“I’ve got a great team here. They make me look good.”
“Mmhm, so humble, Coach Gage.” She winks and kisses me again.
I pull back from her slightly and whisper, “We have an audience.”
She glances over her shoulder, then back to me but not before her eyes widen and she looks back again, pushing away from me and facing the team and the cheerleaders.
She turns back again, and I can’t help but chuckle at the confusion written across her face.
I nod towards the signs.
“They’re here for you tonight, Gage’s Girl.”
She spins once again and I see my sister, Bobby, her brothers, Farrah, and her parents gathered around, as well.
The Cheerleaders are holding signs that spell out:
MY MINDS SET.
MY HEARTS SET.
I’M ALL IN, 100 PERCENT.
MARRY ME?
When she turns back to me, I’m on one knee holding the ring that was in my pocket the entire time. Good luck charm maybe?
Nah. It’s just her.
The woman who makes me rethink my life.
She’s the type you risk a friendship for.
She’s the type you claim.
“Don’t leave me hanging, Chessy. I wouldn’t want to have to spank you in front of all these people for making me wait for an answer.”
She’s stepped close enough that I hope her brother didn’t hear that last part but honestly, I don’t care.
“What do you say, baby girl? Want to do life with me?”
She’s crying as she holds her hand out for me to slide the ring on.
“Yes! Yes! A million times yes!”
I stand up and smother her in my arms.
The team is—you guessed it—barking and my family gathers around, all celebrating with us.
I was an all-star quarterback in high school.
I was drafted first my junior year of college.
I was a starting quarterback in the NFL.
But Francesca is by far, the Biggest Win of my life.
EPILOGUE Part 1
