They lost.

Tyler sat hunched over in the chair in front of his locker, elbows resting against his thighs, defeat a visceral weight on his back. The Empire’s chance at the playoffs dwindled by the day. If they didn’t get their shit together, they’d be left with the first less-than-mediocre finish in recent New York history.

“Hey, Brady.”

Tyler glanced over his shoulder, making eye contact with the team manager. “What’s up, Skip?”

“You looked a little stiff out there. Make sure you see Eddie before you head out. He’s waiting for you in the back.”

“I’ll do it.” After he showered the grime and stench from his skin. Too bad he couldn’t shower away the emptiness in his chest while he was at it. As well as the indecision that plagued his brain.

He needed to talk to Gabriella. Problem was, he didn’t know what to say. She felt perfectly justified in shutting him out. Maybe she’d been right. Maybe their relationship wasn’t far enough along for them to be sharing major life decisions. And maybe he was making excuses for her because being without her left a big, Gabriella-shaped hole in his life. A hole no other woman could possibly fill.

“Hey, man.” Garrett straddled the chair beside him, crossing his arms to rest along the back. “Tough game.”

Tyler swiped a towel over his head, leaving it to dangle around his neck. “We played like shit.”

Garrett didn’t argue. “We did. It happens. Although the dinger you hit in the seventh was impressive. How’s the shoulder holding up?”

“It’s better, but still not there. I’m rethinking the second surgery. I could do it in the off-season. Be ready to go by spring training.” Although he was hesitant to do anything until he knew where he’d be playing.

“Have you talked to Gabriella about it?”

Tyler scowled. “No.”

“Have you talked to her at all?”

“You know I haven’t.” The motherfucker asked him the same question every day.

“So what’s the plan? You gonna keep going around acting like a jackass to anyone stupid enough to try to get a word? I swear, if you snap at one more reporter, your playboy status will officially be changed to entitled asshole.”

“Since when do we have heart-to-hearts in the locker room? Being in love has turned you into a pussy, you know that?” If Tyler was gonna be shackled in the land of dickdom, he might as well live down to the title.

Garrett didn’t flinch. “Being in love has turned me into a man, asswipe. You should try it, since you’re the one acting like a fool.”

Tyler heaved a frustrated breath. Leave it to Garrett to call him on his own crap. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to her.” Tyler glanced around to make sure none of the other guys were within ear-shot. He didn’t need his private life scattered around the locker room.

“You could start with ‘hi.’ Maybe apologize for waiting so long to call.”

He’d already gotten that far with the conversation plan in his head, so he got to the heart of it. “She said it was a one-time thing, but I don’t know. If she did it once, she could do it again. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve recently realized I need to be a part of my woman’s life, not just a fixture in her bed. I need to know she trusts me enough to confide in me.” He looked Garrett square in the eye. “My parents do that shit—live separate lives, have separate interests and friends. While it seems to work for them—and lord knows I can understand why my mom would choose to live that way—that’s not the kind of relationship I want.”

“Does Gabriella know you love her?” Tyler wasn’t sure of his expression, but whatever crossed his face made Garrett laugh. “I’ve known you a long time, Ty. I’ve seen you go through women like some men change socks. Hell, I’ve seen you shuffle through three or four in one night. But I’ve never seen you this jacked up over anyone—not even what’s-her-name, that chick you actually dated for a few months?”

“Heather.”

“Right. Whatever. Good riddance to that bitch. What I’m trying to say is Gabriella is different. I know it. You know it. She deserves to know it, too.”

“I haven’t told her.” Hell, he hadn’t realized it himself until a few days ago.

“You’ve got some pretty heavy expectations for a guy who hasn’t made any promises. If you love her, you’ve gotta say it.”

“I love her.”

“Not to me, you moron. To her. Give her a reason to believe you’re in this for the long haul. That you’re not going anywhere. Because at this point, it seems to me that’s exactly what you’ve done. She made a mistake, and you walked out. Am I right?”

“Fuck off, G.” Tyler’s lip curled at the humor in Garrett’s gaze. His friend was right. He’d let this go on for too long. “God, I hate you.”

Garrett clapped him on the shoulder and stood. “I can live with that. Call the girl, Ty. Work this shit out. And take a shower, man. You smell.”

Tyler took Garrett’s second bit of advice first.

He finished his shower. He pulled on a pair of gym shorts, not bothering with a shirt. He wandered through the clubhouse to the bank of rooms used for therapy. Eddie worked him over, then left him to sit with electrodes stimulating the muscles under the ice pack strapped to his shoulder.

