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Tessa’s mouth twisted into a half-frown. “I still don’t like that it happened.”

“I was thinking of coming back anyway once my contract was up because I knew I wanted to get another chance with you,” Jamie explained. “But when all that happened, I got out early. In the end, I’m glad I did.”

“I’m buzzing that you’re here,” Tessa said, a smile slowly returning to her lips. “Raging about the asshole at Man City. Glad they sacked him.”

“Me too,” Jamie agreed. “My only real regret is not confiding in my teammates. I could have helped get rid of him sooner.”

“There’s no guarantee it would have happened any faster. But you would have been around people who understood.”

“They certainly would have been more understanding than my father.”

Tessa narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

“I told him about this, and he only admonished me for not speaking up, when I might have been believed and I could have stayed with his idea of a better club.”

“Sweet suffering Jesus.” Tessa cupped Jamie’s face in her palm. “He was way out of order saying that to you, Jamie. You deserve sympathy and care when you’re sharing something that serious.”

Jamie turned her face to press her lips to Tessa’s fingers. “I know where I can find that now.” She leaned forward and claimed Tessa’s mouth in a light kiss. “Some good came of that, too, though. I finally stood up to him.”

Tessa perked up. “You did?”

“Yep. I told him I wished he would act more like my father and less like my manager.”

“Jamie!” Tessa cried, sitting up fully and pulling a giggling Jamie with her. “I’m so proud of you! How did he take it?”

“He was angry, but I got the last word.”

She told Tessa everything, the words they exchanged in her father’s kitchen before she left the room to see her mother. Which brought Jamie to the other thing she wanted to tell Tessa about. Theo’s story.

Lila encouraged it again in their last session. Telling Tessa about Theo so that she might be more understanding whenJamie took as much time as she would likely need in order to fully come out. An act which her father would consider defiance and disgrace. But the moment arrived, and Jamie found her heart locked up.

For the time being, she only wanted them to be happy. Not caught up in the past. And Tessa was being understanding. She was giving Jamie a chance to get comfortable. To start slow and build up her courage. It was all Jamie could want from her.

The last thing she wanted was to erase the radiant, proud smile from Tessa’s face with the tragedy of Theo’s story.Another time,she told herself.I’ll tell her when the time is right, after I’ve talked about it more in therapy.They had been through so much. She wanted to keep it light and fun while she could.

Tessa pulled Jamie in for another kiss. “I really am proud of you. You are making significant strides, and. . . I’m hopeful, Jamie. Hopeful for our future.”

“Thank you, Tessa. I’m hopeful too. For the first time in a long time.”

They kissed once more before letting themselves succumb to the kind of satisfied sleep only lovers knew.

Chapter 23

“And. . . action!” the director called.

Tessa watched as Jamie transformed into her spokesperson persona—back straight, chin up, plastered smile. They had dressed her in a generic, all white football training kit, bereft of the brands or crests she would normally have donned in actual training or warm-ups. She had a classic, black and white ball tucked under one arm as she turned to follow the camera.

“Whether I’m on the pitch or out with my teammates, only one brand makes me feel secure,” Jamie said in that sing-song advertisement voice. She held up a tiny purple tube next to her face to get it in the shot. “Luxora. The athlete’s choice in tampons.”

That explains the white shorts, Tessa thought with a smirk.

The director called cut, and they moved Jamie over to the next part of the set up studio, which had a miniature pitch and goal set up. It was similar to the ones used in training. Tessa was not surprised when Jamie took her first shot and made it seconds after the clapboard moved out of the way of the camera.

The director watched the clip a few times, and some production assistants swarmed around Jamie to touch up her makeup. She met Tessa’s gaze over one of their heads and shot her a wink. Tessa wiggled her fingers in return. When they finished, Jamie walked over to get some water, which one assistant warned she had to drink through a straw in order to preserve her lipstick. Tessa could think of a few better ways to ruin that lipstick, but pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She would have their Valentine’s Day celebrations that night to act on every filthy thought she could come up with.

“Alright, have a break, Jamie,” the director said, drawing Tessa back into the studio. “We’re going to put together a rough cut and see if we need more takes.”

Jamie nodded and relaxed. “Dave, have you met Tessa?”