Epilogue

Radio City Music Hall, New York

The NFL Draft

The NFL commissioner walked on stage and stood before the microphone.

Romeo clasped my hand, leaned forward, and brought our hands to his mouth, pressing his soft lips against our joined fingers. I shifted as close as I could possibly get and his eyes closed as he placed his head against mine.

The silence was stifling.

“The first draft… for the next NFL season… for Seattle Seahawks… is… quarterback… Romeo Prince… from… the Alabama Crimson Tide!!!”

We were backstage in the greenroom. Our private table, consisting of all of our friends, rattled as we all jumped to our feet in unison, screaming loudly in celebration.

Romeo bent and lifted me up, kissing me passionately. As I pulled back, I could see in his eyes that a small part of him never let himself truly believe this moment would ever come.

Cupping his face, I lowered his head to whisper, “Baby, you did it.”

Romeo didn’t say anything in response. He couldn’t. He was still in shock.

A steward immediately came to take him to the stage, and I watched on the TV mounted on the wall above us as a camera followed him down the corridor. Rome looked so gorgeous in his tailored black suit and white shirt. I, to match, wore fitted high-waist skinny black trousers and a black silk vest top.

As Rome reached the end of the long corridor, he was handed a navy and lime-green Seahawks cap that he immediately placed on his dirty-blond hair and made his way onto the stage to rapturous applause and screams from the live audience.

Romeo immediately shook hands with the commissioner, a small, crooked grin on his face. It made me laugh how he seemed so aloof and standoffish to anyone but me—he had the perfect bad-boy image—dark and unattainable. If the female screams were any indication, I’d say that he already had a fan club in waiting.

A storm of camera bulbs flashed as he proudly held his Seahawks jersey, showcasing the number seven and PRINCE on the back. I had to wipe happy tears from my eyes over and over as I watched him, the centre of attention, finally getting everything he deserved.

After a short interview, he left the stage to speak to the awaiting press and Ally, Lexi, and Cass sat beside me, pinning me on the small sofa.

“So, Mol? Seattle?” Ally asked, a look of both happiness and apprehension on her face. All focus had been on Romeo and the draft over the last several months. Our friends knew I was going to study for my PhD after this academic year, but no one, not even Romeo, knew where I’d been accepted.

I needed to tell him first.

“I’m so happy for him. It’s what he’s always dreamed of,” I said, purposely avoiding their question.

Cass rolled her eyes. “Cut the shit, Molls! Are you gonna go with him? You’ve said f**k all about next year and we all wanna know!”

I glanced around the table and had six wide sets of eyes focused on me, Cass’s loud complaint managing to pull the attention of Austin, Reece, and Jimmy-Don sitting opposite.

I twisted on my seat, trying to wriggle free. “It’s Romeo’s night. It’s not about me.”

Six dejected friends slumped back in their seats in exasperation.

I had to speak to Romeo first.

Romeo walked back into the room after about thirty minutes, and I ran into his awaiting arms, feathering kisses all over his face, murmuring, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

My new Seattle quarterback squeezed me into a hard embrace, then pushed me back to stare at me. There was happiness in his expression, but I could see tension leaking from his anxious eyes.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked in panic.

Romeo signalled to the guys that we needed a minute and pulled me to a dark corner of the room, completely out of sight. He stroked my hair and I playfully pulled on the peak of his navy Seahawks hat.

Catching my hand, Romeo pulled off the cap, combing his hand through his messy hair. “I am happy, baby. But I can’t do it without you. Seattle. I’m going to Seattle. You applied to Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, that I know of. You’ve been so f**kin’ secretive, and I’m goin’ insane. We could be on different sides of the country for all I know and I need you with me. I don’t think I can do this without you.”

“Rome—”

He silenced me with a finger on my lips. “I feel like just demandin’ it because I know that you would drop everythin’ for me. But I also want your dreams to come true too. I don’t know how to have both you and football.”

I took hold of his hand and kissed each finger. “Romeo, I’ve run away from my problems all my life, never to return, but you’re the first person I’ve ever run back to. That means so much to me. You pulled me out of the darkness.” I lowered his hand and pressed it to my stomach. “And gave me hope. Hope that one day I will be a good mother… when the time is right, and that I do have a family… in you.”

Moisture glossed his chocolate eyes and I pressed a soft kiss to the angel wing tattoo that took pride of place over his heart. “You once told me that one day you wanted to get away, that one day you would be your own person, and that one day you would get everything that you wanted.”

Romeo nodded slowly. “But what I want is you. Everythin’ I want is with you. You’re my ‘one day.’”

I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a letter, Romeo’s face displaying confusion, and I announced, “Your one day is finally here.”

Snatching the letter from my hands, he set to ripping it open, and I watched as the words accepted and University of Washington, Seattle, popped off the page.

His hands almost shredded the paper in two, and he looked up, his questioning gaze burning into mine. “You… Does…? What?”

I took the letter from his hands, dropped it back into my pocket, and placed my hands on his cheeks. “I also applied to Seattle. When Doctor Adams, all those months ago, mentioned there was a possibility of you going there, I researched into how the draft worked and took a calculated chance on Seattle. I didn’t want to say, just in case it didn’t work out. But it’s just paid off. I’m coming to Seattle with you, baby. You’re looking at the newest PhD student of philosophy. I sent my email confirmation about twenty-five minutes ago.”

Romeo smiled widely, a full smile, one that my dad would have been proud of, and he crashed his lips to mine.