Their secret affair had been going on for over a week and a half, and Kat was getting in deeper and deeper. They never went out in public, and she supposed that was a good thing. She didn’t want her face splashed all over the papers. Imagine the scandal. Imagine Danny. But there was some small, stupid part of her that wanted to be seen on his arm, wanted to be worthy enough to be showcased in public. God, she was acting like a love-struck teenager. But how could she not fall for a guy who was so sweet, kind, and thoughtful? A guy who spent every moment spoiling her? He made love to her every night, cooked for her every morning, and the evenings she worked late, he sent food to her office. No man had ever been so thoughtful. She scoffed. No, they were out screwing someone else when she was stuck at the office. Damned if Sebastian didn’t tick all the boxes: loyal, supportive and loving. Not to mention they worked so well as a team.

Did he treat all his women like that, or just her? If it was just her, then they needed to have a conversation to find out if they had a chance at growing something amazing. But what about Danny, her family? Dammit, she couldn’t let him risk it all. He meant too much to her.

She glanced at the meal on her desk and the text from Sebastian. I need to work late, too. I won’t be home to make dinner and wanted to make sure you had something to eat.

Her heart squeezed so tight it was hard to breathe. She loved him. She loved him so much it hurt. She had no idea what the future held for them, but right now she needed to see him, to have him hold her, feel his hands on her body. Maybe she’d skip out early and surprise him at the stadium.

She left work and grabbed a cab. Thirty minutes later, she entered the stadium and headed for his office. Excitement bubbled up inside her as her shoes echoed on the floor. She rounded the corner and saw that his door was open. Darn, she hadn’t stopped to consider he’d be treating one of the players.

His voice drifted into the hall, and she grabbed the compact mirror from her purse to check her lipstick. But when she heard a female voice—a very familiar female voice—her compact slipped from her hand and bounced on the floor. Shoot. She dropped to her knees to retrieve it, but when she stood, and came face-to-face with Zoe, she faltered backward.

“I…uh…”

“Kat,” Sebastian said, stepping up to her. “It’s not what you think.”

Ah, the words of the guilty. Kat shook her head, every old insecurity she had rushing back to the surface. How could he do this? She thought he was different. Thought there was more to him. Cripes, he couldn’t even do a two-week exclusive like he asked her for.

I am such an idiot.

She squared her shoulders and tried not to let him see how affected she was. “Looks like I caught you at a bad time.”

“She broke up with Peter,” Sebastian blurted out. “Wait. Shit.” He fisted his hair. “That’s not what I’m trying to say.”

She worked to stay calm, she really did, but tears pooled in her eyes, her heart so shattered she was sure she could never put it back together again. “Well, at least you’re not a total asshole sleeping with another man’s fiancé. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things I need to do.” Like grabbing a bottle of wine, calling Emery, and crying her heart out as she drank the entire contents in one sitting.

“I’m not…we’re not.” He stepped toward her and she stepped back, out of his reach.

His hands fell to his sides. “Kat, please.”

“Sebastian,” Zoe said. “She wants to leave, let her go. We were in the middle of something.”

“Zoe, stay out of this,” he said, the warning in his voice putting a pout on Zoe’s face. “Kat, we need to talk.”

“Nothing to talk about,” she said, hiking her purse high on her shoulder and turning on her heel. Not wanting him to see just how hurt she was, she kept her head high and forced her legs to work. She just prayed he didn’t see the way her hands were shaking.

---

A week had passed since she found Sebastian and Zoe in his office, doing God knows what. Some small part of her wished he’d come after her, to tell her it was all a mistake and confess his undying love. But he didn’t, and that only hurt more. How could she ever have thought he was her Prince Charming, or that Price Charming actually existed? In the end, she was glad she found out what kind of a man he really was before she spilled her heart out to him. Here she’d thought he checked all the boxes. She was wrong. Loyal, he was not. He’d asked for two weeks’ exclusivity and couldn’t even keep to that.

With her computer poised on her lap, she flicked on her television for background noise while she went over some work files. Tacklers season opener was on at the Miami’s stadium. She flicked it off, not wanting anything more to do with football, or those associated with the team. She buried herself in her work, and when her doorbell rang, she nearly jumped out of her seat.

She put her laptop on her coffee table and padded to her door. She wasn’t expecting company and was dressed in her sweats. She peaked through the hole, and when she saw Sebastian standing there, her heart went into her throat.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“We need to talk.”

I have nothing to say to you, Sebastian.”

“Fine, I’ll do the talking.”

“She gestured toward the TV. Tonight is the season opener. Aren’t you going to get fired for not being there?”

“Probably, but what I have to say is more important.” She folded her arms and glared at the door. “Kat, open up. I’m not leaving until you hear what I have to say.”

“Sebastian—”

“I have a key. I don’t want to use it, but will if I have to. I’ll also tie you to your bed if I have to, but I’m not leaving here until you hear me out.”