With nothing else to do for the next few minutes, Tyler played different scenarios through his head. He’d avoided Gabriella long enough no simple phone call or text would do. What he had to say needed to be said in person. He had games the next two days and then the team had an off day. He’d have batting practice and would need to work with the trainers, but he could get away for a few hours. If she was in Boston. He’d have to call Matt to find out for sure. If she was still in Arkansas … well, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Call her, at least. Let her know he was ready to talk, but wanted to do it in person.

The door opened and TJ Montgomery stepped through. Wearing his trademark jeans and cowboy boots, TJ gave him a wide grin. “Hi, son. How’s it going?”

Tyler’s chest warmed. TJ called all the guys on the team son, but the truth of it was TJ had been more of a father to him than his own. “Fine, sir. What brings you down here?”

“Thought we were overdue for a discussion.”

Tyler’s gut tightened. He didn’t like the sound of that. “Sure. Have a seat. I’ve got a few more minutes on the juice.”

TJ swung a chair around and sat, facing him. “The shoulder feeling okay?”

He was starting to hate that question. “It’s been a little sore the last few days, but we’re just off a long road trip.” Since he respected TJ immensely, he went for full disclosure. “I’ve been considering a second surgery—in the off-season, of course. To break up some adhesions. The doctors believe it could help with my mobility.”

“They told me you were adamantly against having another surgery.”

“I was at first. I’m not thrilled with the idea, but I thought you should know it’s been on my mind. I’d like to wait to see where I am by the end of the season.” With his shoulder and his contract.

“I’m not worried. Your stats have looked good since you’ve been back. Better than we expected straight off the DL. I’m proud of how hard you’ve worked. We all are.”

Pride swelled his chest. He didn’t need the acknowledgement since it was his job and all, but it sure as hell felt good to hear. “Thank you, sir.”

TJ gave him a sharp nod. “No need to thank me. You’ve done all the work. Let me ask you something, son. Are you happy here with the Empire?”

The question shocked him. “Of course. Have I given you reason to believe otherwise?” Granted, his mood hadn’t been stellar, but he’d busted his ass on the field.

“No, not at all. I just needed to hear it from you before I gave you this.” TJ held a slip of yellow paper, a piece from a legal pad of some sort, folded in two.

“What’s this?” Shit, was he being released? His heart pounded in his ears. His lungs threatened to seize.

His damn hands shook as he took the note. He slid his thumb over the flap, revealing its contents. 157/6 was written in thick, black strokes, as though TJ had used a sharpie.

“The terms of your new contract.” Permanent ink signified his future with the Empire. “I sent the details to your agent a few minutes ago, but I wanted to bring you the news myself.”

Tyler tried to wrap his head around the numbers. $157 million dollars for six years.

Holy fucking shit.

“You’ve earned it,” TJ said. “I expect you to keep on earning it.”

Tyler wrestled out of the ice pack and ripped the electrodes from his shoulder. They’d stopped zinging him several minutes ago anyway. Now, his body zinged for a whole other reason.

Holy fucking shit.

He extended his hand. “Thank you, sir. I will. You know I will.”

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

TJ shook his hand, then pulled him in for a quick slap on the back. “Congratulations, Tyler. Once the paperwork is complete, you’ll officially play out your career with the Empire.”

His dream had come true. One of them, anyway. After he made a quick phone call to Matt, he’d get started on the second.

---

Gabriella had never been so nervous in her life. She’d been waiting for over an hour. Most of the players and the media had already cleared out.

She turned to Devon, who was talking to a guy named Garrett—Tyler’s teammate and friend from college, Devon had said.

“Are you sure he didn’t slip past us?” she asked softly.

Garrett reassured her with a shake of his head. “He was heading to see Eddie after his shower. He’s probably finishing up. He’ll be out any minute.”

“Who’s Eddie?” Maybe he was one of the coaches.

“One of the team therapists.”

“Oh.” Gabriella tried not to be jealous about another therapist working on Tyler’s shoulder. Even though she was technically out of the business now, she still felt as though any therapy Tyler needed should be her responsibility. “Is Tyler okay?”

Devon squeezed her shoulder. “He’s fine, Gabby. You saw him out there tonight. Quit worrying.”

Easy for him to say. Devon wasn’t the one Tyler was trying to avoid.

She’d practically begged Devon for his help, but she hadn’t intended to surprise Tyler in front of an audience. Mainly, because if he walked away from her again, she didn’t want to share her humiliation with Devon, and now Garrett.

