"I'm going to pick up the racquet again. I have a lot of time to practice and see if it would be worth it to go back to the pros, but I want you by my side. I need you there with me, cheering me on."
My breath hitched as I thought about what kind of life that might mean for me. Liam wanted me to go through the circuit with him? There was a lot of implication behind those words, but to me they felt perfectly right.
"You want me?" My voice was a higher pitch, sounding surprised.
His fingers splayed out against my soft abdomen, and he firmly gripped my hip in his hand. "I thought I made that abundantly clear. Yes, Aly. I want you… very much."
I wound my fingers in his and ruffled the thick blonde hair that framed his face, smiling back at him. "Then I think I better get packing."
Epilogue
My white dress fluttered in the breeze and I sighed, thankful for the little bit of wind that had found its way to the court. So far, the summer in France had been much warmer than I thought it would be, so the breeze was much appreciated.
While I was sitting up in the stands, down on the tennis court, Liam's athletic form dodged this way and that, loud grunts coming from his side as he sent the tennis ball back over to his opponent, never failing to keep up. The match announcers had been saying all day long how impressed they were with Liam's comeback, and how they couldn't wait to see how far he could take it. I grinned, proud as a peacock over my boyfriend's success.
I took a sip of my favorite merlot, the one Liam had specially ordered and ready for us on our first day in Nice, smiling under my floppy hat. It was inspiring to watch him do what he was clearly born to do. Nothing made me feel more honored than getting to witness his dreams coming true firsthand.
As Liam and his opponent, some up and coming man from Switzerland, took their break, I leaned back and adjusted my dress. It was funny to think just how vastly different my life had ended up, in comparison to what I thought I'd be doing right now.
After all, this was supposed to be the summer I was getting married to Josh Banks. Instead I was traveling all over Europe with Liam, accompanying him on the tennis tournament circuit. He'd spent the rest of winter and all of the spring getting ready for it, me cheering him along the whole way, and here we were, really doing it. It was so sweet how Liam had spun me around the room when I turned down the job offer at one of the mid-sized law firms I’d applied to so that I could spend the summer with him.
Freedom from the stifling life I thought I was meant to live was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I couldn't have been happier. I felt light, content, unbothered by anything. Even when I was worried that Mom would frown upon me and Liam's relationship, considering our parents were getting married, I was so relieved to learn that she was totally fine with it.
"It's so not even a big deal," Sage had explained to me when I finally broke the news to Mom. "It's not as taboo as people think, you know. Especially over there in Europe."
Europe… I still couldn't believe I was living it up in Europe! I'd always wanted to travel and now I had the perfect chance. Shopping and eating at all the top places in each country by day, and dancing and dining with Liam in each city's exciting VIP spots by night… It was the kind of life I never knew existed.
Liam spoiled me rotten, giving me little gifts that were sweet one minute, then going out and buying me a gorgeous pair of earrings the next. It was almost overwhelming, but because it was all from Liam, I never let it bother me. Before, I'd never wanted to be in that role—the pampered housewife, in Josh's world.
But with Liam, it was different. I happily accepted whatever he was willing to give me, gradually beginning to love this kind of life.
When you had Liam Satterwhite confessing his love to you before using his magic fingers to make you come two or three times back to back, it was hard to say no. And I loved him so much that all I wanted was for him to be happy.
Luckily, the one thing that made him the happiest was me. Liam's final backswing sailed the ball right past the other guy, and Liam jumped up into the air, shouting as he won the match.
He waved at the crowd, but when he finally spotted me, his face softened and he blew me a little kiss, bowing slightly.
I waved back and sighed to myself. This was what I'd been waiting for my whole life. It just took some bumps and bruises along the way to get here.