EPILOGUE A little over a year later…
Adalyn
Go on, love.
He didn’t need to say the words. I could see them written in his face. It was one of the things I loved about him, about us, the way we didn’t need to utter a word to know what the other one was thinking. A touch was enough. A brush of hands. A glance. A tilt of the head. A twitch at the corner of his lips. A subtle change to the green of his eyes.
Or in this case, as Cameron stood in front of the goal during the one-year anniversary of the Warriors Soccer Youth Club, the start of a lopsided smile.
We were on the grass, kicking off the celebration with a one-on-one, as per popular demand. Cameron’s gloves were still very much hung up—literally, as we had them on the wall in our office—but in the last year, he had found his place on the sidelines, coaching our youngest female division and directing the coaches we’d recruited for the older ones. He was still attending therapy sessions on the regular to help him deal with the repercussions of the break-in, but Cameron was no longer so reticent about standing tall in the middle of crowds or attracting attention. I’d also done my fair share of therapy, and I’d quickly realized that it was something I should have done much, much earlier. Not just to have someone showing me how I’d been bottling up every worry in my head in an attempt at controlling my life, or that the relationship with my father had been an unhealthy one, but to learn the tools to process the chaos in my head and not let it turn into panic.
Either way, I was happy. We were happy. I didn’t regret cutting ties with the Miami Flames—not even when David seemed to be earning a reputation for making bad choices and the club might be paying the consequences. There was a piece of my heart that would always belong to the Flames but I wasn’t looking back. The MLS was behind me, and Cameron and I were developing talent. It was the most gratifying thing either of us had ever done. We were based somewhere between Green Oak and Charlotte, and we had kids coming from all over the area, rural and urban. It hadn’t been easy to build something from scratch, but we were both as hardheaded as we were driven. With that and the contacts Cameron and I had in the industry, the club had taken off relatively quickly. Now the goal was growing enough to cater to professional leagues.
There was a long road ahead, and starting over was terrifying, but my life had never been fuller, richer, or simply better, than right now. It was because of this venture and the community that claimed me as theirs, but it was also because of the man I had by my side. Providing a kind of safety I hadn’t known before him, and making every step of the way a little less scary and a lot less lonely.
Because with Cameron, I didn’t know loneliness. With him, my sharp edges didn’t matter, I was loved and appreciated and cherished not in spite of them but because of them. And I couldn’t have been happier. Luckier. Loved him any more. I reminded him every day. Every night. Every chance I got.
Cameron lifted his hands in front of him, pinned me a challenging look, and made a come-at-me gesture.
Cocky, competitive man. I loved that he was mine.
I smiled my biggest smile, my Cameron smile, and continued my trajectory, juggling the ball in my feet as I ran. In sneakers, by the way. Cameron widened his stance, his eyes zeroing in on me as I entered the penalty area.
Someone from the stands screamed, “GO, LITTLE SIS! KICK HIS ASS!”
Josie. My chest warmed. She’d become such an important part of my life. My confidant. The person I didn’t know I needed until she all but appeared out of thin air. Dad had tried to make amends with both of us throughout the last few months. And while we were still reluctantly processing everything, especially Josie, we’d found some peace in the knowledge that he was at least trying.
Cameron stepped forward, his body locking into a position I knew was all technique and prowess. It said, showtime. I narrowed my eyes at him, focusing on my aim as I whirled for the left—his weakest angle. He smirked at that. So I threw my leg back, my own smirk shaping up. And kicked, shooting for the top corner of the net.
He jumped, lunging his body into the air with his arms up, just like I’d seen him instruct the kids so many times in the last months. The display was unnecessary, considering the speed the ball carried, but it was beautiful. Powerful. Hot. Extremely so. Because it was him, sure. But because he was not letting me win. Cameron never let me win. And I loved that about him.
His palms blocked the ball. And when he landed on the ground with the sphere clutched against his chest, he did so smiling. Grinning. He looked up, sending me an impressed glance from the grass and winked.
Oh boy.
The crowd, which consisted of the club’s kids and their families, cheered from the stands.
Tony, who juggled college and a job as assistant coach with us, clapped from the sidelines before jogging in our direction to retrieve the ball and get it signed by everyone on the staff.
“Good save, Coach Chamomile!” María, who had come down from Green Oak with Robbie, hooted. I turned, immediately spotting her. She’d grown since last month, when she’d come over for a girls-only sleepover with me, Josie, Willow, and Pierogi. She waved at me. “I was just being nice!” she shouted before turning around and pointing at the back of her shirt. It read TEAM ADA and it had a selfie of me and Brandy stamped on it. “I’ll always root for the girls’ team.”
Laughter rolled off me, remembering the day of the picture. We’d been saddled with babysitting Brandy for a weekend. If there was one goat Cameron was reluctantly tolerating, it was Brandy.
