“Because it was the team’s doctor who made the final call. Micah and I have talked about it—Micah is my agent,” he clarified as he sat down. “And we both think that it has more to do with the team doctor thinking I wasn’t worth the risk if I were to suffer a second injury. He was looking toward the future. That’s his job. At the end of the day, he has to do what’s best for the team.”

Taylor shook her head. “It’s crazy to me that a world-renowned surgeon can declare you fit to play, yet no team will sign you.”

“The NFL is a different kind of beast. What makes sense in everyday life doesn’t necessarily fly when it comes to professional football.” Caution clouded his voice. “I’m mentally preparing myself just in case this doesn’t work out as planned. I know you don’t like to talk about failure, Taylor, but I have to be realistic.”

The compulsion to reject his words was automatic, but she stopped herself. He knew how the NFL worked better than she did. He’d told her once before that he could train as hard as possible, yet still fail to make it onto a team because of circumstances outside of their control. She would keep her objections to herself if this is what he needed to do in order to deal.

But she would also make damn sure he was as physically prepared as he could be. If he didn’t make a team, it wouldn’t be because she fell down on the job.

“I’ve been studying everything I can about what happened to your knee and developing a plan of attack that’s even more detailed than before,” Taylor said. “Those guys at that sports bar pissed me off. I hate, hate, hate that you have to put up with that kind of bullshit, and I want to personally feed them crow when you run onto an NFL field next year.” She pointed to the legal pad on the table. “This is our new game plan.”

He reached for the pad, but she snatched it up before he could.

“Hold on. Let me check a couple of things first.” She started reading over the notes she’d written. After a minute or so, she looked up to find Jamar staring at her with a curious frown. “What?” she asked.

“Have you always done that? Mouthed your words?”

“Huh?”

“When you read? I noticed it at the restaurant the other day when you were looking over the menu. You were reading aloud—under your breath, but still aloud.”

Taylor’s defenses immediately went up. “So?”