“I’m gone for two and a half days, and you’re already moving on? I can’t ever leave you alone again.” His hand goes around my nape, and he pulls me to him and kisses me hard. I gasp and cling to his shoulders, devouring his taste, the feel of his lips. He’s an invader, delving deep, his fingers digging into my scalp. We end with smaller, gentler kisses, soft brushes over and over . . .
Our breaths mingle when we part.
He holds my face and peers deep into my eyes. “I. Love. You. With everything inside me. I love your . . .” His voice thickens. “Wow. I had this whole speech planned out, but it’s up in smoke.”
“Do continue.”
He brushes his fingers over my swollen lips. “Princess, when I love someone, it’s with my soul. It’s full commitment. It’s a relationship that will grow, evolve, and change to fit us. I won’t ever stop trying to be the best man I can be. I won’t give up on us, through thick and thin.”
“Is that why you said no to the job?”
“It affected it, yes. As soon as I left Texas, something wasn’t right. I wanted you. I missed Lois and Skeeter. I wanted my team. I wanted to be celebrating with them at Randy’s Roadhouse. Do I want to coach in the NFL someday? Maybe. Would I like it to be the Pythons? Sure. They’re a great franchise, and New York was my home—in a different life. The truth is I’m not ready.”
I trace his scar. “You can do anything you want. I believe in you.”
He smiles. “I need more experience; that’s for sure. I don’t know everything I need to know right now about coaching. I need more trophies and time with the Bobcats. More talks with you. If I took that job, it would take over my life. Life is too damn short to be lonely, Nova. It’s too short to give up on having something real with the one person I love.”
I sigh. “Oh.”
“My gut knew New York wasn’t the right choice.” He pauses and cups my face. “I knew exactly which road to take, and it was back to you, but I had to get past my fear of losing you, of letting you down . . .”
“Did you?”
He hugs me close to his chest, his hand running down my hair. “Honestly, I may never stop being overly cautious or a nervous Nellie about some things, but we can deal with it as it comes. I want love. It’s a gift. My heart is yours. You took a sledgehammer and beat the shit out of it.”
I pump my fist. “Score.”
He bites his bottom lip, a strange expression on his face.
“What?” I ask.
“So . . . I was on the plane, thinking about how to tell you all this, and I had this idea of getting on the intercom, maybe playing my guitar and singing ‘Jolene’; then I realized there’s a lunch lady named Jolene and I can’t sing. Plus, it felt cheesy—”
“Totally. Dorkish. Downright stupidly romantic—”
“Do you want me to get on the intercom and tell the whole school how I’m going to be your man until the end of time?”
I swipe away a tear. “No. We’d be those ridiculous people I roll my eyes at.”
He laughs softly. “Ah, then how about I sing ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ now? I’ve been working on it. There’s no guitar, but . . .”
My heart soars as he sings the words softly, a song about a guy who meets a girl at a party—yes, there’s alcohol involved. The years pass, and he’s waiting for her to see him as he dreams of them growing old together.
He finishes the song. “I’m sorry I was a selfish dick from the moment we met.”
“I’m sorry I sneered at your necklace this morning, then rolled around in your shirts, then slapped your arm.”
He chuckles, then sobers, his eyes glinting with emotion. “My glow is not in New York, Nova. It’s right here with you. The team is extra. I’ve never loved someone like this.”
The enormity of his words settles over me, and I kiss him tenderly, then graze my lips over his scarred cheek to whisper in his ear. “Same, darling.”
We get sidetracked, our hands tracing each other, seeking solace from the days we spent wondering what the future held.
I lean back. “Have you told the players?”
“Principal Lancaster herded me in the office when I walked in. He announced it on the intercom: ‘Coach Smith turned down the Pythons to stay at Blue Belle.’ I could hear the cheers from the office. I guess you didn’t hear it because you were in the closet.”
“I was depressed.”