“No,” I admit. “Because the NFL has been my entire life. But she’s…she’s?—”
I can’t say everything.
Not out loud.
Not yet.
Jaxon exhales slowly, nodding like he understands the shape of it anyway. “I get it.”
I huff a laugh with no humor. “Yeah?”
He glances into the living room again, eyes landing on Madison like it’s instinct. “I left a lot on the table for her. Took risks people said were stupid. And it didn’t always make sense on paper.”
He looks back at me, steady. “Love makes you do crazy things.”
My throat burns. “And what if I choose wrong?”
Jaxon’s voice goes softer. “You won’t.”
I stare at him. “How do you know?”
“Because if it’s real,” he says simply, “you’ll find your way back to each other. Even if the path looks different than you planned.”
Madison laughs at something Lyla says, throwing her head back, and Jaxon’s face lights up like someone flipped a switch inside him.
He reaches out without thinking—just hooks a finger in the belt loop of her jeans and tugs her a little closer when she leans away.
Madison glances at him, amused, and he murmurs something I can’t hear.
Whatever he says makes her expression soften. Then she nods and kisses his cheek like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
What they have?
That is what I want, but I also want the future I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid with no real direction.
Jaxon’s gaze flicks back to me, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “Follow your heart,” he says again, quieter this time. “Not your fear.”
I swallow hard.
Behind us, the room erupts in a sudden roar.
We both snap our heads toward the TV.
Sophie is on her feet, hands over her mouth. Lyla is screaming like she’s being attacked. Carter’s yelling something I can’t make out.
And Beck?—
Beck is frozen, eyes wide, like his brain can’t process that his name just got said out loud.
Then he stands up so fast he knocks the coffee table with his knee.
The TV graphic flashes: SELECTED — BECK HARRISON — LINEBACKER and the team name underneath is Jaxon’s.
Beck’s head whips toward Jaxon like he needs to confirm it’s real.
Jaxon grins. “Told you it was a big night.”
Beck makes a strangled sound, half laugh, half sob, and Sophie launches herself at him.
