Page 101 of Her Game Plan

“We could go with the Jaxon Steele concert, if you want to keep the story straight for my father, who we’re obviously never telling that this was fake. Well, maybe we can in like five years. Or maybe ten. Definitely by the time our first kid graduates from high school.”

A quiet hum of happiness starts growing in me as I lift an eyebrow. “Our kid, huh?”

She drops her head onto my chest. “Oh fuck. I didn’t mean that. I mean, I did mean that. But I didn’t mean for it to be an outside thought. I’d like to do this all at a normal pace, like a normal person would.”

I lift her chin with my finger, needing her to see the amusement on my face. “You moved in with me before we’d ever had a civilized conversation. I don’t think we’ve ever done things at a normal pace. And normal people are boring. Why would you ever want to be like them?”

She smiles, and it almost takes my breath away. “How did I get so lucky? You were certainly never part of my game plan.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask. “Well, that’s too bad, because now every game plan I have involves you. Even if it means taking a pay cut or getting my ass traded to someplace it snows all the time.”

“Wait.” She steps back, her eyes darting between mine. “You don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“I figured out why Hugo has been pushing trading you for so long. Turns out, he made some bad decisions with contracts a few years ago, and it fucked our cap for this coming year. Chris met with him this morning, and you should be getting a call from your agent soon about restructuring your contract. Which I know isn’t ideal, but I was hoping maybe—”

I cut her off, pressing my lips against hers. She wraps her arms around my neck, giving me the contact I’ve been craving. I lift her onto the kitchen counter, so our heights are more aligned. Sliding my hand into the hair at the base of her neck, I pull her closer, deepening the kiss.

“Wait,” I gasp, leaning back far enough to press my forehead against hers. “Chris met with him?”

“Yeah. I had to call him in. It was never going to work if I was the one who brought up what I found.”

Holy shit. “But doesn’t that mean you’re sacrificing your chance of running Langford?”

She shrugs, her gaze not quite meeting mine. “Probably. But that’s okay. Turns out, some people are more important than work.”

“I don’t want you to regret me someday when you realize I’m the reason you lost your family legacy.”

She cups my cheeks. “I won’t regret standing up for what I think is right. And I’ll never regret you.”

Chapter 40

Charlotte

“Chris said he’s parking and will be right here.” I look up from my phone to see Callan staring out the window of the first floor of my father’s office building.

He turns to look at me, the smile growing on his face. “You sure you don’t want me to go up there with you, Princess?”

The last few days have been everything I could’ve hoped for. Callan got the call from his agent, officially requesting a contract restructuring with the Stallions. We celebrated that night with Chris, Kim, and Marlee. And I swear my ovaries almost exploded when Callan offered to put Marlee to bed while the rest of us chatted.

I shake my head, pressing onto my toes to give him a kiss.

“Gross. No one wants to see that,” Chris whines from behind us.

I push away from Callan, but am quickly pulled back as he tucks me under his arm. “Get used to it,” I tell my brother.

Chris and Callan shake hands; their relationship still caught between professional and personal.

“Ready?” Chris finally asks.

Am I ready to hear whatever my dad has summoned us for? No. Not really. But at the same time, the radio silence from Dad since everything went down with Hugo has been wearing on me. Luckily, Callan is very good at taking my mind off things. Usually by driving my body into things… like big tables… and small tables… and mirrors… and our bed.

Callan squeezes my shoulders slightly, pulling me back to the present. I nod. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I’ll wait here,” Callan reminds me before giving me a quick kiss on the forehead.

“You really don’t have to,” I tell him for the fifth time today.