In every instance, I’d listened to him. Because I knew he wanted what was best for me. For us. I hadn’t been a fool then. Was I being one now?
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he insisted. But I knew. I wasn’t born yesterday. The RBC didn’t call just anybody. Much less for a pundit gig on a prime-time show. “I haven’t said no, not yet. I’ve told them you are thinking about it. Considering your options. They think the managing position in L.A. is still on the table, and I had one of my guys spread word around about a couple other MLS teams potentially sniffing around.”
A ball of lead settled at the bottom of my stomach at the thought of how close I’d been to taking the L.A. Stars’ offer to lead their academy coaching staff. How I’d be trapped in a gilded cage, with a life and a plan that no longer made sense, if I had.
“There’s no thinking left to do,” I told him. “I’m fine where I am.”
“Are you, though?” Liam threw right back. “You might be fine now, man. But you don’t know how you’ll feel in three months. Or six. Or a year from now.” The pause was long, and I knew it was intentionally so. “This is it, Cameron. It’s a good deal. Just… consider it. Please.”
I processed his words, I really did. As much as I’d been quick to say no, I didn’t want to be the fool he’d accused me of being. The two boys who had shaken hands quickly after I’d signed my first contract in London were long gone, but I…
“I know you’re hesitant to come back,” Liam said, knowing exactly where my head had gone. “You’d have to be in London again, where the studios are.” And therefore lose all prospect of privacy, he should have said next. But Liam was too good at his job to hand me an excuse like that. “You’d be easily recognized there. And I understand that after what happened in L.A., that’s not exactly something you’re looking forward to. I get it, mate. I do. I’d be traumatized, too.”
Every muscle and bone in my body turned to stone. “I’m not traumatized.”
“So you’re not. Good. That’s why you’re hiding away in some town in the middle of nowhere. The question is, are you going to hide there forever?”
Sweat gathered at the back of my neck. “I’m not hiding.”
He ignored my complaint with a tsk. “Enjoy your time there. Decompress. Relax. I know you’re into the great outdoors and fresh air and all that mumbling nonsense. But we have that here, too. The proper countryside is a few hours’ drive away from London.” A pause. “Think of your future, man. You might not be on the grass anymore, but your career in football is far from being over.”
Football. I missed hearing the word. I’d been in the US long enough but I… Fuck. I didn’t even know. There had been no plan. I’d just come to Green Oak and decided to stay until I changed my mind. That had been the logic I’d applied to everything since that goddamn day.
Maybe I was traumatized.
I thought back to last night. To every day before that. I’d been so… busy with the hurricane Adalyn had brought to Green Oak that I hadn’t had time to think about much else.
As if summoned by my mind, Adalyn materialized in the yard. She was walking toward my cabin and, fuck, thank Christ the pantsuit was back.
“You know what?” I heard myself say. “Relaxing might be overrated.”
Liam laughed, but there wasn’t any humor in the sound. “So that’s your answer. Out of all the things I said? Tell me at least that you’ll think about it.”
I watched Adalyn making her way up the steps of my porch, and I turned on my heels, heading for the front door.
“Caldani?” Liam insisted.
I reached the hallway, words slipping carelessly out of my mouth, “All right. Yeah.”
“You’ve just made me a very happy man,” Liam rushed out. I frowned, wondering why or how. “I’ll ring you in a few days, then. When you’ve thought about it. Cheers, mate.”
And he killed the call.
With a sigh, I slipped the phone in the pocket of my sweats and threw the door open.
A raised fist greeted me.
Her hand fell, revealing her face.
Adalyn’s hair was down today, but not as straight as in the few instances she’d worn it like this. There were waves I’d missed when I’d spotted her through the window. It made her face look softer, her lips fuller. I cleared my throat. “What do you want?”