Page 55

Chapter 54

Brooks

“What do you want to do?” my lawyer asks, gesturing to the photos scattered across the desk.

Pictures of me and Lia in the privacy of my home. Nothing we asked for or even knew it was happening until it was too late. It only took a couple of calls from my team, and one from Jags’ legal team, to figure out what the hell was going on.

Rebecca.

She paid someone to follow us, then immediately turned around and sold those pictures to the press. She didn’t get what she wanted and threw a very public—and line crossing—tantrum.

“Let’s at least send the formal letter that we’re going to sue her for invasion of privacy. I don’t know if I’ll actually go through with it or not,” I admit.

He nods, gathering the photos and putting them in the file. “That’s what I’d recommend. Paired with the defamation lawsuit from the Jags, I think she’ll understand the severity of her actions.”

I fucking hope so.

I’d be in a very different mood if the Jags were going to penalize Lia. She didn’t do anything to deserve something like this. I hate how people act like every detail of my life, or hers, is something they should be welcome to. Yes, I’m a professional athlete, but I’m also just a person trying to figure life out .

I’m walking out of my lawyer’s office, using the back entrance, when someone shouts my name. How the fuck did the paparazzi follow me here?

I turn and am immediately relieved when I see Zack and my dad. They’re standing outside their car while the snow gently falls.

“What are you guys doing here?” I shiver as a burst of cold air whips my cheeks.

Zack hugs me, patting my back. “Lia was on the phone with Willow and Emilie, dishing about the meeting, and she let it slip you were coming here.”

My dad adds, “We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

They came to check on me.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I mutter.

“We wanted to. You’re one of us, Brooks.” My dad steps in and wraps his arms around me.

I let that sink in for a few seconds, before the relief follows. I hug him back and let it say the things I don’t trust my mouth to. Zack hates being left out, so he hugs the both of us.

“Our first group hug,” he jokes and shakes us.

I’m so thankful for the way they showed up for me, even though I never asked. It’s like I’m constantly being reminded that I don’t need to struggle alone. There are people here for me.

People that love me.

I walk in the house and when I don’t hear Rocky running to me, I know they must be outside .

Lia’s in the hot tub and Rocky is on his dog bed, equipped with a heated blanket to keep him comfortable against the winter air.

“There she is. Miss Lia Stone, employee of the Jersey Jaguars,” I call, and Lia’s face brightens the second she hears me.

She pokes me back. “There he is, Brooks Pittman, man of my dreams and meeting interrupter.”

I laugh, thinking about my completely unnecessary and impulsive barge in. My coach heard about it and couldn’t stop giving me shit at the end of practice.

“I had a nice meeting with HR today, after you met with them.” I kneel by the edge of the hot tub, the steam meeting my face.

Lia stands, braving the icy air against her warm skin to kiss me. She almost loops her arms around me but stops herself. “I don’t want to get you wet,” she pouts.

I shrug my shoulders and step into the hot tub, clothes and all. The water is perfectly warm as the snow still falls gently around us.

“What are you doing?” She laughs through her question.

My nose is almost touching hers. “Kissing my very HR official girlfriend the way she should be kissed.” All I feel is her—her lips, her chest against mine, not holding back.

“Thank you. For today. For this. For believing in me the way you do,” Lia says, her green eyes damn near glowing in the winter night.

I squeeze her and sway us side to side before placing a kiss on her cheek. “You’d do it for me. And then some.”

We stay this way for a moment before I can’t hold back. “Want to know a secret?” I ask.

“Always,” she replies, a shared breath floating between us.

“You are proof that some secrets are worth keeping.”

And before I can say another word, her lips find mine, like they always were meant to. I melt into the kiss, the warmth of the water and her touch making everything else fade away. For the first time in a long time, it feels like forever is right here—something I can reach out and grab.

And never ever let go.