Page 39 of Love Unspoken

"How did you know?"

Her eyes went from calm to panicked. She thought I'd fuck the opportunity up for her. That I'd probably do it for kicks. Who could blame her?

"I guessed. They didn't tell me," I assured her. "If you haven't signed anything yet, I don't accept your resignation. Look at your contract and once you make a decision come and talk to me. I don't want to lose you. Midas doesn't want to lose you."

She nodded, her gaze back on the floor. "Okay. Thank you."

I watched her walk out of my office and realized that I'd fucked up big time, worse than I thought I had. I'd pretended she didn't overhear my conversation with Ann. Hayes was right, I had been a coward, and the result had been that Naya, a sweet and kind woman was hurt. She played with babies. Took care of a sick parent. Volunteered at a shelter. She was a fucking saint and the people like her brother and his friends who were supposed to give a shit about her had not just ignored her but made sure to wound her every step of the way.

I'd never felt smaller in my whole life.

FIFTEEN

NAYA

I signed my contract with InnoWare a week before Christmas. I was excited for the first time in a very long time.

"I can maybe even afford a new place this summer," I told Darren. "Somewhere nice. Two bedrooms."

"I've been asking you to move in with me, but you're too stubborn."

Darren had a huge place in Beacon Hill; after all, he'd played pro ball, and his father was a finance genius who worked in a senior role for a bank in Chicago. He'd made good money, and he'd also invested it well.

"No way. I don't think I'd like the idea of all your football groupies prancing around naked."

"That was one time, and it was years ago."

I laughed. "I am so, so, so happy, Darren. I can leave Midas. Leave Amias. Maybe step away from Nolan and Kara. I'll miss Magnus, but…."

"Oxygen mask first on you, Sparky, and then the children," Darren reminded me.

Darren and I went ice skating at the Boston Common Frog Pond the Sunday before Christmas. Located in the heart of Boston, the Frog Pond transformed into a charming outdoor ice skating rink during the winter months. The sparkling lights of the city and the serene, snow-covered Common surrounding us were a magical backdrop for ice skating.

We spent a couple of hours there. I loved ice skating and so did Darren, so we'd started to come here during the holidays when I'd first met him. It had been his idea to help me move more freely giving me something that was serene and fun.

After the accident, I'd been depressed, and the winter months had been harder because the gray gloom outside matched perfectly with how I felt inside. After Krav Maga once, Darren dragged me to the rink. We always went to get hot cocoa from a nearby café after. We sipped our warm drinks while we enjoyed each other's company and the scenic beauty of Boston Common dressed in its winter finery.

While we drank cocoa, I told Darren about what happened in Amias' office and first he'd been livid, then amused.

"The guy is interested in you."

I laughed out loud, almost spluttering into my hot chocolate.

"Just saying, Sparky. There's something there."

"Please, it's like that whole myth about 'he hurts you because he likes you.' I don't believe in that. It's nonsense. If someone likes you, they treat you nicely."

"True that, but no one said Amias was a smart son of a bitch. One of my teammate's sisters…who, by the way, was supposedly untouchable because that fucks up the team, she used to have a crush on our running back. Man, we could all see. He kept pushing her away 'cause he didn't want to get beat by the rest of the team for touchin' a sister."

"And then?"

"And then he fucked her, knocked her up, got beat by her brother. Now they're married and have three kids. He got traded to the Dolphins. I see them whenever I go home to Florida. He's retired and happy as fuck."

"And you think Amias and I are going to have the same love story?"

"Why the fuck not?"

"You have photos of this couple?"