“The one you were wrong about when you didn’tthink you could have love and football?” she asks innocently.
That sounds awfully familiar.
“Mom! Are you reading the gossip about us?” I ask. That’s exactly what I said to Brooke before the stadium tour.
She rolls her eyes. “Sweetheart, everyone knows.” She extends a hand to Brooke. “Thank you for putting up with him.”
My girlfriend laughs. “It’s truly my pleasure.”
When Mom looks away to check on my sisters, Brooke winks at me and whispers, “It ismypleasure.”
Then, before we sit, I tug her back and whisper, “I’m spanking you later for that.”
“I should hope so,” she says.
Over dinner, I ask my mom if she has any game tips for me.
“Yes.” Mom looks to Brooke, smiles sagely. “Don’t let her go.”
I don’t plan to.
ANOTHER EPILOGUE
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Brooke
Springtime
The sun warms my shoulders as I turn the pages in my new book.
It’s a perfect day to bask on the beach and enjoy the ocean breeze. When I finish a chapter in the new Rhys Locke spy novel, I set down the book and gaze out at the water as boarders ride the waves.
“Your paddle boarding days are well and truly over,” I say to Drew, a little sad for him.
But it’s hard to stay sad when life is so good.
Including days like this. He’s by my side, reading too, and he sets down his book. “Oh, well. At least I was able to hit the waves when it mattered.”
I rub the back of his head with affection, picturing that fateful and wonderful day before the season started. “Back when I could save you.”
He leans in closer, nuzzling my neck. “A dude in distress needs his damsel. Or really, his lifeguard surf angel nurse rock star goddess,” he says.
There will be no more saving because paddle boarding is off-limits for Drew for a long time now.
As in, the next five years. After he finished the season with a 13–5 record and took the team to the championship series, the Mercenaries signed him to a five-year contract with a no-trade clause. His agent is quite a dealmaker, and Drew took Maddox and me out for a fantastic dinner in Venice Beach a few months ago to celebrate. Then, Maddox told us that he’s leaving to join a new agency and he wants to take Drew with him.
Drew’s answer was pure Drew—you’re not getting rid of me, buddy.
“Good. I don’t want to get rid of you,” he’d said.
I’m not surprised. Maddox takes good care of my guy, and I appreciate all he does. He’s become a friend too, and we often share reading recs and hit the bookstore in Venice together, since he lives here too. I can’t wait to hear what happens when he starts his new gig, and if it opens new doors for him.
Maybe even to love.
Or perhaps I just have romance on my mind.
And happy endings, since the Mercenaries love Drew, just like the fans do.