The Valkyries began chanting her name over and over. She looked up at me again, eyes still alight, then she looked down at my chest. “Wait,” she cried and spun me around to find her name and number on my back. “Connor, you’re wearing my jersey, again.”
“Of course I am. I’m here supporting my girl.”
Her lips hid her smile as she flushed even brighter red, mouth opening and closing before finally settling on, “Yeah, that’ll never get old.”
Evie shouted her name so loudly, the lads behind us began shouting too.
I stayed where I was. “Go,” I said, feeling my chest burst when she smiled wide. “I’ll find you later, baby.”
She nodded, turned away, then immediately spun back around, rushing to my ear. “I love you,” she whispered, and then she took off running to her teammates.
It flooded through me so fast, I almost laughed, something wild and disbelieving breaking loose in my chest like I’d just won something myself.
She was a champion in front of the world, and she just told me she loves me.
The press swarmed her first, microphones pushed forward, questions thrown over one another. She answered them all, breathless and grinning.
Then the fans—kids leaning over the railings with jerseys and programs, faces split open with joy. She signed everything. She crouched so she’s eye-level with them. She listened to every word.
I didn’t interrupt any of it.
She belonged to all of them right now—her team, her city.
She’d be mine forever, though.
***
I waited outside the training locker room, texting her where I was and to find me before she showered.
I wanted to see her once more before we celebrated tonight.
My phone buzzed.
Teddy
On my way.
A few seconds later, the door pushed open, and she stepped through it.
Still in boots. Still in that jersey. The scent of champagne hit me as the door closed behind her. Hair braided tight down her back, though strands had come loose around her face. Dried blood in her eyebrow, mud across her cheekbone, and a faint smear near her jaw.
She looked wrecked.
And unreal.
Her eyes locked onto mine instantly, and the grin she gave me wasn’t captain or media-trained or polished for the press. It was entirely for me.
I didn’t wait for her to reach me.
I closed the space in two strides, wrapping my hand around her braid and tugging until her head tilted back and those ocean eyes were under my command. “You were so fucking hot out there.”
“I know you’re talking about my skills as a rugby player,” she said coolly, eyebrow arching in judgment. “And you wouldn’t dare reduce the best game of my life to how I looked.”
I stepped closer without releasing my grip, closing the last inch of space until our bodies met. The contact was instant and electric, heat against heat, her breath shifting as her chest brushed mine.
Lightning could strike through me, and I’d still stand here.
I leaned in, lowering my voice so it’s just for her. “I’m talking about everything, Teddy. There wasn’t a single thing you did on that pitch that was a mistake.”
