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Those were all the things he needed to be happy He needed to stay away fros screith his head All he needed in his life was football If he just concentrated on football, everything would be perfect

Then he walked in the door of the restaurant and saw Mia sitting at the bar, and his newly constructed life plan went totally to shit

MIA SAW THE LOOK ON NATHAN’S FACE WHEN HE WALKED in He was not happy to see her She half expected him to turn around and walk out In fact, she found herself holding her breath for that fraction of a second as their gazesfor him to do exactly that

When he didn’t, when he walked toward her, she exhaled in relief He could be mad as hell at her, he could even yell at her But what she couldn’t handle was hih that’s what she’d done, wasn’t it? She’d walked away fro him a truthful explanation about why She owed him that, so she really hoped he’d stay to hear her out

"I’one dry "He’s not here"

Nathan frowned "Okay I’ll wait for hi to be here I asked hiured if I asked you to coht This is a waste of time"

He started to walk away but she laid her hand on his forearm "Please stay"

"I don’t need closure, Mia"

"Closure? I’m not-- I don’t want that, Nathan I want to talk to you"

He looked around and so did she The restaurant wasn’t crowded It was still early so the dinner crowd hadn’t arrived yet

"Fine"

She felt such relief at that one word "Let’s get a table somewhere private in the corner where we can talk Would you like so to drink?"

He told the bartender he wanted a beer Once he got that, they went to a table in the far corner of the restaurant

Mia took a sip of her hile Nathan took several long ss of his beer, then set it down on the table

"What’s this all about, Mia?"

Noas the time to lay the truth out on the table She hoped he didn’t bolt when she did, but she owed his

"I lied to you"

"When?"

"When I broke up with you It wasn’t about my company or me It was about you"

He didn’t respond to that, so she continued

"That afternoon of the preseason game, you put your arm around me and the media was there They took photos and those photos showed up online I sat outside Mick and Tara’s house You remember ere supposed to ht I saw those photos and what the reporters were saying about you and ether They asked if ere a dynasty in theyou to benefit ahed "How can you be so nonchalant about that? You kno the press focuses on an athlete and his personal life I didn’t want that for you Not at such a critical juncture in your career"

Nathan took a sip of his beer "Oh, I get it So you decided it would be best to end things between us to save me How noble of you"

She knew he’d bewas for the best For you"

"Without talking tohow I felt about it Because Mia Cassidy knows best"

She shook her head "It wasn’t like that I was scared for you, Nathan I orried how you’d be perceived, that the focus would be about the two of us instead of your perfor me like someone you care about, you treated n with MHC, because you handled ht on Tell the client that personal life and entangle like she thought it would Couldn’t he see what she’d done for hi? "That’s exactly the way I thought I sacrificed us for you Don’t you see that?"

His gaze narrowed "Oh, I see it perfectly Only I was in love with you, Mia So while you were thinking all about business you ripped oddamn heart out"

He was in love with her? It was the first time he’d said it and she should be elated

But she could only watch him as he stood, tossed money on the table for his beer and, without another word, walked out of the restaurant