me for me.
How can I let her go? I can’t.
“I’m not letting you go.”
“Gage. We live states away from each other.”
“Don’t care. I love you, songbird. I’ve never told another woman I loved her before. I never felt this way about a woman before. You’re it for me. The woman I want to share my life with. The woman I want to build a family with.”
“I…” She cuts he rself off.
Was she going to say she loves me, too? I’ve told her I love her several times, but she hasn’t returned the words. I know she cares about me. She’ll grow to love me in time. But time is the one thing we don’t have.
“Maybe it’s best we end this before anyone gets hurt.”
A tear slips from her eye and I wipe it away.
“Songbird, I’d definitely be hurt if we were done. But we’re not.”
She throws her hands in the air. “But our situation is impossible.”
I growl. “It’s not impossible. Nothing is impossible. We’ll figure it out. I can stay on Smuggler’s Hideaway during the off-season.”
“I don’t want a part-time boyfriend.”
“Part-time is better than nothing.”
She grimaces. “Is it? Maybe you should find another woman.”
“I’ve had other women. None of them were you.”
All they cared about was my money or being with someone famous. Addy is different. She didn’t even know who I was the first time we met. And she didn’t care either.
“I don’t want you to hang on to me when it’ll be years before I can leave the island. Mila is only nine.”
“I don’t care. I’ll wait for you. Hell, I’ll wait forever for you. I love you, Addy.”
Clouds cover her beautiful brown eyes. “I love you, too, Gage. ”
Warmth spreads throughout my body. My songbird loves me. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I want the world to know this amazing woman is mine. I want to put a ring on her finger so every man knows she’s taken.
I lean forward to kiss her but she holds up a hand to stop me. “Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“Yes, it is. Love is enough.”
She presses on my shoulders until I retreat. She stands and walks toward the house.
“This isn’t the end, Addy.” I refuse to allow her to walk away from me just because she can’t move to Steel City. “We’ll figure out a solution.”
She glances at me over her shoulder. Tears are streaming down her face. My heart breaks at her pain. I never want her to be in pain.
“I don’t think there is a solution. This isn’t a football field. This is real life. And real life isn’t fair.”
I’m intimately acquainted with how unfair life is. Which is why I’m not letting my slice of happiness get away from me.
“I’ll leave, Addy. But just for today. I’m not leaving you forever. I will never leave you.”
“You already did, Gage. You chose your sponsors and money over spending time with me. I know all I need to know. Bye, Gage.”
The door shuts behind her. I hate how she’s in pain. But I know better than to push her more than I already have today .
I’ll be back. And with a solution to our situation. I refuse to believe there isn’t a solution. I don’t give up when I know what I want.
And Addy is what I want. My little songbird is the love of my life and I’m not living without her.