“Fine.” She opened her door, and the second he entered her apartment, everything she felt for him washed over her in a flood. Her heart crashed against her chest, and her legs went weak. Her gaze settled on his face, and when she saw his bruised eye, she gasped. She reached out to touch it, but he captured her hand. “What happened?” she asked.

Instead of answering, he said, “Do you have any idea why I slept around all these years?”

She pulled her hand back. “Because you’re a jerk.”

“Kat, Jesus. I’m crazy about you. I’ve been in love with you since your sweet sixteenth. I couldn’t do anything about it. Danny was my best friend, and you were…well, you were Kitty Kat. So I buried my feelings in other women, needing to get my mind off you.”

“Oh,” she said for lack of anything else. “Just like you were burying your,” she stopped to do air quotes “‘feelings’—in Zoe last week.”

“Fuck no. She showed up at my office. I was as surprised as you were. Nothing happened. Nothing could happen.”

“Couldn’t get it up, huh?” she shot back.

“Never even tried. Never wanted to. It couldn’t happen because the second I took you in my arms that night at the house, the second I tasted you, I lost my appetite for any other woman.”

Her heart stopped beating. “Sebastian,” she breathed out, her legs a little unstable. God, was he saying what she thought he was saying?

“I asked for two weeks thinking we could get this out of our system. But it wasn’t enough. It will never be enough. ”

Hope flared inside her, but she was too afraid to give in to it. “What are you saying, Sebastian?”

“I wanted to come to you right away after you saw me with Zoe. I knew you were hurt, and I hated leaving you like that, but when I saw the jealousy, the pain in your eyes, I knew then and there that you loved me as much as I loved you. Up until then, I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to overstep boundaries, didn’t want to ruin what we had or scare you off.” He stepped up to her and she didn’t retreat. He put his hands on her arms. “Once I knew for certain that you were in love with me, too, I needed to step up and be the man you needed me to be.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you come to me then? I was hurting, Sebastian.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but I needed to talk to your brother first.”

She looked over his black eye. “You…you risked everything to be with me,” she whispered.

“Yes.”

“And Danny…” She winced at the swelling. “He did this?”

“Yeah.”

She shook her head. “He shouldn’t have done that. I’m a grown up and can sleep with whoever I want.”

“It’s okay. Danny is fully aware of my reputation, and he didn’t want me adding you to the list. He was just protecting you, Kat. You can’t fault him for that. But once I proved to him that I loved you, he forgave me, and we’re good now.”

He loves me.

She sucked in a quick breath, working to get oxygen back in her lungs. “How did you prove it?

He leaned in, his breath warm on her face. “I showed him something.”

“What?”

He captured one of her hands. “Come with me.”

She smoothed her other hand over her mess of hair. “Sebastian—”

“Kat, you look beautiful, now come with me.”

She followed him outside, and he opened his car door for her. She slid in, buckled up, and stared at him as he crossed the front.

He slipped in beside her. “Good?”

“Yeah.” He pulled into traffic. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

A short while later, they pulled into the stadium. She shook her head. “Why are we here?”

Instead of answering, he slipped from the car, walked around to her side, and helped her out. Hand-in-hand, he led her to the field. He glanced at his watch. “Just in time.”

She shook her head. What was going on? If he was going back to work, why did he drag her here? “Time for what?”

They reached the field, just as half time was starting. “Sebastian, what’s going on? I thought you were going to show me what you showed Danny.”

“I am.”

She shook her head and glanced around. “You showed him the stadium?”

“No Kat, I showed him this.” He pulled a box from his pocket and went down on one knee. Someone came running up to them with a camera. She glanced up and saw them on the jumbotron.

“Ohmigod, is this happening?”

“It’s happening,” he said. “And I want the whole world to know I’m in love with you.”

He wanted the world to know. Her heart squeezed as cameras flashed like mad.

He opened the box, and when she saw the ring, she started to cry.

“I love you, Kat. I’ve loved you for ten long years, maybe longer.”

“Same,” she managed to get out.

“Say yes. Say yes, and make me the happiest man in the world.”

“Yes,” she murmured.

He scooped her up planted a warm, loving kiss on her mouth, and pointed to the camera. “Now wave to your Mom, Dad, Danny, and Emery. They’re all watching.”

“You set this all up?”

“Of course, and Emery has a message for you.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, she said, ‘See, fairy tales really do come true’.”

She laughed and put her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe this.”

“You’d better believe it, and get used to me spoiling you.” He gestured toward the football players who were cheering for him. “I have to be here for the second half, but then I’m taking you home so we can start practicing for our honeymoon.”

Cheers erupted around them and she cringed. His face fell. “What, you don’t like that idea?”

“Oh, I do. But my family is watching. The world is watching. They don’t have to know everything.”

He laughed. “You’re right. They only need to know that I’m a committed man with eyes for one woman and one woman only.” He dropped a sweet, loving kiss onto her mouth. “I love you, Kitty Kat.”

A sound rumbled in her throat, and she was pretty certain it resembled a purr. “I love you, too, Sebastian.”