“You’re angry,” Levi said to Piper when they were alone.
“I’m worried,” she said, correcting his assumption. “I also love you. I know how much tomorrow means to you.”
“Not just me,” Levi told her. “My teammates are counting on me. I can’t let them down.”
Dylan let himself into the room.
“Monte and Teddy were arrested. Mac and Darcy are on top of the media announcement.” Dylan sighed. “A minor shitstorm of questions is inevitable. Thankfully, access to the players is limited before the game.”
“Mac already called,” Levi said. “I assured him I was okay.”
Dylan looked at Levi, his gaze narrowed.
“I’d follow you to hell and back,” he said. “But I need to know. Can you play tomorrow?”
“I can do better than that.” Levi gripped Piper’s hand. “I can win.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
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SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
“YOU LOOK A little green around the gills.” Frowning, Dylan handed Levi a towel. “The last hit you took had me worried.”
“Nothing serious,” Levi said, tugging his dirt-stained blue and gold jersey into place.
Dylan didn’t know that Levi heard a definite crack when the other team’s defensive end’s helmet rammed into his midsection. Thank God for television timeouts.
“Just need a chance to catch my breath.”
“Last play of the game,” Mac said. The head coach dropped a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “The situations black and white. We need a touchdown, or we lose. Here’s the play.”
Listening, Levi nodded then ran onto the field. Every kid in America dreamed of a moment like the one he faced. Twenty seconds on the clock. Down by five points. He’d marched his team down to the twelve-yard line. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and fastened the strap of his helmet.
“Huddle up,” he yelled. Ten eager, exhausted faces looked Levi with hope and confidence. He clapped his hand. “Do your jobs. Let’s win.”
Levi took the snap. His hands gripped the ball, his fingers found the laces. Stepping back, he read the field, waiting for his man to get open. Wait, wait. He knew the longer he held the ball, the greater the chance he might be sacked. But with one shot, he needed to make the pass count.
Out of the corner of his eye, Levi saw a white jersey barreling toward him. Taking a breath, planting his feet, he let the ball fly. A second before he hit the ground, taken down hard, the saw the ball sail through his wide receiver’s hands.
The final gun sounded. Levi closed his eyes in disbelief. The Knights had lost.
“Get up,” Dylan shouted, kneeling by Levi’s side. “We aren’t dead yet.”
Dazed, unsure what happened, Levi let Dylan pull him to his feet.
“Roughing the passer, son,” his friend explained with a grin. “Thanks for taking one for the team.”
Levi’s knees almost buckled with disbelief. The NFL rules were clear. The game couldn’t end on a defensive penalty. Because the official ruled a late hit, the ball was placed on the two-yard line. The Knights had one more chance.
Glancing toward the sidelines, Levi held up three fingers, then, lowered one. Mac recognized the play his quarterback wanted to run and nodded his approval.
“We’re going with a sneak,” Levi said in the huddle, telling everyone that he would keep the football. He grabbed Dylan by the jersey. “You ready?”
Dylan nodded.
“I’ll make the hole,” he told Levi. “You get that motherfucking ball into the endzone.”
No time left on the clock. Levi stood behind the center for the last play. Their last chance. The call wasn’t complicated.
“Twenty-two, shift,” he yelled.
The unmistakable sting of leather hit his hands. Dylan surged toward the goal, pushing bodies out of the way. Levi followed. The hole wasn’t big, just big enough. Ducking his head, he fell forward, arms outstretched.
Before the dust settled, the referee crouched to check where the ball had landed. Standing, he blew his whistle and raised his arms over his head.
TOUCHDOWN!
Levi lay on the field, arms and legs splayed, and stared at the domed roof. When his teammates would have dogpiled on top, Dylan stopped them, shaking his head.
“Give him a moment,” the tight end said.
A moment. A day. A year. Levi didn’t know how much time would need to pass before everything sank in. Saying a silent prayer to his parents, to the football gods, and most of all, to Piper, he pushed himself to his feet.
When he was hoisted into the air, Levi didn’t feel any pain. High fiving everyone in sight, he lifted his face, grinning as blue and yellow confetti fell from the rafters.
If he lived to be a thousand. If he never played another down of football. No one could take away the memory of what happened here today. Starting quarterback, Levi Reynolds had accomplished what everyone—with exception of his Piper—said couldn’t be done. He led his team to victory.
The Seattle Knights were Super Bowl champions.
▲ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲
Hair still slightly damp from his shower, Levi stood behind the podium, ready for his post-Super Bowl victory press conference. Cameras flashed and keyboards clicked.
“Not a bad way to end the season.” A reporter called out. “Right, Levi?”
“I can’t complain,” he said. Everyone laughed as though he gave the wittiest answer in the history of time.
Shaking his head, Levi’s phone buzzed. Seeing Piper’s name, he swiped his finger across the screen and read her text.
“Hey, Mr. MVP. I told you so.”
Levi’s grin didn’t go unnoticed.
“Who sent you the text, Levi,” a columnist for Sports Illustrated wanted to know.
Levi considered the question, unsure of how much he wanted to reveal. He looked at the woman then asked a question he first heard two years earlier.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
For a moment, the columnist seemed surprised by his response.
“Not really,” she said with a shrug.
Picture Piper, his heart, his love, his life, Levi nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. He laughed. “Neither do I.”
EPILOGUE
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“I HATE WEDDINGS,” Levi said, looking into Piper’s emerald green eyes. “Remind me again why we came?”
“Because you asked me to marry you.” From where they stood, about to walk down the aisle together, she glanced out the door at their friends. “They expected a ceremony. Foolishly, we agreed.”
“Oh, right.” Levi nodded. “This time, we’re the ones getting married. How could I forget?”
Levi’s backyard was decorated in splashes of white and yellow. A canopy of yellow and white roses waited at the end of the flower petal lined walkway. The backdrop of Lake Washington sparkled in the bright May sunlight, the sky a cerulean blue without a cloud in sight