“Thanks for telling me. That will be a big loss for the team.”

  “You’re telling me. I told Mark it’s a good thing we have time to emotionally prepare,” Tessa said with a small laugh. She clamped her mouth shut as some reporters filed out of the locker room. Tessa mimed zipping her mouth shut. “That’s a secret. He hasn’t announced it to those guys yet.”

  Daisy forced a smile, turning her attention to the doorway as more reporters filed out. A few made pointed eye contact with her, and before she could construe the attention as judgmental or condemning or possibly leading to more speculation by faceless people online, she stopped herself.

  This was part of the NFL life. The lifestyle that all these guys had to get used to. That included her, now. Hardening up and continuing forward regardless of the external debate, doubt, and more.

  It was almost ironic. She thought she’d be used to it, having existed on the fringes of condescension and doubt as a woman in professional sports training. But inside the bubble of the NFL, it was a pressure cooker.

  But this was where she’d wanted to land. And now she had to figure out how to stand the heat.

  Once family members and guests were allowed to visit with the team, Daisy stepped in cautiously. She could have entered earlier, to stand with the team during interviews, but this visit felt strictly personal. She was coming as James’s partner, not his coach.

  She saw him across the locker room, his wide back to her as he sat on a bench next to Mark. She and Tessa and Angus all headed that way. Tessa and Angus greeted Mark first, and his face lit up with joy at seeing his family.

  “Hey, babe,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Tessa’s lips.

  Daisy stepped up to James’s side then, nervousness making her whole body feel hot and strange. He looked up at her, a whole range of emotions playing across his features. That chocolate gaze of his sucked her in, rendering her mute for a moment.

  “What’s up, Daisy?” he asked, stiffening.

  “I just came to uh…” She tucked some hair behind her ear, once again unsure how to express the vortex of thoughts and emotions inside of her. Maybe it would just be easier if she climbed into his lap and let that speak for her. “I just wanted to say great game. You killed it out there.”

  He nodded, offering a brief smile. “Thanks.”

  Mark and Tessa and Angus were all preparing to leave beside them, Mark gathering up his duffel bag while Tessa and Angus said hello to a few other nearby teammates. The three of them waved and said goodbye before they left the locker room, leaving James and Daisy alone in this corner of the locker room.

  She sank to the bench beside him, their legs brushing. Now that she was so close, it was impossible not to stay close. To touch him. To feel his warmth. James cleared his throat, resting his elbows on his knees.

  Daisy pressed a hand to her forehead. “Tessa told me you’re retiring.” She hadn’t planned to start the conversation this way, but now it seemed inevitable. She’d get to the whole Please take me back bit after she’d cleared the air on this front. “I feel responsible for this. And I’m begging you to please reconsider.”

  An odd look came over his face as he looked her up and down. His damp, dark tresses were tousled, freshly washed, and she could smell the undertones of his body wash as he shifted.

  “Why would I reconsider? It’s what I want.”

  Daisy felt tears pressing at her eyes. This was insane. Being this close to him, this unable to drape herself over him and kiss his lips until sunrise, felt like torture. This, right here, was why she’d forced herself to keep things professional. Because even thirty seconds of closeness threatened to unravel everything.

  “But why do you want it? I hate thinking that I had something to do with that decision. If you need me to, I’ll leave. I don’t care. I didn’t want to come here to mess things up for you. I only wanted—” She stumbled, feeling her voice wavering, threatening to disappear entirely. A tear slipped out, and she hurried to brush it away.

  James turned toward her. “Are you crying?”

  “No.” She looked away.

  James took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. She reluctantly met his gaze, even more of her insides melting at the prolonged touch and attention. He studied her face, laughing a little.

  “Daisy. This has nothing to do with you, I promise. I’m 235 years old in NFL years. It’s time for this old dog to retire.”

  “But…you’re so…you’re performing incredibly well. You’re at the top of your game. Why would you walk away from it now?”

  “Because that’s how I want to go out,” James said with a shrug. “I don’t want to stay on past my prime and have a few more shitty years where everyone starts to wonder why I didn’t retire sooner. I’m done. And honestly? I’m doing this because I’m tired. I want to spend more time with Emma. I’m ready for the next chapter of my life.”

  More tears arrived, and she desperately tried to maintain her composure. There were still other teammates in the locker room, and she hated the fact that she was essentially breaking down in the workplace, on full display.

  But the Sharks were her family now. And James was her man. If he’d take her back, that was.

  “Tessa wasn’t supposed to tell you that, by the way,” James added with a smirk. “I told Mark and Maxwell I planned to tell you myself. Before you heard some other way. But apparently that part of the message didn’t travel very far.”

  “James, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.” She drew a deep breath, flattening her palms against her thighs. Here it was. Do or die. “You’ve probably moved on, or stopped caring, or maybe both, but I need to tell you…I made a mistake.”

  James quirked a brow, leaning a little closer as she spoke.

  “Yes, those couple of weeks were a nightmare between our relationship leaking to the press and that interview…but the weeks since then? They’ve been hell. Because I realized that the problem in my life was not the fact that I’d started dating an amazing man. The problem was that I started listening to the external world and using it as a guide for my personal life.”

