Chapter 28
Carly fingered the beautiful diamond pendant hanging around her neck Gage had given her earlier that morning then looked over at him decked out in his suit. He was gorgeous in whatever he wore, but in the suit, navy shirt, and gray tie she’d given him that made his blue eyes stand out, he was breathtaking. She swallowed, wanting to pinch herself to make sure the past few months weren’t just a fantasy she’d conjured up. His lips quirked as he glanced over at her.
“Are you ready for today?” he asked.
“I think so,” Carly answered, her heart beating out of her chest at the thought of all the cameras she was going to encounter at the game. They’d agreed she wasn’t going to hide, wanting to use the opportunity to try and draw Daniel out once again. But, she wasn’t going to flaunt herself in front of the prying lenses either. The plan for the day was to avoid being bombarded right away with paparazzi while walking through the stadium before the game. Instead, Gage would escort her from the private valet parking area to a secure elevator and up to the private suite reserved for his family. Everyone else would be meeting the team’s public relations person and go on a quick visit to the merchandise store, where Gage had instructed them to pick out whatever they wanted courtesy of the Rattlers’ owner before being brought up.
In the elevator, Gage pulled her close, and Carly rested her head against his comforting chest. She took in a deep breath of the sweet, woodsy scent of the cologne her mom and dad had given him this morning and snuggled in closer, absorbing some of his strength as his arms wrapped around her tightly.
“Everything is going to be fine, sweetheart. Your ex-husband hasn’t shown any signs of coming after you, and I doubt that he will, especially after all the pictures of us that have been posted over the last few weeks. But, we’ll know for sure after the game today. If there’s still no reaction from him, then I think we can be assured he’s decided to move on.”
Grateful for all he was doing to ease her worries, she reached up and curled her hands around Gage’s neck to pull his head down for a quick kiss. She hoped he was right about Daniel.
“I know. Just a little nervous, but I’ll be fine,” Carly said, not wanting to spoil his day. She tried not to think about the pictures that would be everywhere soon. If Daniel didn’t know she was dating Gage by now, he would after today.
After dropping her off at the suite, Gage left to go down to the locker room and get reacquainted with some of his former teammates and coaches before the game kicked off. He planned to stay on the field until halftime when the number retiring ceremony would take place. Settling back in one of the plush interior stadium seats, Carly watched as workers ran around on the field to make sure everything was ready for the game. Looking around, she located several large cameras set up in various spots around the stadium. She drew in a deep breath, determined to stay calm despite their presence.
The sound of the doors to the suite opening had her head twisting around, and she smiled as her seven-year-old nephew, Jeremy, came barreling in.
“Aunt Carwee, look what I got!”
Carly giggled as the excited, wide-eyed boy ran over, decked out in full Rattlers’ gear. She took in the navy and gray jersey over his other clothes, the plastic Rattlers’ helmet he had on his head, the insulated cup and the huge foam #1 finger he was waving in her face and looked over to Mark.
“What happened? Did you let him buy the whole store?” She laughed and kissed the top of the plastic helmet before her nephew skipped away.
Shaking his head, Mark handed her a Rattlers’ jersey matching the others she noticed everyone else had on as they followed him through the door.
“No, but he tried. He finally stopped when I informed him there were hotdogs up here.” Mark laughed as he took the helmet Jeremy thrust in his hands and the hungry boy made a beeline for the buffet set up at along the back wall of the suite.
Carly pulled on the jersey with Gage’s number 12 in navy on the front and back while Mark took the seat beside her.
“Doing okay, sis?”
“Yeah, I feel a little better being in this suite. It’s not as open as I thought it would be. I’m ready for this mess with Daniel to be over. All this uncertainty is driving me crazy. I’m still scared he’s going to do something to hurt me or one of you.”
Mark leaned over and pulled Carly into his side for a warm brotherly hug. “From the looks of it, Gage has a handle on it. I’m grateful for what he’s done so far, but I’m going to be honest with you, sis. I’m still not sure about him. Why couldn’t you pick a nice, quiet accountant or something?”
Before Carly could answer, loud music blasted through the stadium, and their dad was calling for Mark to join him. Carly sighed, promising herself to have that much-needed talk with her brother before the day was over.
