“When you were sleeping,” he says, tilting his head to one side as he looks at me. “I watched you with my binoculars one night until you went to bed, then...”
I slap his chest. “Stop it.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Well, know that I did it when you weren’t around, okay?”
We stay here for a moment like this. It’s as if the world around us has stopped moving and we’re the only ones here. Surrounded by chaos and energy and noise levels like no other, yet it’s all fallen away and there’s a bubble. In that bubble is me. And beside me, with his arms wrapped around me is Austin. Our bubble.
Austin shifts his weight, his eyes hooded as he pushes a few stray pieces of hair out of my face.
“I wanted you to know I’m all in with you, Bex,” he says, his voice low and serious.
“Really?” I ask, searching his eyes for any hint of hesitation. “So you think we can do this, even with you in Florida?”
“I do,” he replies, his grin turning mischievous. “If I was going to Florida.”
“What do you mean, ‘if’?” I ask, my heart skipping a beat.
“As of this afternoon,” Austin says, his eyes sparkling, “I’ve been signed to the Charlotte Cardinals. I’ll be closer. A lot closer.”
He then steps away and nods toward where his family sits in the crowd. As I follow his gaze, I look up to see that Mary, Levi, and Georgie are all wearing Charlotte Cardinals jerseys now and cheering. When I look closer, Georgie is waving one in the air.
“What is Georgie doing?” I ask. “And weren’t they in Sweetkiss Creek High School garb a second ago?”
“She’s holding your jersey.” Austin shakes his head with embarrassment, a pink flush hitting his cheeks. “They all thought it would be funny to come wearing other clothes and then change for the big reveal. They’ve been more excited about this than I am.”
“About what?” My head spins back and forth between Austin and his family as I blink at him, trying to process what he’s just said. “Wait. You’re not going to Florida? You’re staying here?”
“I sure am,” he says, brushing that stray piece of hair that won’t stay put behind my ear. “As of this afternoon, I’m officially playing for the Cardinals. A certain coach”—he points to Levi—“helped to let the right people know I was back, but that I wasn’t interested in going far.”
“Okay.” I want to understand, but it’s a lot coming at me at once. Operation overwhelm is in progress. Austin threads his fingers through mine as I drag my eyes to meet his. “What does all this mean?”
“I want to be near you, Bex. I’m done being—what did you call me? ‘Mister Grumpy pants’? I want to make this work.”
“You’re not just doing it so I lay off about the hedge, are you?” I tease, pointing to the cooler bag stuffed with pieces of boxwood.
“No way,” he responds. “I want you to spar with me and to always hold me to task, show me new ways to see things and offer your perspective. I fully intend for us to come back and talk more about that stinking hedge. But we can table that discussion for now, as you put it.”
For a moment, I’m speechless. All I can do is stare at him, feeling the warmth of his surprise as it wraps me in a delightful hug. This man. I feel like we’ve gone from one length of the football field to the other and then back again, the whole time navigating our way through barbed wire. Yet we’re here. Together.
He’s the one for me. I’ve known it since the day we met, and about time. He’sfinallycaught up. Which is fine, boys do mature slower than us ladies, don’t they?
Without thinking, I lean in and kiss him, pouring all my feelings into that one moment. The crowd around us cheers, but it’s like we’re in our own little world, just me and Austin and the promise of what’s to come. And it’s a good one.
When we finally pull apart, I’m breathless, my heart pounding in my chest worse than a Graves palpitation, but that’s okay by me. “You’re really staying,” I whisper, almost afraid to believe it.
“I’m really staying,” he confirms, his forehead resting against mine. “And I’m really in love with you, Bex. I want this. I want us.”
There’s a feeling of wetness on my cheek, tears I didn’t know were going to spill take this time to do so. “I’m in love with you, too, Austin,” I say, my voice shaking with emotion. “And I want this more than anything.”
He kisses me again, and I know, most certainly and without a doubt, that this is the start of something amazing. Something perfect. A story we’ll tell our grandkids one day—if they’re lucky, that is.
It might not be a perfect fairytale ending, but it’s ours, and that’s more than enough.
TWENTY-ONE
Epilogue: One Year Later
Bex
