Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

They walked out of the deli together, him carrying a turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo sandwich with a side of well-done French fries, the way Willow liked them.

He blinked into the glare of the hot sun and cursed because he’d left his sunglasses in the car.

“So this is it? Willow’s the one?” Bri asked. “Because I’ve never seen you so happy or settled, even,” she said as they approached their vehicles parked side by side so Bri could head back to Dare Nation and Braden to the stadium.

“If I have my way, yes. I’ve been giving her space to come to terms with her past and my dick move of leaving her last time we were together.” But he was getting restless keeping things light. He wanted her to know how he felt about her and move their relationship along.

Bri nodded. “Well, since she’s good for you, I approve,” she said with a smile.

“Good because I bought a ring.”

Bri froze. “You what?”

He grinned. “I bought a ring for Willow that I have stashed in a safe in my apartment.”

Her smiled grew wide. “Well, damn, brother, you move fast!”

He shrugged. “I learned my lesson losing her once. I’m not doing it again.”

She adjusted her sunglasses on her face and nodded. “Well, I’m in your corner. But I’m sweating, so I’m going to say goodbye and get into my air-conditioned car.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Take care and talk soon. And good luck!”

“Bye, Bri.” He turned and unlocked his vehicle, like Bri, anxious to cool off.

Twenty minutes later, he walked back into the stadium and immediately went in search of Willow. Not only did he have lunch for her, he had news he wanted to share about both the clinic and Adam’s return and Braden’s reply. Telling her he’d turned the man down would go a long way toward reassuring her about his intentions to stick around permanently.

When he didn’t find her in her office, he headed for the training room. There were a variety of trainers and therapists working on their patients but no Willow.

He turned and bumped into Cole. Fucking guy was always around. “What now?” he asked him.

“Just wondered if you were looking for Willow?”

Braden narrowed his gaze. “First you’re always up my ass and now you’re digging into my relationship. Why?” He was through with this asshole but had to play it cool in public.

“Just trying to do you a solid. I saw her and let her know you’d met with your Doctors Without Borders pal and agreed to go back.”

“Excuse me?” Braden’s heart raced as panic set in. “Why the fuck would you lie?” He shook his head. “Never mind. Stupid question.”

Cole smirked and Braden wanted to punch the smile off his self-satisfied face.

“I made sure to tell her you two reminisced about your time in Brazil and how much you preferred helping the less fortunate than wealthy athletes who had it all. That going back was a no-brainer. She ran out of here fast.” He rocked on his heels, laughing at Braden’s shocked expression.

Gritting his teeth, Braden stepped into his space, and since he towered over the man, Cole shrank back.

“You’re a dick and you’ll be out of a job if I have anything to say about it. But I don’t have the time or patience to deal with you now.” Braden elbowed past Cole, deliberately shoving him aside.

He needed to talk to Willow. After he secured the most important part of his life and made sure she knew Cole Walsh was a fucking liar, then he’d talk to Ian about getting rid of the trash.

Cole’s laughter echoed in his ear as Braden made his way to his office. Slamming his door shut, he tossed the bag of food onto the desk and pulled his phone out of his pocket, hitting Willow’s name, which was the first on his list of important contacts.

The phone rang, rang, and went to voicemail. “Shit.”

Leaving everything behind, including lunch, he headed back to his car and drove directly to Willow’s apartment, panicking the entire time. If Cole had worked on her insecurities and she’d believed his lies because she was vulnerable, he’d have to work hard to regain her trust all over again.

He pulled into a spot and glanced around the parking lot, but he didn’t see her car. Resting his head on the top of the wheel, he groaned. Just in case, he went up to her apartment.

Aurora answered his knock. “Braden, hi!” Aurora met him with a happy smile. “Come in!”

He stepped into the apartment and saw Linc Kingston zipping up a huge suitcase he’d obviously bought for Aurora. “You’re leaving?” Braden asked.

She nodded. “I told Willow this morning and promised we’d have dinner tonight. She was supposed to invite you.”

He didn’t want to worry her. “We’ve both been busy all day. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her yet. But she left early and I thought maybe she came home?”