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Chapter 19
Miri
Claireparadedmearoundthe house until my jaw ached from smiling. I’d met most of these girls before, but they’d always been my rivals. I’d never taken the time to get to know them. We met in battle on the muddy pitch and then we went back to our lives. But I had to admit that I liked them. I liked them a lot. I sat on the kitchen counter, legs dangling over the edge, chatting with Lana, another player. I’d only ever known her as a badass bitch infamous for her mean tackles; now I knew we shared an undying love for Taylor Swift.
My body had filled with a strange restless energy after the conversation with Gabe. I’d almost kissed him. It had been torturous to walk away, but I couldn’t go there. We had to keep things professional. It had been fun to speak to everyone, and they couldn’t have been more welcoming, but I’d reached the stage of the party where I wanted to go home and curl up in bed with a hot chocolate.
“Ah, here she is. Can I steal Miri for a moment?”
Claire inclined her head in a nod and I let Gabe lead me away. His hand rested lightly at the small of my back as he shepherded me into the hallway. He paused at the bottom of a winding flight of marble steps. For a moment, he stood and stared upward.
“Is everything okay?”
He forced a smile. “Do you want to get a drink?”
I held up my champagne glass. “I have one.”
He quirked a brow. “A better one?”
“Okay.”
I followed him in silence up three flights of marble steps before we got to an endless landing. I’d have guessed Gabe’s house would be big, but I couldn’t imagine something like this. It was more like a city.
“Your house is huge.”
“I live at the Beaufort. We’re holding the party here.”
“You live in a hotel?”
His lip twitched with a smile. “It’s notahotel. It’smyhotel.”
“Oh.”
He opened one of the doors on the endless landing and flicked a switch. Light flooded a luxurious study. Bookcases heaving with old tomes lined the walls and a huge pool table dominated the living space. A walnut desk sat in the corner by a bay window that looked out onto a starless night.
Gabe hesitated for a moment, drew a breath, and stepped inside. He crossed to the desk and reached into a drawer at the bottom. He took out a bottle and tumblers and poured us drinks.
“Here.” He passed me a heavy tumbler of amber liquid.
“What are we drinking to?”
He cocked his head and rose a questioning brow. “Well, that depends on you.”
He wanted my decision. I’d been on the fence until the conversation with Claire, but she was right. I had to believe in myself. I’d overcome so many hurdles to play football. This could be the greatest career move of my life. Time to stop holding myself back. Gabe gazed at me expectantly. I could have put him out of his misery, but I liked him like this, pretty and eager to please. It wouldn’t hurt to keep him on his toes a little longer.
“Well.” I tapped my finger against my lips, pretending to ponder. “It was going to be a yes to joining the team, but then I heard your singing …”
His lip twitched. “That’s fair.”
I held my glass up. “To karaoke and the wonderful singing career that awaits you.”
His brow quirked in amusement and he chinked his glass against mine. “To karaoke.”
The whiskey burned my throat on the way down. He took a sip and studied the glass, twisting it in his hands. The sight of him in a well-fitted suit, bathed in soft lighting, took my breath away.
He smoothed a hand over the polished walnut desk. “They’ve kept everything how it was.” He drifted to the window and peered out into the darkness. “It’s as if he never left.”
“Your dad?”
