I get a two-handed high-ten, and then Ash moves on to Mackenzie.
The new mascot spreads her chubby baby arms, and if there’s a dry eye in the ballpark as Mackenzie latches on to that dragon, I’ll eat my cleats.
“Eat your vegetables and exercise every single day so you can grow big and strong and one day be as big as your dad but never have to retire, okay?”
Coco Puff barks, and his collar yells an excited, “I love you so much! We should always be friends!”
And Mackenzie hugs the mascot, and hugs the mascot, and hugs the mascot, until we hear Brooks mutter, “If she shits that diaper because you won’t let go, you’re cleaning it up.”
She cracks up.
Henri wags a finger at him, but she’s laughing too. “You be nice, or I’ll make you change real diapers.”
Lila leans back into the microphone as Ash finishes her victory lap. “Fiery has graciously agreed to act as Ash’s mentor. While he’s unable to continue fulfilling all the duties a mascot should, he loves the Fireballs deeply and wants to see his little girl succeed. Firequacker, Spike, Glow, and Meaty, we invite you to stay at Duggan Field as long as it takes for you to find new teams.”
Henri gasps in outrage. “Oh, no, she didn’t. She really is picking all of them! You know no other team will hire them after everything they’ve done here this year. They’re too Fireball-ish.”
Mackenzie starts to gasp too, but it turns into a laugh. “Bring it. Next year is going to be so much fun.”
It will.
And I’ll still be here, with the Fireballs, for all of it.
With Henri by my side.
We might never get formally married, but I’ve been saying vows of my own to her every day.
You make my life brighter.
I didn’t know what it was to live off the field until you.
I will always make the effort to love you.
It’s odd to know that the one gift I can give her is to not propose, but it doesn’t change the fact that there will never be another woman that I will love the way I love my Henri.
She’s real. She’s funny. She’s heart to her core.
She’s not only the reason I believe in love now.
She is love.
And she’s my world.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for reading! If you want a super special bonus epilogue, then I have good news for you! Click here to download your copy and eek just a little bit more time in with Luca and Henri (and Dogzilla!). As a bonus, you’ll get an opportunity to subscribe to the Pipster Report, which is basically so much fun that it should be illegal.
If you’re the awesome type of person who likes to leave reviews, here are quick linkies for you to Amazon and Goodreads. And keep reading for a sneak peek at Flirting with the Frenemy, which will take you back in time to the start of the Pippaverse!
If you’re curious about that crazy little town where REAL FAKE LOVE opened, the one with the wedding cake monument, I wrote a seven-book series set there when I was writing as Jamie Farrell. You can find book 1 of the Misfit Brides here. And you can find book 4 here. (I mention it since it’s a reader favorite.)
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you had as much fun with Luca and Henri as I did.
Hugs and cookies,
Pippa
Keep in touch with Pippa Grant!
Join the Pipsquad
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Other books by Pippa Grant:
Copper Valley Fireballs Series
Jock Blocked
Real Fake Love
The Thrusters Hockey Series
The Pilot and the Puck-Up
Royally Pucked
Beauty and the Beefcake
Charming as Puck
The Bro Code Series
Flirting with the Frenemy
America’s Geekheart
Liar, Liar, Hearts on Fire
Visit Pippa’s website at www.pippagrant.com for the most up-to-date book list, suggested series reading order, and more.
Sneak Peek at Flirting with the Frenemy!
Love enemies to lovers with a history, brother’s best friend, and military single dads? (Swoon!! I do!!) Keep reading for a sneak peek at Flirting with the Frenemy, which has all that and more!
Ellie Ryder, aka a woman in need of more than ice cream to fill the hole in her heart
When I rule the world, peppermint crunch ice cream will be available all year long, because assholes who break people’s hearts don’t restrict their assholery and heart-breaking to Christmas.
Unless, apparently, they’re my asshole.
Check that.
My former asshole.
I stab my spoon straight into the cold carton that I grabbed at the store on the way here and ignore the twinkling holiday cheer on my parents’ gigantic tree in the living room. It’s late, so I didn’t tell them I was coming over, but I don’t want to spend one more night at my house this week.
Alone.
Sleeping in the bed where Patrick screwed me—and then screwed me over—just two nights ago.
Merry Christmas, Ellie. I’m in love with my neighbor.
I leave them a note taped to the coffee pot to let them know I’m here, then stomp down the stairs—softly, so I don’t wake them—and turn the corner into the rec room, where I pound the light switch up.
And then almost scream.
There’s a lump of a man sprawled on the couch watching a black-and-white movie, and as soon as the lights go on, he winces and throws his arm over his eyes. “Christ,” he snarls.
My heart backpedals from the precipice where it was about to leap, then surges into a furious beat all over again. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Wyatt Morgan drops his arm and squints at me. “Oh, good. It’s Ellie. Drop in to rub some salt in the wound?”
I inhale another bite of ice cream while I glare at him, because I didn’t ask him to be here, and he’s scowling just as hard as I’m glaring. “Beck’s place is downtown. Go get drunk there.” Even as the words leave my mouth, guilt stabs me in the lung.
Not the heart, because first, I’d have to like my brother’s best friend for my heart to be affected, and second, because I’m not sure I have a heart left.
I’m in a shit-tastic mood—who dumps their girlfriend on Christmas Eve?—but even in the midst of my own pity party, I know why Wyatt’s sitting in my parents’ basement, stewing himself in beer and watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
He doesn’t even roll his eyes at my order to get out.
“Beck’s having a party,” he informs me. “Didn’t want to go. Guess you weren’t invited. Or you prefer to add to the shit pile here.”