Page 286 of Heartache Duet

epilogue

AVA

“Okay, so what do you need from me? Do you want space, or time, or me? Do you wantme? Just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it.”

Connor sits on the edge of the hotel room bed, his head in his hands, his bag by his feet. He releases a long, drawn-out breath before he reaches between us and takes my hand in his. He looks up, his eyes clear. “I need you to calm the hell down, baby. You’re making me nervous.”

“Sorry,” I breathe out, letting him pull me between his legs.

His head settles on my stomach, his arms going around my waist. “You’re going to be there early, right?”

“I’ll be the first one through the gates.”

Connor chuckles. “And you got all the tickets?”

“All of them.”

“And you’re coming with your mom—”

“As soon as you leave, I’m going to meet her and your dad and Michael in the lobby.”

Connor nods. “All right.”

“All right.”

He turns to me, a smile playing on his lips. “I should probably get going,” he says, passing me a black marker. I take his hand, settle it on my bare thigh, and writeMiss Don the back of his hand, andAva E. D. Diazbelow it. Then I reach into my purse and pull out a blue balloon. I blow it up, make quick work of writingConnor Ledger #1 Boo Devil.I hand it to him, loving the way his eyes light up when he takes it from me.

Three years.

Three seasons.

And this is what we do before every game.

But we’ve never had a game like this before.

Duke is in the NCAA Division I championship, and this is Connor’s last game as a Duke Blue Devil.

“Okay.” Connor stands, and he rolls his neck, his shoulders, then he shakes out his hands, turning to me when I get to my feet. “Say it,” he says.

I rise to my toes, my palm above the heart, and kiss him, my mouth open, tongue swiping against his. When I pull away, his eyes are still closed, and so I kiss him again. Just once. “I love you, number three.”

He smacks my ass, just as Trevor knocks on the door. Trevor’s been staying with us during Connor’s finals so he can be nearby when NBA teams call or want meetings with Connor. Because that’s happening.A lot. And Trevor’s Connor’s agent—a deal they apparently made three years ago. A deal they didn’t tell me about until only recently.

“Can I come in or is my sister naked?”

“You can come in,” Connor laughs out, grabbing his bag and swinging the strap around his torso.

Trevor pokes his head in. “You ready to go?”

Connor kisses me once more before meeting my brother in the living room. I stay back, listening to them talk ball and business like they do before most games. When they start for the door, Connor turns to me. “Say it again?”

I stand in the middle of the living room, my hands behind my back. “I love you, number three.”

Connor smiles, his chest rising with his inhale. Then he turns to Trevor. “Okay, I’m good now.”

The second they leave, I flop down on the couch, my hand to my heart, trying to ease the thumping there. I’m nervous. For him. For the entire team. For three years I’ve watched the boy I love play a game he loves at the college of his dreams, and now… now he’s one step closer to fulfilling every dream he’s ever had.

And Iwantthis for him.

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