Page 70 of Trade It All

The lock clicks. Silence settles again. For a second, I just stand there, my hand still on the door, my shoulders tight from holding myself in place while they were here. Then I feel her. Her arms slide around my waist from behind, soft and warm and real, her cheek pressing lightly into my back like she’s grounding herself after everything just shifted too fast.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, her voice quieter now, softer against me. “I freaked out.”

I turn slowly, my hands coming to her hips as I face her, pulling her in without thinking, without hesitation.

“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her, my thumb brushing lightly along her side, steady, reassuring. “You’re allowed to feel whatever you need to feel.”

Her fingers tighten slightly in my shirt, like she’s still holding onto something that hasn’t fully settled yet.

“But I meant what I said,” I add, my voice lowering, more serious now, something real sitting behind it that I’m not pulling back from.

Her brows crease slightly as she looks up at me.

“About not hiding,” I continue, my hand lifting to her face, brushing her hair back gently, the way I’ve started doing without thinking. “I don’t want to keep this quiet like it’s something we’re supposed to be careful with.”

I take a slow breath, letting it out as I hold her gaze.

“I want to love you out loud,” I say, the words coming steady, certain, not rushed, not forced. “I want people to know you’re mine. I want them to see the woman I get to walk beside and know I didn’t get lucky—she chose me.” Her eyes shift slightly at that. Widen. Just a fraction. “I want the world to know I’ve got the most incredible woman on my arm,” I finish, quieter now, but no less certain.

She leans back just enough to really look at me. To study my face like she’s searching for something she’s not sure she heard right.

“You… love me?” she asks, her voice soft, almost careful.

And that—that wasn’t how I planned it. I wanted it to be bigger. Better. Something she’d never forget. Not this. Not slipped into a sentence like it’s just another truth sitting between us. But I don’t take it back. I don’t soften it. I don’t pretend it didn’t happen. My hand settles more firmly against her jaw, my thumb brushing lightly along her cheek as I hold her there, making sure she sees exactly what I’m saying.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice low, steady in a way I don’t question. “I love you.”

Her breath catches. Her eyes fill almost instantly, that shine hitting me harder than anything else has this morning. And for half a second—I think I fucked this up. Think I pushed too fast. Said it too soon. Took something that should’ve been perfect and made it… wrong.

“Maddie—”

I don’t get anything else out. She’s moving before I can. Up on her toes, her hands gripping my shirt as she kisses me, not soft, not hesitant—sure. Certain. Like she’s answering me in the only way she knows how.

My hands tighten on her instantly, pulling her closer, holding her there as I kiss her back, the tension that hit my chest disappearing just as fast as it came. When she pulls back, she doesn’t go far. Her forehead rests lightly against mine, her lips still curved, her eyes still wet but different now. Brighter.

“I love you too,” she whispers. And just like that—everything settles. Right where it belongs.

Chapter 31

Maddie

Wewon.Ishouldbe riding that. The noise. The energy. The way the guys came alive in the third and didn’t let up until the final buzzer. That’s the kind of win that sticks with you, that carries into the next game, that builds something. Normally, I’d already be clipping it in my head. The goal that shifted momentum. The hit that changed the pace. The way Jake pulled the team back into it without even needing to say anything.

But tonight—none of that is what’s sitting in my chest.

Dean loves me.

The words repeat over and over, softer now than when he said them, but somehow louder too. Like they settled somewhere deep and haven’t stopped echoing since. I still don’t know what to do with it. Don’t know how something that big can feel this… steady. This real. I press my lips together, staring out the window asthe arena comes back into view, my reflection faint against the glass.

He said it like it wasn’t something fragile. Like it wasn’t something that could break if I touched it wrong. Like it was already true long before the words came out. And I—I said it back. A small breath leaves me at that, my fingers curling slightly into the sleeve of my hoodie. I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t question it. I just… felt it. And said it.

The realization settles deeper the longer I sit with it, something warm and terrifying all at once because I don’t think I can pretend this is small anymore. Not after that. Not after the way he looked at me when he said it, like there wasn’t anywhere else he’d rather be.

I want to tell someone. The thought comes quick. Addy. Pen. Anyone who would understand how big that moment felt, how much it changed something inside me that I didn’t even realize was waiting for it. But I can’t. Because I asked him not to. Because I told him I needed time before the world got involved. And suddenly that feels heavier than it did before. Because now it’s not just something we’re keeping quiet. It’s this.

The bus slows, pulling into the arena, the shift breaking through my thoughts as the guys start moving, energy picking back up around me as we start to unload and head inside. We step off the bus, and that’s when I see them.

Penelope is standing just outside, one arm wrapped around Matty’s little body as he rests against her hip, his head tucked into her shoulder like he’s half asleep. His small hand is fisted in her shirt, legs wrapped around her as she sways slightly, instinctively soothing him.