It was time to finish this.
FIFTH SET: 5–4, MY SERVE
Of course it had gone to five. This was Centre Court. It demanded blood and theatre.
One game. That’s all I had to win.
My body was breaking down. Every muscle was trembling. My breath came in ragged shudders.
I shifted my weight back and forth at the baseline, and shifted my eyes up to her again.
She was perched on the edge of her seat, eyes locked on mine like she could drag the ball across the net with just a look. My heart cracked open. I’d marry her tomorrow. The thought hit me clean with no warning. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind. Just the truth of how I felt. This wasn’t just tennis anymore; this was about us. About a life I hadn’t even let myself dream about until she showed up.
Three more points.
MATCH POINT
My chest heaved. My hands shook. The roar of Centre Court blurred until all I saw was her.
Rising to her feet with one hand at her heart, the other clenched in a fist her side, her eyes were full of fire now.
I tossed the ball, coiled every part of myself into the motion, and hit.
Unreturnable.
Ace.
For half a second, there was no noise, no air. Then the stadium exploded.
I dropped to my knees, hands to my face. Laughing, crying, I couldn’t tell.
I’d done it.
Wimbledon Champion.
And when I finally dragged my eyes upward, through the blur of sweat and the roar of noise, through the wild tangle of adrenaline and everything I’d ever thought I wanted, there she was.
She was on her feet, clapping, her face lit with laughter…or was it tears? It didn’t matter. She looked like the bloody sun breaking through every storm I’d ever weathered. My girl. My everything.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jordan
The secondI stepped off Centre Court, it slammed into me. The noise, the weight, the years of failure I’d carried on my back. And the win. The one I’d been chasing down for years.
Hands clapped my back, voices shouted my name. But it was all a blur, like I was underwater. My mind was racing, my chest ready to split open, because none of it mattered until I saw her.
Tucked just beyond the barrier, half-shadowed in the tunnel light behind one of the media staff, she looked like she’d been through a war.
Her mascara was smudged. Her eyes were shining. Lips trembled like she couldn’t quite believe it. My knees nearly gave out.
“Kate.”
Time stopped for a second as we found each other. She hesitated a little and looked around, as though unsure she was even allowed to be here. That’s when she broke. Her tears started falling again, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to smile.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, her hands coming up to cup my face. “You actually did it.”
“I told you I would.” My voice shook. “With you there…how could I not?”
