I wrap my hands around his head, kissing his mouth, knowing that for the rest of my life, I will remember the smell of sweat and the taste of tears that accompanied this euphoria.
As soon as he sets me down, a reporter approaches him with a camera and microphone, and I step away, but he holds tight to me, keeping me next to him as the reporter interviews him about the game and the touchdown that was basically a redo of last year’s game.
“Do you have any statement you want to make to your naysayers?”
“Yeah.” He smirks, and I know thatlook. “I’m still here, and I told you, you can’t bring me down. And Lionel Barry? You can?—”
I slap my hand over his mouth, keeping him from finishing that sentence, which I’m sure was “go fuck yourself.” The reporter laughs good-naturedly, flicking his gaze between Camden and me, clearly wanting to ask about us, yet not. Instead, he says, “What about the people who’ve helped you this season? How have they brought you to this moment?”
Camden licks his lips, taking his time as he formulates his answer, his fingers wrapped around mine the whole time. “The coaches, the staff, my teammates, they’ve all not only stood behind me when I needed them, but next to me. I owe this entire season to their support. Rivera is not only my quarterback, but he’s my best friend, my brother. He walked every step with meon this journey, and while I wouldn’t wish my experience on anyone else, I hope everyone has a sibling by choice in their life, because their love is not born but given. It’s really special.”
He pauses to smile at Paisley and to clear his throat of the rawness in it before he continues. “My sister made me this bracelet,” he says, showing it off, “and it’s my good luck charm. Her faith in me has changed my life. This win is for my family, my sister and my parents. I hope they’re watching over me now and that they’re proud.”
I swipe the back of my hand over my cheeks, blinking away my blurry vision in time to see Camden staring down at me. “And, of course, I would never have made it here without the love of my life. She has held me up and continues to every day. I’d never have this comeback without her convincing me that there was one to be made. That I could be redeemed.”
Then in front of the reporter, camera, and all of the world, he yanks me to him and kisses me.
Someone—I think Emmaline—shouts, “Hell fucking yeah!”
Someone else—I don’t know who—adds, “Now that’s what I call a kiss!”
And I laugh against his mouth because everything they say about Camden Long is true. He’s one of the best tight ends to ever play professional football, an arrogant asshole, and the sexiest man walking God’s green earth.
Then again, I’m biased, and maybe it’s just me.
The only one who can bring the King of Football to his knees.
Literally.
EPILOGUE
CAMDEN
It’s the middle of April, and I’m enjoying my off-season diet of a pastrami on rye from the deli down the street when Nadine tears into the room. “I got in! I got in!”
“What?” Confused, I set down my sandwich and wipe off my fingers to catch her. “What are you saying?”
“I got into Penn.”
“You got into Penn?” I parrot, matching her level of excitement and volume.
“Yes! I got into Penn!”
I lift her up, swinging her around a few times as she squeals before holding her up, so she can wrap her arms and legs around me. “I’m so, so proud of you.”
The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school with one of the top-ranked education programs in the country. Because of its prestige, they routinely receive thousands of applicants but only accept about a quarter of them.
“I didn’t think they’d take me.” She leans back to meet my gaze, and I blink a few times to view her clearly through my tears. She had an online interview with them, and she’d sworn they didn’t like her. I told her she was making it all up in her head.
Of course, I was right.
“We have to celebrate.” I set her down and take off my glasses to wipe at my eyes before grabbing my cell phone to call the building’s concierge to tell them I need a bottle of champagne stat. The best one they can find. Personal shopping isn’t really in their job description, but seeing as how they want to keep me happy and in the building, they are more than willing to provide it for me. And twenty minutes later, a bottle of Dom Perignon arrives at my door.
Once we each have glasses filled, I tip mine to Nadine’s. “ToDoctorRivera.”
After some more conversations with me and with her parents, Nadine decided that she did eventually want to earn her PhD, and this acceptance is her first step in that direction.
“It’ll be a lot of work.”
