Page 50 of (Un)Planned

I tilted her chin to make her meet my eyes. “You are more than enough, Calla. And I’ll spend forever trying to get you to see that too.”

The next morning,I woke up feeling like everything was right in the world. With my girl in my arms and thequiet country around me, I’d slept better than I had in years. Every moment I spent in this town, the more I saw its appeal. I’d never be able to live here full-time, but I could get used to weekends like this.

Kissing Calla’s cheek, I climbed out of bed, my stomach grumbling and in desperate need of coffee. I opened the door, sparing one last look at Calla before I walked out into the summer heat. Hopefully, she’d sleep a bit longer, and if not, I hoped returning with fresh coffee would make her forgive me for leaving her in bed alone.

I walked into the main building of the resort, letting my nose lead me toward food. I was surprised when I stepped inside and found Adam at one of the tables, sipping from a mug and staring out the window. I cleared my throat as I came closer, waiting to see if he even acknowledged me.

Our last conversation had been tense, and he’d been ignoring my calls and texts since then. I hated this rift between us, hated that he was floundering and I was unable to help.

Adam looked up and nodded his head, motioning for me to join him.

I sighed as I dropped into the seat next to him. “Didn’t know if you’d want to talk to me. Thought you might still be pissed.”

“Nah,” Adam answered, not looking at me, instead keeping his gaze trained on the view. “If I was, watching you try to play corn hole last night would have killed the last of it. How in the hell are you so bad at it?”

“City kid, remember?” I chuckled.

“Forgot,” he sighed. “Look, Theo, I know you mean well, but right now, I just need to take a step back. I’ve got a lot going on in my head, and being on set…” Adam sighed. “That’s the last thing I need. I know this fucks with your job–”

“I don’t give a shit about that.” I shook my head. “I just want to make sure you’re good, Adam. You haven’t seemed like yourself in months. I’m not going to push unless you really need it, but you need to know I’m here for you. Not as your agent, but as your friend.”

Adam nodded, keeping his eyes trained low. “Thanks, Theo.” He sighed, toying with the cup in his hand. “It’s just?—”

“Thank fuck,” a voice came from the other side of the dining room. We both looked up to see Grayson Anders rushing toward us. “Theo, I’ve been calling your phone all goddamn night! I need to talk to you.”

I glanced back at Adam. “Can it wait?”

Adam waved me off. “Go help Gray out. There’s not much you can do for me anyway.” He nodded at me. “But if I need to talk, I know where to find you.”

“Make sure you do,” I said sternly. “If you keep going radio silent on me, I’m going to show up at your house and drag you out into the world.”

Adam chuckled. “You can try.”

As I walked away from Adam, I looked at Gray, trying to figure out what I was walking into. The man looked like shit. His long, dark blond hair was wild, and his eyes were blood-shot red. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn the man was coming back from a bender. He pulled me into a side room, one set up like a small sitting room with a library against the wall.

I took a seat in one of the chairs while Gray paced the room, muttering to himself. I leaned forward. “Anders, I’m here to help, but you’re going to have to tell me what’s going on.”

He paused, crossing his arms as he looked at me. “I need you to get me out of my contract.”

“You want to retire?” That made me stand up. The man was in the prime of his career, likely to have his pick of teams when his contract expired next year. “What the hell is going on, Gray?”

He stared me down, as if weighing how much he wanted to let me in. Well, tough shit. If I was about to risk my neck to get him off his team, then he’d better start trusting me. After a long moment, he ran his hand through his hair. “Fine. But if I tell you, this needs to stay between us and us only.”

“Deal.”

“I mean it, Theo. You can’t tell anyone, not even Calla.” His steel gray eyes stared back at me with more determination than I’d ever seen. “EspeciallyCalla.”

I almost said no, not wanting to keep any secrets from her. Hiding something from her already was a bad plan, and everything in me wanted to say no.

But looking at the desperate man in front of me, I knew that wasn’t an option. When he signed his contract with my agency, it became my job to help him, even if it put me in a tight spot.

I nodded. “No one will know. Tell me what’s going on.”

TWENTY-NINE

Scowling through my windshield, I stared at the building in front of me, waiting for some sort of sign. The clock ticked on my dashboard, boxes sat in the backseat, and yet I was stuck, unable to move out of the driver’s seat.

The Isadora looked the same as it always did—pristine and welcoming, an idyllic setting for visitors to our small town. But what once was my home now felt foreign to me, as if a black cloud was shrouding it.

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