Page 44 of Walk Off

“I’ll draw up a contract and you can have your lawyer look it over. I can promise you this, I will get you sponsorships, and if you still want to sit quietly in the shadows, you’ll be able to do that.”

That made him happy. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He stood, ready to leave.

“Before you go, can I ask you something that is absolutely not appropriate, but that I feel I should ask before you officially become my client?”

He wasn’t sure what she was going to ask, but he assumed it was about Celia. “As long as I have the right not to answer if I don’t want to.”

She nodded. “Deal.” She leaned back in her chair. “If you still had feelings for Celia all this time,” she raised her eyebrow, “and don’t forget, I saw the way you looked at her at the wedding.” She paused. “If you still had those feelings, why didn’t you ever contact her?”

She went right for the jugular. “She broke my heart. Shattered it into a million pieces using the worst possible words.” Even remembering the things she said made a little of his hatred of her return. “I know now why she did it. Why she said those things, but at twenty-one, hearing something like that, something that’s haunted you your whole life,” he shook his head, “there was no going back. Even that, though, never made me stop loving her.”

“And now? Knowing about the why? Do you still love her?”

“If I had the answer to that, I think I’d be a lot less confused.”

She pursed her lips, giving him a solid nod. “Thanks for being honest. I appreciate it. And don’t worry, nothing you told me will leave this room.”

“I’m not sure I’d care if it did. Celia’s avoiding me, and while I understand why, it’s making it difficult for me to figure things out.”

“Piece of advice? Push the door down. She’s used to people giving up and fading out of her life. Other than Ruby, she’s never had anyone stay and fight.”

Those words rang in his head the rest of his day. Everything he did, every move he made, he heard them in his head. Which was why he was standing on her doorstep at ten at night, hand lifted to knock.

He didn’t give up easily.

It was going to take a lot more than her ignoring him for him to walk away.

Chapter 12

––––––––

Celia

She loved teaching. Most days. Today was not one of those days. The kids had been wild and unruly and she’d wanted to be anywhere else but at the school teaching.

Ultimately somewhere with Kyle.

---