Page 83 of Out of Bounds

“That’s not what she wants,” Gunnar said. He didn’t mean to put words in her mouth, but he knew her. He saw her. The real her. And that meant knowing that this was her way of building new walls, trying to keep out more hurt.

“I’m asking this as her brother—do you love her?”

“I do. I know that would sound crazy to some but, when you know—”

“You know,” Dalton finished, cutting him off. “Trust me. I get it.”

“Cruz said you would,” he laughed. He'd trusted his buddy when Cullen had said that if there was anyone on this earth who’d understand, that it would be Dalton. That the kid was the biggest romantic there was, and that he’d played quite the role in Cullen’s own romance with Leona. Watching him now, Gunnar could see that with his own two eyes, and loved that they had that in common. “Look, Dalton, more than anything, what I want is for her to be happy. And if her walking away from all this, from me, is what’s gonna do that, then fine. But the woman I’ve gotten to know, that I’ve fallen for, that’s not what’s going to make her happy.”

“I agree.”

“I'm also told you’re kinda the king of grand gestures,” he said, goading his boss. He knew it was a big ask, especially since it was Dalton’s sister he was trying to win back, but Gunnar hoped the romantic in him would win over.

“That might be a bit of an overstatement. But, to quote my father’s favorite show, ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’”

“Then I think I might just have the plan…”

Chapter Thirty-One

“Dinner tonight, right?” Dalton asked, as they piled into the elevator to head to their hotel rooms.

Felicity let out a huff, already at her threshold for group activities for one day. Tomorrow was the season opener, and more importantly, the league debut for the Atlanta Rising Football Club, and since she hadn’t fully resigned from her role as Director of Team Services, she was required to be present for it. And truth be told, she wanted to be present for it as well. Getting to this point had taken months of hard work and like hell would she miss it.

But getting to New Orleans had meant a flight, and after the events of the last couple of days, there was no way on earth she was flying with the team. Just the thought of seeing Gunnar, much less sharing such a small space with him, broke her heart all over again. Her plan was to stay as far away from him on this trip as possible. Of course, that had meant joining her brother and his friends from the Indigo Royal, who’d all stayed in town after the funeral for the game, on the Southland plane rather than the one chartered for the team.

“Tripp, that flight was bad enough, watching all y’all making googly eyes at each other the whole time. But now you also want me to be the seventh wheel at dinner? No. Hard pass.”

“Flick, come on. It’s a big night. You’ve worked hard to get this team ready, and you should celebrate.”

Except I don’t want to celebrate with you. I want to celebrate with Gunnar, curled up in bed with a glass of wine.

“Do it for me,” he added, as the door chimed open.

“I hate you,” she spat back. She resented his guilt trip, even though they both knew she was going to give in. He was still her little brother.

“I know. Rooftop bar, seven p.m. See you there!”

She scowled at him, cursing herself for turning so soft. The old Felicity would have told her brother to fuck off without a second thought. Of course, the old Felicity wouldn’t be heartbroken in the first place. It was all the more reason that a clean break from the company was a good idea. Once they got through the beginning of the season, she could transition all her projects over to someone else and be free from Southland.

She just wished she were a little more in love with that idea than she actually was.

Placing her suitcase on top of the luggage rack, she opened it up to start to settle into the room. She hung the little black dress she’d brought in the closet. There were a few wrinkles in the bottom of the dress, and she wished she’d brought her portable steamer. Maybe the hotel had one she could use. Pulling out her toiletry bag, her eyes fell to the Rising jersey that Gunnar had given her while they were in San Antonio. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes as she reached for it, running her fingers over the blue phoenix on the team’s crest. She’d loved this logo from the moment she’d laid eyes on it with the design team last year, believing that she too was rising up from the ashes to prove herself right along with this team.

Flipping it over in her hands, she sighed as she read Gunnar’s nickname for her stitched on the backside. She hadn’t realized just how much the moniker had grown on her until the other day when it had stopped. Or maybe it was just the sound of his gruff voice saying it that she missed. Sitting down on the bed, she held the jersey close to her and let the tears run down her cheeks. She’d tossed it into her suitcase last minute, knowing there was no way she would wear it to the game but still unable to travel without it. For some reason, it seemed like some kind of good luck charm, and who was she to mess with lady luck right about now?

Felicity glanced over at the clock on the bedside table, realizing that she’d better freshen up if she was really going to see people for dinner. The last thing she needed was for anyone, much less Dalton and his friends, to know that she’d been crying.

Forty-five minutes later, she was riding the elevator up to the rooftop bar, looking quite trendy in her snappy casual attire of jeans and black knit top. The clack of her heels against the tile made her breathe a little easier, making her feel like her old self was still somewhere inside, just waiting to come out again. The sound was like her calling card, and that was one thing she would not let slip away.

“Miss Sutherland?” a hotel staff member asked as she entered the bar. The place was deserted, the only other person in the whole place an older gentleman at the bar whose attention was fixed on a baseball game.

Of course Tripp is late…

“That’s me.”

“Then right this way,” the staff member said, gesturing toward the patio.

While it had been a relatively warm day, it was still March, and Felicity worried that it was going to be too cold to spend any amount of time outside, until she saw the large firepit they were approaching. She walked toward it, still wondering where everyone was, as the staffer gestured for her to make herself comfortable, then turned around and headed back inside.