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Isaiah watches Kennedy interact with all the other women, especially noting when she easily shows them physical affection. They gather at the table, and Kennedy excuses herself to go to the restroom. While she is gone, everyone agrees that Isaiah should ask her to stay in Chicago, but he reminds them of their agreement. Isaiah has considered going with her, but his family is in Chicago, and he cannot leave them. When Kennedy returns to the table, she notices that Isaiah has fixed her burger just as she likes it, an endearing gesture. She says, “I live, laugh, love you too” (292).

Kennedy is in the training room with Isaiah, Cody, and Travis. Dr. Frederick comes in, angry that she allowed them to stay there. He instructs her to mop the floor and clean the equipment after they leave. Isaiah cannot stand seeing him treat her so poorly. Meanwhile, Kennedy has reached out to a psychologist friend about Isaiah’s anxiety and is typing notes for him. She worries that she has overstepped her bounds, but the gesture fills him with gratitude, and without thinking, he tells her that he loves her. Before she can respond, they are interrupted by Cody, who is in the ice bath and asks when he can get out. Kennedy’s phone rings; it is a call about the job. She takes the call in the hallway while Isaiah anxiously watches. She says that she didn’t get the job.

Isaiah meets Kennedy at her fancy apartment to take her to the Fourth of July fireworks at the pier with their friends. He still cannot understand why Kennedy didn’t get the San Francisco job, and he hasn’t yet found the words to ask her how she feels about staying in Chicago. A Ferris wheel is at the pier, and they all climb in for a ride. Kennedy has never ridden a Ferris wheel, though once, as a child, she tried to run away from home to Coney Island. Now, she sits in Isaiah’s lap, watching the sun set over Chicago. Isaiah loves the city and what it means to him. Kennedy agrees that she has come to love it, too. Dean is coming into town for a series against Windy City and is staying with Kennedy.

Kennedy invites Isaiah back to her apartment, and they have sex in front of the window with the fireworks in the distance.

Kennedy wraps Isaiah’s shoulder with an ice pack after the game. Reese arrives and asks to speak to Monty privately. No one knows what is happening, but the two don’t get along, and Monty’s contract is up for renewal soon. Dean shows up, asking to speak with Isaiah. Dean offers a sincere apology for all of his cruelty over the years. He admits to being jealous of the loving family dynamic that Kai and Isaiah had. Dean’s family is wealthy, but there is no love there. Dean says that he felt guilty that Kennedy was being pressured into marriage because he wasn’t taking over the family business, and he was relieved when Connor ended their relationship. When he first heard about Kennedy and Isaiah’s marriage, he was angry because he believed that Kennedy “was trapped in another relationship she didn’t want” (318). Dean now knows that Kennedy genuinely cares for Isaiah because she turned down the San Francisco job to stay with him. Seeing Isaiah’s shocked reaction, Dean realizes that Isaiah was not aware of this.

Kennedy only goes to her apartment now to pack clothes to stay at Isaiah’s. When she heard him say that he loved her, she knew that she couldn’t take the job in San Francisco. Though she once knew nothing but loneliness, now all she craves is to be in the warmth of Isaiah’s embrace. She turns the television to a sports station that covers the MLB. The newscasters report that Isaiah Rhodes is looking to trade teams. Kennedy is shocked and exchanges texts with Miller, Cody, Travis, and Kai, but no one knows what is happening. Isaiah won’t answer his phone but later arrives at Kennedy’s apartment.

Isaiah contacted his agent the previous day to inquire about becoming a free agent and a possible trade to San Francisco. He must have leaked the news to the press. Kennedy demands an explanation and asks if he is breaking up with her. Isaiah says that he would never end their relationship, but he must allow her to choose him freely. He feels guilty that she married him accidentally and is frustrated that she gave up the San Francisco job for him. He gives her divorce papers and asks her to take the weekend to consider what she truly wants. Kennedy cries as Isaiah says, “Every option is yours” (327). He explains that he will support whatever choice she makes, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t give her to the ability to decide her path for herself.

Feeling lost, Isaiah goes to Monty’s house and explains what is happening with the trade rumors. Isaiah worries that Monty will be upset with him, but he thanks Monty for being a father figure to him and Kai and says that the trade has nothing to do with his unhappiness in Chicago. Kai arrives, and Isaiah explains everything to him. For once, Isaiah lets himself drop his people-pleaser façade and share his feelings with his brother. Monty is proud of Isaiah’s willingness to trade his comfort for the person he loves. Kai says that their mother would be proud of him.

