He nods, his eyes glistening with knowing. “Okay.”
I notice the noise has dulled. I glance around and find all eyes are on us, but I don’t find myself nervous.
I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
“Hot Shot,” I say, my eyes flicking up to his blue eyes—clear and bright. I smile before I continue.
“I’ve spent most of my life doing the ‘right’ thing—being safe, being who everyone expected me to be. But you’ve always been the place where I felt most like myself. Not because you needed me to be anything different . . . but because you saw me exactly as I am.
“I thought choosing myself meant choosing alone.
“But I think, maybe, choosing myself means choosing what feels like home.
“I don’t have a five-year plan. I don’t even have a job or a house.”
I pause reading, looking back up at him. “I don’t. I quit my job and sold my house.”
“I heard.” He laughs, his eyes pooling with tears.
I look back down at my note, continuing.
“I don’t know what comes next.
“But I do know this?—
“I don’t want a life where you’re just a chapter I loved once.
“I want forward. I want the unknown. I want the version of us that chooses each other on purpose with our whole hearts.
“And if you’ll have me?—
“I choose you.
“Bookworm.”
I fold the note and look up to see Milo letting his tears pour freely down his face in front of all these very large, very tough-looking football players—and the contrast makes me laugh.
He closes the gap between us, and I reach up to wipe his cheeks with my thumbs. He leans into my soft touch, turning his head to kiss my palm.
“My life is yours, Sadie Summers.” He leans his head down on mine. “It always has been.”
“Always?” I tease, tilting my head up so our foreheads press together.
“You were always the one thing I was sure about when nothing else in my life seemed certain.”
“Milo Carter?” I ask.
“I’m here,” he replies softly.
“Do you want to bet on forever with me?”
He doesn’t answer with words. His lips are on mine, warm and strong, and I know that no matter what else happens in my life, what Milo and I have together is worth the unknown.
EPILOGUE
SADIE
I didn’t plananything for today. I just showed up in a white dress and a smile.
