Page 50 of Big Pitch Energy

“Hi,” I whispered, when he pulled back.

“You’re here,” he said, voice rough. “You’re really here.”

I nodded, tears springing to my eyes.

“Ava’s covering the studio, and when I get back, we’re reworking the schedule, and maybe even hiring another instructor. I want to be able to travel during the season. I want to be with you, Sam. I’m all in.”

“You really mean that?”

“Every word,” I said, laughing through my tears. “I loved your letter. I’ve read it dozens of times. It wrecked me in the best possible way.”

He exhaled slowly, like he’d been holding his breath for months.

“How long are you here for?” he asked.

“Two weeks.”

“Two weeks,” he repeated, seeming a little stunned, like he had to say it out loud just to believe it.

His eyes locked on mine, wide with something between disbelief and a grin he couldn’t quite hold back.

“You were amazing out there,” I said. “That was some serious big pitch energy.”

Sam chuckled, then pulled me close, and the sounds of the stadium melted into silence as we lost ourselves in the kiss. I had no idea how long we stayed that way before finally pulling back for air.

“We have so much to talk about,” I started, but he silenced me with another kiss.

“Later,” he murmured against my lips, his voice low and a little unsteady. “We’ll figure it all out later. Right now, I just need to hold you and prove to myself that you’re really here.”

And in that moment, wrapped in Sam’s arms, I knew I’d made the right choice.

The flight, the nerves, the waiting were all worth it for this. For the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that made sense in his whole world. For the way I felt in his arms, like maybe I could finally stop holding my breath.

And whatever came next—home or away, wins or losses, long nights or long-distance—I was all in.

Epilogue

I walkedinto the living room and found Hope curled up on the couch reading a book she'd picked up at a little bookstore we'd discovered last week. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows, catching the highlights in her hair.

I settled in beside her and gently lifted her feet into my lap. She looked up with a soft smile.

“Give me two minutes to finish this chapter,” she said, already turning back to the page.

Now it’s July, and somehow, in the middle of the chaos, the travel, and everything in between we’ve been making it work. Just like I knew we would.

Hope had hired Melissa, a newly certified yoga instructor, to help run the studio. During the season, Hope split her time between Starlight Shores and wherever I was playing. The studio was thriving, and somehow, we'd found a rhythm that worked for both our lives.

“There.” She closed the book and tucked herself against my side. “I’m all yours until you leave for Seattle.”

The doorbell rang, and I grinned.

“That'll be Mom and Ray.”

“I still can't get over how cute they are together.”

When I'd first suspected something might be brewing between my mom and my agent, I thought it would be weird. Ray had been like a father figure to me for years, still the idea of him actually becoming family felt complicated. But watching them together these past few months had been the opposite of awkward. Ray just fit into our family dynamic like he'd always belonged there.

I opened the door to find them holding hands, Ray holding their bags and Mom practically glowing.

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