Isaiah is alone in his apartment, and it’s storming. He skipped the family dinner because he couldn’t face going alone. He hasn’t seen or spoken to Kennedy in two days, and she called in sick to work today. He resists the urge to call her and everyone he loves, intent on managing his anxiety alone. He scrolls through the photos on his phone, reminding himself how much has happened in the last few months and how much Kennedy has changed. She texts to check on him and offers to come over if he needs her. She left her laptop, which contains the psychiatrist’s notes on anxiety, so Isaiah uses them to endure the storm on his own.

Kennedy spends the weekend with the divorce papers and makes her decision. On Monday, she arrives at work, intending to resign. Knowing that she can’t stand to work for Dr. Frederick for even one more day, Kennedy plans to apply for jobs at other teams until a head doctor position becomes available. She hands Isaiah the divorce papers and tells him that she signed them. Kennedy thought that she would be meeting with Mr. Remington, but Reese and Monty await her instead. After every team member filed a complaint against Dr. Frederick for his poor treatment of Kennedy, Reese fired him. She also looked at Kennedy’s employee file and discovered that Kennedy is a doctor. Reese offers Kennedy Dr. Frederick’s job. Kennedy accepts, with the caveat that she needs an office manager so that she can focus on patient care.

Kennedy finds Isaiah hiding in the women’s restroom. He is too scared to look at the papers, so she makes him open the envelope, and he finds that she signed “I love you” instead of her name. Isaiah is relieved and overjoyed to hear the words he has longed for. However, he still thinks that she is going to San Francisco. When Kennedy shares the good news about Dr. Frederick and her new job as the team’s head doctor, Isaiah says that they can “start from the beginning” and “rewrite [their] story (349) so that she can be a girlfriend before she becomes a wife. Kennedy says she can be both and wouldn’t change their story for the world. Reese enters the restroom and tells Kennedy that she will change the name on her office door to “Dr. Rhodes.” Isaiah says it should be “Dr. Kay” because Kennedy achieved everything independently, but she wants to keep his last name.

Two years later, Isaiah and Kennedy renew their vows in Las Vegas on their first wedding anniversary. Miller and Kai are now married and have a baby girl named Emmy, and Max is four. After Kai’s retirement from the team, Monty hired him as a pitching coach. Max is the ring bearer, and Isaiah tells him the story of Grandma Mae’s ring, saying, “[T]oday, on the day she passed, on the day he was born, on the day I get to marry the love of my life, it feels important to say her name out loud” (353). Isaiah is anxious to see Kennedy and returns to their room, where she is still getting dressed. She won’t let him see her, but they hold hands through the crack in the door.

They hold the ceremony at the same little white chapel, except this time, all of their friends and family are there to witness the event. Dean is the only member of Kennedy’s immediate family who attends; she is no longer in contact with her mother or her sister, even though Connor and Mallory broke off their engagement. The ceremony is perfect; Monty officiates, Kai is the best man, and Miller is the matron of honor. When Kennedy walks down the aisle, Isaiah wonders what he did to deserve such a gift. She is wearing a different dress than last time, but she wears the sneakers that he bought her on the night of their first wedding.

For the reception, Kennedy changes into the same outfit that she wore at their first wedding. Watching everyone enjoy the party, Isaiah reflects on all the changes. Reese has hired more women in both the medical staff and in other departments. Kennedy has gone from detached and alone to confident and comfortable in her abilities. Isaiah is in therapy for his trauma response anxiety, and they have purchased their first home together. Their first dance is to Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed,” and then Kennedy whisks Isaiah off alone to give him her wedding present: glasses that help him to see colors. At first, when he puts them on, nothing changes, but when his eyes adjust, colors begin to come into focus, and the first thing he notices is Kennedy’s hair color. Kennedy cannot wait for him to experience the world in color.

Isaiah and Kai sit with their friends at the reception, watching their children dance. Rio laments being the only one who is not in a relationship. Kai and Isaiah exchange knowing glances, silently acknowledging how happy they are to have this moment together. Kennedy is sitting in Isaiah’s lap, and he holds her tightly and thanks her for marrying him twice.