She lifted her gaze to his. “I think there’s been enough ass kicking to go around for a lifetime, don’t you think?”
“Probably, but I still deserve it. Tara sure did her part when she found out. She was mad as hell at me.”
Her lips lifted. “Well, that’s good enough, then. You don’t need me to add to it.”
“Still, I feel bad. I should have butted out. What’s between you and Gavin is none of my business and never should have been.”
She turned away to stare out the window. “There isn’t anything between us. Not anymore.”
“He loves you, Liz.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
He laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Yeah, he does. He’s never been in love before, and loving you scared him as much as my dad’s heart attack did. He didn’t know how to handle it. Give him another chance.”
“Thanks, but I gave him all the chances he’s going to get. It’s better this way.”
“Now who’s scared?”
Her eyes widened. “Me? I’m not scared. I’m sad. And maybe a little fed up. I gave everything and it didn’t work out. He didn’t love me.”
“Try harder.”
“What?”
“Try harder. You didn’t try hard enough.”
She laughed. “Please. I gave everything to Gavin. I gave him my heart, and he threw it back in my face. I don’t know what more I could possibly give.”
“Give him a chance. First, he’s a guy. And he’s never been in love before.”
“Oh, and I have?”
“Yeah, but you’re a woman. It’s like being a female agent in this field of sports where you’re surrounded by all these men. You have to work twice as hard at it to be taken seriously. But you’re also twice as good as most of them.”
“Well, thanks for that.”
“Love’s the same way. Women are so much better at it. Better at communicating what’s in their hearts, better at showing the one they love how they feel. So maybe this was your first time, too, but you obviously handled it better than Gavin did. And he’s fumbling it bad, and he’s fucked it up, and now he doesn’t know how to fix it, but he’s trying. Or he wants to try. And he’s afraid to fuck it up again.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I can’t. I just . . . can’t.”
He nodded. “That’s your call, but I hope you’ll at least think about it. He’s worth it, Liz. And I really do think you two are good for each other. Give him another shot.”
“Thanks, Mick. For coming here, for talking to me, and for giving me another chance.”
He pulled her into a hug. “You’re family, Elizabeth. I’m sorry I forgot that for a while.”
He left, and she fell into her desk chair, kind of stunned that Mick had been here. She thought about everything he’d said about her and about Gavin.
She was trying so hard to get over him. A plea from his brother on his behalf wasn’t going to change her mind.
And she wasn’t going to go to him. She’d done that too many times already.
No matter what Mick said, no matter how much her heart hurt, no matter how much she missed Gavin, she couldn’t take that step.
Not this time.
She threw herself back into her office project, until her phone rang. She picked it up, surprised to hear Dedrick Coleman on the line.
“Dedrick, how are you?”
“Fine, Elizabeth, and you?”
“Great, thanks. What can I do for you?”
“You can possibly become my agent, if you’re interested.”
Wow. Was it going to be a good day or what? “Definitely interested. Is your contract up with your current agent?”
“Yeah. The guy is a dumb-ass. Overlooked some clauses in my last contract and tied me up with a few things that made me pretty unhappy.”
“That’s not good.”
“I’ve given him his thirty days so he knows I’m looking. Can we talk?”
“Certainly. What does your schedule look like?”
“Well, you can see our game schedule if you look it up. Problem is, my grandparents are flying in on Saturday for this big anniversary party we’re planning for them, and I’d like to get this settled one way or another as soon as possible. I don’t want it weighing on my mind with my grandparents being here and Shawnelle breathing down my neck about it. She’s already stressed enough about the party.”
“I understand. My calendar is clear the next few days. You just let me know when you’d like to meet.”
“We have a day game tomorrow. Can you come to the game? Shawnelle would love to see you, and we can go somewhere right after, have a chat, and hopefully get things ironed out.”
“Uh, Dedrick, I assume you know I’m not seeing Gavin anymore.”
“Yeah, believe me, we all know about that. He’s been moping around the clubhouse ever since you dumped him.”
“I didn’t dump him.”
“Whatever you say, honey. Look, I like you. Your shit with Gavin is between the two of you. I just want a good agent, and I think you’re a good agent. But if you think there’s a conflict because me and Gavin are friends . . .”