THE PITCH, page 19
“But you said—”
“I know, but let’s take this one day at a time. It’s been a couple of weeks. Fantastic weeks. But I think talking baby names is a little premature.”
“Now I feel like a weird bunny boiler,” she says, putting her face in her hands.
“Come here.” I pull her up to her feet, take her face in my hands, and press my lips to hers. “Are we good?” I ask her.
“Yeah. I’m sorry for freaking, but I realised I loved you too, and—”
“Let’s start there, that we are in love. Whatever comes our way, we’ll deal with it.” I kiss her lips again.
“Deal.”
Her body being tight against mine makes me want to bend her over and fuck her brains out, but now isn’t the time. I need to show her what she means to me, and the first thing I want her to have is stability. I take a step back and look into her tearstained emerald-green eyes.
“What’s up?” she asks.
“Nothing. Everything is perfect. You’re perfect. Let’s go to work.”
“Work? What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
We pull into the football ground, and I park in my reserved space. We get out, and I take her hand as we walk through the reception area.
“Can you arrange an all-access pass for Brook Fielding?” I ask the receptionist.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Blackmoore. What job role do you want me to add?”
“Head physiotherapist,” I reply as Brook gasps.
“You can’t put that. That’s not my role. I’m not even working here yet.”
“Please continue with the pass, and we’ll pick it up on our way out.” I pull out my phone and send over one of the pictures I took of Brook in New York. “I’ve sent you the photo to use.”
“Carter, what are you doing?” Brook whispers with a slightly irritated tone.
“We are going to get coffee, and then I’m going to show you around your new workplace.” I tug on her hand and pull her through the doors and down to my office.
When we get inside, I point to a chair on the opposite side of my desk as I take my seat in my chair. “Sit, we have a lot to discuss.”
“You’re making my head swim. What’s going on?”
“I want you to stop feeling anxious about everything. You can start your new role here as head physiotherapist as soon as you like. There is no one better for the players than you.”
“What about the other physios you have?”
“They will stay in their current jobs. They will be so happy to have you on board. After my little outburst, they’ve been asking when you’re joining.”
“So, what about us and your therapy? I can’t just drop it now. You’ve come so far, but there is still a long way to go.”
“I know, which is why I’m going to work around your schedule. I need to be here more than I have been; I need to watch my money on the pitch. I’ve let that slide, but I need to focus on getting the team to where they deserve to be, and to do that, they need to be at their peak physically. I can’t keep throwing good money after bad.”
“Are you struggling financially?” she asks, with a worried face.
I start laughing, and she looks at me, concerned. “No, I’ve more money than ten people could spend in a lifetime.”
“I need to ask you something,” she says nervously.
“I’m an open book for you, so shoot.”
“Where does all your money come from? It can’t just be your player pension and your salary. I know your family is loaded, but I don’t know anyone that has as much as you.”
“Bitcoin.”
“Bitcoin?” she repeats, shocked.
“Yeah, all four of us were given a hundred dollars every Christmas, and Brax had heard of this new thing called Bitcoin, so we all bought some. It didn’t do anything to start with, but we all put our savings and pocket money into it. I had just over a thousand dollars’ worth when it went crazy, so my dad invested another thousand for each of us as it started to grow, and within a year, we were multi-millionaires in our own right. It kept growing, and I pulled out half and invested it in other safer bonds, but within another year, it had doubled again. Now my personal wealth is around £3.4 billion.”
“Are you serious?” she asks, her jaw wide open.
“Yeah, so you don’t need to worry. I told you it’s all legal. We just don’t talk about it. It’s nobody’s business.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s just . . .”
“I know what you were worried about, but you don’t need to, and you’re not a nobody. You’re the most important person in my life, and you need to know. I have more money than I know what to do with, so if and when I buy you something, please don’t say no or reject it. The price tag isn’t important to me, it’s the impact it has on your life that matters.”
“But I don’t want anything, Carter. I don’t need anything from you. It’s you I want.”
I stand and go to sit beside her.
“And that’s one of the reasons that I’ve fallen head over heels. You don’t expect anything, and that’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”
Her cheeks flush pink, and her eyes fill with tears.
“Hey, no more tears today. We’ve got work to do. We need to go and introduce you to the team and get you set up in your office. Life’s going to get very busy from now on.”
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You can thank me later.” I give her a slow kiss on her lips and pull away before my dick takes over. “Fuck, just looking at you gets me hard as steel, and kissing you drives me crazy. Controlling myself around you all day is going to nearly break me.”
“You’ll have to try,” she replies with enough sass to make me slap her ass.
Chapter 18
Brook
I nearly didn’t go to Carter’s this morning. I felt so bad for leaving him the way I did. He didn’t understand what I was trying to say, and without coming across as a fruit loop, I was stuck. How do you explain that you want to end your few week-old relationship because the guy you’re dating doesn’t want kids? That in itself is enough to send anyone running for the hills.
