Page 121 of Coach's Temptation

I open my mouth, then snap it shut. Because I don’t know how to say it without unraveling completely.

I’m not afraid of him choosing Team USA.

I’m afraid of letting myself believe he’d choose me… and then being wrong.

Hunter’s jaw tightens. His fingers flex against the counter, like he’s barely keeping himself from coming undone. But then, something shifts.

The frustration bleeds out of him, replaced by something rawer, something thathurtsto look at.

“Natalie, you know what I've learned after spending all this time with you?" His eyes flash to mine, something dark inside. "I’ve spent my whole life chasing things that don’t mean a damn thing if I can’t share them with you.”

My breath catches.

“For twenty years, I was fueled by revenged. Then you walked into that damn place and wrecked me, Natalie.” His chest rises and falls, his control slipping. “From the moment I met you, you’ve pushed me to my limits. Challenged me. Tore down every wall I spent years building. And I let you. Because deep down, I fuckingwantedyou to.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. His words hit like an earthquake, shaking something loose inside me.

He takes a step closer, his voice lower, rougher.

“I grew up in a family where rules and responsibility mattered. Where you followed the plan, you did what was expected, you played the long game. But you know what mattered more than all of that?”

He exhales, shaking his head like the answer is so goddamn obvious.

“Love. That’s what I was taught. That’s what Iknow.”

I look up at him, my vision blurring at the edges.

"I risked everything for you, despite the rules. Despite the fact that Iknewit would flip my whole world upside down. I broke every goddamn rule I had for myself the second you walked into my life.”

I stare at him, my pulse roaring in my ears.Because he’s serious. Because he’s willing to walk away from everything—everything—just to be here with me.

And that’s when it hits me.

If he stays… what does that mean for me?

I love Iron Ridge. I love my apartment, my town, the way I know every face in the grocery store and how the arena feels like home. I spent my whole life wanting to belong somewhere… and I found it here, right where I've always been, but now it's with someone who I thought loved it just as much as I do.

Could I leave all of that behind if it meant being with him, though? If he’s willing to give up Team USA… should I be willing to give up something too?

Maybe being with himishome, no matter where that is.

The thought shakes me. Because I never imagined leaving this town.

But I also never imaginedhimbeing a part of that.

My chest tightens, my lungs seizing up.

Because I remember. I remember the night I first stepped into his house, into his world. The rules he laid down like armor.

No touching. No flirting. No lingering.

Now he’s standing in my kitchen, telling me he was never playing by those rules at all. Not really. They were just words, empty boundaries that never stood a chance.

And maybe that’s the answer. Maybe it was never about one of us sacrificing more than the other. It's about choosing a life…together.

My hands shake, my heart pounds.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” My voice cracks, tears hot behind my eyes. “Why did you let me think you wanted to leave?”

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