“A WAG?” I raise an eyebrow jokingly, and she laughs.
“No.Me. I’m meant to be me.”
My heart drums in my chest as I stare deeply into her beautiful wide eyes, finding my home staring back at me. Grabbing her phone from her hand, I toss it on the armchair out of her reach and follow it with my own, then pull her into my arms.
Our world might be chaotic, and there will be times when one or both of us wants to fall apart, or hide away until it all blowsover—probably me—but Blair’s right. As long as we’re in this together, we can get through anything.
I’d rather spend an eternity facing my mistakes than lose her again.
I may be careless when it comes to my life, but when it comes to hers, I’m the king of fucking stability.
And she’ll forever be my queen.
EPILOGUE ONE
Zane
ONE MONTH LATER
Iwatch Blair as she takes in the beautiful beachside apartment, her lips parted in awe. When her eyes widen with excitement, I know I’ve lost her. “Are you sure you don’t want to move in with me? You said you loved my apartment.”
She sighs longingly. “I do love it, but I want to do this right. And to do that, I think we should start from the beginning.”
“Meaning you want me to court you?” I shudder slightly, much like I did the last time I made that ridiculous suggestion.
“I’m beginning to think youwantto court me.” Blair bites back a giggle. “I’m sure my dad would love it if you asked his permission to date me.”
“We’re already dating. If it was up to me, we’d be more than that. Which is your fault. You and your grand ‘we’re in this together’ speech.”
It’s been a month since Blair saved me from making the worst decision of my life. If she’d agreed to being better off without me, I would have walked away again, no questions asked. I’mthatobsessed with making her happy.
But now that she’s convinced me not to, I’mallin. I don’t want to be apart anymore. Taking it slowly is a kind of torture that I’m not the slightest bit interested in.
Having Blair by my side through the aftermath of Landon’s death was probably the only thing keeping me sane. No matter where I went or what I did, I was hounded with questions. Like the world was desperate to send me back to the depths of my hell.
But Blair wouldn’t let that happen.
When my days were as dark as my nights, she was there, torch in hand, guiding my path. And I’ve never felt that kind of love, except from my sister.
And maybe Cade.
Speaking of my girlfriend’s brother… We may not be the best friends we once were, but Cade’s been hanging around like a bad smell, and he’s growing on me again. It didn’t take long to realize that if any of us are stuck in the past, it’s him. He’s the same guy he was back then, but if I’m honest, that’s not such a bad thing. I hope he never changes. Though I am glad he’s accepted my relationship with Blair. I’m not sure he would have done that back then.
Credit for my new life should also go to Keeley, D’Angelo, and Wes. And, of course, the guys from my support chat. Sorry,Keeley’ssupport chat now.
They’ve been steadfast in ensuring I know they have my back, and I’m certain that football would have lost its appeal if theyhadn’t been around to help me through it all. There’s nothing worse as a player than having your own fans turn against you, and for a little while there, that was my life.
But with Reed and Luke constantly singing my praises, and Easton telling the media to fuck off on my behalf, it was hard for their hatred to remain.
That and the fact that I’ve proven myself on the field, and showed them that I’m here for my team—ourteam—no matter what they throw at me. I’m ready to take it all the way.
Blair cringes and I can’t help but smile at how lucky I am to have her by my side. Even though she doesn’t want to live with me.
“Wearein this together. Forever. But I think this’ll be good for us—getting to have a proper relationship instead of rushing into things.”
“You know I’d do anything for you, B. To extremes. But did your apartment have to be so far away from mine?”
“It’s thirty minutes. And it’s next to the beach. Somewhere you probably would have chosen if you hadn’t said yes to the first apartment you viewed.”
