Page 150 of The Defender

I still had ambitions for my career, but football wasn’t the only important thing in my life anymore.

There was something—someone—I loved more, and my only regret was that it’d taken me this long to realize it.

CHAPTER 43

BROOKLYN

The women’s gymnastics regional championships took place in Seattle. After two months of frantic preparation, it was finally here, and I stood on the sides with Haley, her father, and her coach as we waited for her score.

Her team wasn’t advancing to nationals, so sheneededthe best score to qualify for nationals as a top individual event specialist.

My stomach was a mess of knots, both for her and for me. The results were so important for so many reasons, and every second felt like an eternity as the judges deliberated.

If it were up to me, Haley would clear the competition. She’d executed her routine flawlessly, but?—

The scoreboard finally flashed to life with her score.

15.2. It was best vault score of the competition, and Haley was the last to perform, which meant…

“Oh my God.” She clapped a hand over her mouth as the audience exploded into claps and cheers. “I’m going to nationals.” She looked a little stunned as her dad and coach hugged her and joined the jubilation. “I’m going to nationals!”

We looked at each other and squealed before grabbing each other’s hands and jumping up and down, our girlish excitement drowned out by her father’s whoops and the audience’s elation.

“Congratulations! Iknewyou could do it!” I cried, my chest bursting with pride.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said, her eyes shimmering.

Haley and I had developed a tight friendship over the past two months. Out of everyone on her team, I was the closest to her in age, and our personalities just meshed.

I’d done my best to prepare her for the competition, poring over her nutrition plans and recovery strategies, tweaking and refining and tweaking again until they were optimized to perfection. But I was only one spoke in the wheel of her success. She was the one who’d trained so hard for this, day in and day out, making sacrifices that most people would never have to make.

“This was all you,” I said. “I just told you what to eat. You’re the talent.”

Haley shook her head. “Don’t downplay your role in this. This was the result of a million different things,includingfood and nutrition.” She gestured around us. “You of all people should know those things play as big a role in an athlete’s performance as anything else.”

Damn. I’d just been gently read to filth by a teenager.

But she was right. My knee-jerk instinct was to downplay my accomplishments even though I’d worked as hard as she had in my own way. It was a bad habit I’d yet to shake.

“You’re way too wise for someone your age,” I said. “Are you sure you’re sixteen and not sixty?”

Haley laughed. “If I can even get on a vault when I’m sixty, then I deserve more than a spot in nationals. I deservea Guinness World Record.” She hesitated before asking, “Have you talked to my dad yet?”

My heart beat a little faster. That was the other reason I was so happy she’d advanced to nationals, though no one knew about my request besides myself and the Moores. I hadn’t even told my friends in case it didn’t work out. “Not yet, but I will.”

“Good.” She grinned. “Go get your man. Youractualman, not my dad,” she added quickly. “That’s gross.”

I laughed. “Noted. Now, go celebrate. Everyone else is dying to talk to you.”

While Haley left to talk to her teammates, I walked over to Derek. He finished his conversation with her coach and smiled wryly at my approach. “So,” he said. “I imagine you’re here to talk about London.”

I nodded.

When I’d accepted this job, I’d done so on two conditions. The first was that they would let me take time off for any Blackcastle matchesifHaley advanced to nationals. The timing was tricky because we needed to buckle down for her competition in June, but that had been non-negotiable for me. As for my second condition…well, I didn’t even want to think about it in case I jinxed it.

“Well, a deal is a deal.” Derek sighed, though the twinkle in his eyes suggested he wasn’t as upset as he pretended to be. “It’s unlucky for me that Blackcastle is such a good team.”

“They’re the best.” I smiled. “Thank you. I’ll make sure Haley is ready for nationals when I get back. I promise.”