Page 111 of The Long Game

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Cameron

I looked at Tony from the sidelines.

He stood on the midfield line, surrounded by an enthralled group of nine-year-olds blinking at him like he’d hung both the moon and the stars in the sky.

I smirked. He was a good young man, and you could tell he’d loved the game for a long time. It had taken him some time to get used to the looks the kids gave him—starry except for Juniper, who was stern and cautious—but he’d managed to channel that attention into work.

The first half of today’s practice had been intense. We’d moved past simple exercises like “protect the cone” to more elaborate drills that require things like quality passes. It hadn’t been easy, but the girls’ enthusiasm had been unmatched. Even Juniper, who I’d taken aside and personally worked with on her keeper’s skills, had been happy to move from basic footwork and diving to a little fun sliding. We’d both gotten dirty but it’d been worth it. She’d been fantastic at it.

I could think of a certain manager who’d been very happy about the girls’ evolution. I eyed what had been nothing but a shed weeksago, wondering what the woman inside was doing. Was she warm enough in there? October was growing chillier by the day, and even though I’d gotten one of those electric heaters from Moe’s, it still was cold as hell outside. Or like Moe had said,Asscrack cold.

Pulling my phone out of the pocket of the hoodie I’d grabbed today, I checked the screen. I might still catch Liam if I rang him now. After that, I’d go check on Adalyn.

I tapped on his name and brought the device to my ear.

“Hell must have broken loose if Cameron Caldani himself is calling me.”

I sighed. “And look what I get for it.” I didn’t wait for his retort. “I have questions. About your email.”

“Wowzers. Straight to the point, are you?” He let out a chuckle. “Okay, shoot.”

“You said the Miami Flames were searching for a new sporting director,” I said, making sure my tone was as neutral as possible. “To possibly make up for a media situation.”

“Yeah,” Liam confirmed. He chuckled, and I knew exactly what he was going to say. “Did you see the video? That woman was w—”

“Yes.” The word was hissed between my teeth. I closed my eyes, trying to keep a hold of the ball of dread taking shape in my gut. “I saw it. Of course I did. You said you suspected the reason was something else. Unrelated to that.”

A sigh came through the line. “I did. My contacts are mostly in the west, but I have a few ears and eyes on Miami. But they…” He hesitated. “Nothing is confirmed. It’s just talk for now. The situation is unclear. It all might be related to the media fiasco, I’m afraid.”

A pair of big, rounded brown eyes popped up in my mind. A set of beautiful lips. The warmth and softness of her hands on my skin. “Tell me what you know.”

A moment of silence. “Are you okay, man?” When I didn’t answer, Liam clicked his tongue. “All right. I hear the team might change hands. Soon. That could explain why someone’d be poking around. My guess, of course.”

Fuck. I brought a hand to my face, trying to rub some of thegrowing clamminess away. An acquisition? A handover? Worst thing was, Adalyn must be in the dark about that, otherwise she would have told me. She’d be on the next flight out. “How sure are you about this?”

“For now, it’s nothing but whispers.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah, man.” A pause. “But what is this about?”

“Can you find out for certain? And keep me in the loop if you find anything? Even if you think it’s probably not important. I want to know.” I didn’t wait for his answer, fully knowing that if I asked, he would. “Thanks for helping with the other thing, by the way. The lodge. I didn’t properly say thanks.”

Liam laughed. “Now you’re thanking me? Christ, Cameron.” I heard him exhale through the line. “Listen, whatever is going on with you, you need to sort it out. Sort yourself out and decide whether you want to finally shoot your career dead. Just… try to be done with this live, laugh, love phase of yours ASAP, yeah? I won’t be playing housies with you anymore. I’m not your PA or your agent—any longer—and I have shit to do. So make up your mind about what your priorities are.”

“I know what my priority is,” I said, no hesitation. “Say no to all offers on the table.” And then, I hung up.

A throat was cleared by my side.

I turned, and that beautiful half smile I was quickly becoming addicted to welcomed me. Something right between my chest and gut tightened with a clarity I hadn’t felt for a long time.

“Taking a little break, Coach?”

My lips twitched at her tone, and I tried my hardest to push aside the information I’d just learnt. But I wouldn’t worry Adalyn over something I wasn’t sure of. That would sidetrack her and quash the hope and excitement about the Green Warriors I could see bubbling in her with my own two eyes. I wanted nothing but to protect this woman from any possible heartbreak or hit. So I’d have Liam find out about every possible angle, and only then, only when I knew for sure, I’d take her myself to Miami and demand an explanation fromher father. We’d get through it together. Until then, she deserved to enjoy today, tonight’s pregame dinner, and tomorrow’s game. Win or lose, I’d do anything to give her a taste of the happiness I could provide for her.

“Are you okay?” she asked, frowning.

---