Player (A Secret Baby Sports Romance)(314)

Peyton




EPILOGUE



Every person has a story to tell, and try as you might, it’s never one you write alone.

Believe me, I’ve tried.

It’s also never just about one person, either. You don’t get to pick the characters in your story, because they just happen, and the ones that are meant to be there are going to be there no matter what; even if you pretend to ignore them for a year.

I squeeze Bryce’s hand harder as we watch Logan all but leap down the stairs from the plane and run across the tarmac towards Quinn. And right there behind them is the rest of their- I stop and shake my head; no, right there behind them is the rest of my family, the only one I’ve got and the best one I could have ever hoped for. Hudson and Reagan, with Christine clinging to her dad’s good shoulder are grinning as they close in to wrap their arms around Logan, and then there’s Javier, actually crying as he grabs the man he once wanted to kill into a big bear hug as Chelsea grins away behind them.

And then we’re watching the introductions as Logan beckons a suddenly shy-looking Sasha over to their little group; one more new face to the crowd.

“You ready?”

I turn and grin at Bryce, threading my fingers into his. Am I ready to finally take the step we meant to take a year ago? Ready to finally join a family and stop pretending I’m the only one writing this story?

Hell yes.

“So, I guess this means I’m in the cool Archer club now?”

He rolls his eyes, knowing I’m teasing him; “Yeah, I’ll make sure to get you that membership card and the jacket with your name on it pronto.”

“Guess this means we need get married or something, huh?” I grin at him, seeing him arch an eyebrow at me; “Probably have some kids, something normal like that?”

Bryce laughs; “Well well, is stone-cold Peyton Rivers ready to settle down?” He makes an overly dramatic shocked face at me; “So I guess this means you’re ready to be my good little housewife? Get all domesticated? Cook my dinners, bring me my slipper-”

I slug him in the arm; “I’d like to fucking see you try!”

He laughs; “There it is.” He kisses me; “How about you stay exactly the same,” he murmurs; “I like you wild.”

“Only if you stay crazy,” I say with a grin.

“Deal.”

But of course, there’s never a “final chapter” to anyone’s story, because the story is always moving forward. Every day is an empty page, and it’s our job to fill them with life; with laughter, with tears, with struggles, and with triumphs. We may stumble and fall, and we may bend and break under the winds and tides of the fates that move us, but no matter what, the story will always find it’s way through.

Because that’s life.