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Tank.

Luca.

Noah.

Dane.

My team.

My friends.

My family.

“They became ours.”

Layla's eyes shine.

“And then you showed up.”

Her lips part.

“And you taught me something I should've learned a long fucking time ago.”

Someone in the crowd cheers at the profanity. I smile.

Layla shakes her head.

“What?”

“That the best things in life aren't things you control.”

Her eyes fill.

“They're things you choose.”

I reach into my pocket.

The stadium erupts.

Layla freezes.

“Oh my God.”

I go down on one knee.

The noise is deafening.

Behind me, the Rovers start shouting.

The wives are screaming.

Layla's hands fly to her mouth.

I look up at the woman who walked into my life looking for a story and somehow became the best part of mine.

“I spent most of my life believing money could solve any problem.”

She laughs through her tears.