“I know it’s not your perfect rooftop patio, but it was the best I could do on short notice.”

I swing open the door, and the night air greets us. Pax follows me out.

“How did you pull this off? Do I even want to know?” Pax kissed me on the cheek, looking up.

“I may or may not have pulled the bellboy aside, gave him a fifty, and convinced him that this was what Paxton Shaw needed to guarantee this city a Super Bowl win.” I shrugged.

He chuckled. “The press would have a field day if they got a hold of this.”

“Eh, who cares, you’re retiring tomorrow.” I walk to him, leaning in and resting my head against him as I looked up.

“How did you know this would be exactly what I needed tonight?” He cradles me into his warmth.

“Because I know you, Paxton Shaw. And I wanted to sneak out with you, teenage dream style.”

“Our parents might find out … or Coach. Then I’d be in big trouble. Technically, I should be sleeping right now.”

“I won’t tell anyone.” I put a finger to my lip, and he bites it. “I have another surprise.”

Revealing my basket, I pull out a picnic blanket and some snacks. I set it up, all as he watches with a small smile gracing his lips the entire time.

Pulling a bottle of sparkling cider out, I wave my hand à la Vanna White. “Just like our picnic date that you tricked me into.”

Pax booms out a laugh, sitting down next to me. “I had to do something, you were shunning all of my advances. With good reason, I have to say, but still, a guy needed a break.”

I poured us some cider into the plastic champagne flutes I’d brought, and handed him one. “To Ryan.”

He’d brought us together, I owed that little boy so much. We clinked glasses, a bittersweet note filling the air as we drank.

“We owe it all to him.” Pax spoke my thoughts for the millionth time since we’d come back together. “You think he’s up there?”

He pointed to the stars above us, a tapestry of light illuminating the rooftop.

“I know he is. Probably giggling down at us when we kiss and shouting out plays that you need to complete tomorrow. He’ll be sitting right on that fifty-yard line, I believe it.”

“That’s for sure. He knew his football.” Pax ate some of the spread I’d brought for us, never not hungry.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” I never really asked him about games, because generally I didn’t know all that much.

He shook his head. “Not really. I always think of the Super Bowl as the one game where I get to have fun.”

I study him, confused. “Fun? Isn’t it like, the most pressure you ever have on you?”

Pax’s hand finds mine, almost like it was an unconscious movement. “Exactly the opposite actually. There is nothing on the line, not really. Sure, the glory of winning, of hoisting that trophy … but, there is nothing after that. This game isn’t one we have to win, at all costs. We aren’t trying to preserve a record or make it into the playoffs. This is just for bragging rights, for victory. It’s the one time that we, at least I think this way, can play for that little boy who fell in love with the game.”

It was poetic, in a way, and I understood it. “So, go out there tomorrow and have fun.”

He smiled. “Exactly. Especially as my last game I’ll ever put pads on for. It seems surreal. I’ve done this for so long. What will I do now?”

I scooted over to him, lying with my back to his front, as we tilted up to look at the stars. “Be a stay at home dad?”

I could feel Pax’s entire body go rigid. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

Just to tease him, I waited a beat, and then burst into laughter. “No, there isn’t. But maybe someday soon there could be.”

He settled down again, playing with my hair in his fingers. “I’d like that a lot. Yeah, stay at home dad. You go out and be the bread winner, Mrs. CEO.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?” I needed to know if my running a business was something he would be comfortable with in the long run.

A lot of men said that they didn’t mind, that they liked a strong woman. But when it really came down to it, I’d heard of and seen many situations where the relationship fell apart because a man couldn’t handle a woman’s success. I know Pax had been supportive and understanding of my demanding schedule thus far, but getting more serious—marriage, raising a family, having a future—that would just mean more time away from him.

“Of course, it doesn’t. I mean that, I think it’s so important the work that you do. And that you’re a boss, in the slang and traditional sense. You inspire me to work harder, what I’ve done is nothing compared to what you’ve built. I’m secure enough to be completely okay with your success.”

I smiled, nuzzling into him. “Good. Now be quiet, I’m trying to stargaze.”

Pax chuckled, but didn’t say anything further.

We stayed out on the roof for another hour, longer than we probably should have. But it was a nice night, and the relaxing feeling of being together, in the quiet, after a week of chaos, was too good to pass up. It felt like we were on the precipice of something enormous. This big game, Paxton’s retirement.

But something else, too.

And I couldn’t place my finger on it, but after tomorrow, it felt like the entire world was going to change.