37. Grace

THIRTY-SEVEN

GRACE

"Sorry," Mads says breathlessly as Bella's bodyguard lets her into the suite. "Your husband," she points at Dia, "wouldn't shut the fuck up during his pregame interview about a record he broke last year. That I didn't even ask him about."

"That tracks," she replies. "Nobody loves Dalton Davis more than Dalton Davis, and that says a lot because I love his goofy ass to the moon and back."

I laugh, because this group is so much fun to be around. The way they all joke and banter with one another makes me want to be part of it.

"You look amazing!" Mads says to Bella, who does a spin to show off the dress I designed.

"Right?" she says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Grace, I can't believe this is the first thing you've made in a while. I've had designers charge me way more for less quality. You should think about starting your own line. The WAGs would eat it up!"

My eyes go wide. "Really? I never thought about specifically doing game day fashion. I always saw myself as more of a ready-to-wear designer. Do you really think I could do couture?"

"Are you kidding?" Dia says. "This is your thing , Grace. You're a natural at it. And the fact that you made it in just a couple of days is even more impressive."

I can't believe what they're saying. I always just assumed that maybe someday, my pieces could be sold in boutiques. I'd make unique designs, but then they'd be mass produced in as many sizes as the distributor ordered and placed on racks next to hundreds of others. But this would be so much different. I'd be able to make exactly what the customer wanted, to their exact measurements. Nobody would be excluded.

"Holy shit," I say on a laugh. "Maybe I will."

Dia chuckles. "I bet Daddy Tanner would invest in your new business."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "Daddy Tanner?"

"Oh my God, Diamond. She's new. You're going to scare her away with your stupid theories," Mads says, rubbing her temples in annoyance.

"What?" Dia asks. "The people want to know. And by people, I mean me."

I look between them. "Want to know what ?"

Mads blows out a breath. "My best friend here seems to think Tanner is some kind of sex god. That he's into whips and chains, and has a pierced dick."

My eyes go wide and I freeze where I'm sitting. Oh, shit. What do I say?

"She literally called him the final boss of daddy doms ," Bella adds with a giggle.

My palms are sweating and my mouth feels like it's full of cotton balls as I laugh nervously. I'm obviously terrible at hiding things, because they see right through it.

"I told you!" Dia yells, jumping from her seat. "Pay up, bitches!" She walks over to Bella and Mads and they each hand her a hundred-dollar bill before she shoves them into her bag and sits back down.

I don't confirm or deny anything because as I look down onto the field, the lights dim and the fans go wild.

"And now! Your Boston Blizzard!" says the announcer as the team shoots out of the tunnel. My eyes lock on Tanner as he runs to the opposite end zone, hyping up the people in the stands as they scream. They fucking love him. And so do I.

The girls line up next to me, watching their guys as they go through warm-up drills. Maverick points up to the suite and Bella blows him a kiss in return. I look between them, smiling because they're so adorable.

I look back just in time to see Blaze catch an easy pass, patting his hand over his heart. Mads smiles, then walks toward the snack bar in the back of the room.

"My turn," Dia says, sliding in next to me. I'm confused, but I look to the field where Dalton locks his eyes on her, wiggling his left hand. She does the same, her large diamond wedding ring glinting in the light.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Oh!" Bella says. "That's their way of saying they love us from the field. They all have a little signal so we know they see us."

I swoon. "That's the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

It makes me wonder what Tanner's would be if we had one. I look down, smiling as he lines up behind the center and taps his left toe behind him. I remember from watching him in high school that a player should be moving after he does it, but no one does. On the next rep, he does it again. I focus on the movement because he does it before every single play, and it draws my eyes to his tattoo. Our lighthouse.

Maybe.

"Mads?" I say, calling her back over because she knows this game better than anyone I've ever met. "Shouldn't a player be in motion when Tanner does that with his foot? "

"Yep," she replies, taking a bite of cheese and setting it down on her plate. "I thought it was the weirdest thing at first because he's done it before every single play, so I asked Blaze and he said it's a personal thing. Nobody knows why he does it."

"Did he do it in college?" I ask. I have to know if it started before or after me.

"I've watched his highlight reels and it looks like he didn't do it a single time before his senior year. Didn't you watch him play back then?"

I never watched him play after he left. My parents made it to some of his home games the following season, and our dads are loyal Blizzard fans, but I couldn't bring myself to watch with them because I knew it would hurt too much. I avoided football at all costs. Of course there were occasions when he'd show up on the news or on the cover of a sports magazine, but I did my best to get away before I really got to see or hear him. I knew if I started, I'd fall down a rabbit hole and it would bring me back into the dark place I had to claw my way out of once I realized he wasn't coming back.

"No," I whisper, looking down as he does it again, this time, looking up toward the suite. I know he can't see the details of my expression, but if he could, he'd know just how much that gesture means to me. He wanted to tell me he loved me, even when he didn't know if I'd see it. Every game that we've been apart, he's spoken to me.

I realize then that Tanner Lake really has always been mine. As much as I say he's kept my heart all these years, I unknowingly had his, too.

The rest of the night is a blur. We laugh, dance, eat and drink while we watch our guys dominate the field, winning with a score of twenty-four to seven. And when they enter the suite after the game, all looking and smelling like snacks from their post-game showers, I fly in his direction, jumping into his open arms. I press my lips to his, making him freeze for a moment because it was unexpected, but he eventually melts into it, bringing a hand to the back of my head to hold me in place while we kiss. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm right where I belong.

"The foot thing," I mumble against his lips. "Was it for me?"

He chuckles. "You saw that? Clever girl." He lowers me to the ground, resting his hands on my hips as he smiles down at me.

"I never saw it. I couldn't bring myself to watch you play after—" I don't finish, because we both know.

"Doesn't matter, baby," he says. "What's important is that you're here now and I can tell you I love you whenever I want."

He leans down, kissing me again. "Thank you for coming. I can't explain how good it felt knowing my whole heart was right here in this stadium. And this?" he says, plucking the hem of his jersey that I'm wearing. I didn't customize it because I worked until the last second on Bella's, so I just grabbed one from his closet and accessorized it as best as I could. "I'm fucking you in this when we get home."

Just like that, heat begins to gather in my core. I'll never know how such simple words can make me so damn horny, but it's certainly a superpower that's exclusive to Tanner.

"Can't wait, sir. " I whisper so only he can hear me. I turn to make sure no one is watching before sneaking my hand down between us, but he grabs my wrist, halting me.

He raises a brow. "Careful, Bunny," he chides. "I distinctly remember the last time you made me hard in public. So, unless you want to wet the bed again, I'd rethink your next move."

"Oh my God!" I say, slapping his chest before I cover my face with my hands. That is still hands down, one of my most embarrassing moments to date. But of course, he'll never let me live it down.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.