She’d asked Devon for Tyler’s address, hoping to go there and catch Tyler at home. Alone. It had been Devon’s idea to get the game tickets, and then he contacted Garrett to arrange getting them into the clubhouse.

So here she was.

The dramatic flair wasn’t her taste, but she’d been desperate. She fucked up. She had to make it right.

“There he is,” Garrett said.

Gabriella looked up. He hadn’t seen her yet, so her heart stumbled a bit to see the happy grin on his face. A grin that slowly faded when he finally noticed her.

Oh, yeah. This had been a horrible idea. She shouldn’t have come. Damn it. Why had she listened to Devon? She suppressed the urge to kick Devon in the shin.

Tyler approached, greeting Devon and Garrett first. When his gaze landed on her, all she could think to say was, “Hey.”

Tyler blinked, then blinked again as though he couldn’t believe she was there. “What’re you doing here?”

Oh god. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

Devon stepped in front of her. “She went through a lot of trouble to be here, so don’t be a dick.”

Tyler shoved Devon aside. “I’m not trying to be a dick. That came out wrong.” His steely blue gaze focused back on her, making butterflies dance in her stomach. “I’m having sort of a surreal hour, so please forgive me. I’m surprised to see you, that’s all.”

Now that he was in front of her, Gabriella forgot every last thing she’d practiced to say to him. She went with something easy. “That was a nice hit earlier—the home run in the seventh.”

“You saw that?”

She bobbed her head, latching onto the topic. “And the two runs you scored in Baltimore. And the double play you and Garrett made in Atlanta.”

“Hell yeah, that was a great play,” Garrett said. Devon held up a palm and Garrett slapped it.

Tyler ignored them, keeping his gaze on her. “You’ve been watching.”

“Every game since you … since I last saw you.”

“It was a long road trip.”

“Tyler.” His indifference was killing her. “I’m sorry. Is there somewhere we could talk? Some place private?”

He nodded abruptly. “We’ll catch up with you later,” Tyler said to the guys. Gabriella expected him to lead her from the building, so she squeaked in protest when he laced their fingers and practically dragged her into the locker room.

“Wait! Where are we going?”

“You said you wanted to go somewhere private.”

“I thought maybe we could go to your condo. I didn’t expect you to—”

He whirled around and swallowed the rest of her words with a brutal kiss. Hard, almost cruel. No tongue. It ended almost as abruptly as it began, leaving her shaken. A few masculine chuckles reminded her where they were. Her cheeks burned as Tyler continued to tow her along behind him.

“You wanted somewhere private,” he told her. “This is the closest place.”

She kept her mouth shut. His legs were much longer than hers, so she had to half-jog to keep up. After what felt like an eternity—the place was huge—Tyler pulled her into a room and shut the door behind him. Silence greeted her as he sank back against the only exit, crossing his arms as though daring her to try to escape.

Gabriella bit her lip, far too turned on at the image he posed. Angry, arrogant male. It gave her hope, though. He wouldn’t be angry if he didn’t care about her, right? It was a stretch, but at this point, she’d take what she could get.

“I’m sorry,” she started, proud her voice didn’t crack.

“You said that already.”

“I’ll keep saying it if that’s what it takes.”

His brow arched. “If that’s what it takes for what?”

So much for not being a dick, but okay. She could take her lumps. “For you to forgive me.” She took a step toward him, changing her mind at the last minute. If she touched him, she’d be a blubbering idiot within seconds. Best to just forge ahead with her plan. “I brought you something.”

Her hand trembled as she held it out, but she didn’t back down. This was it. Her grand gesture to let him know how sorry she was. And that she loved him. It hadn’t taken her more than a minute after he left to realize what a jerk she’d been.

“What is it?”

“It’s a key to my apartment. It’s yours … if you want it.”

He stared at her, perplexed. “Why?”

She folded her fingers around the key, dropping her hand back to her side. Tears burned her eyes, but she fought them back. This was her fault. She had no one to blame but herself if he didn’t want her anymore.

“You were right, Tyler, and again, I’m sorry. I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it to believe it’s true. You were right. I was comparing you to Roger, without even realizing what I was doing.”

She glanced around the room. It looked like a medical exam room. There were first aid materials on the counter, a long exam table in the center, and nothing else. Not even a chair she could sink onto. She tucked the key into her front pocket. Tyler’s gaze tracked the movement, but he remained silent. She stepped back and leaned her butt against the edge of the table.

