I hated that she was right.
“The part that’s eating away at me is that I’m the one who stands to lose the most. So, I need to make sure he’s worth it.”
“You think he’s not risking anything? If things go sideways and it all blows up, he has a reputation to protect too. He’s not stupid. He wouldn’t risk getting tangled up with a reporter who he has to interact with. Nate has plenty of options. If this were just about convenience, he wouldn’t be chasing you. He would want easy and uncomplicated.”
I had never thought about it from that angle before.
“I just wish I knew for sure.” Admitting it out loud was hard enough.
“There are no guarantees. That’s not how this works.”
Of course, there were no guarantees. I knew that. I just hadn’t expected to want him badly enough to risk it all.
“Are you speaking as my friend or as a publicist?”
“Both.” Her smile was soft. “As your friend, my advice would be: bang him, have some fun, and try not to get too attached in case things go south.”
The roar of the crowd made it hard to hear. I instinctively turned toward the field. The fans started stomping their feet. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock. It was third down and eighteen yards to the end zone—enough time for a one pass play.
The ball snapped into Nate’s hand. He stepped back, looking for an open receiver. I could see the second he spotted Ryder in the middle of the end zone, with a safety hot on his tail.
He threw the long pass down the field, a little high to keep it away from the defender, and the entire stadium went silent as Ryder jumped up to grab the ball. The refs threw their hands in the air, signaling for a touchdown.
Everyone around started high-fiving and cheering. Nate ran over to his teammates to celebrate the win. He turned briefly, looking up at the stands. I knew it was ridiculous to think that he would find me in a sea of jerseys and waving arms, but somehow his gaze found mine.
He tapped his fist lightly against his chest, right over his heart, and lifted his chin in my direction.
Everything around me blurred into the background. The noise, the lights. At that moment, it was just the two of us.
Ember nudged me in the elbow. “He’s really subtle.”
I laughed it off as they kicked an extra point to secure the win.
Ember stood up and gathered her things. “Well, that was fun, but I need to get going. My flight leaves at seven a.m. tomorrow, and I haven’t even packed.”
I blinked at her. “You’re leaving now?”
She smoothed a hand down her shirt. “Getting out of the stadium is going to be a bitch. I’m already pushing it.”
I glanced around as people started walking toward the exit. “Okay, have a safe flight.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and hugged me goodbye. “Here is my one last piece of unsolicited advice before I leave for three days.” She pulled back to look me in the eye. “You can’t protect yourself from a possible bad ending. Choose what you want, not what feels safe.”
She gave me one last look before stepping out into the aisle and disappearing into the crowd.
As I watched both teams walk across the field to shake hands, her words settled somewhere deep. She was right. Things could get messy. There were no guarantees. And at least if it all blew up, it would be my choice.
CHAPTER 18
NATE
“What a great fucking catch.”I threw an arm around Ryder’s shoulders.
“We fucking dominated.” He tugged on my helmet as we crossed over to the sideline.
Sweat trailed down my neck, and my lungs were still working hard, but man, that was one hell of a game. Even better, knowing Becca was in the stands cheering me on. It gave me a little jolt of adrenaline. Although I had to admit, things between us had stalled since that FaceTime call.
I wanted to reach out to her a few times, but she said she needed to talk to her boss and figure out her options. I didn’t want to get in the way of that, so I gave her the space she requested, even though it killed me.
