Page 144 of Forever Offsides

“There’s a lot for me to tell you,” I start, but Mason cuts me off.

“The two of you?” He wags his finger back and forth between Quinn and me.

“Yes,” we both reply.

“Jesus Christ, that’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming.” Crew’s elbows fall to his thighs and he stares right at Quinn. “I knew there was a guy. We all knew. But him?” He points at me without lifting his head. Mason drops into a chair in the corner and puts his head in his hands.

Asher stands, his hands going to his hips. He releases a breath. “I’m not sure how to react right now. Is this… what is this? Tell us exactly what’s been going on.”

45

QUINN

“It’s real,” Rhett tells them. “We met back in March after I interviewed. Neither of us knew who the other was, but we continued to text each other for months.”

Crew nods as if he knew this already. Sorta. I mean, he knew I had someone I had been texting with back in the spring, but I never talked about it beyond that. I never brought it up with my brothers or parents. I think I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him not to be as perfect as he appeared. I’ve gotten trigger-shy with men.

With everything personal about me.

“Honestly, I think I was falling for her even back then,” Rhett continues. “It stopped when we ran into each other and realized who the other was.”

“So, the start of the season…” Asher trails off.

“We weren’t anything,” I tell him, even as my body is starting to give up and beg for mercy. I want to get back into bed and sleep for a thousand years. “We knew it was wrong. We didn’t want to hurt the trust you had in him as his coach. And of course, there was the whole Russel thing. We avoided each other for two months.”

“It was a nightmare,” Rhett admits ruefully, thinking back over those months. The months when he’d watch me while I was running, or stare at me on the sidelines of the field. “I can’t tell you the guilt I felt, but I also didn’t know how to stop thinking about her. You took a chance on hiring me as the head coach, Asher, and I also wanted to be the best coach I could be to you.” He points at both Crew and Mason. “Plus, Russel was now on the team, and I knew the only reason he was there was because of me.”

“It was my idea to keep it a secret,” I admit trying to save him from taking all the blame and falling entirely on his sword when it’s not only him who did wrong. “We didn’t want to impact your season or be a distraction. And we felt we needed time to see if what we have is the real deal.”

Rhett chuckles, though there isn’t much humor to it. “It’s been the real deal for me for a long time. Even when I knew it shouldn’t be.” He sighs and leans back against the windowsill, his hands on the ledge behind him. “I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. I never meant to cause turmoil or distractions or any drama. I simply fell in love with the one girl I couldn’t have.”

“She’s a lot younger than you are,” my dad points out.

“I know.” Rhett shrugs. “But I love her.” He glances down at me. “I love you. I feel as though I’ve said it to everyone this morning but you, when you’re the one who needs to hear it.”

My head is back against the chair, and my eyes are heavy. It’s a struggle to keep them open. I’m completely wiped out, and dealing with all of this isn’t good for my headache, which I suppose is my concussion. But whatever.

He crouches in front of me despite the audience and cups my cheek.

“This isn’t what you need right now. You should be resting and regaining your strength. And I sure as hell hadn’t planned to tell you how I felt through Russel or even your family. But I meant it. I love you, Quinn. No matter what happens next, I love you. You’re the one I see myself with. In fact, I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”

His words tickle something within me. A sweet spot that is almost a déjà vu. A place I’ll keep this forever. Something that tells me that I don’t have to hold so much of myself back anymore because he’s not going to be yet another person I have to survive heartache from.

“I love you too.” Then I turn to my family. “Did you catch that? Because I’m saying it for all of you. I love Rhett Butler Jones.”

“Butler?” Crew snickers before he mutters, “That’s a rough one,” under his breath.

He chuckles at Crew’s barb and kisses me chastely on the lips.

His lips meet my forehead, and he stays beside me in a crouch for a long moment with his eyes closed and his body close to mine.

“I’m sorry I hid it from you, and I sincerely hope it doesn’t rock your faith in me as a coach. I love my job. I love this team. I love being here. I give it my all and that won’t change no matter what. But I completely understand if you feel as though you need to go in a different direction, given the choices I’ve made. That said, if you do, I don’t plan to leave Boston or Quinn unless she kicks me out of town, but that would be between her and me. As for Russel…” He trails off with a grunt, his eyes closing mournfully.

“I heard what he said about betting,” Asher tells him.

“Yes. Evidently, he’s in deep, and it’s been going on for a while. I’m so sorry. You brought him here on good faith that things would change, and I’ve delivered you and the team into a storm.” He drags a hand across his jaw and up through his hair, messing it up even more. “Goddamn, you really should fire me.”

My dad chuckles. “Probably. But I also believe you didn’t know.”