Page 117 of Unstoppable Love

“Nice,” Isaiah whispered from behind me. “That’s helpful.”

“Dick.” I swung a crutch at him, and he jumped out of the way.

“Hey,” she said and came to her feet. “What are you doing here?”

My rage was a living, burning, boiling thing. She could barely speak. I could barely move.

Rage at the world. At the Buffalo players who took me out. At me for not reading the defense fast enough. At Jimmy-fucking-soon-to-be-dead Morton.

And still, Ava was there. Red-rimmed eyes and messy hair and bruises and all, and she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“Look at us.” I smirked and nodded down to my cast. “Seems like we’ve had a hell of a night, Sunshine, yeah?”

I made the joke to break the ice. To lighten the mood even though the air was heavy and stifling. But it was a challenge for Ava. A push.

And I was good at that.

We didn’t need to talk about anything. About any of it.

Not tonight. Not tomorrow.

“Yeah.” She huffed as tears slid down her cheeks. “We’re quite the broken pair.” She choked over a cry and came to me, wrinkled shirt and sweatpants and thick, heavy socks on her feet.

“You’re not broken, Sunshine,” I whispered when she was close. I was smiling like I was high. But Ava was my drug. My sunshine. The only thing right in my world when everything else was falling apart.

“Neither of us are broken,” I continued. “Just a little bent right now is all. We’ll get it all straightened out, though.”

“Yeah?” She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and glanced down, but I caught it. That fear in her eyes. The pain and terror lingering in them before she could fully blink them away.

“Hey.” I leaned on a crutch, and despite the pain, I adjusted my weight so I could reach out. She flinched as I did, and I yanked my hand back.

“Sorry,” she whispered, turning those terrified eyes up to me. “I don’t…”

“It’s okay.” I nodded and gripped the handles of my crutches so tight it was a wonder they didn’t snap. “We’ll straighten that out, too.” I forced a grin, waited until hers returned. “After all, turns out I don’t make such a great football player after all. Think I’ll try my hand at farming and coaching someday soon.”

Her eyes widened, and Isaiah muttered something in the distance. I had no idea where Ava’s parents were, but Isaiah was the only person making sounds from the kitchen.

“You don’t know that,” Ava whispered.

“I do, Sunshine. I might not have known it an hour ago, but I do now. Nothing’s ever gonna take me away from you again, especially not some damn sport. You’re my home, Ava Decker, and I belong right next to you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Epilogue

Cameron

* * *

There was a time in my life when, as soon as my alarm went off, I jumped out of bed and started my day with a workout, a protein smoothie, and a mammoth breakfast. I couldn’t wait to get my day started, take on the world, break records, and help build a team that would be something that would be talked about for years to come. The Colorado Mountaineers, the NFL’s best franchise in the history of the league. More Super Bowls than any other team.

I wanted it so badly, I woke up tasting that dream on my tongue.

Those days were soon to be long gone, nothing but memories, but the way I woke up now was better.

So much better.

Nuzzling my nose in the crook of Ava’s shoulder, she curled into me, and my arms wrapped around her, holding her tighter.

“Morning,” she whispered. Her voice was thick from sleep, and her hands came up and covered mine. “Can we skip today and stay in bed?”

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