Page 28 of The Game Plan

His reaction must have shown on his face because Eli asked him if he was all right.

“I’m good,” Reese replied, surprised by the vision. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Eli looked at him, curiosity in his eyes. “Sure.”

They were distracted for a moment by the Kings’ defense sacking the Fortune’s quarterback, the game going on hold after the play for a commercial break.

“Is Hailey the one?”

Eli’s eyes rounded, and he flashed the smile of a man in love. “She is, yeah. Why?”

“How did you know?” Reese asked, scanning the crowd for Sutton. He could barely make her out from where he sat, but he knew she was there, cheering him on.

“I knew when my dog was so sick, and she drove all the way down from her grandparents’ place in Indiana to be with me. She didn’t have to, but she did.” He looked down at the ground, then back at Reese. “She told me that Talulah was my baby, and she wanted to be there in case something bad happened, and I needed her. That’s when I realized that she was the one for me.”

“Well, Talulah is still around and kicking, thankfully,” Reese replied, the old golden retriever all over Eli’s social media.

“She is that,” Eli replied. “But that dedication showed me Hailey was in it for real.”

Reese clasped his hands together in front of him, watching as the defense kept the Fortune to a three and out.

Before they retook the field, he looked up at the jumbotron once more as Sutton was shown, chatting with Amy next to her. She pointed to the screen, and Sutton looked up with a wave.

Reese looked into her eyes and felt something creeping in, the way it had during their kiss.

He had mostly done it for the cameras, but deep down, he did it for himself, too.

That hit had knocked the wind out of him, and he was worried about himself. But when he saw Sutton’s concern for him, he had immediately wanted to alleviate it and let her know he was all right.

Shit, you do like her.

He tried to tamp down the panic that rose up, the realization that the fake dating he signed up for was quickly deteriorating into real feelings.

“Vaughn!” He looked onto the field at Eli, who waved at him to join them.

He pushed the thoughts of Sutton away and ran onto the field, turning his attention back to the game.

Sutton jumpedas the two-minute warning rang out, indicating that the game was almost over.

Since Reese’s touchdown, the Kings had gotten another touchdown, holding the Fortune to two field goals in the third and fourth quarters.

The Fortune currently had the ball, and with the score 39 to 23, she knew anything could still happen.

She’d noticed that the Kings benched the starters in favor of the secondary, and the secondary was playing their hearts out and giving the crowd a great show.

Boos rang out as the Fortune’s quarterback broke out of the pocket and shot the ball downfield, finding a receiver and the end zone.

“Think they’ll go for two?” Amy asked, looking over at her.

“They probably will,” Sutton replied. “If they make it, they’ll have to go for an onside kick to get the ball back. Then it’ll be a mad scramble for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie it up and send it into overtime.”

Amy sighed, clasping her hands together in front of her.

“It’ll be okay,” Sutton said, putting her hand over hers.

Carter had taken a huge hit on the touchdown play and had gone into the medical tent, but he appeared a few minutes later, and Uncle Magnus had given them the wave that he was okay.

“I know,” Amy replied. “I’m just worried about Carter. I want him to be able to play in the big game. He’ll never forgive himself if he doesn’t get to.”