“What was that for?” I asked, smiling softly.
“Just because.” He leaned down and kissed me again. “Just because I’m so damn proud of you. And I can’t wait to see what the future brings.”
I’d never admit it to him, but I was very much looking forward to seeing what the future held also. I could only imagine it would be good things.
Epilogue
A year and a half later…
“Come on! Keep pushing!” I yelled from the sidelines, trying not to let my frustration show. We were in the final minutes of the second half, tied one-to-one with our rivals, England. This was the game that decided if we’d continue to the playoffs or not.
If we couldn’t score, we’d go into a shootout and no one wanted that. We were all tired, and we just wanted to be done when the clock ran out.
I continued cheering and coaching from the sidelines, holding my breath each time a player got close enough to the goal to take a shot.
We were playing to a sold-out crowd, and the tension was in the air. Most of the players were off the bench, hugging each other as the final seconds counted down on the clock.
We had possession, and this was it. If we could score, England wouldn’t have enough time to get the ball again and we’d be continuing on.
If we couldn’t… well, I’d worry about that when it happened.
Leslie got the ball, and I held my breath as she dribbled closer to the goal box. Leslie passed it and ran around some defenders before Carrie shot the ball back to her right when she got an opening.
After, I would swear that the entire stadium held its breath as they waited to see if Leslie would score, only for everyone to scream when the ball kissed the back of the net.
The players on the field dog-piled each other with the ones on the bench running out to join.
Everyone was jubilant. After last season’s wins, going to the playoffs was something to be proud of, that was for sure.
I walked over to where Don, the head coach for the England, was standing.
“Good game,” I said, shaking his hand firmly.
“Good luck,” he said before releasing my hand and allowing me to move on to the next coach.
Once I’d shaken all their hands, I turned back and stopped when I saw that the girls were still on the field.
It wasn’t so much that they were on the field that stopped me, but it was the looks on their faces. They were grinning almost maniacally.
I walked closer and narrowed my eyes. “You all look like you’ve got something up your sleeves. What is it?”
They looked at each other briefly, and suddenly the lights went out for the entire stadium.
Everyone hushed and I froze, not sure what to think of what was happening. Was it a power outage?
Suddenly, some lights turned back on and I was taken aback to see that the players were now further away from me and were in a formation.
“What the—” I started, but stopped when loud music started playing and the players started dancing.
My eyes widened as I took them in. Everyone, even the ones that didn’t get along with some of the others, were on the field doing a choreographed dance to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.
I watched with wide eyes as they mimicked different scenarios, what looked like dinner, something with soccer, and other things.
As the song wound down, I realized that they were acting out some things Dax and I had done together since we started dating.
As soon as I had the ah-ha moment, the music stopped, and another beat started, one that was more upbeat.
Photos grabbed my eyes as they splashed across the big screen. They were photos of me and Dax, together.
I brought my hands up to my face. My heart was beating wildly as I realized what was happening. “Marry You” by Bruno Mars was playing. The players were a flash mob. Either it was the greatest prank known to man or Dax was going to propose.
One final photo flashed up, and I realized it was one of the few photos of us taken together in college. I’d forgotten that Dax found some when he visited his parents shortly after we started dating. He brought them back and talked about the nights they happened.
It was so weird to look at that photo, knowing what would happen after that, and knowing what was about to happen.
I looked back at the players and saw that they were now all kneeling on the ground and Dax was walking toward me, a mischievous grin on his face.
I walked toward him, and we met in the middle of the girls. I noticed that he was holding a microphone in his hand and shook my head.
“I take it you have something to ask me,” I said, smirking. I tried not to flinch when my voice echoed through the stadium.
He smiled and barked out a laugh. “You could say that.”
Leslie, our winning goal scorer, stood and grabbed the microphone from Dax. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box.
Even though I was now expecting this, I couldn’t help the thrill that ran through me as the enormity of the situation hit me.
Dax sucked in a big breath before getting on one knee. The stadium roared, and I knew that my face had to be red because of being in the spotlight. But for once, I didn’t even care.
“Pru,” he said, his voice echoing throughout the stadium and drowning out the cheers. “I’ve loved you since I was twenty-one. It took us a while to find our way back, but I’m glad we did.”
He paused and swallowed noticeably as he opened the little box and showed me the diamond inside. My eyes widened as I looked at it.
“I think we’ve waited long enough. Ten years seems like a good penance. What do you say? Will you marry me?”
I couldn’t say anything because of the emotion clogging my throat, so I could only nod as tears started falling from my eyes.
He smiled and stood, pulling the ring from the box and sliding it on my ring finger. He tilted my face up to his and kissed me.
I was expecting something demanding, but he lightly kissed me before whispering, “I’ll save what I really want to do to you for later.”
Luckily the microphone didn’t catch that because it would have been the ultimate embarrassment.
The players were crowding around us cheering, and the fans were going wild.
In that moment, I was the happiest I’d ever been, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
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Acknowledgments
Y’all. This book was an interesting write. I wrote it almost 9 months ago, took six months away from it, then brought it back out and changed the POV and a major plot point.
I think it’s better for it in the end and it wouldn’t have been possible without Jessica, Megan, Rhian, and Taylor. Each of you helped me get this book how it needed to be to really show a bad-ass female in a male dominated work place. So, thank you.
About the Author
A.M. Williams is just a simple girl from the south that found herself living abroad. When she’s not annoying her cat or reading, she’s spending time with her husband and traveling as much as possible. She has a serious case of wanderlust and wants to go as many places as possible while she can. She loves Cheerwine, sweet tea, and North Carolina (eastern style) BBQ as well as those crystal clear waters on the North Carolina coast.
Follow or like A.M. Williams on the following platforms:
Website: https://authoramwilliams.com
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Also by A.M. Williams
Standalones
Short Stop to Love
Hometown Christmas
Southern Sands Series
Jax
Harry
Veronica
Grayson
Bentley
The Boys of Summer
Coach
ed in Love
Dirty Pitch
Playing for Keeps
King of the Field
Hearts Penalty Page 7