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Chapter 1

—Prologue, Valentine’s Day—

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BLUE

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“Best. Husband. Ever.”

 

I speak those words as my palms move up West’s arms, slinking over smooth plains of inked skin. My fingers lock behind his neck, warmed by the dark, shower-dampened curls he’s grown out to his shoulders.

 

“I take it you had a good day,” he rasps, but before I can answer, his lips lightly brush mine, and I breathe against them.

 

“Understatement.”

 

A satisfied smirk spreads across his face, and his green stare hooks me. “Tell me your favorite part.”

 

Thanks to a heatwave, we got to cancel our dinner reservation and think outside the box—wine tasting on a hot air balloon overlooking the vineyards of Sonoma; dinner with a view of the beach as the sun sank into the Pacific; a moonlit drive up the coast with the top down.

 

But nothing compares to how much better the night got once we made it home.

 

Suddenly aware of the gentle throbbing between my legs, I recall the details and smile up at him. “The shower. Definitely the shower.”

 

He flashes another grin and the sight of it takes me back in time. Back to when the NFL was just a far-off dream, and there weren’t multi-million-dollar endorsements on the table. Back to when I first laid eyes on him through the dancing flames of a bonfire. When I was just a scrappy girl from the other side of the tracks, and he was the arrogant asshole who thought he was the shit.

 

I’m smiling now, but honestly? Nothing about our journey was rainbows and roses. Which is why we never could have predicted what we’d become. Okay, yes, it was impossible to imagine, because we absolutely hated each other’s guts at first, but the way our story began only adds to the sense of awe I feel when I consider what this man is to me now.

 

My husband.

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My best friend.

 

There were some incredibly dark days. Days that would’ve crushed the souls of most, but we made it through all of that.

 

Together.

 

“I love you.”

 

His confession brings me back to the present, and I smile. “I love you too.”

 

He shakes his head and things suddenly feel more intense than before. “No. I mean… I really love you, Southside. With my whole fucking heart.”

 

I fight another grin hearing the nickname he’s called me for years roll off his tongue.

 

“With my whole fucking heart, West Golden.”

 

Moonlight bathes his solid physique. We’re clothed on the balcony tonight—me in a bra and underwear, him in dark pajama pants that leave little to the imagination—but we’re not always so modest. Let’s just say we’ve gotten very comfortable knowing our property backs up to the ocean and there isn’t a neighbor for miles.

 

The kiss I’d been waiting for is finally mine. It’s soft, it’s familiar, and I melt against him as his tongue pushes between my lips—the cherry on top of this already perfect day. He squeezes my side, then I’m jarred from the moment when he abruptly backs away.

 

“One more surprise,” he whispers, and I arch a brow.

 

“And here I was, thinking it couldn’t get any better.”

 

When I hold the side of his face, raking my fingernails over his neatly trimmed beard, he smiles. Maybe remembering how, once upon a time, I was very much against him growing it out, but thank God I caved on that one. It suits him.

 

Quite well, actually.

 

“Give me one sec.” With that, he pulls my hand from his cheek, kisses the center of my palm, then I lean against the banister as he walks away.

 

My eyes are trained on the broad, muscular swell of his upper back, proof that the long hours he puts in at the gym have paid off and then some. When he was a boy, he was my weakness. But now that he’s every bit a man, he’ll be the death of me.

 

He isn’t out of my sight for long when he returns with a black gift bag clutched in one hand.

 

“For you,” he says, handing it over. Then, he rests against the rail beside me, and the ocean crashes onto the beach behind us.

 

I pull out the gold tissue paper inside first, and then the soft fabric underneath.

 

He laughs when I arch a brow. “Unfold it. It’ll make sense.”

 

First setting the bag on the chair beside me, I let the t-shirt unroll itself next. Yes, I recognize the logo, but unlike West seems to believe, things still aren’t quite making sense.

 

“I—”

 

“This could be our ticket home,” he cuts in, but his words aren’t registering. Especially with the hint of excitement in his voice.

 

“…What?”

 

A deep breath puffs from his mouth when he seems to realize I’m lost, not completely sure what to make of this. So, he slows down, laces his fingers with mine, then starts again.

 

“Everything we’ve faced recently has been… rough,” he says before pausing, and it isn’t lost on me how his mood seems to dip.

 

His words call attention to the sting of fresh emotional wounds, trauma I keep hoping will fade with time—the injury that most feared would end his career, our two failed rounds of fertility treatments—but that hasn’t been the case so far. I don’t linger on these thoughts, though. Both aspects of our reality are still too fresh, too unpleasant, to revisit for now. So, I don’t allow my mind to drag me in too deeply, choosing to focus on West instead. And just as quickly as that look came over him, he catches himself and pretends he never faltered.

 

“I couldn’t handle seeing you get your hopes up about this,” he continues. “Not without knowing it was a sure thing. So, now that it is… all I have to do is say yes. All we have to do is say yes,” he corrects himself.

 

“Babe… the Cypress Pointe Emperors want me on the team.”

 

My brain short-circuits for a moment, processing what I’ve just heard. He’s right. The past several months have been hell. No one would know that from the outside looking in, but there have been lots of sleepless nights and tears when it’s just us. However, if there’s one thing that could dull that ache, make us feel a little more whole, it’s moving back to the Midwest with family and friends, back to my sister.

 

To say that I’ve needed her lately would be putting it mildly.

