Page 119 of Just Say Yes

I nodded slowly, wrapping my hands around the mug. “Yeah. I think ... I think I needed that.”

“Not just hosing him down,” she said with a small smile. “But standing up for yourself. Owning your strength.”

I took a sip of the tea, the warmth spreading through me. “It felt good. Like ... like maybe I took something back.”

Bug’s smile softened. “You did. And don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it. Not him, not anyone. You think men like him are rare?” Bug said, leaning against the counter with her mug in hand. “Honey, they’re a dime a dozen. The real rarity? A woman who knows she doesn’t need to settle for them.” Her words settled in my chest, warm and heavy, like the tea she’d handed me moments before. “And you’re starting to figure that out, aren’t you?”

I didn’t say anything, but I nodded again, her words nestling into my chest.

The tea’s warmth seeped into me, soothing the lingering edges of my nerves. But it wasn’t just the tea, or even the moment with Bug that left me feeling steadier than I had in a long time. It was something deeper.

Logan’s face flashed in my mind—the way he’d looked at me the last time we were together, his gaze steady and unflinching, like he saw through all the walls I’d spent years building. He saw me. The real me. And instead of turning away, he stayed.

The thought hit me like a wave, rushing in too fast to stop. I set the mug down, my hands trembling just slightly as the realization settled in my chest, warm and terrifying all at once.

I love him.

Not just because of the way he made me feel—safe and alive—but because when I was with him, I loved the version of myself I was becoming. The version who could stand up to Trent, who could claim her worth, who could trust someone to hold her heart without crushing it.

Bug’s words echoed in my mind, soft but steady:You’re finally learning how to win—your way.

The thought of Logan waiting for me, of seeing his name light up my phone again, sent a jolt of warmth through my chest. Maybe I wasn’t ready to say the words out loud—not yet.

But I was ready to fight for what we were building.

For once, I let myself believe it.

THIRTY-TWO

LOGAN

The cool airbit at my skin as I stood outside the hotel, the pavement slick with the sheen of earlier rain. My lungs burned from my run, but it hadn’t done a damn thing to clear my head. My legs ached, my knuckles itched, and none of it mattered.

I could still feel the weight pressing down on me, heavy and suffocating. The midweek game loomed like a shadow, but that wasn’t what had me tied in knots tonight.

It was that damn call-up. I hated disappointing people.

My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t get enough air. It was everything I’d worked for. Everything I was supposed to want, but now it felt hollow.

Dread mixed with excitement. I needed to break the news to Coach and my agent, but not before telling Julep what she meant to me.

Because choosing that meant leaving her behind and there was no way in hell that was happening.

The thought was clear, cutting through the fog like a ray of sweet sunshine.

Julep.

I’d been telling myself this was casual, that what we had was something I could leave behind if I had to. But tonight, staring at the cold reality of what leaving would mean, I knew I’d been lying.

She wasn’t just someone I cared about.

She was it for me.

The vibration of my phone snapped me out of the spiral, and I pulled it from my pocket. Her name lit up the screen, and just seeing it was enough to make my heart kick into overdrive.

“Hey,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied, her voice light, almost giddy. That wasn’t what I’d expected, but it was a welcome surprise.

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