Page 91 of Never Say Never

“Are you happy?” she asks, looking over her shoulder at me.

“Do you even have to ask that?”

“I’m happy. More than I ever thought imaginable.” Her smile is soft. “You know I love you more than his house, right?”

“I do,” I murmur back.

With that, I turn her in my arms and drop to one knee. “Daisy—”

She gasps. Her hands fly to her mouth as her eyes fill with tears. “Tucker, are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.” I slide my hand into my pocket and pull out a small square box. My heart is racing when I open it, revealing an Asscher-cut diamond in a simple white gold setting. Her eyes widen as I take the ring from the velvet pouch.

“Since you’ve been back in my life, I’ve never been happier. You’re good. You’re genuine. You’re mine, and I want you forever. I’ve always known it, Daisy. Even when we started the stupid pact and I kept telling myself it was just temporary, my heart knew you were my end game. I knew I was never going to be able to let you go.” Tears fill her eyes. “I’ve loved you all my life. We belong together. Marry me, Dais?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she cries, and the euphoria that floods my body makes me realize yet again that my heart is under her spell.“I will marry you.”

I slip the ring onto her finger with a smile, knowing that everyone within a five-mile radius will now know that Daisy belongs to me.

“I love you so damn much.” My lips are against her temple. Everything feels too good to be true, but I know that what we have is real. It always has been, and I will live the rest of my life making Daisy Carter happy. “We’re going to have a long and happy life, Dais. I know it.” I tip her chin up, my eyes searching hers. “I thought I had everything I needed, but I was wrong. I only need you. You and me and this house and our future. You are what I want most in this world.”

The truth is, it feels like I can’t breathe without Daisy by my side. She sees me for who I am: the good and the bad. She’s always been my home, and it blows my mind that I somehowmanaged to make her mine even though she was the one thing I was never supposed to have.

Tears well in her crystal-blue eyes before sliding down her cheeks as I pull her face down to me and kiss her.

She frames my face in her hands. Daisy is my past, present and future. That sounds perfect.

I want it to stay that way.

For the rest of my life.

DAISY’S EPILOGUE

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

Daisy

3 years later

“Daisy, are you almost ready? We need to get on the road. We’re going to be late.” Aunt Daisy’s voice echoes from the bottom of the stairs. I tuck my blouse into my jeans, grab my bag and jog downstairs.

Tuck’s mom is waiting for me by the front door looking just as nervous as I feel. We’ve waited for what seems like forever for tonight, and the last thing I want to do is show up late for my husband’s first game coaching in the NFL.

“Your parents and Mark are already in the car with Evie. She looks so cute in her Cowboys onesie.”

There probably isn’t anything cuter on the planet than our 11-month-old daughter wearing her dad’s team logo. It was a gift from the owner of the Cowboys after Tucker signed the 3-year contract.

Evie was only 3 months old when we moved everything we own from Reed Point to just outside of Dallas, Texas. We had been living in SoCal for a year after Tucker took the head coach position for the USC Trojans. When we got the call that a team in the NFL was interested in Tucker, we didn’t believe it. It cameas an even bigger shock when we heard the team was the Dallas Cowboys.

I’d never seen Tucker at a loss for words, that was a first for me. But after the initial shock wore off, Tucker and his agent flew out to Dallas to meet with the organization. I wanted to be there with him on one of the biggest days of his life, but I was pregnant with Evie and as big as a house, so I stayed home on doctor’s orders. Two weeks after Tucker signed the contract with The Cowboys, we found our new house online, sight unseen, and made an offer. I had Evie the next day.

Pretty soon, she’s going to have a brother. I’m six months pregnant with our son, Theo. We are naming him after my grandfather.

I’m pretty sure I almost fainted when I took the test and saw the two pink lines. Evie had just turned 4 months old, and we were in a new city. I couldn’t wrap my head around having two kids in less than two years. Tucker, on the other hand, was instantly ecstatic. After we had Evie, he couldn’t wait to start trying for another. Who knew Tucker Collins would want a handful of kids? Never in my wildest dreams. He’s the best dad. No surprise there. No matter how long his day has been, he feeds Evie her dinner, gives her a bath and rocks her to sleep. He fell so hard and fast for his little girl. The week after she was born, he added a new tattoo to his collection: A little bird for Evie, next to the daisy he got for me.

I know it kills our parents to be so far away from their granddaughter, but they fly out every month for at least a few days. This weekend, all four of them are here to support Tucker. Thankfully, our house is large enough to fit everyone—that was a requirement when we were house-hunting. Six thousand square feet is not what I ever envisioned for Tucker and me; I was happy living in our little colonial just off Haven Harbor. But the extraspace sure helps when you have two extended families who are as close as ours.

This will be our home for as long as The Cowboys organization will have us. This will be the place we raise our babies. I would like to think it’s the home where Tucker and I will grow old together, but it is professional sports, and you just never know.

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