Page 44 of The Air I Breathe

"Ugh, my brother. You're on his fantasy football team. You're never going to hear the end of it if he comes," she groans.

"That's what family is about—getting on your damn nerves. It doesn't bother me, Will. I promise."

"Okay." She smiles. "I'll let my mom and dad know this is what we're doing. More than likely, my mom will get with your mom and together they'll make sure everything is done." Willa's quiet for a minute. "None of my other boyfriends have ever spent the holidays with my family. I mean, we did Christmas and New Year of course, but it wasn't at my house, and nobody ever asked my parents and brother to come. You're one in a million, Blake."

I'm quiet, because I'm trying to figure out how I want to say this. "I'm not one in a million. I'm a guy who didn't give his all to the relationship before you because I wasn't one hundred percent in. Part of that was because I was young at the beginning and then got complacent. I lost her because I didn't love her out loud. Granted, the two of us probably weren't suited well enough to be together for the rest of our lives, but I loved her silently. There's nothing inherently wrong with that." I stop for a second, trying to choose my words carefully. "But I don't think it worked for either of us." I give her a smile. "I'm a loud guy, and I think while you sometimes like the quiet gestures, I also think you want to be loved out loud."

"I do want to be loved out loud." She swallows loudly, closing her lips, her nostrils flaring.

This is a big fucking step I'm about to take. "I do, ya know."

She stops, her eyebrows coming together in question. "You do what?"

"Love you, and I'll do it as fuckin' loud as you'll let me."

Her blue eyes grow bright as the sky, twinkling like the stars. "Blake..."

"You don't have to say it back." I rush to stop her. "I didn't say it to force you to say it too."

Her hand comes forward, one finger on my lips. "I love you too. No forcing, no secrets, nothing. Just the truth. Nothing but the truth."

Hearing her say that she loves me is the best thing. "We're gonna do this, Willa." I clasp her around the neck. "No matter what we've got going on in our lives, we'll make time for each other. If I've learned anything from the past, it's that we've got to be a priority to each other."

"We do." She tilts her forehead to mine. "And I was guilty of not making the people in my life the priority for a while. I wasn't mature, didn't know how to have an adult relationship. I wasn't prepared to make the sacrifices, but I'm prepared now. I'm willing to fly overnight, to do whatever it takes, because this portion of our lives? It's so small, and deciding that something is too hard is a choice. My choice now? It's you."

"You're my choice too," I whisper, leaning forward and meeting her lips with mine. "And fuck anybody or anything who stands in the way of that."

She giggles, but her arms wrap around my neck, and in this moment I'm the luckiest man in the world. There's nothing that can make this better—not even a championship ring. With her at my side, there's nothing that can stop me.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Willa

"And hit the end beat," my choreographer says as I finish snapping my hip at the end of dance practice.

We've been back in Nashville for a few weeks, and while I've made appearances at Blake's games, and people have been talking shit like they tend to do on the Internet, I've been getting ready for the Thanksgiving game. It happens tomorrow. "I think we're about as good as we can be." I cough lightly as I take a deep breath.

"I think you are too, but I also think you should probably get that cough looked at." Suzanne, my choreographer says, her voice echoing in the reversal space.

"I'll be fine—it's just the change in weather. The game last week in Miami was warm, and it's barely above freezing here. I should be good tomorrow."

My choreographer raises her eyebrows but gives me a hug. "I can't wait for everyone to see this."

"Me neither." I gather up my bad, slip on my sweatshirt, and head out to the SUV waiting for me. I'll be staying at Blake's tonight, even though he won't be there. For home games, the guys all stay in a hotel right next to the stadium. Instead, my mom, his mom and CeCe will be getting things together for the meal tomorrow.

I sneeze twice as soon as I shut the door, and a shiver runs over my body. I cannot be getting sick, but I am more tired than normal—probably because I've been traveling so much lately.

When the car pulls up in Blake's long driveway I get out, along with Kevin.

"Are you excited for the performance?" he asks, as he walks me to the door.

"I think I'm more excited about the dinner with the family. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that. Are you going to join us, or have you worked it out so that you can be off?" I never know for sure.

He glances around, because we're out in the open. "I'll be here, so I'll grab a plate."

We enter, and the ladies are laughing and talking amongst themselves. "Hey!" I wave at them. All but CeCe have a glass of wine in their hands. "How's it going?"

"We're almost done," Mom says as she comes over to give me a hug.