 

“H—how?” is all I can get out, because I’m getting choked up. West smiles and lets go of my hand, swiping his thumb across my cheek to catch a tear.

 

“There were a lot of moving pieces,” he says with a sigh, tucking both hands inside his pockets as he stares at the slats of our deck. “It started with my old coach from North Cypress U being brought on to lead the Emperors last season.”

 

I nod, recalling how shocked and impressed we both were when we heard the news. “Yeah, Coach Wells.”

 

“Right. So, it turns out he has a different vision for the team. And… that vision includes me taking on the role of starting quarterback.”

 

It’s as I’m staring at him that it finally starts to set in.

 

This could be real.

 

West brings me into his side as more tears stream down my face.

 

“No shit?”

 

He laughs at that. “No shit.”

 

Everything we’ve recently endured—especially the uncertainty surrounding West’s career—comes rushing back. After the injury, and the surgery and rehabilitation that followed, we worried that everything he’d worked for might be lost. But my husband is a fighter, and he fought damn hard to make a comeback. A comeback that resulted in his team allowing him to return as their quarterback in the season opener. They realized that he’s just as strong today as he was before taking that hit. Honestly, I’m convinced he’s stronger—physically, mentally.

 

And, apparently, Coach Wells and the Emperor’s franchise sees it too.

 

“I’m so unbelievably proud of you,” I force out in between sniffles. “I’m not even surprised he wants you on the team. You’re a fucking badass.” The compliment leaves my mouth as I laugh and cry at the same time.

 

West laughs at the odd reaction to this amazing news, then kisses my forehead. “Thanks, but… my life wouldn’t have amounted to shit without you.”

 

He’s said those very words too many times to count, and it’s nice to know he sees me. Nice to know I’ve added some measure of value to his existence.

 

“Not to overwhelm you or anything, but… there’s actually more.”

 

My head pops up from West’s shoulder, trying to guess what that means. “More?”

 

He nods, and his expression isn’t giving anything away. So, my first thought is that there’s some sort of caveat, a huge “gotcha” that’ll dump ice all over my excitement.

 

“It’s just that, Coach Wells isn’t simply padding the roster with random talent,” he explains. “He wants guys on his field who have chemistry, guys who can anticipate each other’s next move without hesitation. His dream team,” he adds with another quiet laugh. “Which means… I’m not the only one he wants.”

 

My gaze narrows because the next thought that jumps into my head seems impossible. But then, the very next second, West plucks the words right out of my head.

 

“Coach reached out to Sterling and Dane, too.”

 

The statement’s barely left his mouth, and I’m on him again, holding him tighter than before as I allow myself to see the full picture he’s just painted.

 

After college, the infamous Golden Boys were promptly drafted, fracturing the small family we’d become—West and I landing in Sacramento, Sterling in Miami, Dane and Joss in Houston. Meanwhile, Scarlett, Jules, Dez, and Lexi held down the fort in our home city. Yeah, we made it a point to get together when we could, but with what West has just said… it sounds like we get to have it all.

 

I get to have my family back.

 

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” I say again, whispering against his neck this time.

 

“This is good for both of us,” he says. “I need you to know something, though. This transition isn’t just about me. It also marks the end of you putting your dreams on hold.”

 

My heart is too full to speak, so I don’t bother trying.

 

“We can take some time to get settled in first if you want, but after that, I want you focused on getting the youth center off the ground. Your old neighborhood needs it,” he adds. “Whatever funds it’ll require to secure the building, whatever support I can give, I’m here for you. You know that.”

 

He’s right. The neighborhood I grew up in has had two youth centers close in recent years due to security issues and mismanagement, so the kids there do need something. But he’s also right about something else. The part about me knowing I can depend on him for support. Because he’s become my constant.

 

“If you need time to think about it, I understand. Yeah, we left family and friends behind when we came out here, but… we also left some pretty fucked up memories there, too.”

 

His statement lingers with me, and traces of those memories flash inside my thoughts—our messed up childhoods, his father’s criminal activity, the subsequent tarnishing of their family’s reputation.

 

And the one at the center of it all, the one who constantly stirred the pot, making all the bad shit so, so much more unbearable—Pandora.

 

I scowl, thinking about Cypress Pointe’s resident gossip queen. She put all our secrets out in the open, publicizing everything that came our way, every wrong move we made. The good, the bad, the ugly.

 

Especially the ugly.

 

“What is it?” West asks, and I’m aware of not hiding my thoughts so well. But… I won’t ruin the moment by mentioning any of the things that just popped into my head. Besides, all of that’s behind us now, including Pandora and her drama.

 

“It’s nothing,” I say with a smile, hoping to reassure him. “And I don’t need to think about it. I want this too.”

 

A slow smile curves his lips. “So, it’s a yes?”

 

His excitement is contagious, making it easy to forget all the rest. “It isn’t just a yes. It’s a hell yes,” I say as my smile grows.

 

Before I know what’s happening, he sweeps me into his arms, and my feet leave the deck. I cling to him.

 

This wonderful man who just did what’s felt impossible lately.

 

He’s given me hope.

 

“Coach and the general manager have been waiting to hear from me. I’ll reach out to them tomorrow,” he says. “Then, after that, it’s as good as done.”

 

I can’t remember a time I felt this happy, this optimistic. But just like that, with the promise of one simple phone call, it’s official.

 

The Golden Boys are returning to Cypress Pointe.

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OMG I can't wait for everyone to read the rest of West & Blue's new story (as well as the rest of the crew)!

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