Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103104 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“Want to see my place?” he asks gruffly, his eyes on my face, never off me for long. There’s a hopeful look about him.
I nod and he gives me a tour. The apartment is big: three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a kitchen bigger than my dorm room.
“There’s room for Tyler here,” he tells me.
I nod.
“And I’ve been researching schools close to Vandy. There are a few he might like—if you want to move in, that is?” He looks uncertain. “I have money from my mom and I’ve been working for my dad to save up more. I want to take care of you and Tyler the right way.”
Oh, Knox.
He pauses. “I know you’re independent as hell, but I need you with me, Tulip. I let you walk away. I could have chased after you and begged you to come back, but I stuffed everything down and carried on for my family, to get our shit straight, and we did. But there’s no more going slow with me. No more distance. No more time to breathe. It’s our time. Us.”
My chin trembles with the effort of not crying. “Dane needed you so much, and I did too, but I had to get out of there and carry on and put it behind me.”
He strokes my hair. “I get it. Dad told me about how he helped you. He was honest from the get-go the day you left, and I’m happy he helped you with Vandy. I know about you getting guardianship too. Tyler might not want to leave the only place he’s ever known, but he’s part of you and if he’s amendable, I want him with us—”
God. His kindness overwhelms me.
Tears slide down my face as I kiss him. “I can move in tomorrow. We’ll figure out what Tyler wants.”
He wipes my face, and when the sun comes up in our bedroom, we’re still awake, lying side by side, touching each other. My leg is thrown over his hip as he eases inside me, one hand on my bottom, one wrapped around my hair. His lips drink from mine, worshipping me.
“The sun’s coming up,” I whisper.
“Dear Ava, today is the beginning of anything you want,” he says in my ear.
I clutch his shoulders. “You. Always you.”
Epilogue 1
The stadium explodes with applause, blaring music, and flashing lights. Several Vandy teammates slap me on the back.
“Killer throw for that last touchdown, man!” yells James, my go-to wide receiver. “Citrus Bowl Champs! I can’t believe it! Best season we’ve had in years!”
“Kickass season,” says Marlon, the quarterback coach, as he gives me a handshake then changes his mind and throws in an affectionate man-hug.
Whipping my helmet off, I murmur a response as the fans rush the field.
My eyes aren’t on them though. I’m looking for the blonde who sat front and center on the fifty-yard line. I did my damn best to keep my head off her during this last game, but she’s always there, floating in and out of my thoughts. Her heart-shaped face, those big aquamarine eyes. Her secret smile that’s just for me when I kiss my fingers on the field and send them out into the air for her to see.
She jump-tackles me and I sweep her up to my chest. Rightness settles in my bones. Tulip.
She buries her face in my neck. “Not bad for a third-string quarterback.”
“Mmmm. Good thing I worked my way up to first string. Only took me until my senior year.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “Looks like you didn’t peak in high school after all. I wonder what’s next?”
I kiss her long and hard, oblivious to the camera flashes and media surrounding us. Except for those away games she couldn’t make, we haven’t spent a night apart since I showed up at Blue’s Bar. She moved from her dorm into my place and we never looked back. She’s the girl I wanted the moment she walked in the doors at Camden, and I know we’re young on the outside, but inside, the heart knows when it sees its forever.
“Anything we want.” I press my lips to her palm, my gaze lingering on the two-carat engagement ring on her finger. I asked her to marry me the Christmas after we reunited. Well, technically, I asked Tyler first and he said, “Balls yes. Just do it already. You’re already living in sin, and I really wish you’d put up some concrete walls around your bedroom. I’m too young to hear that shit.”
The kid in question comes barreling out of nowhere and clings to my leg. “That was the best game I have ever seen! I want to be a tattoo artist and a footballer,” he exclaims.
“We’ll need to practice more,” I tell him as I ruffle his hair. He moved in with us permanently after we got engaged, and even though Ava worried about his transition from Camden to a local private school near the university, he adapted fast.