As the crowd roared with excitement, Carly turned her attention to the large screens lining both sides of the room and smiled as she watched Gage greet his former teammates as he joined them on the sidelines. Her heart began to race, reminded of the many times she’d sat with Rachel and Sophie watching a Rattlers’ game and fantasizing about their former quarterback. With warmth spreading through her chest, Carly wrapped her trembling arms around herself and sat back in the luxuriously padded chair. She could hardly believe she and the gorgeous, blond man on the screen were together. Her euphoria was short-lived, however.
With eyes glued to the screen, she watched with her stomach clenching as a beautiful auburn-haired woman decked out in the Rattlers colors of gray and navy blue and with an id card pinned to her shirt approached Gage, and he took her in his arms. As he planted kisses on the smiling woman’s cheeks, Carly racked her brain trying to remember if she was one of the many women next to him in pictures all over the internet.
Secure in her belief Gage was sincere in his promise never to betray her, Carly relaxed back in the chair, pushing the ugly images of her ex-husband and his dismissals of her concerns when he’d blatantly flirted with women in front of her out of her mind. Gage wasn’t Daniel, and she had to trust him.
At halftime, Carly made her way to the exterior seats and took the empty one between Joyce and her mother. As she sat, her mom smiled and patted her arm. “Breathe.”
Taking a deep breath as her mom suggested, Carly sank back in the seat and focused her attention on the huge screen hanging from the roof of the enormous stadium. Her heart slammed in her chest as the giant image of Gage in his perfectly fitted suit appeared on the screen next to the owner of the Dallas Rattlers as they approached the podium set up in the middle of the field. Carly barely heard a word the owner spoke as he extolled Gage’s accomplishments. She was far too worried about what was about to happen.
As Gage stepped to the podium, Joyce reached for her hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Carly let out the breath she’d been holding and plastered a smile on her face as Gage thanked his parents for all they’d done, and the cameras panned across the seats where they were sitting. Carly gasped under her breath as her face appeared on the huge screen above the field and prayed their plan would work. Daniel never missed watching a game, and when he saw her sitting with Gage’s parents, it wouldn’t take him long to connect the dots.
As the ceremony ended and the regular halftime entertainment took over the field, Carly got up and walked numbly back into the suite, trying to remain calm and not think about what might happen should Daniel decide to come after her.
***
Later that evening, Carly went in search of Mark. She finally found him working on his laptop in an office near the front of the rental house. She knocked quietly then entered when he motioned her inside.
“What’s up?” Mark asked as she took a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of the large wooden desk.
“I just wanted to thank you for coming,” Carly answered, all at once nervous to ask him what his problem was concerning Gage. She didn’t want to get into an argument with the rest of the family and Gage only a few rooms away.
“You’re welcome, but that’s not really what you want to talk about though, is it?” he asked, his brows scrunched as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
“No, it’s not,” Carly sighed. “What’s your problem with Gage? You’ve–”
“I’ve been perfectly–” Mark interrupted but stopped when Carly held her hand up.
“No, wait. Let me finish,” she said, scooting to the edge of the chair. “You have been nice, but that’s not what I meant. I thought you would have tried a little harder. He’s one of your favorite players, and I thought you would be thrilled for me. Instead, you’ve been standoffish. I don’t think he noticed, but I have.”
“You’re right. I guess I have been.” Mark sighed, sitting up and rubbing a hand over his face. “I had to watch you make the worst mistake of your life once before, and I don’t intend to do it again. I don’t know what it is with you and these over the top men and their huge egos you keep finding.”
“What?” she cried, outraged her brother could think that way about Gage. “Gage does not have a huge ego. Have you seen him act that way since we’ve been here?”
“Well no, but how well do you know him? You’ve only been with him for what, four months? Is that really long enough? Daniel certainly had you fooled. And after what I saw down on the sidelines today, how can you be sure Gage won’t do the same thing?” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, giving Carly a stern look.
“You’re wrong. I love him, and he wouldn’t do that to me.” She glared back, squashing down the tiny niggle of a doubt as a picture of the redhead’s hands curled around Gage’s biceps flashed through her mind.
“I hope I am. I don’t want to see you hurt again. Please, tell me you’ll take things slow and be sure before you jump into anything,” Mark implored as he stared into Carly’s eyes.
“I will, but you have to promise to give him a chance,” Carly replied, returning his gaze just like they’d done as kids whenever they’d disagreed.
“Deal,” her brother finally replied, breaking the tense silence that had fallen.
They both stood, and he came around the desk and pulled her into one of his bear hugs. “I love you. I hope he is the one who can finally make you happy.”
“Thanks, I love you, too.” Carly returned his hug, confident in her belief Gage would prove him wrong.