Page 127 of Fumbled Into Love

With more nerves than I’ve ever felt before in my life, I explain the loose plan I developed at practice. My focus is on my coffee cream tower when I finish.

“It’s stupid…” I trail off, realizing that the idea is dumb compared to what Nathalie deserves.

Maren demolishes my tower in one swoop and I gasp. When I lift my gaze, all of my friends have small smiles on their faces. Henry nods in approval and Jack gives me a thumbs up.

I turn to Declan, whose opinion matters most. He knows her best and surprisingly, I think he knows me best, also. His lip ticks upward.

“I think it’s perfect,” he declares, gripping my shoulder.

“What if she doesn’t feel the same?” The question is small and there’s no way to hide the fear and vulnerability in it. There’s a chance that this crashes and burns, that I put my heart into her hands and she gives it back.

“Deon, I’m not telling you this because it would betray one of my best friend's trust, butbelieve mewhen I say that you will not get hurt if you tell her,” Sawyer says, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.

With a deep breath, I square my shoulders. They wouldn’t be supporting this and going out of their way to help me plan if they thought it would end poorly.

I’m putting my trust in my friends.

I’m pulling the puzzle box out of the closet and searching one last time for my missing piece.

This is not something I imagined I would do again after what happened with Savannah and my teammates. I also never expected to fall in love again.

But here I am.

Maren whips out a notebook and rapidly scribbles notes. “It’s not a lot of time, but if I order everything you need today, I think we can make it happen the day after the gala. Does that work?”

I nod, handing over my credit card.

That gives me a week to figure out exactly how to tell Nathalie that I want a life with her.

A lifetime with someone I love.

CHAPTER 28

“Nobody makes me feel this way, I never thought I’d land the part, I’m feeling like a movie star”

Movie Star – Trousdale

Nathalie

The scent of slightly charred hair permeates the bathroom as I curl the last few pieces of hair to frame my face. Deon’s bathroom turned into a ransacked beauty store. A cloud of hairspray lingers in the air and my makeup is scattered across the countertop. I spritz the Dutch braids on the top of my head one last time, adding to the fumes.

Twisting my head, the loose curls bob with the movement and I give myself a moment to admire my handiwork. I had no chance with my makeup and spent the afternoon with Sawyer and Maren, who expertly applied blush, bronzer, and darksmokey eyeshadow to compliment the gown I chose for the auction.

Sawyer completed the look with a glob of glitter on my eyelids. I haven't stopped staring at myself in the mirror. It’s so far from what I usually look like. The braids are the only part of myself I recognize, but Ifeelbeautiful like I belong in a room with athletes, millionaires, and celebrities.

Frankly, I’m shitting myself.

Not only is it an event far out of my social status, but it’s also an opportunity to network with people who would support GameChangers. It’s also the last time Deon and I will be afakecouple, but if I focus on that, I’ll ruin my sparkly makeup and that would be criminal.

I want to enjoy the night, not wallow in the fact that tomorrow it will be over.

My eyes linger on my necklace before a sharp whistle bounces against the walls of the bathroom and I spin, my chest fluttering as Deon leans against the doorframe, dress shirt hugging his corded muscles and pulling against his wide shoulders.

“Wow,” I say, pushing onto my tiptoes to kiss him. If it’s the last night of our deal, I intend to push it to the limits, to touch him and kiss him when I want like it’s the last time because, well, it is. I’m tossing our rules out the window. It’s not like they’ll mean anything tomorrow anyway.

Deon’s hands dart out and I slap them away.

“Don’t ruin my hair!” I squeal, bolting away as his arms reach out to trap me in his embrace.

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