Page 153 of Nothing Like the Movies

It took a few minutes of nonstop cursing from Wes for him to finally be lying flat, and I dragged a chair over to the side of the bed so I could hold his hand.

I’m kind of scared to stop touching him, too.

As if reading my mind, he said, “Promise this is real?”

I nodded, so happy that it felt a little painful. “I promise. If we were in a movie, the first notes of the closing song would be starting this very minute.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, smiling as he squeezed my hand. “What song would it be, Buxbaum?”

“?‘One and Only’ by Adele,” I said without missing a beat.

It was so perfect for the scene. The two main characters, finally coming together in ER room number eight—that song was made for this moment.

You’ll never know if you never try

To forget your past and simply be mine

“Good choice,” he said, his eyes squinting around a smile. “Hey, Siri, play ‘One and Only’ by Adele.”

I wasn’t sure how his phone heard that, but from somewhere on the other side of the room, I heard the first few notes begin to play.

“Impressive.”

“I am, aren’t I?” He released my hand, grinning the Wes grin that warmed me from the inside as he lifted his palm to my jaw and cradled my face. “So what would the big closing line be, in our movie?”

It was hard to think of words when he was looking at me like that, when his thumb was stroking over my skin. “Uh—”

“Maybe something about how you’ve always wanted to be Elizabeth Bennet, and I’m the only guy who can give you that?” he asked, tugging on my hair.

“Ooh, that’s good,” I said, my soul happy as I watched him wrap my hair around his fist. “But technically thereareother Mr. Bennetts in the world.”

“Not for you,” he said, tugging a little harder. “I’m your one and only.”

“That’s a little heavy-handed, don’t you think?” I teased.

“But perfect, right?”

I looked at that face, at those dark, laughing eyes, and said, “Themostperfect.”

EPILOGUEOMAHA—SIX(ISH) MONTHS LATERCOLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

“You’re perfect. You, and the ball, and the diamond, you’re this perfectly beautiful thing. You can win or lose the game, all by yourself. You don’t need me.”

—For Love of the Game

Wes

“All right, Bennett—go pick up Benevento.”

I gave a nod, took a deep breath, and left the bullpen.

Second inning with the bases loaded.

Not exactly how I’d anticipated entering the final game of the series, but when did anything ever go as planned? Benevento was usually money, but today his pitches were all over the place, and we’d gone from being up 2–0 to being down 3–2 with the bases loaded.

Zero outs.

LSU’s bats were on fire, and the packed-out stadium was loud and electric. I headed for the mound as Bennie headed for thedugout, and I tried shutting everything out as I heard the beginning of “Power” start to play and the stadium got even louder.

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