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MIA

The next four hours—watching the game, not knowing how it would unfold, whether Ford would win or lose, whether he would get hurt—were pure torture.

Every time he got knocked down, my heart froze until he stood back up. Every time the other team scored a point, my stomach sank. And when the Diamonds scored a point, adrenaline pounded through my system as I rose to my feet and cheered like a woman possessed.

It was a roller coaster unlike any other game I'd attended before. The score was too close to tell who would win.

But in the last two minutes, Ford ran the ball into the end zone and scored the winning point.

Time seemed to freeze until Gray breathed beside me, “They won.” Then his voice grew louder. “They won!”

It took me a second to realize it, for the words to process, but soon Gray and I were cheering and dancing with everyone in the stands while the clock ran down to zero. The crowd was louder than a thousand thunder crashes as the announcer said that the Diamonds were the official winners of the Super Bowl.

Purple and white confetti rained from the sky, and Gray grabbed my hand. “Let's go to the field. He'll want to see you.”

Ford may have just played the game, but my heart was racing as I followed Gray down the steps and onto the field, running toward the man who held my heart. I jumped into his arms, and he caught me easily, holding me close as confetti continued falling all around us.

“I love you,” I said into his ear. “I love you,” I repeated, tears streaming down my cheeks. This was everything he’d worked so hard for. And now it was finally here.

He held me tighter before setting me on the ground in front of him. I placed my hands on his chest pads while his arms circled around my waist. His eyes were gleaming, tearful with pride, with joy. “I missed you,” he whispered.

I let out a laugh. “It’s just been a day.”

“Promise we won't do that again?” he asked.

I had to smile. “I'm not going anywhere, and I know you won't either.”

He held me again and then lowered his lips to mine.

The world faded away while he held me, while he publicly claimed me on the most important night of his life. The happiest night of mine. And when we broke apart, I wiped away tears as his dad held and congratulated him.

Then the team’s publicist grabbed Ford and said, “It's time for your speech.”