Lucky for me, Carter didn’t want to let me go so easily, even after I pushed him through a gruelling routine. He did everything I asked, no complaints and no fuss. Each time he looked at me, my heart broke a little more. God, I wanted him so badly. I needed to feel his touch, but my pride was standing in my way, until he told me that he’d fallen in love with me. I felt all the tension release from me. I’d fallen in love with him, too, but the speed that my feelings had developed scared the living daylights out of me, and there is no way I can protect my heart now. I just have to trust and pray he’ll take care of mine like I’ll take care of his.
We spent the rest of the morning at the football club. To my surprise, everyone was really welcoming. It was nice. And I got to meet all the players and the backroom staff. The two physiotherapists that are on staff were a lot more friendly than I thought they would be. The job hadn’t even been advertised, so I was expecting them to be frosty as hell. I checked out my office and the therapy rooms and even talked about installing a hydrotherapy pool. It felt like I was being listened to, and the more I talked about improvements, the more the people were getting excited.
For the first time in a long time, things are looking up.
“See, I told you they would love you. They’ve wanted you back here for a long time. You’ve just made me Mr. Popular, and now that I’ve agreed to a fucking hydrotherapy pool, you’ll be their best friend.”
Carter didn’t hide our new relationship. In fact, he made it very clear that we are together, and if anyone had a problem with it, they should either speak up or shut the fuck up.
“Yeah, but they might be worried about their jobs,” I reply.
“Don’t even go there. They wanted you back here. I’ve made it happen. So, let’s leave it.”
“Okay, can you take me to my house please?”
“Are you sure you’re ready?”
“I am. I need to do it someday, and if I leave it, I’ll never go back.” My stomach churns at the thought of going back in the house I’d always called home. Anyone else might have moved out, but I can’t. It’s all I’ve got left of my mum.
“Okay, but I’m coming with you and coming in, too. You’re not doing this on your own.”
“I appreciate that, thank you.”
When we arrive at my house, it looks different. It looks better than it did, and it takes me a moment to work out that the windows have been painted, the front lawn has been trimmed, and some beautiful pots have been scattered around.
“This doesn’t look like my house.”
“It certainly looks nice. Are you ready to go inside?”
“I just hope they didn’t throw anything away that I wanted to keep,” I say, putting my key into the lock and pushing open the door.
I only get two steps inside and realise that I can smell fresh paint, and when I look down at my feet, the carpet has been replaced. Mine and my mum’s carpet . . . gone.
The carpet in the living room has also been replaced, and the bookcases that had been broken have been replaced with new ones. I turn to the couch, and my heart flutters. They didn’t replace it! I let out a long sigh of relief.
“Are you okay?” Carter asks.
“Yeah, they’ve done a lot of work, and I was a little overwhelmed. I can live with some of the things being replaced—after all, they were ruined—but I was expecting it. I’m just pleased they didn’t get rid of this,” I say, sitting down and running my fingers over the old and tired fabric.
“Can I ask why it’s so important to you? I only want to understand.”
“Me and Mum chose it years ago. Before she became ill. We sat and had so many conversations. It’s where we both laughed and cried and have been happy and sad. It holds so many memories.”
“I get that, but you do realise you can’t keep it forever? Or you could, but using it every day will mean that it won’t last.”
“I know, but while I can still sit on it, and it doesn’t fall apart . . . I want to keep it,” I say with a lump in my throat. The couch was the focal point of our relationship. Some people eat dinner and talk. We would sit and drink tea and eat biscuits and put the world to rights, and I understand it won’t last forever, but I have it for now, and that’s the main thing.
I walk around the house and check upstairs. The doors have been reinforced with extra security locks, and the windows look a little different. Then I realise they’ve been covered with a security film; I can see out, but no one can see inside.
“I can’t believe that they’ve done all this for me. It’s so much. They’ve painted the whole house,” I say, holding back the tears.
“Hey, I thought you’d be happy. I thought that you’d feel more comfortable if the place was cleaned of the drama.”
“What do you mean you thought? Wasn’t this East and her family’s idea?”
“It was, but I asked if their team could do a thorough job, get rid of any trace that prick was ever in here.”
“So . . . the carpets?” I ask, my blood pumping around my body at full speed.
“I’m not sure if I should answer. You don’t look very happy about it,” Carter replies, and his vagueness tells me that he was behind most of the refurbishment.
“I’m not mad or angry, I’m just sad. I’m glad you kept the couch though. I think I might have had a full breakdown if that had gone, too.” I take another look around at the crisp white paintwork and sigh. “I think Mum would have liked it. She wanted to redecorate before she got sick, but then we couldn’t because of the fumes and dust.”
Thinking of Mum always hurts, but thinking that she might be happy with the changes makes it feel a little better.
“She would be very proud of you. I’m proud of you, I just wish you could see what a fantastic human being you really are,” he says, wrapping his hands around my waist and holding me close to him.
“Thank you. I just wish I could shake the feeling that I’m being watched.”
