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“A home. A family. A place where I can do my art and explore the world.”
“You want those things with him?”
She blinks. “No. He showed me what I want by giving me what I didn’t.”
Relief slams into me, but it’s short lived.
“I didn’t give you that either,” I admit. “I should have been there for you. When things got hard, I shut down and shut you out. I stopped being there for you when everything you did was for me. I’m sorry. I’m still working on it, but my therapist helped me figure out some of it. I’ve made appointments every couple of weeks for the future.” I huff out a breath. “I was in a bad spiral. Like I was living in the middle of a storm I couldn’t get out of. And no matter how much was good, I couldn’t see my way through.”
“I keep wondering if I could’ve helped you more.”
“No. You’re not responsible for the clouds. You’re my rainbow, Pink. You’re the good that comes after.”
Her eyes soften.
We eat our dinner, and I remember how good it feels to spend time with her. It’s not even about sex but just enjoying her company, how relaxed I am when she’s near.
When the waiter comes with the bill, I hand him a credit card. After I pay, we head out, walking side by side.
I’m suddenly serious. “Before I met you, I thought life was as good as it would get unless I landed a title. You turned that upside down. Made me realize how much I have to learn about life and basketball. I wasn’t the best player I could be, and I sure as hell wasn’t the best man. You matter more than any championship. If you give me a chance, I wanna win you back. Slow and steady. You’re my endgame, Nova, and I’m going to show you what that means.”
Nova’s silent, her brows pinched together.
It’s driving me crazy not knowing where her head’s at.
If she’s losing her mind being this close to me, like I am with her.
I reach for her wrist, tugging her to a stop and forcing her to look up at me.
I’m a foot taller, but she’s the one weighing me. Measuring me. Evaluating whether I’m worth taking a chance on.
She peers up at me from under her lashes. “Are you going back to Denver tonight?”
I reach for the back of her neck, tugging her close enough our noses bump.
“You tell me.”
22
NOVA
The second the elevator doors slide closed, he’s tugging me against him.
Clay bends to brush his lips across mine, once, then again.
“I missed you,” he whispers, cupping my face with his hands. The tension in his voice winds me tighter.
I circle his wrists with my fingers. “I’m right here.”
The doors ding open, and I lead the way to my room and fumble for the key in my bag.
His chest is pressed to my back, like some huge bodyguard who’d protect me from the world.
The door light flashes green and Clay reaches past me to push the handle.
One step inside, we’re a tangle of limbs.
I drop the daisies on the floor. We trip over them, my heels catching on the carpet.
