I haven’t cared what people think about me in a long time. I stay off the internet, and I surround myself with people who actually see me for who I am. Not because I need their validation anymore. I don’t. These days, the only person who decides my worth is me.
Jamie hands me a bottle of water before lifting Ella onto his lap. I mutter a quiet thanks without taking my eyes off the field. Ella is busy talking to Tiff when Jamie leans closer.
“Does he really have no idea that you’re here?” he asks under his breath.
I shake my head. “Nope. I didn’t want to distract him from such a big game. I’ll surprise him at the end.”
“He’s going to lose his mind,” he says, taking a sip of his own drink.
“I hope so,” I murmur, watching the Raptors defense hold off another run. The ball’s back in Zach’s possession now. “He’s had a rough season.”
And I probably haven’t made it easier.
“You deserve this, you know. You both do.”
That makes me turn and look at him. “Deserve what?”
“To be together. You’ve both been through so much, and Honey... I know it’s not really my place to say this, but I’m so proud of the person you’ve become. Even if your parents can’t see it.”
I smile. “Thanks, Nicks. You haven’t done too badly yourself.”
“Oh, no!” Zach’s mom yells, forcing my attention back to the field.
“What happened?” I ask as I take in the scene below us. Zach is on the ground, but he pushes himself back up almost immediately, waving the trainer away before they can even reach him. He rolls his shoulders like he’s trying to shake it off, but I’m not looking at his face.
I’m watching his right hand.
He’s still shaking it, something he’s been doing for the entirety of the game. Every dead ball, every gap between plays. I’ve been counting.
Then, almost just as quickly, his hand goes flat against his thigh.
“Idiot,” I say very quietly, immediately regretting it since his family is right next to me.
I wince as I feel his mother’s gaze turn to me.
Clearing my throat, I say, “The guy that hit him is an idiot.”
It’s a terrible cover considering the timing of it all, but if his mom is annoyed, she doesn’t show it. She never has, and I still don’t get why she’s so accepting of me after all this time. I’m the girl who walks in and out of her son's life constantly. I said no to his proposal—more than once. He missed important meetings at the start of his career just to chase me, and even though he’s been going through the worst season of his life, I haven’t been there for him.
Not in any tangible way, at least. Sure, I’ve been calling and texting him, but I know waiting for me can’t have helped his performance.
She should hate me.
“He is an idiot,” his mom says. “Too pigheaded to know when to not play through an injury.”
Her comment makes me laugh.
“He got it from his father.”
“Ah,” I say knowingly. “So, self-preservation was never genetically possible for him.”
“No, that boy has never known how to let go of something once his heart’s set on it. Pretty much how he ended up in the NFL.”
I nod. Zach has always worked his ass off for everything he has in life, and it’s one of the things I love most about him.
“That’s why he’s not going to give up on you,” she says, looking down at my clasped hands with a smile.
I drop my gaze, unable to look her in the eyes as she reaches over and takes my hand.
