Dock 14
Miami International Airport — April 2023
Leah had been nervous all morning.
Which was ridiculous.
She'd captained England in finals. Spoken in front of world leaders. Came back from an ACL injury that nearly broke her emotionally.
And yet somehow waiting at a Miami marina for her girlfriend made her feel genuinely sick with nerves.
Because what if Elle thought it was too much?
Too dramatic.
Too serious.
Leah looked back toward the yacht again and immediately panicked all over.
Maybe it was too much.
The thing was enormous.
Three levels of gleaming white decks floating against bright blue Miami water. Private crew preparing drinks upstairs. Sunlight reflecting off huge glass windows.
It looked less like a holiday and more like something celebrities got divorced on.
Leah rubbed nervously at the back of her neck for the fiftieth time.
Then her phone buzzed.
Leah's stomach flipped instantly.
God.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
—
Twenty minutes later Elle stepped out through arrivals dragging a suitcase behind her while Miami sunlight poured across the pavement outside.
White linen trousers. Tiny black top. Sunglasses in messy curls.
Beautiful.
Leah physically forgot the speech she'd prepared immediately.
Because she always did when it came to Elle.
Elle spotted her standing near the marina entrance and smiled instantly.
And Christ.
That smile.
Leah crossed toward her automatically, pulling her close the second she reached her.
Warm skin. Airport perfume. Familiar hands sliding instantly around Leah's waist.
"You're here," Elle murmured softly against her mouth.
"Observant."
Elle laughed quietly before kissing her properly despite tourists walking around them.
God.
Leah missed this.
Missed her.
When they finally pulled apart, Elle rested lightly against her chest and smiled up at her.
"You look nervous."
"I'm not."
"You literally touched your rings three times while I walked over."
Traitorous habits.
Leah rolled her eyes weakly. "You notice too much."
"It's my favourite hobby."
Then Elle frowned slightly.
"Wait."
Leah's stomach dropped immediately.
Because now Elle had noticed it too.
The yacht.
Sitting enormous and gleaming out on the marina water behind Leah.
Elle slowly turned toward it.
Then back toward Leah.
Then back toward the yacht again.
"...Why do I feel like you're about to emotionally destabilise me?"
Leah laughed nervously under her breath.
"That depends."
"Leah."
"I maybe organised something."
Elle narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What kind of something?"
Leah gestured vaguely toward the water.
Silence.
Real silence.
Elle blinked once.
Then twice.
"No."
Leah smiled nervously now. "But yes."
"That's yours?"
"Ours," Leah corrected softly.
Elle physically stared at her.
Because this wasn't a little romantic surprise.
This was a luxury yacht sitting under the Miami sun with staff carrying luggage aboard and champagne waiting on the upper deck.
This was insane.
"You rented a yacht?"
Leah shrugged awkwardly, suddenly looking far younger than England captain Leah Williamson usually did.
"I wanted it to be special."
And that—
that nearly destroyed Elle immediately.
Because Leah looked genuinely nervous about her reaction.
Like somehow this woman who led entire stadiums still worried about giving too much emotionally.
"You did this for me?" Elle asked quietly.
Leah looked down briefly before answering honestly.
"You've spent months flying across the world for me."
The softness in her voice made Elle's chest ache.
Leah stepped slightly closer now.
"And after the ACL... after everything... I think I forgot what happiness was supposed to feel like for a while."
Miami heat wrapped around them while ocean water sparkled behind the dock.
Leah looked at her carefully.
"Then you happened."
God.
Elle's eyes actually stung slightly.
Which was deeply annoying.
"You cannot say things like that in public," she whispered weakly.
Leah laughed softly. "Sorry."
"No you're not."
Fair.
Leah smiled helplessly before taking her hand gently.
"I just wanted five days where nobody could reach us."
No football.
No cameras.
No recovery questions.
No distance.
Just them.
Elle looked back toward the yacht again in disbelief.
Then toward Leah standing there nervous and hopeful beneath bright Miami sunlight.
And suddenly this stopped being about money or luxury entirely.
It was about effort.
About intention.
About Leah — who found emotional vulnerability genuinely terrifying — quietly building a space where they could just exist together properly.
"You're insane," Elle whispered softly.
Leah smiled slightly. "Good insane?"
Elle kissed her before answering.
Slow.
Warm.
Emotional enough that Leah immediately melted against her.
When they finally pulled apart, Elle rested her forehead lightly against hers and laughed breathlessly.
"You realise this is the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me?"
Leah looked momentarily stunned by that.
Then softer—
"Good."
And standing there beside the yacht with Miami sunlight dancing across the water, Elle realised something terrifyingly certain:
she was already unimaginably in love with her.