Page 77 of Decked, Wrecked and Pucked
She means Jasper and me. Roman didn’t grow up with the kind of family where that question would’ve made sense. He didn’t grow up with warm dinners or loud Sunday mornings or anyone waiting up just to know he got home safe. His childhood was built on silence, not support. But both my mom and Jasper’s parents treat Roman like he’s one of their own. My mom checks in on him more than she checks in on me sometimes—just to make sure he’s eating, sleeping, and breathing. It’s not biology, but it’s chosenlove, and for a guy like Roman, who spent years convincing himself he didn’t need anyone, that kind of love hits different.
I glance down at Jasper, and he meets my eyes with a soft smile before closing them again, sinking deeper into the comfort of us. “Yeah, they’ve known for a long time. Why do you ask?”
“I just wonder what they’ll think now that I’m part of this. It’s been the three of you for so long. I wouldn’t blame them if they had doubts.”
Roman lifts her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Are you planning on going anywhere?”
“No. Not unless you all do, and then I’m going with you.”
“Then you don’t have anything to worry about.” Roman holds her tighter, savoring the closeness.
“It’s everyone else that’s going to be the problem,” Jasper whispers, and I stop my fingers, hearing the vulnerability in his voice and hating it because I know he’s right, and I hate that I can’t shield him from it.
“I can’t wait to get home. You know why?” Jasper tilts his face up, and my fingers brush along his jaw. “Because I get to kiss you. I get to kiss Rome and Addie whenever the hell I want. I get to hold your hand and let the whole world know I’m in love with you without giving a shit what anyone thinks—not the team, not Coach, not the media. Let them talk. It doesn’t take a thing from us. And if we decide to say fuck it and disappear somewhere quiet and live off all the money we’ve made, then so be it. If it all ends tomorrow, I’ll walk away without a second thought because I’ll have you, all of you, and that’s all that’s ever really mattered.”
“I know it’s not gonna be easy?—”
“It’s going to be really easy, Jasper, because whatever this is between us, I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve never been this happy.”
She means every word. I can feel it deep in my chest.
“The easiest fucking thing in the world, baby,” Roman agrees, and even though he can’t reach Jasper right now, I know the second he can, his hands will be on him, grounding him, and loving him the way Roman does.
“Can you please hurry and get your shit together here, angel? Roman’s gonna be climbing the walls waiting for you.”
“Do you guys have a spare room for me?”
“Yeah, not happening, Addison,” I shoot back, raising a brow as she smirks like the beautiful little menace she is.
“I meant for my things,” she says, all faux innocence. “I had no doubt I’d be sleeping in your bed… assuming I fit.”
“You’re tiny,” I say, brushing my fingers along her calf, “and the bed’s huge. We don’t sleep apart. Not ever. And that includes you now.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
ADDISON
I usedmy lipstick to leave the boys a note on the bathroom mirror before slipping out at sunrise. It wasn’t long, just a single line:I can’t say goodbye, so think of this as my see-you-soon. I love you.
I knew I couldn’t stand there and watch them leave. And honestly, I think it would’ve been just as difficult for them—especially Roman. After everything that happened between us, after falling back into him so easily, so completely… being in his arms again felt like coming home. I felt like I’d finally returned to where I was always meant to be.
I believe I was always meant to be theirs.
Nothing and no one is going to make me feel ashamed of that. Not the past or the distance. Not even the disapproval I know is coming from my parents. I’m done pretending, I’m done hiding, and I’m going to own what I feel because this time, I’m not letting it go.
The minute I stepped through my front door this morning, I opened my laptop and fired off an email to a lawyer. I need this divorce more than I need air. It doesn’t matter where I am; I just need this marriage to stop trailing behind me like a storm cloud.
Next on my list is the bookstore.
God, my bookstore.
Eternal Chapter has been my sanctuary for years now. The smell of pages, the warmth of worn leather chairs, and the quiet shuffle of readers moving through the aisles searching for their next book boyfriend. I especially love being here around the holidays. I string fairy lights across the windows and set out cinnamon sticks by the register, hoping the scent might coax a smile from the regulars. It’s saved me more times than I care to admit. My chest tightens as everything I’ve worked for threatens to slip through my fingers. But if I had to choose—if the universe forced my hand—I’d sacrifice it all for them.
Jasper, with his wild, unapologetic love—the kind that borders on obsession and possession. He loves me like I’m it for him, like there’s no version of his future that doesn’t include me, and he makes damn sure I know it. It’s unfiltered, intense, all-consuming—the kind of love that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. And it terrifies me how much I crave it.
Zeke is the stillness after the storm. The calm in the chaos. He sees everything, feels everything, and always knows exactly what I need before I even ask. His love is quiet but absolute. He doesn’t ask for anything but my peace, and with him, I always find it.