As if summoned by my mind, Cameron’s arms snaked around my waist. I immediately relaxed against him, and he nudged the side of my neck with his nose.
“That was an excellent shot, love,” he said against my skin.
“Oh, I know,” I admitted. “I’ve been practicing with Tony. Watching tape of some of your old games to learn how you react. Just for this.”
Cameron’s head snapped up. He met my gaze, the green in his eyes darkening. “That’s incredibly arousing.”
My stomach fluttered. But I shook my head. “How’s that even possible?”
“Anything that involves you turns me on,” he countered. It wasn’t a lie. I knew that. And he wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Him touching me right now, with his arms around me, his scent deliciously floating into my lungs, the feel of his body standing so close, it was all making my blood swirl. His tongue peeked out, and he wetted his lips. “Do you think we could sneak out without being noticed? Let’s say… right now?”
I’d love nothing more. “We’re in the middle of a party,” I said, a little too breathlessly. “We literally kicked it off just now, and we’re supposed to make speeches.”
Cameron hummed deep in his throat. “How about in ten minutes?”
I let out a laugh.
“Fifteen? Your office or mine?”
“You’re impossible.”
The corners of his lips kicked up. “Impossibly in love with you.”
Dammit. I kissed him. I couldn’t not kiss him when he said those things. Cameron immediately rearranged me in his arms and took over with a throaty groan. He parted my mouth with his, making my back arch and me climb on my tiptoes. God, I loved when he did that. It quieted everything, made the world around us disappear.
“So?” he whispered against my lips when we came up for air. “Five minutes? One? Right now? It’ll be fast.” His mouth came to my ear. “Fast and hard.”
My eyes fluttered closed, but I shook my head. I cupped his face with both hands and made him look straight at me just so he’d stop whispering dirty words in my ear with a crowd swirling around. “I fucking love you, Cameron Caldani,” I told him, and his face immediately softened. “And I’d love nothing more than office sex right now.” He perked up. “But we’re not going anywhere until I either see or hear that speech you’ve written. Before everybody else does. I don’t want figures of speech or sports metaphors that make children cry. It has happened one too many times.”
A small frown shaped his brow. “Last time it wasn’t my fault. Tony encouraged me to phrase it like that.”
“Well, Coach. Maybe you shouldn’t rely on a nineteen-year-old, then. Rely on your boss instead. I’ll never steer you wrong and always tell you when your wording sucks.”
His jaw clenched. “That’s not helping with the hard-on, love.”
That brought heat to my cheeks, but I rolled my eyes. “We’re surrounded by people, stop talking about your hard—”
A throat was cleared behind me.
Josie was there, a cringey expression on her face. “Why do I always walk in on you while you’re either about to have sex or talking about having sex?”
Cameron laughed. Openly and freely, like he couldn’t care less about scandalizing Josie. Truth was, I knew he didn’t.
I opened my mouth, but a groan came from the phone I hadn’t seen Josie holding up. My phone. I’d given her my things before jumping on the grass for the kickoff. A voice spoke, “Not exactly excited to hear how one of my idols riles my best friend.”
“Matthew?” I asked.
Josie made a face and turned over the phone. Matthew’s face filled the screen. “He kept calling you, so I picked up,” she explained. “Does he always talk this much? No wonder you’ve never invited him for a visit.”
A huff came from the phone. “I talk too much? You just gave me a ten-point list of reasons why you’re Adalyn’s new best friend.”
“Because I am,” Josie pointed out with a smile. “I’m also more than just that. I’m her sister, so game over for you, I guess.” She glanced up at me and mouthed, He’s cute. But annoying.
Matthew exhaled loudly. “I can read lips and I just saw you doing that. The back camera was on since you switched it around to show me the facilities I hadn’t seen in person.”
Josie shrugged. “I thought you wanted to be shown around. Considering you were never invited and all.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” Matthew drawled. “You think I’m cute.”
“And annoying.”
Matthew grinned. “Sticking with cute. I have excellent selective hearing.”
Josie snorted and launched herself into a speech that included a list of celebrities she thought were cuter than him. Matthew listened carefully, as if taking mental notes to refute her.
Cameron’s hand shifted to my waist. “That’s… a shocking turn of events. I think we should intervene.” A pause. “Should I do it or will you?”
“I’ll take this one for the team,” I said, reaching out and grabbing the phone from a surprisingly reluctant Josie. She flushed, whirled around, and ran away with a quick “See ya!” Literally. I filed that for later and refocused on Matthew. “Okay, what’s up? Why were you calling? Something happened?”
“I…” Matthew trailed off. His expression fell. “Is the lodge you own in Green Oak free?”
I frowned.
“Yeah,” Cameron said, and I could hear the same hint of concern I was feeling in his voice. “We’re living closer to the club now.”
Matthew nodded. “Then, I have a favor to ask.”