Page 71 of Beautiful Storm

Thomas curses with relief but I don’t dare look at him. We can’t celebrate yet, and if he’s smiling, I might get ahead of myself.

With less than a minute to go, I stop breathing, my eyes locked on the play.Come on. Come on. Come on.

Miami moves forward and either our home crowd goes quiet or I stop hearing them. This is it. They’ve done it, they’re going to win and…Holy shit!Levi again! Out of nowhere.

Wewon. We fucking won.

The clock hits zero and the crowd goes wild. As they should. “Thomas!” I yell, joining in on the celebration.

“Fucking Levi,” he cheers back at me before we both run onto the field.

You’d think it was the Super Bowl with the excitement coursing through me. But this win is more than just another point on the ladder. Miami is easily our biggest competition within this conference and they know it. But we won! We cemented what I’ve been saying since the pre-season began—this is our year.

When I reach the rest of our team, I dive into Levi’s arms, as Zane slams into him from behind. “You’re my hero,” I yell above the noise. “What a hit.”

Levi’s cocky grin lights up his face as the others join in and the volume increases.

We celebrate on the field until the crowd starts to clear, and it’s not until I stop cheering that I remember the cameras. And as I’m running toward the tunnel, shoulder to shoulder withThomas, I spot Amelia and my smile widens on its own.How was that for your show?

I wait for her to turn away, like she’s been doing since her divorce went through earlier this week, but she shocks me by flashing me a genuine smile in return, and while my cocky nature wants to say the smile’s reserved for me, I know it’s for the team. She may not have been a Storm fan before working on her show, but her excitement has been showing, and today, I’d say we turned her. Not that I blame her. I imagine it’s hard not to get caught up in the hype when you work closely with the players. And considering it’s likely to lead to higher ratings for her show, even better.

For the first few weeks after our agreement, we managed to keep things purely professional, just like we planned, but after ourmomentin her office and then when her divorce was finalized, the vibe between us changed. And I’m not sure what contributed more to that change—the fact that I panicked when I saw her hurting and couldn’t keep my stupid hands to myself, or the fact that there’s now nothing stopping us from getting married. Either way, we stopped talking altogether and it wasn’t one-sided. It’s easy to pretend things are fine until they become a reality. And now that I’ve locked in our official nuptials for tomorrow, shit couldn’t get any more real.

After showering and a talk from the coaches, we’re called back onto the field for our postgame interviews, a change to our usual routine so that Amelia’s team has more room to film. Or maybe it’s for better aesthetics. I don’t know; I didn’t listen. I just did as I was told like the good professional guy that I am. But now that I’m here, it’s absolute chaos. What the hell were they thinking? The guys have no idea what cameras they’re supposed to be looking at and the media are not at all happy with the development. It would be comical if it wasn’t a pain in the ass. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been loving the spotlight, butsometimes the extra theatrics or changes in our day can be off-putting.

As I wait for my turn to be interviewed, I see Amelia talking to our coach and his daughter across the field, and my eyes drift over Amelia’s pregnant belly. She’s been making an effort to hide the evidence—wearing oversized tees or extra layers, even though it’s still warm outside, usually blaming the air conditioning—and it’s working. My lips curl into a smile as our little secret comes to mind, but it fades the second I remember she can’t hide it forever, and when the world finds out, things are going to get harder for her.

Because make no mistake, we have some very vocal players on this team.

“Don’t tell me you slept with Coach’s daughter?” Reed groans from beside me, and I internally jump since he came out of nowhere. I almost ask him “what the hell,” until I get it. He must have caught me staring in their direction—in Amelia’s direction—making me laugh.

“I’m not stupid.” I shove at his shoulder. “I’m fully aware that’s a one-way ticket out of here.”

“So, you’re what? Staring at her because you want to go there? Because she’s off-limits? Because—”

“I slept with Amelia.” My eyes widen and I curse under my breath. I didn’t mean for those words to come out of my mouth, but now that they have, a weight lifts.

Reed spits out his drink as his eyes flash toward me, and I’ve got to admit, I’m a little proud of that reaction—I always thought nothing I did shocked anyone—but despite smiling about it before, keeping this secret from some of my teammates has been hell. Especially when I’ve caught a number of the guys drooling over her.

Since Reed’s a rule follower, I wait a few seconds before saying something else and he panics right on cue. “Was it before or after we were told she’s a no-go zone?”

“Before.” I ease his mind, though it won’t be eased for long when the news drops.

Reed breathes out a sigh in relief. “Thank fuck. I like having you on the team.”

I laugh out loud, drawing the attention of the people around us before lowering my voice. The last thing I need is for Amelia to look my way. “You don’t actually think they’d drop one of us for sleeping with a member of the film crew, do you?” I lean in closer, my tone slightly louder than a whisper. “They’re more likely to fire the crew.”

“Maybe.” Reed shrugs, like he hasn’t thought this through, but I’ll bet all my money that he has…and I’m loaded. “I’d say we’re going to find out one way or another,” he adds with a frown, proving my thoughts. “Amelia aside, because you know, she’s…” He trails off, waving his hand as though that finishes his sentence while my heart pounds in my chest. Maybe peopledoknow.

“She’s…what exactly?”

“She’s married.”

“She’smarried?” I fake ignorance while…Shit. I didn’t consider the possibility of people knowing that information. So, why isn’t he questioningmefor sleeping with her? On that note, does Preston have social media? Someone needs to update his marital status to “divorced” before the baby news gets out.Do people announce that?

I mentally shake off my thoughts and smile. “Well, there you go,” I say casually, sneaking a quick glance in Amelia’s direction when Reed looks away. “How’d you find out?”

“By accident.”

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