Page 44 of Agent of the Heart (Hearts in Hawthorne #3)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

J ace returned to the gate and mounted all the concrete steps until he’d reached the top row.

Everything below him was starting to fill in quickly.

He’d never bothered going to a game when he was a high school student.

Usually, he had a cross country meet the next morning, so he didn’t want to be out late.

He always wanted to be rested and fully hydrated before a race.

Staying out late to watch a game by himself had never appealed to him.

He sat, making certain he was not directly in front of the cheerleaders, not wanting Darby to feel as if he’d deliberately sat in her line of vision. Turning his eyes to the playing field, he watched as the football team broke into groups for their drills.

Suddenly, he noticed Autumn headed his way. She took a seat next to him.

“Did Eli send you?” he asked.

“No. I came on my own.” She hesitated a moment. “I like you, Jace. I’m thrilled that you and Eli have reconnected after so many years of being apart.”

“But you’re also worried about your cousin.”

Autumn nodded. “You really hurt Darby. She’s keeping quiet about your breakup, but I understand that it was her choice to walk away from your relationship.”

He smiled ruefully. “And here I’ve turned up again, like a bad penny. You think I’m going to hurt her again. Let me say this, Autumn. I was plenty hurt when Darby left. It came out of the blue. She really didn’t want to talk things over. I understand more about that decision now.”

Briefly, he told her about running into Penelope Rossi and learning about the conversation Darby and the jewelry designer had the night of the casino party.

“I’m upset that Darby believed everything Penelope said and didn’t let us talk things over.”

Autumn frowned. “Can it really work between the two of you, Jace? Don’t get me wrong.

I think you’re really good together, but you have completely different lifestyles.

Darby wants a life in Hawthorne. You’re firmly entrenched in Dallas.

If I don’t think it can work between you, just think of what Darby would say. ”

“It’ll work,” he said stubbornly. “It has to. Because I’m crazy about her. Crazy in love with her.”

“Oh!” Autumn looked taken aback.

“I should have told her first. Not you,” he apologized. “But I plan to say those words tonight. Don’t worry, Autumn. I have a plan. I’m just hoping that it works.”

She patted his knee. “If it does, I’ll be so happy for you. If it doesn’t?” She bit her lip. “I don’t want to take sides.”

“You won’t need to,” Jace insisted. “Darby’s been your cousin your entire life. I’ve only been your brother-in-law a couple of months. Let’s be positive and know everything will work out so that you aren’t pulled in opposite directions.”

“Eli and I are here for you, Jace. Good luck.”

Autumn returned to her seat. He saw Eli give him a thumbs up, and Jace returned the gesture.

The halftime show was held before the game.

The Hawks’ opponents were allowed to have their band play, and their drill team performed.

Then the home team’s band took the field, playing a medley of patriotic songs.

The drill team did their thing, and Jace thought both groups outperformed the other school.

Then it was time for the football team to make their appearance, and they came crashing through the large banner the cheerleaders held high.

The fight song played, with everyone in the stands singing along.

Jace knew the words. He’d been on the HHS website daily since Darby had left.

He had read copies of the Hawthorne Herald online.

Watched videos of previous pep rallies. Kept up with West’s team and knew they were predicted to be tonight’s victors.

The first quarter was close, but the Hawks scored twice in the second quarter to go up by ten points.

Halftime came, and the band took the field again.

Three girls were named over the PA, escorted to the Hawks logo on the fifty-yard line by their parents.

He noted one was the varsity cheerleader captain.

Jace had avoided looking at Darby during the first half, but he found her in the crowd now, seeing how she eagerly awaited the results of the homecoming vote.

The fans erupted when Carrie Johnson was named as the new homecoming queen. Even from a distance, he saw how proud Darby was.

The homecoming king was announced next, with two of the nominees being football players.

The third was a guard on the basketball team, and it was this teenager who was named king.

He joined Carrie Johnson in a convertible, which was then driven slowly around the track as the rest of the homecoming court was announced.

He saw it included a couple from the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes.

The rest of the game passed in a blur. Jace looked at the field, but his thoughts were a mile away as he tried to decide exactly what he wanted to say to Darby.

He became aware that the game had ended when not only did a loud, sustained cheer break out, but the stands vibrated from students stomping their feet.

Quickly, he located Darby again, seeing that she headed down to the track.

She hugged Carrie, obviously congratulating her captain, and then went to speak to several of the other girls, embracing them, as well.

He figured they must be the seniors on the squad.

As the players left the field and bystanders began leaving the stands, the PA announcer reminded students of the homecoming dance tomorrow night in the high school’s gym, starting at eight o’clock.

Jace let the stands thin before making his way down the concrete stairs. He stopped on the last row and took a seat, waiting for Darby. The last cheerleader left, and Darby looked into the stands, seeing him. She made her way toward him.

“Believe it or not, all the lights will go out inside the stadium in about ten minutes. We probably need to find somewhere else to talk. I don’t want to get caught in the dark.”

He rose and followed her up the steps, dying to touch her but afraid if he did, she’d flee. They saw a few stragglers as they made their way out the gates, Jace still on Darby’s heels.

“I’m parked over there,” she said, pointing.

