Page 104 of The Renegade Billionaire

I start to ask more about the Cozy Cup when I catch sight of Madison walking in our direction and practically glowing, but it’s the confidence she exudes that has me looking a little bit closer.

Whatever went on here today is what she should be doing every day. This is her calling.

“Hey,” she says. Her cheeks are flushed as though she’s still on an adrenaline high.

“Hey. What’s all this?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing. Just a little thing I do for listeners a few times a year. I actually forgot about it today. I’ve never done that before. Did you see Sage?” She’s obviously deflecting, but it’s something I’ll make sure we come back to.

“We did. What’s going on over there?”

Grey is made of stone. He hasn’t moved, but I can tell he’s absorbing every inch of this place by the way his gaze darts around the room.

She grabs both of our sleeves and drags us over to the check-in desk where it’s only the slightest bit quieter.

“Sage was helping me move stuff around the room to accommodate the crowd, and the boys were in here watching game film. Their kicker broke their leg, and the backup and their prospect for next year committed to our biggest rival.”

She looks from me to Grey to make sure we’re following because even though the buzz is dying down, it’s still louder than she normally allows.

“Anyway, from what I could tell, they were studying their footwork because someone on the O-line will have to fill in for the rest of the season. Sage stepped in to offer a suggestion, and they’ve been over there for almost two hours now.”

The group of boys erupts in laughter that has Blissy ringing a bell, and instantly the entire room falls back into the relative silence of a coworking space.

At that moment, Sage lifts his head and finds us watching him, and it’s as though he grows up right before our eyes. When Grey tugs on his collar, I know he feels it too. Sage has been holding himself back, for us.

He points in our direction, then slowly rises and comes to meet us.

24

MADISON

As Sage draws nearer,Grey and Braxton’s expressions morph into ones of…I don’t know. Guilt? There’s emotion there that doesn’t make any sense to me, but the shift was instantaneous in them both.

“Hi.” Sage bounces to a stop right in front of us.

“Hey.” Grey’s voice is rough, as though his throat is closing on him.

Braxton scrubs a hand through his hair before he finally smiles. “Looks like you were having fun over there.”

“Yeah, I—I was. And they were wondering if I could go over to the field with them and show them some kicking techniques.”

Braxton and Grey exchange a panicked expression. It’s how I imagine dads look when deciding if their daughter is old enough to date.

They both try to speak, but gibberish comes out. Surely Sage had playdates when he was younger—this isn’t much different. Well, okay, it is. Some of these guys are giants and old enough to drink, but they also know the town would kick their butts up and down the field if they ever got a seventeen-year-old into trouble.

“I can make sure Ethan keeps a close eye on him and drives him back to the Hideaway when they’re done. Ethan is truly a very good young man.”

“Yeah,” Braxton says.

“Right, yeah. Okay. That seems…” Grey trails off.

“Guys,” I snap my fingers to get them out of whatever funk they’re in. “It’s a university football field, and it’s three in the afternoon. There will be staff and grounds crew all over that stadium.”

“So is it okay if I go?” The hope in Sage’s voice makes my heart ache for him. Do his uncles have any idea how lonely he’s been?

“Sure,” Braxton says, and before he’s even finished, Sage is pulling his long, dirty-blond hair into a ponytail.

“Great. I’ll be home for dinner. Can—can the guys come? I mean, if they want to?”