Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 130380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130380 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
His eyes were hooded where they stared at me, as if he was saying without words that this would be us one day. I felt his possession in the air as if it were hands on my hips, and I bit my lip a little, tearing my gaze away from him to look down at my flowers before the whole garden of people caught on to our little show. Then again, I didn’t have to look to know Zeke and Riley were eyeing each other the same way, and Giana and Clay, too.
When the music died as Julep reached the end of the aisle, there was a chorus of sniffles through the crowd, which made us all smile and wipe our faces and laugh a little at ourselves. Coach Lee gave his daughter’s hand to Holden, who stared at her like every dream he’d ever had was coming true in that moment, and the ceremony began.
It was sweet and short, which didn’t surprise me considering Julep hated being the center of attention. And when Holden dipped Julep back in a dramatic kiss to seal the deal, we all went wild, cheering and throwing rose petals over them as they walked back down the aisle.
Then, the party began.
Edison lights came to life as the sun went down, casting the garden in a beautiful glow as the band began to play and guests flooded to either the bar or the dance floor.
“I have to pee so bad,” Giana said when we were free of our ceremonial duties, and she abandoned her bouquet on the wedding party table before practically running toward the bathroom.
“I need a shot,” Riley chimed in. “I’ve never cried so much in my entire life.”
“Besides when you realized how much you love me, right?” Zeke said, sliding up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his chest, and she smiled, leaning into the touch.
“Those were tears of frustration,” she shot up at him.
“Oh, that’s right. You were still pretending to hate me, huh?”
“Trust me — I didn’t have to pretend very hard.”
“Sure,” Zeke said, nuzzling into her neck. She flushed and turned into him, and I looked away just as they started to kiss.
So much had happened in the last five months for all of us, it was almost dizzying.
The Rebels had gone on to have their first undefeated season since the nineties, sending them straight to the championship game. Sadly, they’d lost by a last-minute field goal, which had crushed all of us. But even with that loss, there wasn’t a graduating senior who didn’t get a call during the draft.
Every team in the NFL wanted a North Boston University recruit.
But while Clay, Kyle, Braden, and Leo had signed contracts with fat signing bonuses, Zeke had withdrawn himself completely.
It had shocked us all at first, but when he and Riley took us out to dinner and told us about their business plan, the only emotion we felt was ecstatic. They were working with the NFL to launch the Novo Football Coalition, a program dedicated to exposing young girls to football and giving them opportunities to play as they grew older. It was the first program the NFL was directly involved with that supported females stepping into the arena, and there was a partnership with the Women’s Football Alliance to make a future in football for girls, too.
They had a long road to walk, one that we all knew would be bumpy and full of roadblocks. There were so many adversaries to women playing football in our country, but with Zeke and Riley behind the wheel, I had a feeling there was nothing they couldn’t achieve. Maybe one day, there would be a Women’s Super Bowl with two teams of bad ass bitches just like Riley.
I couldn’t wait for that day.
We’d all told them we were there to help every step of the way, too. Some of the guys even forked over a big part of their signing bonus to help them get started. The first branch of their coalition was set to open in the fall right outside of Boston, and Riley’s brother, Gavin, was to be general manager.
“There’s my girl.”
I bit my lip on a smile as Leo’s arms wound around me from behind, his lips finding my neck before I was spun in his arms to face him. He trailed his eyes down every inch of me before making a deep noise in his throat.
“You in this fucking dress, Stig,” he mused, shaking his head. “Remind me to keep you away from all roads. We don’t need a car pile-up to ruin the wedding day.”
“Shut up,” I said swatting at him.
“No chance. Unless you think of a creative way to make me,” he added with an arch of his brow. “Sitting on my face might work.”