Page 88 of The One That Got Away

My life had always been mapped out for me.

It was only ever gonna be about football. Nothing else mattered.

But then that was ripped away.

And when I finally dragged myself out of the black hole I’d spiralled into, I threw all of my energy into getting Mum’s business off the ground instead.

As far as I was concerned, my dream had expired, so that was it. I’d missed my one chance. Although it sounded strange now, I’d never really considered the fact that I could have another roll of the dice.

Stella’s question swam around in my mind.

If I could create a new dream, what would it be?

I didn’t know the answer right now, but for the first time in what seemed like forever, I felt like maybe the world was open to me again.

And that maybe I deserved another shot at happiness.

36

STELLA

As I chopped vegetables in the kitchen, I thought about how great it was to spend time with Max today in Córdoba. It was a beautiful city and I was so grateful that he’d taken me there.

It felt like we’d really bonded. I loved the way he held my hand the whole time. The sensation of my palm snuggled in his was so comforting. Sounds corny, but he made me feel safe. Treasured.

And the thing was, I wasn’t even sure if either of us realised we were holding hands until we’d been there for a while, because everything felt so natural. Like we’d been doing it for years.

Max finally talking about why he’d completely cut himself off from his passion also made me happy. I knew it was difficult for him, but choosing to open up showed he trusted me. Which meant a lot.

I didn’t know much about football, but when players got injuries or had to retire, I knew some of them still stayed in the industry, becoming coaches or commentators. Maybe that didn’tinterest Max, but to go from football being your entire life to avoiding it completely seemed extreme. Especially seeing as it hadn’t stopped his suffering.

Seeing how broken he was shattered my heart. I wanted to help him. And ever since we got in the car back home, I’d been mulling over an idea of how to do that. I’d messaged Jasmine to see if she could help, so hopefully she’d reply soon. In the meantime, I was going to try something else that I thought could be useful.

As Max came out of the shower, he strolled into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist. The sight of his bare muscular chest sent my pulse racing.

‘Mmm.’ I licked my lips.

‘You ogling me again?’

‘It’s hard not to when you insist on walking around half naked.’

‘I can cover up if you want?’

‘No, no!’ I replied quickly. ‘I like you just the way you are.’

‘Awww, thanks.’ Max wrapped his arms around my waist, then kissed my forehead. ‘What are you making?’

‘Chilli and ginger salmon with roast potatoes.’

We’d stopped off at a supermarket on the way back to the hotel and whilst Max took a work call, I went and got all the ingredients.

‘Sounds great! What d’you wanna do after dinner? Go for a drink at the beach bar?’

‘Actually, I was hoping we could have a night in and, y’know, just chill.’

‘Netflix and chill, eh?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m surprised after all the walking we did that you have the energy for sex. EvenI’mtired.’

‘Notthatkind of night in. This has nothing to do with sex. There’s a series I’ve wanted to see for ages that I thought we could watch together.’

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