“Hey,” I murmured.
She bumped her knee against mine. “You forgot your lucky hoodie.”
I grimaced. “I knew I was missing something.”
“Relax.” She handed it over to me. “Your wife is amazing and brought it for you.”
I took it from her, my shoulders relaxing on cue.With all my pre-race nerves, I’d forgotten it. But thankfully, my wife was amazing.
“You might owe the security guard an autograph after this, though,” she said. “That and the wife card were the only way I got in here.”
I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I like when you use the wife card.”
A blush crept over her cheeks, and I loved that I could make her react like that.
We still hadn’t talked about our new relationship in terms of what that meant for our marriage, but if how my chest puffed out in pride at hearing Roxie being called my wife was any indicator, I wanted to keep things how they were.
She took my hand, squeezing once. Not tight. Just enough.
“Remember, you don’t need to win,” she said quietly. “You already accomplished your goal of getting here and making the USA team.”
I swallowed. “I still want to do well.”
“I know,” she said. “And you will.” Then she gave me a cheeky grin. “But no matter what happens, I’m still stealing your fries tonight.”
A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it.
There she was, cutting through the pressure with ease.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“For being you.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Over the courseof the next several days, my races were a blur.
The starts. The water closing over my head. The burn in my lungs. The roar of the crowd swelling with every stroke.
I didn’t think.
Iswam.
Every time I touched the wall and looked up at the scoreboard, my heart was slamming against my ribs.
One bronze medal in the 400 freestyle relay, two silver medals—one in the 100-meter breaststroke and one in the 200-meter freestyle—and then one gold medal in the 400 IM relay.
It had been the championship of a lifetime for me. I knew I’d never get to experience something like this again, and I soaked in every moment of it.
I wasn’t necessarily done with swimming yet, but no matter what the future held, this was a finish I could stand behind.
As I climbed out of the pool after my last race, adrenaline still surging, my eyes found her immediately.
Roxie was on her feet, clapping like she was personally responsible for my success, grin bright and unapologetic.
I laughed, breathless and light.
