Page 24 of Kicking it for Convenience

“He’s right. I should’ve told you all a long time ago. My marriage to Soren is a little more of a business partnership and a little less of a romantic one.”

Cam furrowed his brow. “But… why?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. There’s a lot going on. We both needed a business partner for, y’know, reasons. Reasons I don’t want to get into right now. We came into each other’s lives at just the right time for it to work out, so we jumped in with both feet. Haven’t looked back.”

“I thought you were living together though,” Theo said, frowning deeply.

I nodded. “We are, actually. He was living at the theater when we met. Him staying at my house is just more practical.”

“Your house is small,” Jared pointed out. “And if he were living at the theater, he could work long hours renovating it.”

“My crew is helping with the renovations now. And yeah, my house is small, but we’ve made it work so far.” I looked at my lap to hide the heat creeping up my neck and certainly turning my face red. Please don’t ask, please don’t ask, I repeated in my mind over and over like a prayer.

Everyone was silent for a moment and I thought that somehow, miraculously, my prayer had worked and someone was about to change the subject.

That was when Cam shook his head. “No.”

“No?” It was my turn to frown.

“No, I don’t believe it.”

“Don’t believe what?” I asked, confused.

“That your marriage is just a business partnership. Sure, we don’t see you with him, but I’ve seen you since you’ve been with him, and you’re changing, Lee.” Cam put down a fry he’d been about to eat. “You’re falling for him. I can tell.”

I laughed incredulously. “Hardly.”

Cam shrugged and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I can tell.”

“No way,” I protested. “I’m still the same loner guy I’ve always been. Solo flyer. Not into relationships. Happy living alone. Happy being alone.”

“If you say so.” He looked triumphant.

Theo pointed at Cam. “He’s got a point. You are a lot kinder to the other teams on the field than you used to be.”

“And you’re on your phone a lot more,” Jared murmured.

Parker’s gaze whipped from one to the next. “You guys were just agreeing with me, and now suddenly Cam’s the one with the winning theory?”

Bennett shrugged and held his hands out, palms up. “He makes good points.”

Cam put a fry into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Mark my words. You’ll be one of us by this time next year. I just know it.”

I scoffed. “What does that even mean?”

“Married,” he said simply.

“I’m already married.” I rolled my eyes.

Cam shrugged. “Not like this, you’re not.” That was all he could be convinced to say on the matter.

His words had me twisted up all that evening and the next day. The whole conversation kept replaying in my mind while Soren and I put a final coat of paint on the lobby. Had I changed? What did Cam see that I didn’t? And did I want to change?

That was the thing, wasn’t it? I liked being the guy flying solo all the time. Unlike Parker, who had never wanted to get married because he was so into sleeping around, my opposition to marriage and long-term partnership was simple. It was born from a deep appreciation for being able to choose my own TV shows at night, go where I wanted when I wanted, and not have to answer to anyone.

I didn’t want to lose my independence, my spontaneity, what felt like made me me, but when I looked over at Soren, who had speckles of paint splattered across his tan face and a grin a mile wide, I didn’t want to let him go, either. I wanted to enjoy the rest of our year together and then maybe see where things took us. What I didn’t want to do was rush anything. We had plenty of time to figure out how our lives fit together after this contract ended, if they fit together at all.

Soren stepped back from the section of wall he’d been painting and admired his handiwork. “What do you think?”

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