Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Reid
The sun is shining bright, and there’s laughter going on all around me. I smile when I’m supposed to, join in on conversations when appropriate, but after four very long weeks, I’m still thinking about her.
About Bellamy.
My dream girl.
At first, I thought my need for her stemmed from her walking away, but it’s more than that. Of course, I knew that all along. She made me feel, and that’s not something anyone before her has ever done. I was only trying to convince myself otherwise. Side note: It didn’t work.
“How’d you convince Natasha to let you have our little buddy for today?” Knox asks Baker, holding Camden’s hands as he stands on wobbly legs, bouncing up and down on his knees.
Baker scoffs. “She asked me. I was going to call her and ask her if I could have him just for today, but she beat me to it. There’s another shoot in Paris she just ‘had to go to.’ It’s not even her shoot.
She just wants to be there,” he says, frustration in his tone.
“I don’t care, because it gives me more time with my son.
She’s missing out on time we’ll never get back.
I’m sadder for him than her, but thankfully, he’s young enough that he won’t remember.
I worry that when he is, he’ll start to resent her. ”
“You can’t worry about that,” Rowan, Landry’s wife, tells him.
“You have to do what you can. Love him, never talk ill of her to him, and whatever happens, happens. You can’t make her want more time with him.
Besides, he has us.” She nods to where Corie and her best friend, Sloane, are sitting across from her.
“Yeah, so hand him over.” Corie holds her arms out for Knox to pass Camden to her.
“We need to give Camden a baby cousin,” Knox answers, not handing the baby over to his wife.
“Fine. Gimme.” She motions for Camden to come to her, and he leans over, falling into her arms, knowing she’d never let him fall.
“Wait, did you just…” Knox’s voice trails off, his mouth hanging open in shock.
“You keep saying we need a baby. I’m pretty sure you know how it’s done, big guy. If not, I’m sure Daddy Sin can give you some tips.” Corie smirks at her husband.
Knox stands from his chair. “Hand off the baby. We gotta go.”
Corie’s head tips back in laughter. “Sit down, Beckett. We’re not going anywhere. It will happen when it happens.”
“But we should start practicing,” he tells her.
We’re all laughing at him, but Knox is as serious as I’ve ever seen him. He’s ready for this. He’s ready for them to start a family, and from the lovesick look in Corie’s eyes, she’s more than on board, but she’s not leaving. Not yet, anyway.
“Today is family day,” she reminds him.
“Fine,” Knox grumbles as he sits back in his seat.
“Who’s been walking around with Coach Warner all day?” Landry asks.
He prides himself on knowing all the gossip within the Rampage facility.
He’s buddied up with Harry, the head of maintenance, and together, the two of them gossip like a bunch of hens.
But if you need to know something, they’re the two you go to.
I’m certain whoever this newcomer is, it’s annoying the hell out of him that he doesn’t know her or how she fits into our Rampage family.
“Maybe one of them is his girl.” Foster shrugs.
“Nah, too young for him.”
“Age is just a number,” Sloane fires back.
“He could be their dad,” Landry counters.
“Maybe they have a daddy kink?” Rowan shrugs.
“Roe,” Landry warns, making his wife laugh.
I love that my best friends are happily married, but it’s depressing as hell.
It’s been four very long weeks of not being able to stop thinking about someone who’s a stranger to me, outside of the one incredible night we spent together.
It might have only been a handful of hours, but I feel as if I’ve known her for years.
She’s cast her spell on me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever break out of it.
“Whoever they are, they must be important,” Landry muses. “He’s going from group to group, introducing them.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” I tell him, making sure I’m engaging in the conversation. To be honest, I couldn’t care less who Coach Warner is showing around. Unless she’s my dark-haired, sparkling-brown-eyed beauty from Los Angeles, I’m not interested.
Baker whistles. “If they are the coach’s ladies, he’s got damn good taste.”
“I mean, if he’s getting double the action, maybe he’ll take it easy on us in training camp.” Foster laughs.
“Nah,” Knox says. “He’s a hard-ass when it comes to the game, and we don’t want him any other way. We’re looking for a three-peat, fellas.”
“Hell yeah, we are.” Landry bumps fists with Knox.
“Looks like we’re next,” Baker says.