Jace continued to trail after her, his mouth going dry, his heart hammering against his ribs uncomfortably.

They reached her car, and she unlocked it, tossing in what she carried. Then she shut the door and leaned against the vehicle’s door, crossing her arms.

“Talk.”

“I feel like a nervous schoolboy, called to the principal’s office,” he told her. “For something I didn’t even do.”

Darby didn’t say anything. Her brows arched, as if she were bored and wanting him to get on with things.

“Let me speak first, and then you can ask me anything. Or say whatever you want. Can you do that?”

“Of course,” she said crisply.

“I had planned to attend a charity event with a woman named Penelope Rossi.”

Jace looked to see if Darby would react hearing the name, and he saw she stiffened slightly.

“Instead, I told Penelope something had come up. I broke the date with her—to be with you. We went to Adelina’s that night. That was the start of everything for me. I was already attracted to you. Had enjoyed flirting with you at the wedding. But I fell for you that night, Montgomery. Hard.”

Her eyes widened, but she kept silent.

“You were—are—all I can think about. I’m in love with you.

I was afraid to say those words to you because I thought it was too soon.

Hell, I’ve never been in love. I thought maybe I was misreading my own feelings.

The situation. But with every beat of my heart, it cries out your name, Darby.

I decided that it was love, something I’ve never experienced in my life.

I’ve locked away my emotions and have always been stoic for as long as I can remember.

While I come alive and act a part as an agent, the outgoing, affable professional, it’s as if no one’s ever known the true me.

“Until you came along.”

He watched her blink several times and knew she was not immune to what he was telling her.

“I did arrange to take Penelope to dinner after you flew back to Kansas City. After all, I was the one who’d broken the date.

I felt I owed her. She’s an up and coming jewelry designer, and she was counting on going to that event with me and having me introduce her to some high profile people.

” He shook his head. “But I didn’t really want to be seen with her.

My heart already belonged to you, Darby.

I took Penelope to dinner at a place where she’d be happy being seen.

It was an early night. Dinner and nothing else.

I never saw the inside of her apartment.

Whatever she told you about that night, it was a lie. ”

“I see,” she said, her voice shaking.

He took a step toward her, the need to touch her too great. Jace cupped her cheek for a moment, inhaling her floral perfume. Then he took her hands, forcing her to uncross her arms.

“I love you, Darby Montgomery. I will do whatever it takes to be with you. I know you’re happy here in Hawthorne, teaching at HHS. I wouldn’t ask you to move closer to me.”

“But—”

“Nope. No interruptions. I said I would say my piece, and you agreed not to speak until I was finished. “

She nodded, looking contrite.

“I’m the boss, or at least I’m an equal partner with Mark. I own Total Touchdown Management. I can run it any way I see fit. Because of that, I met with Mark first thing this morning and laid out my plans for the future. He agreed to everything I wanted. I then met with my entire staff.”

Jace slowed down, taking a deep breath. Darby squeezed his hands encouragingly, giving him the courage to continue.

“I told them that I was moving to Hawthorne because the woman I loved lives there and without her, I don’t have any kind of life worth living.

I will go to the office two days a week for meetings and check-ins, which means staying in town overnight.

I’ll still have to do some traveling. That can’t be avoided.

Some of that will be on weekends, and I can’t change that.

But the rest of the time, I told the staff that I’d work remotely from Hawthorne.

Why not? They can text me. Email me. Zoom with me.

Technology has made it easy for many people to work from home.

Hell, I already do a lot of Zooming or FaceTiming with clients as it is.

They won’t care if I’m sitting in my office in Dallas or one here. ”

Jace gazed deeply into Darby’s eyes. “The point is, I can try and be here as much as possible. Not one hundred percent of the time, but I can arrange my schedule to be here more than I’m gone.

” He smiled. “I also told Elena that she’s being promoted.

She knows sports. She’s gotten plenty of experience working at TTM.

She’s got a few hoops to jump through to gain her sports agent license and registration, but that won’t take long.

Our clients already love her. And having another agent in the office is ideal.

We’re growing. It was only a matter of time before I promoted her anyway.

She’s already got someone in mind to replace her, and that interview is lined up for Monday. An interview I’ll do from here.”

He looked at her, hope in his heart. “I’ve said my piece. I love you. I want a life with you. I want us to be an us here in Hawthorne. So, what do you say? I mean, you don’t have to give me an answer right away. I know you’ll need to?—”

Jace never finished his sentence because Darby was suddenly kissing him hungrily. All the strain and worries from the last few months melted away. There was only her. Him. Them.

Wrapping his arms about her, he crushed her to him. The kiss went from hungry to hot to wild. And it went on for a long, long time.

Finally, she ended it, staring up at him.

“I say yes. Yes, to us. Yes, to our life together,” she said, her breathing still as ragged as his.

Joy filled him. “Good. Yes, to us. I hope that means yes to marriage. Babies. A house and a dog and a cat and a hamster and whatever else you might want.”

She smiled at him, stroking his cheek tenderly. “All I’ve truly ever wanted, Jace, is you. I’ve loved you for what seems like forever. And I’ll always love you. Until you turn gray. Or go bald.”

He laughed and kissed her again, his heart bursting with love for this woman. This place.

And everything they would build.

Together …