Chapter 7
Gage
I love the pink in her cheeks and the wind in her hair. Callie glances out over the sea and I note the ease of her movements. The tension she usually holds in her shoulders has disappeared. The little frown line that sometimes dips between her eyebrows is gone.
Callie is letting me in and for the first time in years, I feel equally at ease. Sitting at this beachside restaurant, sipping a glass of wine, and eating delicious paella feels like a homecoming. A homecoming I yearned for but never knew the depths of my want until now. This moment with her.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask.
She turns toward me, a smile playing over her mouth. “I can’t believe I, we…” She trails off, shaking her head. “This changes things, Gage.”
“Everything,” I agree. “But I wasn’t saying sweet words to get you into my bed, Cal. I want a future with you.”
She takes a sip of her wine and places the glass back on the table. I note the way her fingertips tap against the white tablecloth. “I want a future with you too,” she whispers.
“Okay.” I breathe out a gush of relief and lean closer. My hand lands on top of hers and I curl my fingers around her warm skin.
Her eyes brim with emotion. “I just never let myself believe that I could… That we…” she smiles shakily. “I never allowed myself to hope for something between us, Gage.”
“Because I was, am, your client.”
“Because you’re larger than any life I imagined for myself.
” Callie tilts her head to the side, looking at me.
“I work in a competitive, fast-paced industry. I’m surrounded by some of the most talented athletes in the world.
Men and women who are overcoming extraordinary challenges.
I just never let myself think that… I mean, Gage, you’re you. ”
I frown, trying to understand the trajectory of her conversation. What is she saying? Where is she going with this?
“Cal, you’re one of the most successful, badass women I know.”
She snorts. “But you’re you. You won the freaking Super Bowl.
Three times! You’re gorgeous and funny, everyone likes you, you have this incredible family that you adore.
I mean, do you know how freaking hard it is to find a guy who likes being with his family as much as you like being with yours?
Kids like you!” She tosses the last point out as if she’s mildly confused by it.
I grin. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
Callie laughs. “You know you’re gorgeous, Gage.”
“I’m getting to be an old man, Cal.”
“You’re thirty-eight.”
“My brother had his first child at twenty-five,” I explain, referring to Joe’s age when he and Svetlana welcomed Jake into the world.
“Yeah,” Callie says, nodding. “My friends from high school, university, and even work—they’ve been married and having babies for years. I just, I stopped letting myself think that that could be part of my path.”
“Do you want that?” I ask slowly, watching her face for any indication of her thoughts.
She holds my eyes and rolls her lips together. For a second, nerves scatter through my limbs. Is she going to say no? Has she closed that door for herself and is happy to pursue a relationship but without the traditional components—namely marriage—associated with it?
I bite the corner of my lip, processing my feelings on that.
But fuck do I want to marry Callie James. I want her to walk down an aisle toward me and I want to stand up in front of my entire, large, loud, nosy family and claim her as mine.
“Badly,” she murmurs. It’s practically a whimper and her eyes bleed with such guarded hope that something in my chest cracks. “I want a family, Gage. I want to belong to people who love me and accept me and want me.”
“So we’re doing this?” I confirm.
“Yes,” she breathes out. “Even though it breaks my cardinal rule.”
“I won’t be your client forever.”
“No, but you are right now. And this endorsement deal, with Grayson Watches—do you feel like it’s a conflict of interest now, to have me acting on your behalf?”
I bark out a laugh. “Seriously?” I reach for her hand and squeeze her fingers. “No, Callie. It’s all good. I trust you more than anyone to act on my behalf.”
She smiles and I lift our joined hands to my mouth, kissing her knuckles.
“This is the best dinner I’ve ever had in my life,” Callie admits.
“It’s the paella,” I assure her.
“The paella is incredible,” she agrees. “But it’s you, Gage. It’s the time I spend with you.”
“Wait ‘til I take you home,” I tease.
Callie shoots me a flirtatious wink. “I’m counting on that.”
The server appears at the side of our table and clears away the paella. We continue to sip on our wine. To discuss the future—my eventual retirement, her desire to pull back from her workload. We let the sea breeze ripple over us and the night sky envelop us.
The stars twinkle overhead, the ocean waves kiss the shore, and I settle into the bliss of the moment. It only heightens when I lay Callie down in my bed, unwrap her like the greatest present I’ve ever been bestowed, and make love to her.
We move in sync, touching and caressing. Tasting and kissing. We come together perfectly—as if every moment that came before was all in the lead up to this. This woman, this night, this feeling.
I cry out her name and she clutches me closer, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck as we ride out our waves of pleasure.
Once we’re cleaned up, I wrap my arms around Callie, hold her against my chest, and listen to the sound of her breaths.
Once she’s asleep, I kiss the back of her head, close my eyes, and drift off.
Tonight, my dreams can’t touch my reality. I finally feel at peace.
And deep down, I know I’m ready to announce my retirement.
The gift Callie gave me supersedes everything—my career, life as I knew it, football.
Instead, I want to support her as she navigates the next phase of her career. I want to put a ring on her finger. And I want to grow a family together.
I’m gearing up for my final touchdown.