“Ah, and here we have a few more of my starters,” Coach Warner says. He goes around the table introducing everyone, and when he gets to me, I turn to be polite and freeze.
Standing next to Coach Warner is Bellamy, my dream girl. The woman I can’t stop thinking about. “Bellamy?” I know it’s her, but it comes out like a question because I can’t believe she’s here.
“R-Reid. Hi.” She waves, her face flaming.
“You know my daughter?” Coach Warner asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
Fuck yes, I do. “Yeah, she’s my dream girl,” I tell him, pushing back from the table and standing. I can hear my friends talking all around me. They know from my words alone that this is her. Fate brought her back to me.
The woman standing next to Bellamy is smirking as she steps back, allowing me to get closer.
I don’t stop until I pull her into a hug.
“Missed you, Bell,” I say just low enough for her to hear.
Her audible intake of breath tells me all I need to know—she didn’t know I’d be here.
Everything we shared that night was genuine.
I can only hope now that she knows what I do for a living, she’s still willing to stick around.
Wait. Oh, fuck!
She’s the coach’s daughter. My dream girl hates football.
Fuck me.
“How do you know my tight end?” Coach Warner asks Bellamy.
Sliding my arm around her waist, I answer for her, since she seems to be in shock.
“We met a few weeks ago, four to be exact, at a wedding in Los Angeles. I didn’t know she was from Nashville.
We talked about everything but last names and where we were from.
” I look down at Bellamy, and she must feel my gaze because her eyes collide with mine.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again, but here you are. Fate brought you back to me.”
“Aww,” Corie says, but I don’t pull my eyes from Bellamy.
“Montgomery,” Coach growls.
I hate to, but I tear my gaze from Bellamy to face him. “What’s up, Coach?”
“Take your hands off my daughter.”
“Coach, did you miss the part where I told you she was my dream girl?”
“We should go,” Bellamy says, stepping out of my hold—at least she tries to.
“Oh no, sweetheart. You slipped away once without me getting your number. I’m a man who learns from his mistakes, and I won’t be making that onea second time.”
“You don’t want my number. I—I don’t date football players.” She scrunches up her nose, as if the thought alone disgusts her.
Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me, but that’s okay.
I’m up for the challenge. I know what I felt that night.
I know what we shared. And she does, too.
That’s why she slipped out before I was awake, and why she’s trying to run now.
It was intense and bold, but I’m not afraid of it. All I have to do is prove that to her.
“Bro, Coach has smoke coming out of his ears,” Landry jokes.
“Sorry, Coach, but I need to talk to our girl for a minute.” Not giving anyone a chance to stop me, I guide Bellamy several feet away, thankful that she comes willingly.
“What are you doing?” she asks. She’s not angry, but she doesn’t look thrilled to see me either.
“I didn’t think you’d want to have this conversation in front of your dad.”
“Sperm donor,” she mutters.
“Yeah, I didn’t know Coach had a daughter.
” Hurt flashes in her eyes, and I immediately regret my words.
“I’m sorry, babe.” I pull her into my arms. At first, she’s tense, but then her body relaxes into mine.
“I’m sorry. That was insensitive.” She lets me hold her for a few more seconds before she pulls away. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Reid.” She sighs. “It was one night.”
“Bullshit. It was every fucking thing, at least admit that.”
“Fine. It was… something, but you’re a football player. Not just any football player, you play for my dad. The man who left my mom and me for his career. You remember that, right? The man who’s your coach left his family.”
“It was more than something, and yes, there isn’t a moment of that night that I don’t remember.”
“One-night stand.”
“See, that’s what you thought. Sure, that’s what we said, but that night with you changed me.
I had plans to wake you up slowly, spend time holding you, and I wanted to tell you that a single night with you would never be enough.
I wanted to get your number, your last name, and no matter where in the world you were, we’d make it work, because there’s a spark between us, one unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and I don’t want to just let that pass us by.
I think we owe it to ourselves to see what happens when we let the sparks ignite. ”
“I don’t date football players.”
“I’m more than just my job, Bellamy. I’m still the man you spent the evening talking to about everything. I’m still the same man you spent the night with. Football is my job. I can’t change that, and I don’t want to change that. I love the game, but does that mean I don’t deserve to find love?”