Page 142 of Fair Catch

Part of me can’t believe it either, but despite that, I’ve never felt more free in my life. Even with all the unknowns looming on the horizon, there’s one certainty: We’ll tackle them together.

That is, if he’ll have me.

“I can,” I murmur, resting my hands on his thighs again. “Because I love you. And if you can take them on for me, I sure as fuck can do the same for you.”

“Are you really sure about this?”

My response is as easy as breathing, falling free without a second thought about them being the truth. “There’s not a doubt in my mind. Not when it comes to you.”

Kason rolls his lips inward, and I wait, patiently and silently, for him to speak. For the feelings so clear and evident in his eyes to finally be spoken.

For us to finally know that we were wrong about this being the wrong time.

“Say something,” I whisper, my fingers curling around his thighs. “Tell me to come with you to Nashville or tell me to go to hell, but please, tell me what you want. You can have whatever it is, baby. Just say the word and it’s yours.”

He shakes his head. “I already have everything I want, as long as you come with me.”

It takes a second for me to process what he’s said, to trust that I actually heard him right. But when I do, I’m in his lap damn near instantly, my thighs bracketing his hips, and finally pressing my mouth to his.

My chest tightens in the best way possible as it brushes his, losing myself in a kiss that decimates all others. His hand curls into my hair and my hand cups his jaw, and with every brush of our lips, it feels like I’m drowning in emotions. They drag me under, wave after wave slamming into me at once until I’m consumed by more love than I ever knew existed.

Maybe because, before him, it didn’t.

Kason breaks away first, and it’s almost like he’s crawled inside my head to pluck out my thoughts when he smiles at me.

“I love you so fucking much, Hayes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. It felt too selfish to say it and leave. But, I do. I love you.” His emerald eyes dark and pleading as they stare straight into my soul, his words barely more than a whisper. “And if I’m certain of anything, it’s that I’m a better person for having been loved by you.”

In all my life, I’ve never needed to hear those words from another human. But now that I know how they sound falling off his lips, there’s no way I can go another day without hearing it.

“I love you too,” I murmur, the words infused with emotion.

My heart crawls into my throat as I stare at him. At this amazing, talented, and hardworking man who continues to teach and inspire me just as much as I do him. Who has only ever wanted from me is my time. My attention. My love.

And if I have it my way, he’ll never have to want those things again, because they’ll already be his.Iwill be his.

Always.

Playing with the hair at the back of his neck, I murmur, “Do you wanna go home and celebrate, Mr. Football Star?”

Kason smiles before leaning in, pressing his lips to mine again in a long, slow kiss.

He breaks away far sooner than either of us would like and rests his forehead against mine, breathing in each other’s air.

“Is that a no?” I ask, all breathless.

“No, it’s not a no,” he whispers softly, his fingers dancing over my lower back.

I frown, leaning back. “Then is it a yes?”

My favorite smile appears when he shakes his head.

“It’s an…I think I could be convinced.”

Epilogue

Hayes

Three Months Later — July

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