Page 94 of Undeniable Love

She groaned.

“We hashed some things out, but basically all I ever wanted was for the two of you to be happy. Obviously I didn’t know that meant together, but I’m genuinely okay with it. I told him my concerns and he respected them.”

“O-kay…”

“He had to get through tonight’s game and the team isn’t flying home until tomorrow, but I promised him we’d get you there,” her brother went on. “We had a whole group chat going about it. It’s been fun keeping this secret from you!”

She was ready to punch him when Wyatt intervened. “To be fair, we only really found out about it last night, so it wasn’t like a long-hidden thing.”

“I’m just so excited that this is happening!” Gemma said happily. “You’re going right? I mean, you’re definitely getting on that plane, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am! I wish I could fly out right now, but it would be pointless! How am I supposed to even sleep tonight?”

“That’s our cue to leave,” Ty said before hugging her. “You and Gemma can finish out the night as just a girls' thing.” Another hug. “Love you, kiddo. I’m glad it’s all working out.”

“Thanks, Ty. Love you too!”

Wyatt repeated the same thing to her and within minutes, they were gone and it was just her and her bestie.

Who didn’t look all that excited anymore. “Gem? What’s wrong? Five minutes ago, you looked so happy!”

“It just hit me that like…you’re going to move away and then I’ll be here without you.”

Pulling her friend in for a fierce hug, she said, “You’re never without me. And there’s a lot Jax and I have to figure out.” Pulling back, she led them over to the couch to sit down. “As much as I want to pack up everything I own right now, we both know that’s not going to happen. But I’m going to stay with him until the next time the team travels for sure. I’m going to take this one day at a time, but me and you? We’re always going to be close no matter where I live.”

“When you were with Blake, it felt like…”

“Like I was making a huge mistake. I know. But it’s not like that with Jax. One of the things I love about him, believe it or not, is how he never lost that connection to his hometown. I never thought I’d find that sort of thing attractive, but I do. He loves his family and friends and looks forward to coming home and seeing everyone. He’s just honest and genuine and you have no idea how much I hate myself for hating him for so long.”

Relaxing, Gemma smiled at her. “I love seeing you happy, Lulu. I was worried about you for a long time and then I wasn’t and then I was again. But this time, I feel like you’ve finally found your way—your happily ever after is a plane ride away.”

Just thinking about it made her want to get up and do a happy dance.

So she did.

“Is it tomorrow yet?”

Laughing, Gemma grabbed the last two remaining cupcakes and handed her one. “Not yet, but soon!”

He thought he’d be freaking out and anxious.

He thought he’d be nervous as hell and biting people’s heads off because they weren’t getting him home fast enough.

But when he got the text from Wyatt that simply read “Mission accomplished,” everything in him just seemed to relax. With any luck, they would arrive at his house around the same time. He had to get from the airport to the stadium and then home. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to have to grovel, but he didn’t mind doing whatever it took to make things up to Lucy.

And thanks to an away game, he now had two full days off with no practices, which left plenty of time for groveling.

They were approaching the Wichita airport and he was ready to just get on with the day.

“I hope your declaration on live TV last night means you’re done moping around,” Travis said from the seat beside him. He had been sleeping for most of the flight and this was the first full sentence he had uttered. “And, for the record, you could have talked to me or Declan about all the other bullshit. No one would have ever heard a thing from us.”

“I know, and I appreciate that. I just…I panicked and didn’t want to do anything else to make things worse. The last time I didn’t listen, my whole life imploded.”

“True, but…you can trust us. Always.”

Turning his head, he nodded. “Thanks, Trav. I appreciate that.” After a moment, he added, “My goal is to never get into a situation like that ever again.”

“Offer still stands, no matter what.”