“From breakdown steal to eighty-meter finish—that was sensational!”
51
Connor
Air suspended in my lungs as I counted the stomps of her feet as she cleared player after plater, yard after yard. It wasn’t until she stopped and the ball hit the grass that I took my first breath in what felt like hours.
The crowd exploded.
Fuck. That was something otherworldly from the entire team.
Her team descended, crying out her name, and my team pushed against the sidelines, desperate to celebrate with them. Our time would come; this was their moment.
“She is phenomenal, Connor,” Mam said beside me.
“Absolutely incredible,” echoed Teddy’s dad and Natalie on my other side. Meeting Teddy’s dad should have made me nervous. Hell, a few months ago, it probably would have. But standing here now, watching her out on the pitch with the last of the game buzzing around us, and that unstoppable focus still in her eyes, the only thing I felt was pride.
Proud to be the man who loved his daughter. That I was the one she had chosen to stand here for her.
“She is incredible,” I affirmed.
Eventually, she split away from them, eyes locked, jaw set in a smile so wide, I could have passed out from how beautiful she was.
She ran, and I barely had time to brace before she jumped the barrier, arms locking around my shoulders, legs wrapping instinctively around my waist like she was mine.
In front of twenty-three thousand people.
In front of the broadcast cameras.
In front of the world.
My fucking heart detonated.
I held her easily, hands engulfing her, and she buried her face into my neck as if the last eighty minutes had finally caught up with her all at once.
“You fucking did it,” I whispered into her hair.
Her body shuddered as tears coated my neck, but I didn’t care because my girl just won her first professional season, and now, she was claiming me. “You were amazing out there, Teddy.”
“I can’t fucking believe it,” she sobbed, breaking away from my neck, and her eyes immediately darted behind us where our family and team were.
My eyes burned as I tried to swallow some of the emotion.
She slid down from my arms, boots hitting the ground, as she reached out behind me to her family.
“Teddy-bear!” Natalie cried, pushing forward. She fell straight into her arms, clutching at her to stay upright.
Her dad stepped in next, his hands moving to her shoulders, eyes glossed over as he looked at her. “That was one hell of a run,” he said.
Teddy huffed a watery laugh before pulling him into the hug too.
My mam and dad were watching them with smiles split wide, when Teddy turned to them and wiped her face, smearing mud everywhere.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. O’Riley. I’m Teddy Sloane. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said as her voice shook with adrenaline. She extended her hand, but my mam wrapped her arms around her quicker.
“You’re really something special, Teddy,” Mam said, loud enough for me to hear. She held on to her, squeezing her like she’d known her for years, not seconds. “Fearless, you are, my darling girl.”
“Thank you,” she said, sniffing as Mam let her go. She greeted Dad too, and shook his hand, still smiling, trying to catch her breath.