  The corners of his lips twitched but he didn’t say anything, just continued watching her as if he’d been expecting this all along.

  “Now that I have what I thought I wanted,” she went on, “I realize I’m missing something huge. And it’s you and Emma. I cherished being a part of your family. I don’t overlook how huge that was. And I’m sorry—I’m so sorry if I—” Tears returned, and she covered her face with her hands. “I don’t expect you to take me back. I just wanted you to know.”

  She struggled to regain her composure, but it was hard with all these repressed emotions making themselves known. And James’s continued silence only amplified the voice in her head that told her she was an idiot for even trying.

  “My parents broke up after they graduated from college,” Daisy went on, feeling desperate to plead her case. Maybe she could make him see that waiting a month before trying again wasn’t the worst idea. “My mom was homesick, and she flew back to Greece, and my dad stayed here to work in his first chef job, but after a month he realized it was too much. So he flew back to Greece, but she wasn’t there. Because she had come to the US to track him down.”

  Now she was babbling, and her poignant story seemed less of an example to follow and more of a desperate attempt to make sense. James looked like he was smiling now—probably amused by how broken up over this she still was, no doubt. She swiped at her eyes.

  “Well, I think that’s it for me,” she said, drawing a shaky breath. “There you have it. I’m an idiot. I should go now.”

  But as soon as she pushed to standing, James grabbed her by the hips and stilled her. His brown gaze sizzled on her as he said, “Daisy. Wait.”

  19

  James’s heart was pounding as hard as it had when he watched that first touchdown of the game that changed the course of the day. Except now, the stakes were higher. This wasn’t one game to win. This was his future with Daisy.

  And he wasn’t going to fuck this up.

  His fingers burned from touching her, so desperate to relearn the contours of her beautiful body. She hadn’t been wrong—these past four weeks away from each other in a personal sense had been hell. It had been worse than hell, because now nothing else made sense.

  And her being here in front of him, watching him with tear-stained cheeks and so much emotion in her eyes, made him realize that the two of them together really was the only thing that made sense.

  He’d known it from the get-go. And now the two of them would never forget it.

  “Come with me,” he said quietly, taking her hand in his. He pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, trying to tell her that she could trust what he was about to say. He just couldn’t have it happen in broad daylight like this. They needed somewhere private—because he was minutes, no, seconds away from kissing her face off.

  The locker room had emptied considerably, but James knew the surefire emptiest place in the building would be the showers in the next room. He led her into the expansive shower hall, and when the door clicked shut behind them, he pressed her against the wall and covered her mouth with his.

  Passion exploded between them, fiery hot and bright, as their lips and tongues and bodies sought to make up for the lost time between them. Daisy clutched at his team shirt, bringing his chest flush to hers, as they kissed fervently. James pushed his fingers into her hair, relishing the dark silk around his hands, wondering how he’d been able to survive this long without it.

  “I’m so sorry,” Daisy mumbled between kisses. “Please forgive me, James.”

  “Only if you forgive me too,” he whispered, pulling back long enough to admire her kiss-bitten lips and the sheen of lust in her eyes. The past four weeks had felt like an eternity, but now that she was in his arms, it had also been the blink of an eye.

  But only because they’d made their way back to each other.

  “Why would I need to forgive you?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Because I was an ass,” he said. “You had legitimate reasons for wanting to step back. But I was hot. And hurt.” He skipped kisses along her jawline. “I only want you to succeed. And I’ll support you however I can to make sure you rise as high as you can. And if that meant leaving you alone, I was ready to do it. I just didn’t want to.”

  “I didn’t want you to either,” she breathed, tilting her head to the side. Emotions clouded her face again.

  “God, it’s sexy to see you like this,” he said, unable to keep the smile off his face as he pressed his lips to hers for another kiss. “All strung out over me. Over us.”

  She laughed weakly, pushing at his chest. “Don’t get too used to it. I’ll go back to being a stony bitch soon enough.”

  “Maybe this can be our little secret, then,” he said, scooping her into his arms and hoisting her against the smooth wall of the shower room. “I won’t let anybody know what a secret softie you are. As long as you don’t tell anybody how my retirement was also part of my plan to get you back.”

  Her brows shot up. “Stop it. That’s not true.”

  He grinned devilishly. “It wasn’t the main reason, or even in the top three. But yes, it was part of my consideration. If I’m not an active NFL player, then there will be less friction between our careers. And if I’m ready to do it, what’s keeping me from moving forward with it?”

  Tears returned to her eyes, and he kissed away the salty trail over her cheeks.

  “Because here’s another secret,” James said, pressing his forehead to hers. He squeezed his arms around her as tight as he could, loving the feel of her in his arms, never wanting to let her go. “I love you, Daisy Katrakis. And if you want to take another stab at this, you better know right now that I’m walking into this a dedicated and lovesick man. So be prepared to be pampered and eaten out on the regular.”

  Laughter burst out of her, the sparkle in her eyes so contagious that it made his cheeks hurt from how hard he grinned.

