“Okay.”
I started the truck and turned it toward the road. Seeing her again was all I’d thought I needed every day this week. Now that I was about to, I was scared shitless. If she was going to tell me again how we couldn’t work, I wasn’t sure my heart could take it.
The drive to the field was short with me speeding. My anxiety and fear were coiling inside me and I was a mess by the time I pulled up beside her red Mustang.
She wasn’t in it, so I climbed out and headed for the center of the field.
I saw her brown hair blowing in the breeze as she stood among the wildflowers that grew in the field this time of year. She reminded me of a painting someone would hang on their wall. Everything about her beautiful. Inside and out. For a brief moment she had been mine. Or I had been hers.
She turned and her eyes locked with mine.
There were a million things I wanted to say, but they all fell away as I stood there looking at her. The girl who had changed my world. Been my strength when I hadn’t had any and shown me that life was about the good and bad times.
“I can’t live in Tuscaloosa. But I don’t want that to be the end of us. I can wait for you. I’ll follow my plan, but I’ll stay here and in Nashville until you finish college. You chase your dream and I’ll build mine. We don’t have to choose, Brady. We can each have what is best for us and each other, too.”
She sounded like she had talked to my mom.
“I was wrong to think you should pack up your life and move to Tuscaloosa with Bryony. She needs Lawton and the people in it. She’s secure here. I was being selfish. I can love you just as much in Tuscaloosa as I do here. Distance isn’t going to change that.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she took a step toward me. This was what I wanted. Her close to me. “I do love you. I hate that you think I don’t.”
I sighed and pulled her the rest of the way to me. “I didn’t mean it. I was upset and scared.”
She curled into me and laid her head on my chest. “I can come to your games and during your off-season you can come here on some weekends. We can make it work. It doesn’t matter where you are. I will always love you.”
I pressed a kiss to her temple and closed my eyes. I would love her until the day I died. I didn’t question that. She was my piece in this world. The piece that completed me.
“One day I’ll ask you to marry me,” I told her.
“And one day I’ll say yes,” she replied.
For now, that was enough.
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to my editor, Jennifer Ung. She worked with me and my crazy schedule due to being pregnant while working on this book. With her help I believe we made it the best it could be. I’m very proud of how it turned out. Also I want to mention Mara Anastas, Jodie Hockensmith, Carolyn Swerdloff, and the rest of the Simon Pulse team, for all their hard work in getting my books out there.
My agent, Jane Dystel. She’s there for me when I’m having a hard time working on a story, when I need to vent, and even if I just need a recommendation on a good place to eat in New York City. I’m thankful to have her on my side.
When I started writing I never imagined having a group of readers come together for the sole purpose of supporting me. Abbi’s Army, led by Danielle Lagasse and Vicci Kaighan, humbles me and gives me a place of refuge. When I need my spirits lifted, these ladies are there. I love every one of you.
Last but certainly not least: my family. Without their support I wouldn’t be here. My kids who understand my deadlines and help around the house. My parents, who have supported me all along. Even when I decided to write steamier stuff. My friends, who don’t hate me because I can’t because my writing is taking over. They are my ultimate support group, and I love them dearly.
Britt Sullivan for listening to me rant, helping me work through storylines, and understanding how moody I can be when writing a book. He’s not only a wonderful father but a man that I am thankful to have by my side.
My readers. I never expected to have so many of you. Thank you for reading my books. For loving them and telling others about them. Without you I wouldn’t be here. It’s that simple.