Drew
Don’t be an asshole. You deserve to be happy, and I think she makes you happier than you’ve been in years.
Me
She does.
Drew
I love that for you, brother. Take whatever time you need. I’m not going anywhere.
“Okay?” Maddy asks when I set the phone down on the dash.
I nod. “He’s cool to wait.”
“Good. Okay, so, I know that I’m a little late for Christmas, but this took longer than I thought it would to put together.”
“You got it for me, so I’ll love it.” I reach into the bag and pull out a heavy book, setting the gift bag in the backseat. When I look down at it, my heart clenches at the picture of my kids on the cover that I recognize instantly. It’s a pre-game picture from earlier this season—the one they sent me before our second home game with their tongues out and their eyes crossed.
And when I flip open the cover, my heart stops entirely.
On the first page is Lainey, in the very first pre-game picture she ever sent me, weeks before Riley was born. I keep turning the pages, each one filled with pre-game pictures from over the years, in chronological order. A few more of Lainey alone, Lainey with newborn Riley, and then with Riley as a toddler.
I swallow hard at what I know is the last picture Lainey ever sent me. And the picture from the first game I played after she died, three-year-old Riley holding a newborn Ethan, my mom behind the camera. I turn the pages slowly, watching my kids grow up, my whole heart memorialized right here in my hands, given to me by the woman who now owns a giant piece of it.
When I get to the last page, I give a watery laugh at thepicture of Maddy sandwiched between Riley and Ethan, all of them sticking their tongues out at the camera—the picture they sent me the night of my Thanksgiving game.
Closing the book, I stare down at it for a long moment before looking back up at Maddy. When I lock eyes with her, my breath catches, and I lose the very shaky grip I’m holding on my emotions because looking into her eyes is like looking into a mirror, everything I feel for her reflected right back at me.
“Maddy, I…” I trail off, words failing me as my heart fills with a love so huge I don’t know how a single body can contain it all.
She smiles, laying a hand on my face and wiping away the tear that escapes from the corner of my eye and trails down my cheek. “I know. Me too.”
“This is…everything,” I manage. “I love it.”
I love you.
“I hope you don’t mind me kind of hacking your phone so I could do this. When you showed me the pictures a while back, I got this idea, so I shared the album with myself. I know it’s a stalkerish violation of your privacy but, well, desperate times and all that.” She shrugs, like she didn’t just give me the best present of all time. “Also, I wasn’t sure if it was weird to put the picture of me at the end or not, but I just went for it, because I was going for a rom-com level romantic gesture.”
I love her. I fucking love her with everything I am and everything I will ever be, and suddenly, she is way too far away. Reaching over, I grab her waist, laughing when she yelps as I haul her across the center console and right into my lap. Hitting the button on the side of the car, I slide my seat back as far as it goes and gather her against me. “It’s perfect,” I murmur. “You’re perfect.” I press kisses to her temple, her cheek, dotting a line of them down her neck and back up again until I finally take her mouth.
It’s slow and deep, our mouths saying all the things we haven’t yet put into words. It’s moans and sighs, tongues and teeth and roving hands, bodies pressed together and two peoplemeant to be, finding their way to each other. It’s more than I ever thought I would have again. The most perfect girl, the perfect night, and the brightest future, stretching out ahead of us.
When we finally break apart, we stay like that for a while, breathing each other in, whispering quiet words. And then I text Drew, telling him that we’re ready. Maddy laughs as I haul us both into the backseat and pull blankets, pillows, popcorn, orange soda, and six kinds of M&M’s out of the trunk, making us a cozy nest. And then again when Drew knocks on the car window, delivering the pizza I ordered with a grin. We eat way too much and watch the familiar movies wrapped around each other, and I think that maybe this is the best night of my entire life.
And then I take her home and lay her out on her bed, stripping off both of our clothes, sinking inside her and fucking her like she’s mine, because she is. Unequivocally, undeniably mine. And I am, as ever, as always, hers.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
MADDY
“AFC CHAMPIONSHIP BABY!” Tyler bellows, running to the sidelines and stopping just short of crashing into me. He wraps his arms around my knees and picks me up, spinning me in a circle, my hands flying down to clamp onto his shoulders so I don’t go careening backwards and breaking my head.
We’re playing in Denver, but the crowd roars so loud you would think we’re at home. Pittsburgh fans travel well. The stadium practically shakes as the field fills with players, coaches, staff, and media, a wild celebration under the dark night sky.
“Put me down,” I yell, banging on his back. “Go attack one of your teammates.”
“You are my teammate,” Tyler says with a dazzling grin, dropping me to my feet and kissing my nose. “We never could have done this without you.”
