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Chapter Forty-Five

JACKSON

February 6th - The Super Bowl

The noise in the Superdome is deafening. The energy? Electric.

But all I can hear is my own heartbeat slamming in my chest.

Because while the entire world is focused on the Stallions trailing by ten in the biggest game of the year?

I just got a text that changed my whole damn life.

Cassie: Ivy’s water broke. She’s at the hospital.

I freeze.

For a full five seconds, I just sit there, staring at my phone, my brain refusing to process the words.

Then?

Everything clicks into place.

Holy shit.

Our baby is coming.

"Coach, we gotta go,” Drew says, pulling me toward the locker room for halftime.

I snap out of it, stuffing my phone into my pocket as I follow him into the tunnel.

I’ve got fifteen minutes to figure out how the hell to balance the biggest moment of my career with the fact that nothing has ever mattered more than getting to Ivy.

The locker room is silent.

The guys are exhausted, frustrated, down ten points with one half left to play.

And really? It’s not even a decision.

I’m about to leave.

I grab a Gatorade, take a sip, and set the bottle down hard on the table.

"Listen up."

Eyes snap to me.

I take a slow breath, leveling them with the most intense stare I’ve got.

"Look around. This is the moment. The one we’ve worked for all season. And we are not walking out of here with regrets."

I pace, rolling my shoulders, feeling the weight of it all.

“Do you know how hard it is to get to a Super Bowl? Do you know how rare this chance is? You don’t wait for it. You don’t hope for it. You go out there and you fucking take it.”

A few guys nod.

I point at them, sweeping my gaze across the room.

"I know you’re tired. I know you're hurting. But if you want this—if you want to walk off that field as fucking legends—you give me everything you’ve got for the next two quarters.”

My voice drops.

“Because this? This is the last time this group will ever play together. Right here. Right now.”

I pause.

Then, I crack a small grin.

"And, selfishly? I’d really love to win a fucking Super Bowl before I go meet my kid."

The room is quiet for a moment.

“What?”

“Yeah. Guys, my baby is on the way. Ivy’s water broke.”

Everyone erupts.

Dallas lets out a whoop, guys clap me on the back, helmets smack against shoulders, the energy clearly shifting in the room.

Travis comes over and gives me a smack, too. “Thanks, Coach,” he says. “You set a hell of an example this year.”

I grin back at him. He, apparently, smoothed things out with his baby mama. And while they might not be as solid as me and Ivy, they’re trending well.

“So let’s win this game for Ellie,” I say.

“You know it’s going to be a girl? Thought you didn’t know yet?” Dallas says.

“I can feel it,” I growl out.

“Then let’s do it!” Dallas yells out. “For Ellie!”

And then?

They go out there like goddamn warriors.

I make the call.

I watch from the tunnel.

One of my other assistant coaches steps up. “You’re really doing this?”

I nod, jaw tight. “I have to.”

He exhales, then claps me on the shoulder. “Go. We got this.”

I send one last look toward the field, where the guys are battling like hell?—

And then I grab my bag and sprint out of the goddamn stadium.

"Coach, the game's not over!"

The security guy stops me at the gate, looking confused as hell.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“My fiancée is having our baby.” I glance at his badge. “Marcus, right? You got kids?”

He blinks. “Uh…yeah. Yeah I do.”

I grip his shoulder. “Then you know. Let me through.”

He swipes his keycard without hesitation. “Go get your kid, Coach.”

I’m in the car in seconds.

I call my pilot. "Is the jet ready?"

"Gassed up and waiting. But Coach, the air traffic?—"

"Figure it the fuck out."

I hit the pedal, weaving through New Orleans traffic, praying I make it in time.

Because football is my life.

But Ivy?

Ivy is my whole goddamn world.

And I’ll be damned if I miss the moment my baby comes into it.

The jet touches down in Davenport—the nearest airport to Riverbend—just after nine p.m.

I don’t wait for clearance.

The second the wheels hit the ground, I’m out of my seat, pacing the aisle, heart pounding.

Cassie: We’re at Riverbend Memorial. Ivy’s in labor. Hurry.

I sprint off the plane.

A black SUV is waiting.

“Hospital. Now.”

The driver barely gets a nod in before I’m in the backseat, bouncing my knee, checking my phone every goddamn second.

I shouldn’t be nervous.

I just coached a team in the biggest game of the year.

But this?

This is bigger.

This is Ivy.

This is our baby.

And nothing—not a Super Bowl, not a contract, not a single damn thing in this world—could ever come close to what this means.

I burst through the emergency room doors, scanning the waiting area like a man possessed.

Cassie stands up first.

"You made it!"

I barely hear her.

“Where is she?”

Lauren is beside her, shaking her head. “She’s upstairs. It’s happening fast.”

