There’s a burn in my throat, as if someone’s crammed a balloon behind my ribs and it’s trying to pop. I glance back up and catch her gaze. She’s lit up, so bright it’s like the sun’s shining right out of her, and she throws her head back and laughs at something Theo says.
The sight of her here… Fuck. It slams into my chest with the weight of a vow, rewrites my DNA.
This is what my eyes were made for.
To see her.
She’s sporting my number, holding a pink glittery sign like some love-struck teenager, and I’ve never been prouder or happier or more humbled about anything in my goddamn life.
And then I clock Fraser’s face. It’s a fucking gift. That scrunched-up look. Sour and twisted, like he’s swallowed a wasp. He knows. He knows this phenomenal powerhouse of a woman is here for me, and there’s not a fucking thing he can do about it. He’s glaring at me like he wants me dead.
Let him try.
Right now, I’m invincible.
Hell, part of me wants to thank him for screwing it up and bringing her into my life.
Charlie waves, and it’s the smallest, simplest thing, but it rocks me. I don’t even think about it – I blow her a kiss. Right there, in front of the entire stadium, the lads, the cameras – everyone.
I want them all to know. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Scottie laughs and claps me on the back. ‘Christ, MacRae. You soft bastard.’
I don’t care. I don’t give a damn if the press writes about it for weeks. That’s my girl up there, and I’m never letting her go. Nothing else matters. Just her. Just this game. Just showing them all that I’m back, and in love, and fucking unstoppable.
The whistle blows. The lads bunch up. My pulse’s still racing, but it’s not from the game anymore.
I exhale slowly, like it hurts to let it go, and square up. Focus. Finish this. Win it for her, for the team, for everything I’ve dragged back from the edge with bloody knuckles and a heart that refused to quit.
I roll my shoulders back and straighten my spine, scan the pitch, and yell at the boys to form up.
And I look back one last time. She’s still watching me, eyes shining with that fire, smile unshakeable. She made her move. Now it’s my turn to show her what she’s choosing.
I nod to her. Three words carved into my heart, caught in my throat. Too huge to speak, so I mouth them in her direction.
I love you.
And then I charge into the second half.
Epilogue
Charlie
‘Istill can’t believe you killed a cactus,’ Brodie mumbles, glancing over his shoulder from the stove. ‘Whodoesthat?’
He’s wearing my shirt like it was made for him.
Which, to be fair, it was.
It’s black and gold, ‘Harrington’ in bold letters across the back with the number one below. Of course, it’s a cheeky, silly joke. But I thought it was a cute Christmas gift. Brodie thought so, too. It’s unfair how good he looks in it. Enough that I almost forget he’s roasting me.
I lean against the counter and make a face. ‘It died alone in my office. I didn’t kill it. It…gave up.’
‘Because you neglected it. You don’t get a plant and leave it to fend for itself.’
‘That’s what plants do! They sit there and survive. I didn’t know it needed emotional support.’
He shakes his head and keeps stirring the sauce.
