Page 124 of Here We Go Again

“I was just thinking you might want to grab dinner sometime with me and Becca—and her best friend, Mia. She’s a nurse too. And she’s great.”

The expression he gives me looks so much like his older brother, I have to fight not to smile.

“All right,” he finally says. “I’d be down.”

“Good. Great. I have to get through surgery first, but after, I’ll set something up.”

Twenty minutes later, I show up at Becca’s with smash burgers and fries for myself, Becca, and both her roommates.

Mia has her laptop open at the kitchen table when I walk in, the Jaguars team roster pulled up on her screen.

“Okay, I need more info,” she says as I set down the food. “Which one?”

Becca steps up beside me and slips an arm around my waist. “It’s possible you’ve created a monster.”

I lean down and give Becca a quick kiss, then lean over Mia’s shoulder. “This guy,” I say, pointing at Blake’s photo.

“Ohh, he looks grumpy,” Mia says. “I like.”

“He said he’s down,” I say. “After my surgery, we’ll set something up.”

The four of us eat together, then Becca and I head back to her room for a little privacy.

“I like your friends,” I say as I shut the door behind us.

She smiles. “Yeah. They’re pretty great. How was your conversation with Carter?”

I cross the room and tug her into my arms, clasping my hands at the small of her back. “It was good. I learned the Jaguars aren’t actually looking to trade me, so that’s good news.”

“Shut up,” Becca says. “Are you serious?”

“Carter talked to the Jaguars general manager. Stuff like this can always change, but for now, I think we’re okay.”

She nestles in closer. “I like that you just said we.”

In the diffuse light of her room, her brown eyes are deep and dark, shifting the flecks that look gold in the sunlight to a more muted amber. “Get used to it,” I say, then I bend down and press my mouth to hers. The kiss is tender at first, but then her hands grip my t-shirt, her lips parting in invitation, and heat rushes through my veins. I brush her tongue with mine, and she lets out a low whimper that leaves me aching to get closer, to hold more of her, all of her.

“I love you,” I whisper against her mouth. “I never stopped loving you.”

Her hands move up to my biceps, slipping under the fabric of my t-shirt. “I love you too,” she whispers, and I’m struck with a bone-deep certainty that we were always meant to love each other.

For a long time, I believed I would never love anyone again—not like I loved her. It kept me up at night, the quiet desperation of thinking I’d missed my only chance to truly be happy.

I guess I was right and wrong.

I never will love anyone like I love her.

But I did get a second chance at happiness, and I won’t waste a single moment.

EPILOGUE

BECCA

Four months later

The Vortex is buzzing with energy, fans clearly amped up and ready. The Jaguars are about to play the Warriors, the team that knocked them out of the race for the Stanley Cup last year, so there’s plenty of reason to hope for a win.

But that’s not why I’m nervous.