Page 78 of Going for Two

My heart squeezed so tightly in my chest at his words that I was afraid it might burst.

“I’m sorry for not talking with you about the offer I was given. I know we weren’t anything official yet, but we were making plans. And that offer affected those plans.” It was hard to hear him as the roar of the fans grew louder. The Lombardi trophy was being brought out, so I leaned closer until we were almost wrapped in an embrace with his eyes intensely boring into mine.

“Lottie, you are the best thing that’s happened to me this season. I think it’s complete fate that you were brought into my life at the same time I was moving on from playing.”

My eyebrows pulled together as I wondered if I had heard him correctly. “Are you saying this really is your last season?”

Guilt filled me. Was he ending his career earlier than he wanted for me? Because that was the last thing I wanted, which was exactly why I had let him go.

“The coaching staff and owner, Gary Martinez, agreed to my offer of taking over the quarterbacks next year. I realized overthese past couple of weeks that my time is done, and I was only clinging on to the idea of playing another year because I was afraid. Afraid of the unknown and the future.” Nolan looked up at the confetti falling from the sky. “I’m ready to be done. There’s nothing further for me to do with the game. When I was asked to coach, that path felt easy to choose, exciting even. But just the thought of returning next year to play had me drowning in anxiety. That was when I realized that playing wasn’t the easy decision. It wasn’t therightdecision for me, regardless of the people in my life and how that would affect them.”

My breathing grew shallow as I realized what he was saying. Now I understood why he had looked so content the entire game. He was walking away from football finally happy with his career.

“That’s amazing, Nolan,” I told him, and I truly meant it. “You’ve got what you wanted.”

“Not even close,” he told me. “The entire game I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I thought that if I just won one more Super Bowl, I’d finally be happy. But then I realized that would never be the case because I’m my happiest when I’m with you and it killed me to think I could be celebrating this win without you. Lottie, I love you and I will always choose you, because while what I do will always be important to me, who I share it with is infinitely more important.”

My heart felt like it was in my throat as I listened to him.

You are worthy, I reminded myself to quell the irrational fear rising within me.

“I work hard for what I want and what I want is to be with you. I intend to work hard at being worthy of your love every day.”

I remained perfectly still as Nolan looked for any sign that I felt the same, his head tilted slightly. He looked worried I was aboutto break his heart. Even though I was sure that would never be possible.

“Do you mean it?” My voice hitched and I swallowed to keep it from breaking.

“I swear it,” he replied fiercely. His hands reached up to cup my cheeks and as confetti still rained down around us, he brought his lips to mine in a tender kiss. The gruff Nolan I met all those months ago was nowhere to be seen. He had been replaced by a man who was happy and wonderful and exactly the Nolan I always knew he would be. He was released from the shackles of his own expectations.

I pulled away from his kiss and rested my forehead against his. “I love you, too. And there’s nothing to forgive you for. You needed to do this for you.”

“I think maybe we can finally cross off that last item on your bucket list,” he told me. The corners of my mouth lifted. “And I think it may be time to make a new one.”

Nolan lifted me off the ground and I squealed like a kid as he spun me around.

“Coach Hill has a nice ring to it,” I told him once he set me back down.

“That’s what I thought!” Nolan exclaimed as he pulled me in for one more hug. I finally realized what the peaceful feeling was whenever I was with him—home.

“Does this mean you get to go to Disney?” I whispered into his ear, remembering what Olivia had said.

Nolan laughed. “It does. Are you saying you want to go?”

“Me and Olivia.” I pressed my lips together to try and keep the smile off my face. “Add it to the list?”

He just shook his head. “The two of you are going to be the death of me, aren’t you? Alright, add it to the list.”

“Hey! The trophy ceremony is starting.” Derek ran up to us, a Super Bowl champion hat sitting precariously on his head.

“Lead the way, champ,” Nolan told him.

Derek glanced between the two of us before his grin grew wider. “Hawthorn owes me fifty bucks!”

“For what?” I asked.

“I told him you’d get back together before Nolan even touched the Lombardi trophy.”

Nolan sighed like a disappointed father as he looked at his friend.