Page 99 of The Heartbreak Blitz

“Dude,” Lex states.

“I—”

But then our attention gets drawn to the TV when someone I don’t know and never heard of brings the microphone close to his mouth. “For the ninth overall pick, the Wildcats take Warner University wide receiver, Cade Farmer.”

Ninth?Nine?!

The room erupts around me in applause and peels of joy. My mouth unhinges as the camera switches to Cade again. He’s giving his mom a hug as his dad pats him on the back.

Briar shakes me. “Ninth!”

“Oh my god.” They are the only words that can form from my mouth.

“That sounds really good,” Grandma says from behind me.

Pieces of information filter into my brain and out the next second. I stand in shock as Cade takes pictures with a black and turquoise Wildcats jersey, surrounded by important looking men.

This man is going to have an amazing life, and he just swept me up in the journey. It almost doesn’t seem real.

Right before he walks off stage, I see him kiss his fist and point to the ceiling. On his lips, I can nearly lip-read the wordBrady.

“Hey…” Briar pats at my face, and it’s only then that I realize I’m crying. She gives me a hug followed by Lex, Reid, my grandmother, my dad, Coach T. I’m like a revolving door of people stepping into my grasp and leaving, and I still can’t believe what happened.

“Charley?”

The door to the meeting room opens again and the same employee stands there with an even bigger bouquet of flowers. This time, they’re not roses. They’re simple, understated, yet they’ve been dyed turquoise.

She hands them to me with a smile. “I told you you were special.”

I set them down on the table next to the roses. My hands shake as I reach for the notecard.

Move to Wildcat country with me?

This man said he’d make me love him, and boy did he ever. Even now, reading this card, I swoon on my feet. Througheverything he’s going through right now, I’m still on his mind. All his dreams are coming true, and here he is, letting me know he wants me on the journey with him.

Move in with him? That’s going to be the easiest decision I’ve ever made.

Hell yes.

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