Page 66 of A Game Plan for Love

His brows furrow, but then, as if on cue, Nora screams his name, and I get to witness the way his eyes brighten and a smile of pure joy forms on his face from the sound of my daughter's voice.

I release him and he sprints over to the concrete wall where Maren dangles Nora over the side. Her tiara nearly tips off her head, but she rights it and smudges the eye black on her cheeks. A miniature version of Declan’s jersey covers the top half of her princess dress.

Seems like Maren won half the battle.

I stand off to the side, and give Declan the moment with Nora, and when he presses onto his toes and readjusts her tiara, I melt into a puddle.

A thought strikes me like a rogue lightning bolt.They look just like each other.

The dark hair and bright blue eyes. The soft, pale skin and high cheekbones. Nora looks like his daughter, and for one insane moment, I allow myself to daydream about a reality where, just maybe, we were a family.

He waves me over, and once I’m close enough, his hand slips into the curve of my waist and pulls me against his side.

“Thank you,” he whispers, eyes glassy with tears.

“I made you a sign!” Nora yells over the roar of the crowd. She lifts the large poster board we bought at the craft store. It’s covered in glitter and stickers which surround the words, “Decy is the best ever!”

I asked her if she wanted to add ‘football player’, but she shook her head and said, with conviction, “He’s just the best.”

“It’s wonderful, Nora,” he praises softly, and she beams with joy.

“Let’s get back to our seats,” Maren says, then winks at me.

Nora waves goodbye and drags her poster back to her seat. I turn to Declan, and the gratitude in his gaze is overwhelming.

“You’ll never know exactly how much this moment means to me.”

The thing is, I think I do.

We aren’t the same, but we’re parallels. Two people with fucked up family situations desperate to find somewhere to fit; someone to call home. And as we spend more time together, one thing has become clear: Making a home with Declan could be so easy.

As the offense lines up on the line of scrimmage for the first play of the second half, Declan looks over and winks.

He plays the best game of his life, and the Mavericks win by one touchdown.

A Hail Mary.

It lands in Declan’s hands, and after he crosses into the end zone, he runs to the sidelines and hands the ball to Nora.

It’s a moment I wish I could sketch, so it would last forever.

CHAPTER 19

Purple lace bra – Tate McRae

Declan

Teammatestapmyhelmetand offer congratulations as I fly off the field and into the locker room. Jack, Deon, and Henry are right behind, and when we make it into the locker room, I strip my equipment with speed.

I’ve never had any reason to rush out. I’ve always dragged my feet to the family room to avoid witnessing the outpouring of affection and feeling like a fly on the wall.

I could never desensitize to the sharp sting of loneliness.

But now, unbridled excitement floods my veins, and I can’t get to the family room quickly enough.

Henry laughs as he drops into the seat at his locker. “Someone’s in a rush.”

Jack clasps my shoulder, and his smile is knowing. “There are people he wants to see.”

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