Chapter 33
Rowan
May - French Open
Jacob tricks me into giving him the remote while I go on a coffee run to the hospital’s cafeteria.
I make him promise me he won’t watch any tennis, but of course, when I get back, he’s watching the sports channel.
There are no English subtitles and the commentators are speaking French, so we have no idea what they’re saying, but they keep replaying snippets from Elena and Maggie’s first and second set.
My fingers tighten around the coffee cups and my stomach twists with guilt.
I should be there. The camera shows Maggie at her bench, but instead of sitting down and drinking water, she’s facing the arena and looking around the stands.
The commentators speak rapidly to one another and even though I took a couple years of French in college, I can’t understand a lick of it.
One name stands out though—David Taylor—and I walk closer to the TV, blocking Jacob’s view in the process.
“Mate, I can’t see,” he huffs. “And you didn’t hand me my coffee. You’re doing a piss poor job at being helpful.”
“Sshh,” I say, watching with rapt attention as the camera pans to Maggie’s dad sitting in the stands.
“Don’t shush the injured man,” Jacob says indignantly and I blindly reach back and hand him the cup of coffee. He groans and grunts, taking it from me. “Rude,” he mumbles but I don’t pay him any mind.
Her dad actually came to one of her matches. I blink back my surprise and smile, knowing how much that must mean to Maggie, no matter how much she thinks she hates him.
Maggie continues to scan the crowds and it hits me like a kick to the stomach. She’s looking for me. The realization makes me feel like shit. Why the hell did I decide to stay away? Regardless if we’re together or not, I should have been by her side. It’s what a best friend does.
“Fuck,” I mutter, my hands curling tighter around the cup of coffee.
“Sit down, and let me watch,” Jacob says.
I move out of the way and sit back in my chair right as Maggie sets up to serve.
She bounces the ball twice on the clay court and hits a perfect shot.
Except—the game stops and the commentators are speaking increasingly faster over one another.
While clay courts are playable in light rain, the play will stop if heavier rain starts, which is exactly what happens.
The pouring rain drives everyone off the court.
“Think they’ll postpone it for long?” Jacob asks, sipping on his latte.
“I don’t know,” I say, bouncing my leg and gripping the arms of the chair just a little too hard.
A reporter starts broadcasting from the arena and I can see Elena and Maggie in the background heading to the locker rooms. Maggie pauses with her hand on the handle and spins towards the reporters, giving them a practiced smile.
Her words are drowned out by the French translator that speaks over her and I turn the volume up louder than I should, but I still only get glimpses of what she’s saying.
“Mate, I don’t want to get hearing aids too on top of this injury. Let’s just watch it on my tablet,” Jacob says, pulling up the feed without the French translation. I turn the TV off and sprint to his side.
“What about Rowan?”
“Rowan is the type of person who’s there for his friends and right now, Jacob needs him more than I do,” Maggie says, shivering.
There’s a soft, genuine smile on her face as she continues, “That’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with Rowan.
He’s always been there for me, loving me unconditionally, even when I didn’t know what I wanted or needed. ”
Jacob gasps and puts a hand to his heart. “OMG, she said she loves you.”
I shush him and turn the volume up on the tablet. “So the two of you are together?” the reporter asks.
“It’s…more complicated than that. Rowan’s my best friend and the only person I’ve ever loved. And if he’ll have me, I’d like to be his for the rest of my life,” she says, looking like she’s holding back tears, though that could just be the rain that’s soaked her to the bone.
More questions filter in, but her dad wraps a towel around her and says, “That’s enough.”
“Well, well, well,” Jacob says, wearing a smug grin as he lowers the tablet to his side.
I stare at the window, dumbfounded, until Jacob lightly punches me in the stomach. “Ow.”
“What the bloody hell are you still doing here? Go get your woman,” he says, shoving me away from him.
“What about you?” I ask, reeling over Maggie’s words. She wants me, but most importantly she wants to try giving us a real chance.
“Me? Mate, I’m confined to this bed, I’m not going anywhere. You wanted your grand gesture, well—you got it. If you don’t run through the rain to get to her, I will be sorely disappointed,” Jacob says, grinning.
I laugh and give him an awkward side hug. “I love you, man.”
“I know, I’m irresistible.” He winks, lifting up his cup in a salute.
I don’t run through the rain to get to Maggie, since the car I ordered picks me up at the hospital door and drops me off at the arena’s entrance. Instead, I sprint to get inside, but I’m immediately stopped by security.
“Ticket?”
“I—” my heart pounds and I’m starting to panic. “I don’t have one. I’m one of the players,” I say, trying to explain who I am. I go to reach for my wallet and badge but realize I don’t have it on me. In the frenzy of running to Maggie, I must have left it at the hospital.
“Good try, you can’t go in if you don’t have a badge,” the burly security guard says in broken English.
“I’m Rowan Amory, I’m a professional player. I’m playing tomorrow in the final on this very court,” I say, voice raising over the pounding rain hitting the sidewalk behind me.
“No badge, no entry,” the guy says, annoyed.
“But—I—” I stammer as he crosses his arms and stares me down.
“He’s with me,” a deep voice says from behind the security guard. When he turns, I see none other than David Taylor, holding out an extra ticket.
The security guy scans it and glares at me as I walk through the metal detector. I follow Maggie’s dad, neither of us saying anything until we reach the steps to the arena. He stops suddenly and I nearly collide with his back.
He spins on his heel and points a finger at me while he squeezes my shoulder hard with his other hand. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the biggest one was hurting Maggie,” he says, looking at me with remorse. “You better not do the same.”
“No, sir,” I say, swallowing hard.
David nods at me once and leads me down the stairs again to the front row. There’s an empty seat next to him and I feel like a horrible best friend, once again. I should have been here from the beginning.
“Did you see the interview?” David asks and I can’t help but smile.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Good.” He pats my shoulder awkwardly.
I turn my focus on the court where Maggie is getting ready to serve, resuming the match.
She bounces the ball once and looks over in the stands.
We lock eyes and I see her falter for just a second.
Her stunned expression turns to a gorgeous smile as she bounces the ball again and hits a beautiful slice serve that Elena doesn’t see coming.
It’s like the rain has fueled her determination to win because Maggie doesn’t miss a single shot, sliding across the court and ending the set without giving up a single point, effectively winning the match.
Elena screams and throws her racquet to her bench as Maggie raises both her hands in victory, her chest heaving with the exertion and emotion she’s no doubt overcome with.
The whole arena erupts into cheers as Maggie wins the French Open. She shakes hands with Elena and the umpire, hits a few balls in the stands for the fans and runs over to our section, clasping hands with her dad who looks so proud, he’s beaming.
My smile is wide as I bend down to hug her but she surprises me by grabbing my face in both her hands and kissing me.
I laugh against her mouth and she kisses me again, harder.
My arms hold tight around her shoulders and I let myself enjoy this moment.
“I love you so much,” she says when she finally pulls back.
“I love you more, Mags,” I say, feeling like my heart might burst out of my chest.
“I’m so sorry for not telling you sooner and for keeping us a secret for so long. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry too, for letting so much time pass by without telling you what I wanted. But we’ll figure it all out, together. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Good, because I’m never letting you go again.” She laughs, pressing her lips to mine once again.
I shake my head in a daze and say, “Go get your trophy.”