Page 50 of Their After Hours Playbook

“Oh. I’m great.”

“When did the network decide to move you to football?” Zach asked. “I guess I think of you as doing more baseball and basketball. Hockey, too, I guess.”

“It was just a switch for this season. They’re trying me out,” April said.

“And? You’re liking it?” Paige asked.

“I love it. Absolutely freaking love it. Especially tonight.” April looked at Paige and the two of them seemed to have an entire conversation with nothing more than penetrating glances.

“Is there something I don’t know?” Paige’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

April stepped closer to both Paige and Zach. “Ryan and I are dating,” she said out of the corner of her mouth.

Paige squealed, then clapped eagerly. “Are you serious?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s amazing.”

Paige peered over her shoulder at Ryan, back at April, then turned to Zach. “Maybe the four of us can go to dinner some time. Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”

Zach took Paige’s hand. “Super fun.” He loved that he and Paige continued to fold each other into their lives. That they were making each other a fixture. He hoped that was a sign of good things to come.

“Yes. Let’s do that. I’ll talk to Ryan about it. It’ll probably take some doing to coordinate everyone’s schedules, but I’m sure we can make it work.” April pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hey, guys, I need to go meet with my producer. But it was really great to see you both.” April stole one more hug from Paige, then began to walk away. After several paces, she turned back. “By the way, you two are ridiculously cute together.”

Paige snickered. “I was not expecting that little bit of news. Did you know?” she asked Zach.

He shook his head. “Totally in the dark.”

“Well, it’s good to know that it’s not just me. I hate it when I feel like I’m out of the loop.”

A whistle sounded. “Time for kick-off,” Zach said.

He and Paige found a reasonably quiet spot to watch the game—away from the hubbub of the players and coaches, and definitely far enough away from the sidelines so that they didn’t stand too much risk of getting hurt if an errant ball or tight end went flying in their direction. Zach loved watching Ryan’s first drive, especially since he marched his team right down the field and had an amazing throw that rocketed right into the waiting arms of his star receiver. The crowd cheered loudly at the touchdown, but the best part was Paige flattening herself against Zach and yelling her robust approval.

During the television time-out that followed, there was a kiss cam up on the big screens in the stadium. Zach and Paige watched as each couple embarrassingly bent to the pleas of the crowd and kissed. The fourth couple did something different though—the guy went down on one knee and popped an engagement ring out of his pocket. Will you marry me, Kendra? flashed across the screen. Kendra clasped her hands over her mouth, then nodded a ‘yes’ and rewarded her new fiancé with a kiss of his own.

“Aw. That’s sweet,” Zach said.

“Eh. I don’t know. I always feel a little weird when someone proposes like that. What if she said no?”

“She can’t say no. A zillion people are watching. It’s on national television.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

Zach looked all around the stadium. “Ah. Okay. I get what you’re saying. That really isn’t the best way to do it, is it? It should be a little more low-key. And not public.”

“I just think it should be romantic. And personal. It should be between two people who love each other. It shouldn’t be a performance.”

“But what if a guy decided to pop the question somewhere public like a stadium? What if a guy brought his girlfriend to the game and they were just having a nice time and then he asked. Would that be okay?”

Paige thought about it for a minute, then nodded. “If it wasn’t some big spectacle, sure.”

“Maybe he would take her hand.” Zach reached out and wrapped up Paige’s fingers.

Paige peered over at him with a questioning look. “Sure.”

Zach stepped closer, until his toes were even with hers. He looked into her eyes, feeling so overwhelmed by the moment. “And he could say something like, ‘Paige, you are the most incredible woman I have ever met. I know we haven’t been together for very long, but I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. You are my sun and moon. You’re my reason for getting up in the morning and the reason I have a smile on my face at the end of the day.’ Right? A guy could say that. But would it work?”

“What are you up to, Zach Armstrong?”

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