My stomach drops.

“Take me to her. Now.”

The second I step into the labor and delivery room, everything else disappears.

Ivy’s on the hospital bed, hair a mess, face flushed, her hands clutching the bed rails.

And when her green eyes land on me?—

Something inside me shatters.

Relief. Love. Every damn emotion all at once.

“You came,” she whispers, her voice hoarse.

I rush to her side, gripping her hand, pressing a hard kiss to her forehead.

“Of course I came. I would’ve run here if I had to.”

She laughs, but it turns into a sharp gasp as another contraction rips through her.

I hold her tighter.

“I got you, baby. I’m right here.”

She nods, breathing through it, gripping my hand like a vice.

The doctor steps up.

“Alright, Ivy. It’s time.”

Ivy is strong as hell.

Through the pain, the exhaustion, the absolute insanity of today—she’s fierce. Determined. Perfect.

And when I see that tiny, pink, screaming bundle enter the world?—

Everything in my chest collapses.

The doctor places our baby on Ivy’s chest, and she lets out a soft, choked laugh.

“Oh my god,” she whispers, tears spilling down her cheeks.

I kiss her forehead, my own vision blurring.

"You did it, baby. I love you. I love you so much.”

She smiles back and mouths the words softly.

And then?

Then I meet my daughter.

My world.

Her tiny fingers wrap around mine, and I swear to god—I’m gone.

Absolutely fucking wrecked.

I press a gentle kiss to her little head.

And just like that?

The biggest, most important victory of my life isn’t a trophy.

It’s this.

Them.

My family.

I don’t even know if we won the game tonight.

But this?

This is the real brass ring if you ask me.

“Welcome to the world, Ellie,” Ivy says, as we both hold her, and press our foreheads together.

One Year Later

Our baby just turned one, but more importantly?

It’s also officially the off-season. Which means I finally get to relax.

It also means that I get to take Ivy on a trip.

The second the villa door clicks shut, I turn to my wife.

She barely has time to set her bag down before I have her pressed against the wall, my hands roaming, gripping, needing.

“Jesus, Jackson,” Ivy laughs breathlessly, her hands sliding up my chest. “We just got here.”

I kiss her.

Hard. Deep. Desperate.

“And?” I grit out against her lips, grinning as I slide a hand beneath her dress. “You think I’ve been patient all these months? Baby, I’ve been losing my goddamn mind.”

She shivers as my fingers tease higher.

“Well,” she breathes, tilting her head back as I trail hot kisses down her neck, “we do have this whole villa to ourselves.”

I chuckle, hooking an arm under her thighs, lifting her effortlessly.

“And I don’t plan on leaving this room.”

Her laugh turns into a gasp as I carry her to the bed, dropping her onto the cool sheets and crawling over her.

Sunlight spills through the open balcony, the ocean waves crashing in the distance.

But all I hear?

Her soft whimper as I slide my hands up her thighs, pushing the fabric of her dress higher.

“I don’t care if we don’t sleep at all tonight, baby,” I purr against her skin, my fingers already working the straps of her dress down her shoulders. “I’m making sure you remember this trip for the rest of your life.”

Her breath catches.

And then?

She pulls me down, crashing her lips against mine.

And the rest of the night?

It’s just the two of us.

And a whole lot of making up for lost time.

“Ready to make another baby?” She moans. “If we’re going to make it to four…we better get going.”

I chuckle, low and dangerous, against her lips. "Four, huh?" My hands slide lower, gripping her hips, pressing her tight against me. "That sounds like a challenge."

Ivy gasps as I lift her effortlessly, carrying her across the villa, straight to the massive, luxurious bed. The ocean breeze drifts through the open balcony doors, warm and sultry, the scent of salt and jasmine in the air.

She squirms in my grip, teasing. “Mmm, you think you can handle that, Coach?”

I drop her onto the bed, climbing over her, pinning her wrists above her head. My mouth ghosts over her pulse point, my voice a husky rasp.

"Baby, I don’t just handle challenges." I nip her earlobe, making her shudder. "I fucking dominate them."

Her moan is my favorite sound in the world.

Her body arches beneath me, the silk of her lingerie doing nothing to hide how ready she is for me. I trail my fingers down her stomach, smirking against her skin as she shivers.

“You really want another one so soon, huh?” I kiss my way down her collarbone. “Or are you just desperate for me?”

She whimpers, her legs wrapping around me. “Both.”

Goddamn.

I groan, my mouth crashing back to hers, kissing her deep, slow, filthy. “That’s good, baby. Because I plan on keeping you up all fucking night.”

Her hands tangle in my hair, tugging me closer. “Prove it.”

I grin.

"Oh, I will."

And then?

I do. Over and over again.