“Now, who do we have here?” He smiles big and bright as he turns to Shay.
She giggles and accepts his offer for a quick hug. “I’m Shay.”
“Shay.” He mulls the name over, and for once, I hope his memory fails him because there were many times over the last few years when I gushed about her, both as an athlete and as the most beautiful woman I’d ever known.
But apparently, his time embarrassing me as a father isn’t over yet. He juts his fingers into the air, and I can practically see a light bulb glow above his head.
“Shay!” His gaze flicks back and forth between us, a smirk forming on his face. “Matty, is this the same Shay Rooney you were obsessed with?”
“Oh my God,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I hate you.”
Shay and my mom burst out laughing, and even Gregg, one of the staff, can’t help but join in.
“Yeah, Dad.” I wince. “Same girl.”
Shay bumps my hip with hers. “Obsessed, huh?”
I look over to find her flushed and smiling big and bright.
“I do remember finding a message from you a little while back.”
A chuckle slips past my lips, and I shake my head, reaching around her shoulders and pulling her into me. “What can I say? I always knew who I was going to marry.”
“You’re engaged?” my mom shrieks, clapping her hands, and I realize that I should have chosen my words carefully.
While I’m trying to figure out the perfect thing to say, Shay cuts in, “Not yet.”
My eyebrow cocks up. “Don’t give me any ideas, Rooney.”
She shrugs, looking up at me with the purest joy. I tug her toward me, flattening her back against my front with my arms around her shoulders, and I pepper the top of her head in kisses.
Gregg coughs slightly behind me and tries to cover it up, but it’s too late. Now we’re all turning to face him, and a new wave of embarrassment hits me, knowing he’s been witness to all of this unfolding.
“Gregg, I bet you have some killer stories locked away in that brain of yours.” I chuckle as he fiddles with one of his white gloves.
His eyes bulge, memories flashing in his stare. “Oh, yeah. Definitely.”
“God, Matty,” my dad gasps, and I turn to see him shaking his head side to side. “You did it. You really did it.”
There go those damn eyeballs of mine. When did I become such a crier?
He steps beside me and walks toward the rolling cart carrying the trophy, and we all follow him. Lifting his hand up,he gestures to touch it, and Gregg nods. My dad stretches his arm forward and trails his fingertips along the top of the Cup, down across the decades of names carved into the sides, taking it all in. Winning this has had many special moments, but this has got to be the best one yet.
We spend the next few hours sitting and visiting with my dad, some of his new friends, and curious other residents until my heart feels like it might actually burst.
Gregg’s the first to leave, needing to get the Cup to its next destination. My mom, Shay, and I follow not that far behind him.
The goodbye is heavy, knowing I can’t bring him with me. But this is the best place he can be, and it’s just a hard pill to swallow. My mom is a blubbering mess when we part ways in the parking lot, and I promise to either fly her out as soon as possible or come back and visit.
Shay’s hand finds mine after we slide into our Lyft to the airport. “You know …” She trails off, waiting for me to meet her stare. “We could come back here and stay for the summer. I’m sure Kyle would love it, and we can get as much time with your family as we can before next season.”
My face must not show the deep love burning through me because her smile falls, which is unacceptable.
In the blink of an eye, my hand finds the back of her head, pulling her sideways toward me, and my lips are on hers.
“You are … everything to me, Shay Rooney.”
She giggles into my mouth, and my other hand finds her waist, tickling her, causing her laughter to explode.
