Page 86 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

Tears formed in her eyes, and she sniffled. “I hate how much I’ve been crying recently, and you being sweet isn’t helping.” She laughed, looking down at her hands in her lap. “I love you too, Colt. Of course I do. How could anybody not love you? You make me smile when nobody else can—even when I should be in a bad mood. You make me happy beyond anything I’ve ever felt. I feel like I can do anything, be anything I want when you’re with me. You make me feel like I’m more than an analyst, and I appreciate that so much because, for the longest time, the only way I knew how to describe myself was as a numbers girl. And now I can be anything.”

Colton’s heart thumped hard in his chest, hope filling every vein and artery in his body. Her confession was better than a hundred Super Bowl wins.

He grabbed her chin gently, pulling her head up and meeting her eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. She smiled wickedly. “Let me finish, Superstar.”

He smiled back.

“I can’t promise that I’ll magically get over this fear of mine, but I promise I’ll try. I’ll tell you if I’m ever feeling like running or if something happens and I get the urge to push you away. I’ll make sure you know so we can talk it out. Because I trust you more than anybody in this world, and I want to prove myself wrong. I want to show my younger self, and even me from a few months ago, that love can be for me. That I’m deserving of it, no matter what I’ve experienced. That not all relationships have to end in heartbreak.”

That’s all he’d wanted. He hadn’t expected her to leave all her fears behind just because they loved each other. But he did want her to try, because he was sure he could prove to her that she deserved love. If it took their entire lives together, he would prove that to her.

“That’s all I want, Luc. That’s all I will ever ask for. Just give me the privilege of proving to you that you deserve love. Because you do. You are the most deserving person in this world, and I want to be the one who gets to show you that every day.”

Lucia leaned forward, her forehead resting on his for only a moment before she kissed him passionately. When they pulled away, she said, “You better start by eating the breakfast I made you before it gets cold.”

And then they grinned at each other like a couple of idiots in love.

Chapter thirty-two

Lucia

Lucia stared at the three emails in her inbox. She hadn’t told Colton about them yet because the moment he’d asked her to spend the night after the Vipers game, she’d decided she was staying in Charleston. She needed to talk to Coach Turner before she turned the other offers down, though.

Lucia hadn’t stopped smiling since the morning after the Vipers game. She hadn’t realized how easy it could be to be loved. Colton made her feel chosen every day, and that’s all she could have asked for.

The man in question stepped into her office, a winning smile on his face. He’d donned a pair of black, tailored pants and a button-down for their dinner like he’d known exactly what fire to stoke inside of her, and she realized by the setting sun that it was already five. With playoffs, they didn’t have much free time, but he’d been adamant about taking her to dinner for their first real date.

“You ready?”

She nodded, a matching smile on her face. She slipped her hand into his outstretched palm, grabbed her purse, and followed him out of her office. The elevator opened, revealing Coach Turner.

“Oh, good. You’re here. Let’s go up to the seventh floor. Colton, you’re welcome to come with us, but you’ll have to wait outside.”

Lucia’s brows furrowed, and she looked at Colton to see if he knew what was happening. He shrugged but squeezed her hand tightly.

They followed Coach out of the elevator and onto the floor, then toward the boardroom where they’d first seen each other again. Just like that day, Lucia squared her shoulders and held her head high. She dropped Colton’s hand, and he nodded like he understood that she needed to walk in her own way. Clearly, whatever was about to happen had to do with her professional future with the Sabers.

The layout of the meeting was practically the same as when she’d first shown up, all the same key players in the room, though now she had Colton by her side instead of sitting before her, heckling her. She held back a smile at the memory.

She smiled at Colton reassuringly as Coach shut the door in his face.

“Thank you for being here. We heard that you’ve received some offers from other teams for next season.” She was sure Colton could hear through the door, and she cringed, mentally thanking Coach Turner for outing her to Colton about something that she’d planned to discuss with him over dinner.

Coach Turner continued, “We have found your skills to be immensely helpful to the team as a whole, as well as to Colton’s game. As such, we’re looking to extend your contract for another three years with the ability to renew at a later date. Additionally, we’d like to offer you a raise, effective at the end of the season.”

With every word, Lucia internally screamed louder and louder. She couldn’t believe any of the things leaving his mouth. Not only did they want her to stay for at least another three years, but they wanted her so badly, they’d decided to give her a raise. She had to hold back her squeal, trying to appear professional as she nodded. She wouldn’t have to leave Charleston, or Colton, or Rudy and Jenna, or any of it.

She opened her mouth to respond, but Coach held up a hand, nodding to Tim, who stepped forward. “You will continue working with Colton and running analytics with the rest of the analysts. In addition, we want you included on the draft day team to help us decide who we’ll be taking for next season. You will also receive training from a couple of our head analysts with the hope that you’ll eventually be promoted to their position and take over your own team of analysts.”

She nearly collapsed.

“I…I…” She had to pause, trying not to hyperventilate. Putting on her most professional smile, she said, “Thank you. I’d love to continue working with the Sabers.” Her voice shook as she responded, but her acceptance seemed to be all they were looking for.

“Great. HR will get the contract and other paperwork sent up to you by next week.”

She started to turn toward the door when Coach Turner spoke. “You and Colton are still operating within the agreement you signed about this relationship, and while you’ll continue working together, we’ll have to re-evaluate if it begins to impede his game.”

“Of course.”

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