Leaning forwards, I brushed a kiss over his mouth. “I want to be brave. Like you. You told your agent you were bisexual before you’d even signed with Glevum. You made sure the club knew who you were from day one. You don’t give a fuck about what the media says about you.”
“I do. I just…I try to ignore it. It’s not so bad. I’m nowhere near as well-known as a lot of the other players.”
“My point is, you own who you are, and that’s what I want to do. I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable with the media spotlight, but if you’re willing to go through this with me, I’m prepared to deal with the fallout. Because you’re worth it to me. You’re worth everything.”
“Fuck,” he whispered, tears beginning to fall from his gorgeous green eyes. “Are you saying you want to come out and tell the world we’re together?”
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“What about w-when you go home? What about your career? There’ll be a lot of media attention on you then.” The tears were falling faster now, and I pulled him into me, wrapping my arms around him as I pressed kisses to his soft hair.
“I am home.”
He stilled. “What?”
“I’m not going back to Canada. I’m staying here with you. I love you, Jude. I’d be a fool to let you go.”
33
Jude
He loved me.
Cody Clements, the man I was head over heels for, loved me back.
“Is this real?” I whispered. “You—you love me? You’re really staying?”
“Yeah, it’s real.” He slid his mouth against mine, so softly it gave me butterflies. “I love you, and I want to stay. I’m sorry it took me so long to work things out in my head.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. Fuck, Cody. Are you sure? This is a huge decision.”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
I stared at him, registering the determination and certainty in his eyes. He really meant this, didn’t he?
Shaking my head, I brought his hand up to my chest, letting him feel how hard my heart was pounding. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I’m staying, if you’ll have me.”
“In the Painswick house? With me?”
“Yeah.” His voice dropped. “I can see us living there, Jude.”
My smile was so wide it hurt. “Oh, I get it. You just want a piece of my dream home.”
That got him to crack a smile, his lips tilting up at the corners. “Figured out my plan, did you?”
“You’re easy to read,” I told him. “Sometimes. I guess I don’t mind being roommates with you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” A thought struck me. “If you’re staying, does that mean you’re gonna take the job Ross keeps trying to talk you into? He said he could easily sort out visas and everything.”
“I’ll have to speak to Ross,” he said, which was basically a yes. Fucking hell, this day had gone from potentially the worst moment of my career to the best moment of my life. I hoped it was the best moment of his, too.
“Hey, Cody?” I ran my hand down his back, my mind blown all over again at the thought that I got to do things like this whenever I wanted, hopefully for the rest of my life.
“Yeah?”
