“You need to think of the game,” I told him seriously. “You can do this today. Seriously, the defense is so good Spence won’t know what hit him.”
Jett stood back and looked down at me. “You’re putting the win today in the hands of Woods?” he asked me.
“Jamie’s been really bringing his A game,” I said to him with a completely straight face.
Jett stared at me for a long moment before he fisted my T-shirt and dragged me up to meet his lips. “You’ll pay for that,” he promised as he kissed me.
“Bring it,” I teased him as I kissed him back. “Afteryou beat the Lions today.”
“I missed you,” he whispered as his arms wrapped around me again. “I missed this.” I smiled at his words before he slapped my ass hard. “Defense will win it, like fuck they will,” Jett scoffed with a grin as he headed to the door. He looked back at me, sobering. “You okay?”
“I am now,” I told him with a happy smile.
He smiled back, but his eyes still showed his doubt. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m perfect.” I nodded; his concern for me was touching.
“You are.” He hesitated one more time. “We’re going to be okay.” His smile was so confident, I melted as I realized that he wantedusas much as I did.
“We’re going to be more than okay,” I promised him. “I switched football teams for you. Don’t make me regret it.”
He was back in front of me, and his lips covered mine. “Because you’re mine,” he growled. “I need to go.” He kissed me quickly once more. “Your ass is mine after this,” he called over his shoulder as he flashed me a grin before he left me there to go win the game.
And they did.
Epilogue: Quinn
I watched her come back from the office, her lips bruised from kisses, her cheeks flushed from happiness, and when she smiled at me, I returned it. I had gotten so good at plastering a smile on my face that no one cared anymore if it was real. Only one person saw through my fakeness, and he was on the field, catching balls.
“He treat you right?” I asked her, making my tone light.
“I think he will.” She beamed at me. I felt a small sliver of happiness for them. Jett needed someone wholesome like Ava. Someone who was fierce in her own right but needed protecting.
They told me she had put Derrick on the ground. She looked so slight, but she had fight, and that’s why my best friend was falling in love with her. He hadn’t admitted it yet, but he was. She was already head over heels for him. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and I wondered at her bravery to show her emotions so openly.
The Santos huddled together for the first play of the game. Ash stood slightly taller than his cousins, but he was by no means the tallest on the field.
“Ash has really slimmed down and toned up,” I heard Kerr compliment Kage, and I forced my face to remain blank.
“Yeah, he says Gray’s been really careful with what they’re eating,” Kage answered. I felt him nudge me. “They keep this up, they may not need you,” he teased.
Never. They would always need me.
“Who do you think is telling my son what to cook,” Sable said with a laugh. Her arm circled my shoulders. “They’ll always need you,” she said as she kissed my head. I smiled up at her.
I was a Santo in everything but name. We’d had a rough two years since I broke up with Ash — well, he broke up with me, but we were disastrous from the start. Ash had refused to be in thesame room as me, and Onyx, the twins’ older,wilderbrother, had taken Ash’s side because Onyx was a fucking sociopath. Gray had kept silent, which Ash had taken as solidarity, and Jett had been neutral. Jett would never turn his back on me; I was his best friend, and although he would never understand why I did what I did, he would always be there for me.
“I thought you did sports therapy?” Ava asked me as her eyes stayed trained on number eight.
“Nutrition too,” I answered.
“That’s awesome.” She was nodding, but she may as well have been on the field. Jett had passed the ball, and Ash was already breaking away to race down the field.
A tackle took him out, and the pass was ruled incomplete. The stadium mumbled as he bounced back to his feet and gave the player who tackled him a friendly pat on the shoulder as he ran back to the line of scrimmage.
“He’s fit,” I heard the red-haired one murmur to Ava.
Leaning over, I smiled at her. “He’s a manwhore.”