  “I love you too. And I don’t deserve you,” she said, stroking his cheek, looking at him so tenderly that he thought his heart might burst.

  “Yes, you do, Daisy. And I deserve someone as phenomenal, successful, smart, and sassy as you.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “And did I mention sexy? Incredibly sexy, this one.”

  She returned his kiss. “Don’t even get me started on you, James Sullivan. I’ve been cataloguing the ways I love you since high school.”

  “Ah. So you finally admit that you’ve been in love with me all these years?”

  Her laughter was full of mischief and delight. “Not admitting. Just acknowledging it’s a possibility.”

  “Bullshit.” He squeezed her a little tighter. “I love you for even trying to be sly, though.”

  “I love you for taking me back when I let my fears get the best of me.”

  “I love you for thinking you could stay away from what we’ve got going on,” he teased.

  Another round of kisses emerged, furious and needy, Daisy gripping his hair and shirt and grappling with his body as if this was the last time they might ever get together.

  “Do you think Emma will handle it okay?” she asked suddenly, pulling back to look at him.

  “I think she’ll cry from happiness. We just can’t do the break-up thing to her again. If there’s any chance—”

  “James, I have never been this certain about anyone or anything in my entire life,” Daisy blurted. She paused then, her gaze drifting. “Well, I was this certain about my professional strength and conditioning career. But that’s the only other thing.”

  “And that only helps make your case,” he said.

  “I want us to have Thanksgiving together,” she admitted, fingering the collar of his T-shirt. “I was thinking my Dad could come over to your house and we could all eat there this year. If you’re okay with it. And then once the off-season starts, I was hoping we could work out a date night schedule—like once a week, for sure, and my mom could come stay with Emma, and they could work on dance.”

  The more she talked, the harder he melted.

  “And then I had some ideas for maybe combining the trip Emma would take to Singapore so she didn’t have to go alone,” Daisy went on. “Like we could make a getaway out of it too, once we made sure she got there okay.”

  “Babe, you’re killing me.”

  Her eyes widened. “Should I stop? Is this too much? They’re just things I’ve been thinking of.”

  “No. Don’t stop. Never stop.” He brushed his nose against hers, every inch of his body swelling with hope and happiness. He’d never felt this happy, this fulfilled. “You’re making my heart sing, babe.”

  But what they had between them wasn’t just a song. It was a full-blown symphony.

  Now that they were both on the same page, ready to sing the same song, made him happier than he’d been in years.

  But knowing that now he had all this time ahead of him to create a new life with his daughter and his love at his side?

  This was more than just retirement. This was living the life of his dreams. A life that only Daisy and Emma at his side could have made possible for him.

  Epilogue

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  “Mozzarella sticks! Mozzarella sticks!”

  Emma pumped her hands in the air as everyone looked at their menus at the huge table. James had brought Emma, Daisy, and Daisy’s family out to Emma’s favorite restaurant in Savannah after her Christmas dance recital. And Emma could not have been more excited about the outing—or the chance for mozzarella sticks.

  “Okay. I think we know what Emma wants,” James teased. “Will that be for both appetizer and dinner, honey?”

  “And dessert!”

  Daisy’s parents chuckled, their eyes shining as they looked over at Emma. The past couple of months had been an incredible whirlwind of bonding for the two families. Once Daisy and James let their inner circles know about their second attempt at a relationship, it was like everything—and everyone—aligned to make sure this time it stuck. Daisy’s mother began making frequent trips to visit her “new granddaughter” as she called Emma. Family dinners were now a weekly occurrence. And it seemed practically everyone, from Alex to Mark and Maxwell, were checking in on the happy couple to make sure neither of them tried anything stupid.

  James appreciated the support. And now that his own retirement sparkled on the horizon, he just couldn’t wait until he had a lot more time to enjoy his big, new family.

  “You did an incredible job, Emma,” Daisy’s mother gushed, reaching out to squeeze Emma’s hand. “All of your practice really paid off.”

  Emma grinned ear to ear as she absorbed the compliment. She and Daisy’s mother had been practicing for the recital a lot—even learning new dance moves, courtesy of Konstantina.

  “I wish we could watch your solo again,” Alex said.

  “Oh! We can!” Daisy dug out her phone, pulling up the video she’d taken at the recital. “I recorded the whole thing, obviously. Let me find it.”

  While Daisy queued up the video, Konstantina and Emma got lost in conversation about what came next for Emma’s dance career. The two had developed a quick and intense bond, which Daisy always joked was perfect for her mother—now she had the dance daughter she’d always wanted.

  A server came to take their drink orders while Daisy searched for the video. Alex ordered an IPA for himself and one for James.

  “Dude, I shouldn’t—” James started.

  “Hey. Give me one toast with my buddy,” Alex said. “To celebrate your upcoming retirement. And then, when you’re fully retired, we will get properly shit-faced.”

  James laughed. “Fine. Nobody tell Coach Scooter tomorrow.”

  “I’m telling him first thing in the morning,” Daisy cracked.

  “See? For anybody who thinks my woman goes easy on me in the workplace,” James said, squeezing the back of Daisy’s neck. She giggled in return and then handed over the phone to Emma.