As the game got under way and the Rivers took the field, Elizabeth’s gaze was riveted to Gavin. She swore she wasn’t going to pay attention to him, but how could she not when she loved him?
As he stretched out to catch practice balls at first base, she sighed. She knew every inch of that man’s body, and it was absolute perfection. His uniform clung tight to his muscular thighs and stellar ass, and his biceps bulged out underneath his shirt as he pulled the ball from his glove and threw it to second base.
Shawnelle smoothed her hand over Elizabeth’s back. “You miss him.”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Then fight for him.”
She shook her head. “I tried. It’s over.”
“Who walked out, you or him?”
“I did.”
“Has he been trying to contact you?”
“Yes.”
“And you won’t let him.”
“No.”
“Then bullshit. If you still have this much feeling—and I know you do because there are tears you’re trying not to shed—then it’s not over yet. Whatever it is that he fucked up, and God knows men fuck things up all the time, give it another try. If he hasn’t given up, then why have you? It’s obvious you love him, honey.”
Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked, swiping at the ones that broke free. “It’s complicated.”
Shawnelle laughed. “Honey, love is always complicated. If it was easy, there’d be no fun when you win at the end.”
“What Shawnelle says is true, Elizabeth,” Hayley added. “There are so many pressures on a relationship sometimes. Often it’s outside stuff that has nothin’ to do with the two of you that gets thrown into the mix and can muck things up. Wade through it all, and focus on what’s important. If you love him and he loves you, isn’t that what’s really important? The rest of it’s just fluff.”
Elizabeth inhaled a shaky breath, feeling as if she were balancing on a high wire with no net underneath her.
Maybe she was being too stubborn, or too afraid. Maybe she should talk to Gavin and figure out if there was anything between the two of them. Maybe he was afraid, too. He’d come to her, had tried to talk to her, and had apologized. She hadn’t given him much of a chance. She’d decided his apology wasn’t good enough, had cut him off and walked out. That had been her fear and her anger preventing communication. So maybe she owed him—owed them both—another shot at this.
“Thanks, both of you. I’ll give it some thought.”
Shawnelle smiled and squeezed her hand. “That’s good enough. Now dry your tears, and let’s root these boys on to a win.”
Elizabeth did exactly as Shawnelle suggested. She shoved Gavin to the back of her mind and focused on the Rivers. By the seventh-inning stretch the Rivers were up by three runs, and Elizabeth was relaxed and into the game.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special announcement. One of our Rivers players has asked that instead of singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the seventh-inning stretch tonight, he be allowed to take the mic and ask a question.”
The crowd went silent. Elizabeth frowned and turned to Shawnelle and Haley. “What’s going on?”
Shawnelle shrugged. “No clue.”
Haley shook her head.
“Would Elizabeth Darnell please stand up?”
Oh, shit.
Shawnelle elbowed her. “Stand up.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Go on, stand up.”
She shook her head again. Vehemently.
Shawnelle and Haley both shoved her, then the people around her started clapping and yelling and pointing her out. She had no choice. She stood, and suddenly her face was beamed up on the giant JumboTron screen.
Oh, hell.
Then Gavin climbed up on top of the dugout, much to the raucous delight of the fans. He waved his hands down and the cheers subsided.
He found her in the stands and turned his attention on her.
“Elizabeth, you know the last time we talked things didn’t go so well.”
Good God, he had the mic in his hands, and everyone could hear what he said.
“And that was my fault. This time I hope I can be a little more eloquent.”
He wasn’t playing to the crowds. He was looking right at her. He came down off the top of the dugout and Shawnelle pushed her. She went to him and met him in the aisle.
He took her hand, and when she saw him swallow, she knew he was as nervous as she was. That gave her comfort.
“Elizabeth, I love you. I’ve loved you for a while now, but I was afraid to say it. Maybe I was afraid you wouldn’t love me back. But I’m not afraid anymore, and I need you to understand that. So I figured the only way to get you to believe me was to tell you in front of forty-five thousand people.”
And then he got down on one knee.
Oh. My. God.
Her legs were shaking.
“Marry me, Elizabeth.”
The chorus of awws and cheers was deafening.
But she only saw Gavin, only focused on Gavin. She saw the truth in his eyes. She saw the love.
This time, she believed.
She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.