Page 110 of The Renegade Billionaire

He leans forward and places his forearms on his desk. “You really like Madi, don’t you? I’ve never seen you this way before.”

“I do, and I’ve never felt this way. Please, just give them a chance. Let them in, and let them see the person who held my head up and out of the toilet when I had Covid and was vomiting for days. The kid who kicked Larry Johnson’s ass for pantsing me in PE class. The man who’s stood by my side when I didn’t know who to lean on.”

“Who the fuck am I going to be if I’m not Sage’s uncle?”

“You’re a moron.” I chuckle. “We’ll always be his uncles, he’ll always need his guardians, he just won’t always need us holding his hand and protecting him. Jesus, Grey. The kid is nearing six foot four.”

Finally, he laughs, and something unclenches in my stomach. My friend has been hiding behind spreadsheets and to-do lists for so long I’m afraid he won’t be able to find his way out.

“But he’s a scrawny thing. He’ll break something if he gets tackled. He gets that from you,” Grey deadpans.

“Not a chance. I’m one solid rock of muscle, my friend—what the kids call a snack.”

He picks up a pad of paper and tosses it at my head.

“Nobody is saying we have to go home, Grey. If Sage is happy here?—”

“And you’re happy here,” he interrupts.

“And if I’m happy here, don’t you think it’s worth a shot to see if we all could be happy here?”

“I am happy,” he snarls, and I pointedly lift my brows. “I’ll try. I have missed football.”

“I know,” I say sadly. “I wish you hadn’t given that up for me.”

Every scout in the country had picked Grey as the number one draft pick, but he skipped the draft that year to stand by my side at Omni-Reyes. We’d just received Ace’s MS diagnosis, and my father started burning down innocent people’s lives, so we walked away from football, college, everything, and we did it together, but I know it was harder for him than it was for me.

“It wasn’t for you,” he mutters. “Well, not only you. Whatever, it wasn’t a choice. Family always comes first.”

“Which is why I already turned in Sage’s health forms.”

“Asshole. You were that confident you could talk me into this?”

“No, I was that confident that you loved Sage enough to let him try.”

He nods and wakes up his screen by aggressively shoving his mouse around. “I have work to do. Have fun on your date.”

I stand to go. “You know, Madison has a lot of friends.”

The sound that Grey emits is part disgust and part horror. “I’ve met her friends. I’ll pass.”

“Care to tell me what’s going on between you and Savvy?”

“Who?”

“You know who. The tall brunette. What did she do to piss you off so badly?”

“Nothing. She made assumptions she shouldn’t have. I don’t care if she’s pissed or angry. I really have no feelings toward her at all.”

“I want Madison to be my girlfriend.” My voice cracks as though I’m fifteen again.

Slowly, he lifts his head. “You’ve never had a girlfriend.” He digs in his pocket and produces a coin.

“Neither have you,” I throw back.

“At least I’ve gone on actual dates.” He leans back in his chair and really studies me. “Are you asking for permission or for advice?”

“I— I don’t know. It’s just, it’s a big step.”