My girl.
The second half whips by in a blur and it’s a complete blow out. We never let them score again. At one point, I even intercept the ball and gain some major yardage, which makes my dad as giddy as a little girl, hopping up and down on the sidelines as I’m running past him. We end up totally owning the Blue Raiders, with the final score 41-12.
We won our entire division. It’s official—now we’re on to state playoffs.
When the buzzer rings and the announcers call the game, the floodgates open. The crowd leaves the stands in droves, all of them spilling out onto the field, eager to congratulate us.
“We fucking did it,” Dom says before he pulls me into a hug, slapping my back extra hard as he pulls away. “Can you believe it?”
“Yeah actually, I can.” I sound like a smug dick, but I mean every word I say.
I had faith in us. I knew we could do it.
Jake approaches us, a giant smile on his face. “I think my speech worked.”
“You can’t take all the credit,” I tell him just before we hug.
“You were amazing out there,” he says, his voice low and just for me. “Good job tonight, brother.”
It means everything to me that Jake thinks I played well.
Everything.
There are more congratulations offered. I’m taking photos with my teammates, all of us holding up our index finger as in we’re number one. My brother takes photos with us too, and the sports reporter from the local news is so nervous talking to Jake, her voice actually shakes.
“Listen, you don’t want to talk to me,” he says into her microphone, flashing the cameraman a charming smile. “You need to talk to these guys.” He waves a hand at all of us and we pump our fists and yell in answer.
The reporter laughs. “You’re right, you’re right.”
Once we’re finished speaking to the reporter, I’m talking to my dad and the rest of the coaching staff when my entire body sparks with awareness. Glancing to my right, that’s when I see her headed my way.
Addie.
“There you are.” I open my arms to her and she walks right into them, sliding her arms around my waist and resting her head against my chest. “Where have you been?”
“I wanted to give you time to talk to everyone else first and bask in the limelight.” She pulls away slightly so she can smile up at me, her eyes sparkling. “You played so good!”
“I didn’t do so bad.” I shrug one shoulder.
“You caught an interception! It was great.”
Her enthusiasm always puts me in a good mood.
“Now that was dope as hell.” I bend down, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “We won.”
I know she knows, but I felt the need to say it again and let it sink in.
We won.
We motherfuckin’ won.
“I’m so proud of you,” she murmurs.
“I’m proud of all of us.” I glance around the field at all of my teammates, pulling Addie to my side, my arm draped over her shoulders. All the families and friends intermingling with us out here, as well as people from our school. Staff and administration. Mom’s hugging on Jake and Hannah is laughing at something my dad is telling her.
My heart…is fucking full tonight.
“Hannah told me something,” Addie says.
I look down at her. “What was it?”
“They’ve finally set a wedding date.” Addie’s brows shoot up. “It’s next spring, right before we graduate.”
“No kidding? That’s great. Why didn’t they tell us yesterday, during dinner?” Practically the entire family was there. It would’ve been the perfect time.
“I don’t know. I asked her the same question and she just shrugged and said Jake is weird. I kind of have to agree.”
I burst out laughing. Leave it to Hannah and Addie to blame Jake. “I’m excited for them.”
“Me too. Hannah says they’ve been engaged forever.”
“They have,” I agree, my mind going forward, to the future when I ask Addie to marry me.
It’s gonna happen.
Just wait and see.
“Hey Adds.”
Her brows shoot up when I just grin at her for a few seconds. “What’s up?”
“Thanks for always being there for me. And supporting me.” She’s the most supportive person I know. I try to be the same to her, but sometimes I feel like I fail.
I’m working on it though. I want to be a better man for her.
A man she deserves.
Because my girl deserves the world.
Her smile is soft, as is the glow in her eyes. “I love you so much, Beck Callahan.”
“I love you too.” I pull her back into my arms, my hands landing on her butt, making her life. “I’m so glad you’re mine.”
Her eyes are glowing. “I’m glad I’m yours too.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ah Beck and Adds. You know, these two surprised me because they rushed it. As in, once they knew, they really went for it - as in each other. The timeline of this book is whiplash fast, and at one point I worried about it, but these two have been longing for each other for years. So in a way it makes sense that they’d waste no time.
If you’ve read any of the When Bae… installments in my newsletter, then you know this already. I hope you enjoyed their story, and those little glimpses of other peeps too. PLUS, if you read the epilogue (you really should LOL), then you know who’s getting married in A Callahan Wedding. And I’m so excited! I hope you are as well.
A big, huge thank you to the readers, reviewers, bloggers, etc. who read the Callahans and the College Years series. Yes, I write these books for me, but I also write them for you. And it thrills me every time I hear from one of you, letting me know which one is your favorite. I also want to thank everyone at Valentine PR for taking care of me - Nina, Kim, Daisy, Kelley - you ladies are the best!
Also want to thank my editor Rebecca and proofreader Sarah for slapping this book into shape. Thank you Nina, for the solid notes - y’all got more Jake Callahan in this story because of her! I also want to thank Hang Le for the amazing cover, as always.
I said Beck Callahan is the last Callahan I’m writing about BUT! You still have A Callahan Wedding to look forward to! I’m going to do my best to have everyone (and I mean everyone) show up for that wedding. It’s going to be a blast!
p.s. - If you enjoyed MAKING HER MINE, it would mean the world to me if you left a review on the retailer site you bought it from, or on Goodreads. Thank you so much!
ALSO BY MONICA MURPHY
Standalone
Things I Wanted To Say (but never did)
The Arranged Marriage
The Reluctant Bride
College Years
The Freshman
The Sophomore
The Junior
The Senior
Dating Series
Save The Date
Fake Date
Holidate
Hate to Date You
Rate A Date
Wedding Date
Blind Date