Days later, Indy texts Stevie that Ryan has been distant, and Stevie replies that he’s scared. Indy recalls how Alex cried during their recent conversation and said that cheating on her is his biggest regret. She told him it was the best thing that happened to her, that he isn’t the last person she loved, and that her home is now with Ryan. Her tears during her phone conversation with Ryan were relief and closure, not sadness.

The Devils and Raptors both have games in Phoenix on the same day. At the basketball game, Indy sits courtside with Caroline. When Indy admits Ryan hasn’t said he loves her yet, Caroline suggests his love is quiet and expressed through actions. During a pregame ceremony, Ryan is paired with a young deaf girl named Sarah and surprises everyone by communicating with her in American Sign Language. Indy is overwhelmed because her father is deaf, and none of her friends or Alex ever learned sign language for him. Caroline tells Indy this is a perfect example of Ryan’s understated way of showing love.

Indy rushes to the bathroom and cries. She realizes she loves him and resolves to tell him. At halftime, she leaves for the airport, eager to get back to Chicago.

The narrative moves forward to the day of Maggie’s wedding. Ryan calls himself a coward for avoiding Indy’s calls, but he fears she chose Alex and wants to delay hearing the bad news. He drives two hours to the wedding, determined to keep his promise to be Indy’s date. He arrives late and hides in the back rows. When Indy walks down the aisle, her eyes find his and her polite smile becomes a beaming one.

During cocktail hour, Ryan escapes the crowd to a hidden cove, where Indy finds him. He insists on speaking first, confesses he wants a future with her, and asks her to choose him. Indy stops him and whispers that she loves him. She explains she told Alex her home and heart are with Ryan. Ryan is stunned she said that she loves him first, then admits he has loved her since their first breakfast.

At the reception, Indy’s friends seat her with Alex, but Ryan is no longer jealous. He approaches Alex at the bar, threatens to ruin his life if he ever makes Indy cry again, and promises his last name will soon be hers. Ryan finds Indy, who calls him her boyfriend for the first time. As they leave, she confronts Maggie about pressuring her to get back together with Alex, and Maggie tells her she is happy for her.

In her hotel room, Indy asks Ryan when he started learning sign language. He reveals he has been taking weekly video lessons with her parents since shortly after meeting them and is also taking an online class. He explains he wants to tell her father himself that he loves her. Indy cries with happiness.

The mood turns sexual. Ryan establishes a new dynamic: He will give her anything she wants, but she must ask for it. He explains he wants her to learn to ask for what she needs because he will always deliver, in and out of the bedroom.

Ryan tells Indy he’ll be in control and she’ll only orgasm with his permission. They have sex, moving through several positions, and he tells her he loves her. She tells him she loves him too. After bringing her to climax twice, their lovemaking slows and becomes more intimate. They orgasm together as he repeats that he loves her.

Weeks pass. Ryan and Indy settle into a loving domestic routine. They share his bed and have frequent dinners with Stevie and Zanders. Ryan returns to the apartment one day with peonies, announcing he has been cleared to play that night. He tells Indy he has never been happier and just needs to get the team to the playoffs.

At the arena, Ryan feels intense anxiety over the team’s situation because they must win four out of the next five games to make it to the playoffs. In the tunnel, he gives an uncharacteristically lighthearted pep talk, telling his teammates to have fun. When the crowd roars for his return, he breaks his pregame ritual to jog over and kiss Indy courtside.

Ryan plays well. Late in the fourth quarter, he overcomes his fear of re-injury and executes a powerful dunk. He is fouled but the referee misses the call. Indy jumps from her seat and loudly berates the referee. Dom notes that she’s scary, and Ryan replies proudly that he knows and loves it. The Devils win by 17 points.

Indy tells Ryan she is going to Michael’s, and he becomes jealous before she reveals it’s a craft store. They stay in to read together instead. Ryan picks up her romance novel, becomes engrossed in a steamy scene, and they begin to get intimate—until their neighbor Kai appears at the door holding his baby son, Max. Kai asks them to babysit for a few hours, and Indy eagerly agrees.

Ryan makes dinner, and when Max starts crying, he calmly takes him and soothes him by holding and singing to him while he cooks. Indy is overcome with attraction and a sudden realization: She doesn’t just want to be a mother. She wants to parent with him. She keeps this to herself, afraid of scaring Ryan away.