How had Coach found out anyway? Gage considered asking, but Coach’s fiery expression shredded that idea all to hell. Gage gave him a head bob instead.
“I’m sure I don’t need to ask you to keep your mouth shut,” Coach continued.
Shame, dosed with self-recrimination, rose up Gage’s neck and flamed his cheeks. He’d made a personal decision he wasn’t proud of and had never planned to share—let alone have his coach discover. And now he was part of a dirty little secret he’d wanted no part of.
But faced with the horrible choice all over again? The sad truth was he’d come to the same conclusion.
Coach gave him a pointed look. “Have I made myself clear?”
Gage returned a curt nod. “Crystal.”
“Good. Now let’s get back to the dinner and act like we’re having a hell of a great time.”
Chapter 35
The Long Good-bye
Two weeks into the playoffs, Lily got a call from Natalie, who squealed, “Baby Miller arrived last night!”
“Oh my God! How is everyone? Was Beckett there?”
“Mom and baby are doing great. Beckett just made it, but he’s heading back to Arizona shortly.”
As Natalie ran through the details, Lily’s spirits lifted from the dumpster where they’d been these past weeks. She’d had no contact with Gage since the day he gave her his dissertation on her life. Oh, she’d been as mad as a hornet, but her temper had since cooled, and a murmur had stirred inside her. What if he’d been right?
As for her fury over how he’d handled his mom, Lily had begun examining his actions through a different lens. After seeing his piece-of-work mom in action, she understood why he hadn’t told Nola about her and Daisy. That he defended his mom still stung, but his behavior brought to light something Lily had previously overlooked. In spite of his frustrations with his mom, Gage didn’t waver. He didn’t turn on those he loved; he knocked himself out to take care of them. He showed steadfastness and loyalty. Traits she liked. Loved.
“You’d better not sit on your ass too long, Little Sis,” Ivy had lectured. “Guys like him are rare. Sometimes you have to seize the opportunity while it’s in front of you. Kinda like the three-for-one fleece top sale.”
Lily had shaken her head. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t need them yet, you really don’t want to spend the money, but you’ll never see that kinda deal again. It’s the same with Gage. He’s gonna get snapped up by some shopper who’s way smarter than you.”
Now that the angry wind in Lily’s sails had dropped to a light breeze, she had to allow Ivy might be right. What if someday—when Lily had finally “moved on”—Gage was gone? What if he never came back through her door?
Lily hadn’t told Daisy the truth—I pushed him away—instead making excuses about him being too busy with playoffs to see them.
So they watched him on TV, like they were doing today with Ivy and Parker, who had just walked into Lily’s house. Natalie’s voice yanked her back to the present conversation. “Gage has been looking great in the playoffs, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, he’s the points leader in the whole Western Conference right now, not that I’m watching that closely.” Ivy shot her a skeptical smirk. Yeah, liar.
Natalie must have agreed Lily was a liar because she snorted. “Glad to see you’re not watching closely.”
When Lily hung up, Daisy’s big eyes fastened on her. “Miss Paige had her baby?”
“Yep. Baby Audrey.”
Daisy clapped on the couch. She paused a moment, looking thoughtful. “Is Mr. Miller the baby’s daddy?”
Lily stifled a laugh. “Yes, sweetheart. He’s the daddy.”
“I want Gage to be my daddy.” A plea shone in her eyes.
Lily about choked on her spit. Her eyes locked with Ivy’s over Daisy’s head. Parker was in man mode, glued to the pre-game show on TV, oblivious to the shock wave that had just passed through Lily’s living room.
Lily finally untangled her tongue. “Why?”
“Because then he’ll be my very own dad.”
“What about Uncle Derek?” Ivy suggested with a smirk meant only for Lily.
Daisy wrinkled her nose. “He’s Violet’s dad. Besides, Gage looks at Momma the same way Uncle Parker looks at you, Aunt Ivy.”
Ivy winked at Lily. “Ah, from the mouths of babes.”
As Lily watched Gage play that night, she drank him in. Power and agility rolled into one beautiful body in motion. A sliver of realization wormed its way into her consciousness: she was alive with Gage. One hundred percent present. More than she’d been in a long, long while.
Two weeks later, the Blizzard were battling Arizona in the Western Conference Final, which had Paige talking a lot of smack. Lily had had no idea the woman had it in her, and she was still laughing at a text exchange when she arrived at her grief counseling meeting.
Brett held the door for her. “Something funny?”
“Just trash-talking with the girls.”
He blinked, looking confused. A moment later, he said, “Before the others get here, I wanted to let you know this will be my last session.”
Her surprise must have shown all over her face because he rushed on. “It’s nothing to do with you.”
Uncensored, she blurted, “Oh! You found someone?”
He shook his head. “No, and I’m going stop looking for a while. You’ve always shared good advice, Lily, but something you said finally got through to me—about the process being different for everyone, and that there’s no right or wrong way.” He adjusted his glasses. “I married and lost my soul mate, and I realized I’ve been searching for a placeholder. Someone to sit across from me at the dinner table. To hold hands with. But if I’m going to find a second soul mate—and I truly believe we have more than one—I need to get my life unstuck and back on track. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
Lily couldn’t help herself. She opened her arms wide and gave