“It’ll be difficult, and I had a feeling that you might struggle to be here straight away. You can always stay with me, or I can stay here. I just want you to feel happy and calm, and if this house isn’t doing that for you right now then you can leave it and try again another day.”
“Do you mean it? That you’d stay here with me if I wanted to stay?”
“Of course. It doesn’t matter which bed I sleep in, it only matters that I wake up with you in my arms.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you are a soppy sod?” I laugh and bury my head into his chest.
“No, and don’t you dare tell anyone. I might be known for being a joker, but being nice isn’t one of my more advertised features.” He laughs, too, and kisses the top of my head.
Everything feels right when I’m wrapped up in Carter’s arms. I feel like I’m safe and nothing can get to me or hurt me.
“Let’s lock up and go to your place. I’m not ready to stay the night, but I’m glad I’ve seen it. And although some of it is a shock, I’m happy.”
“That’s all that matters. Let’s go.”
The drive back to Carter’s house was quick, but we spent the whole journey laughing and singing to the radio. He received a couple of texts, which he didn’t ask the car to read out. They were from someone called Petra, and I sat wondering who she was and why she was texting him. I know I should just ask, but he didn’t look like he wanted to say. His eyes darted from the screen when the text came through, and he instantly clicked reject.
His phone began to ring just as we were getting out of the car, and he declined the call, too.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, hoping that he’d open up.
“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s just a business associate trying to get my attention. She can wait. Nothing will spoil, and no one will die.”
“Are you sure? I can make myself disappear if you need to talk privately.”
“It’s just business, Brook. It can wait,” he says, opening the front door to his house. But I’m intrigued at who she is.
“Does she call often?” I ask and then cringe at my jealousy showing so blatantly.
“Yes, most days. She looks after one of my businesses. If she wants to spend a lot of money, she usually clears it with me first. Oh, and she’s married to a very good guy.” He starts laughing, and I feel stupid. “If a guy was texting you and then calling, I’d be the same. We just need to be open with each other, and the trust will come.”
“I do trust you, it’s other women I don’t trust, like that woman on the plane. She knew I was with you, but she still made herself look available.”
“Oh, fuck, Brook, that was so embarrassing, and I’ll never forgive Drew for pulling that on me.”
I laugh, and I know that Drew knows that he really pissed off his brothers. Braxton and Kane were not impressed with his little stunt either. The day he left New York, he was actually trying to be nice, and it made me wonder if all his fucking around is because of something else, like Carter. Carter didn’t want anyone to see his scars, so he never let anyone get close enough that they would—until me. Thinking that makes me feel special to him, that when he says he loves me, he means it.
I spend the next two weeks at Carter’s house, and it’s starting to feel more like home, which is why I need to stay in my own home tonight. Also, I feel like shit. My head is pounding, and my body is aching. Even my hair hurts.
“I think you might have the flu or something. You should just stay here and go to bed,” Carter says, handing me a cup of hot water with lemon.
“Thanks, but I really do want to go home,” I croak and then sneeze twice.
“Yeah, you’re definitely coming down with something. If you insist on going home, then I’m coming with you. I’ll sleep in Evie’s old room so that you can get some decent rest.”
“Okay.” I cough and then stand up and stagger to the door. God, I feel even worse than I did five minutes ago.
By the time we get to my house, I must have fallen asleep, because I feel Carter’s arms around me as he lifts me out of the car and takes me into the house and up the stairs.
I don’t remember much after that, only being woken up every few hours to take some painkillers and to drink water, cough, sneeze, and then fall back asleep.
A few times when I did wake up to use the loo, Carter would be sitting or lying on the end of the bed reading or working on his laptop. He just smiled and helped me to the bathroom and back to bed.
It was two full days later when I finally felt like I could get out of bed on my own. I still wasn’t right, but I felt better.
“What day is it?” I ask, trying to work out where the days have gone as I look at my phone.
“Thursday, why?”
“Thursday? Haven’t we got a game tonight?”
“There’s a game, but I’m not going. One of the team members is going to video call me from his phone, and I’ll watch it from here.”
“No, you can’t miss it. You never miss a game.”
“I’ve never had someone who needs me more, so I’m staying. No arguments. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving, but I don’t think I have any food in the house.”
“I’ve ordered plenty while you’ve been out of it. I can order in anything you want, just name it.”
This is the Carter that makes me fall even harder for him. He’s so kind and considerate, him putting me before his club. I can’t help but stare at the man in front of me. He’s a big guy, and he would probably scare most guys if they came face to face with him in a dark alley, but with me, he’s a total pussy cat.
“Fried chicken,” I croak out and start coughing again.
“Really? You want fried chicken? Not some soup or toast?” he asks, raising his eyebrow, and I nod. “Okay, but don’t blame me if you vomit it all back up. Grease on an empty stomach isn’t the best idea.”
“Please?” I pout and flutter my eyelashes and then break into a slight smile.
