“More than that.”
“More than your first edition ofPride and Prejudice?”
“Don’t get greedy now.”
A cheer erupted from the locker room as I bent to kiss her with a laugh, and then I was getting ripped backward.
“Come on, Coach! Plenty of time to kiss that beautiful woman of yours later. But right now, we’ve got a victory boat parade to plan, and Jaxson has abrilliantidea.”
It was Carter Fabri, his hair soaked and grin wide as he waved at Ariana and threw his arm around my neck to drag me into the locker room.
“By brilliant, he means absolutely idiotic,” Daddy P grumped.
“You’re just mad you didn’t think of it,” Vince chided.
“Picture this—” Jaxson held up his hands wide. “A zip line strung between two yachts, and we pass ride back and forthhanging from the trophybefore doing a keg stand on the other side and tapping the next player in.”
Aleks blinked at his teammate, shaking his head.„Der spinnt doch.“
“Exactly!” Jaxson exclaimed, pointing to Aleks. “What he said.”
“Pretty sure he insulted you,” Daddy P pointed out.
“But he didn’t say he wouldn’t do the zip line,” Vince added with a finger aimed at Aleks’s chest.
The bickering continued on, and I chuckled, crossing my arms and taking in the glory of a rowdy team who’d earned this night.
My eyes flicked back to the hallway just in time to see Maven loop an arm through Ariana’s, Grace and Mia falling in on either side of her, laughter spilling from them as easily as it always had.
She wasn’t watching from the sidelines anymore.
She had her own team now.
This was the love I’d always dreamed of.
It was support and comfort, safety and encouragement, room to be ourselves while also carving out an existence together.
The Cup was right there in the center of the noise, and the night was loud and electric and unreal — but somehow, the best part of winning wasn’t the trophy at all.
It was knowing we’d both made it here together.
Time and circumstance had ripped us apart, but we’d found our way back — as if there was no other option, as if our souls were tied to one another.
And here we were. Still standing. Still choosing each other, even when it was impossible to do. Still building something honest out of the wreckage that tried to claim us.
It all started with a hand flying into the air, with a girl who captured my heart the second I laid eyes on her.
And from where I was standing, there was no ending in sight.
Ariana
One Year Later
“I feel like this should be shocking, but alas… I feel nothing close to surprise,” Vince said, smirking as he took in the ridiculous chapel we were sitting in. He had one arm around Maven, who was holding fast to the hand of Rowan, who was no doubt planning her escape so she could run around freely.
“I mean, nothing screams Grace quite like bedazzled pews and an Elvis officiant,” Livia agreed.
We were in Las Vegas, the whole crew, tofinallycelebrate Jaxson and Grace getting married. Grace had been reluctant to set a date at first. As much as she couldn’t wait to marry Jaxson, the very act of “settling down” went against every fiber that made up who she was as a person.