“My heart broke when you left,” she continued. “But your anger was justified. It wasn’t as though I didn’t discuss dinner plans with you. I made a huge, life-changing decision and I didn’t share that with you. I wasn’t fair to you, to what we were building between us. It’s a mistake I can’t take back, but I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove to you it won’t happen again. The key was supposed to serve as my commitment to you. To us. I’m not asking you to move in with me. That’s a decision I hope we’ll make together, when the time is right. I only wanted to share a piece of myself with you. To let you know you would not be a guest in my home, but a partner in it.

“I was worried about making the same mistake with you that I made with Roger. I swore I’d never move for another man, but I was wrong to think that way. Without realizing it, I was planning for a future in which you leave me behind.” The first tear broke free. “And that’s not the future I want to plan for. I wish I would’ve done things differently, but I’m not sorry I moved to Boston. I don’t want to be hundreds of miles away from you. And I’ll move again, if you get traded. Whatever it takes, Tyler.”

The tears flowed freely now. She swiped at them, frustrated she couldn’t keep the suckers at bay until she was alone and could cry in peace.

“I’m not going to get traded.” He groaned and shoved away from the door. “Come here.” He wrapped her within the circle of his arms. She snaked her own around his waist and pressed her cheek against him, soothed by the steady beat of his heart.

They were going to be okay.

“I love you, Gabriella. I need you to trust me. Do you think you can do that?”

She sucked in a breath. “I can. I do.” She squeezed him tighter. “You love me?”

“Yes.”

“I love you, too.”

For several minutes they held each other, basking in the knowledge they’d shared. Gabriella thought she’d been in love before, but she was wrong. She’d never felt anything as powerful, as real and vital, as what she felt with Tyler. They hadn’t been together long, but she didn’t need time to know what was in her heart. She wanted to build a life with this man.

His arms loosened their grip. He took her hands. “When I walked out of here tonight, I was on my way to see you.”

“You were?” She remembered the smile he’d worn. “How did you know where I’d be?”

He studied her knuckles. “I called Matt. He gave me your new address.”

“Sneaky.”

A smirk played on his lips. “I just found out—and it’s not official, yet—but New York is renewing my contract.”

“What?” She hadn’t meant to yell. She jumped, mashing them together with an oomph, as she threw her arms around his neck. “Tyler, that’s fantastic news!”

Laughing, he asked, “Don’t you want to hear the details?”

“The only thing I care about is if you’re happy. Are you?”

He made a gagging noise. “I’d be happier if I could breathe.”

“Oh.” She giggled and released the hold she had on his neck. “Sorry.”

“I’d get to play out my career in New York. Are you okay with that?”

“It’s what you’ve always wanted, right? Of course I’m okay with it.”

“God, I love you. I’ve missed you so much. Let’s get out of here. I need to get you naked, ASAP.”

“Your place or mine?”

“Mine. Ours. The condo. It’s closer.”

Gabriella’s heart felt lighter as he led her through the clubhouse.

“Do you think you’ll miss living in Arkansas?” he asked.

“I’ll miss Matt and Lillian. Your family is there. We’ll visit, won’t we?”

“Whenever you want, baby.”

Gabriella laughed and offered a wave to the guard at the door. “As long as it’s in the winter. I’ve had enough Southern heat to last me a lifetime.”

Tyler stopped next to a silver sports car. He pinned her against the passenger-side door, rubbing the rigid length of his erection against her hip. “You sure about that?” he drawled.

“Well, when you put it like that—” Gabriella gasped as Tyler shoved his hand into her front pocket. Her hips rolled into his hand of their own accord, trying to point him in the right direction. She’d never get enough of his brand of heat.

He chuckled and removed his hand, holding up the key she’d placed there. “I believe this is mine.”

The kiss that followed was full of promise. The promise of pleasures to come. The promise of love. The promise that the key wasn’t the only thing he considered his.

The past fell away. Roger, the pain of heartache, her fears about the future. All of it. All that remained were her and Tyler, and the hope for their future.

When he broke the kiss, he wore the smile she had come to love. A smile that was part mischief, part sin, a whole lotta sexy, and all Tyler.

“Let’s go home, gorgeous.”

He opened the door for her. As she slid into the car, she marveled at how quickly things could change. Home used to mean Boston. Her birthplace, the place she grew up, where her family lived. The word had new meaning now. Home wasn’t a place, a tangible mark on some map.

Home was wherever Tyler was, where her heart lived.

Gabriella knew—beyond a shadow of a doubt—whatever the future had in store, they’d face it.

Together.