Page 135 of The Final Score

“Then move back in,” he urges. “I want you in my apartment, my bed, in my fuckinglife. I want to know you’re never going anywhere. That every morning when I wake up, you’ll be right there with me.”

I feel my traitorous eyes start to mist over; I’ve never allowed myself to dream that I could have something like this, that someoneas wonderful as Jack Baker—which I now know him to be—could ever want forever with someone like me. That someone could make me feel likemoresimply by existing beside me.

“Of course I will,” I tell him.

He gives me another soft kiss. “Good. Because I’ve already hired the moving truck.”

“Wow, someone was cocky.”

“Oh, baby, you have no idea.”

I snort a laugh. “I have an inkling.”

Jack wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close as he brushes his nose against mine.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you too.” I can’t help the way my lips curl at the corners. “I can’t believe you made me think you were going to propose.”

“Are you saying you’d have said no?”

“It’s only been eight months!”

“I hate to break it to you, Thompson,” he says, “but it’s coming. So you’d better prepare yourself to say yes when it does.”

“Always so confident,” I chuckle.

“I told you ages ago,” he tells me quietly, his lips a breath away from mine. “It’s all about the endgame, baby.”

And eight months ago, I would have rolled my eyes at that, would have written it off as Jack being Jack, but I feel differently about it now. Like if he had asked, maybe my answer would have surprised us both.

Maybe when he finally does, we’ll find out.

“Well,” I say, pulling back just a bit. “Are you ready to get out there, Coach?”

He grins back at me. “Now I am.”

“Then get out there.”

“And I’ll see you at home after?”

A slow, sweet warmth spreads through me, filling me up more than I ever thought possible.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “Yeah, youwill.”