# CHAPTER 3: Have I Lost Her for Good?
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review CHAPTER 3 of "All In With Me." This chapter is a raw, emotional collision between the past and the present—a story about pride, regret, and the terrifying question of whether love can survive the damage we cause ourselves. So take a breath, settle in, and let’s step onto the field and into Patton James’s heart.
The chapter opens in the present, with Patton trying to lose himself in football. Coach shouts, “Great job, James. Let’s run that play again,” and Patton catches pass after pass from Will. On the surface, he makes it look easy. But inside, he is anything but easy. Becca’s letter is tearing him apart, and his mind keeps drifting back to Taylor. Taylor isn’t just making a career move—she is moving to another country. Paris. The woman he once begged for a chance is now slipping beyond his reach in a way that feels permanent. Becca is in college now, so Taylor has nothing holding her back. But Patton wanted to be the thing that held her. A long time ago, he asked her to give him a chance to make her happy, and for a while, he did. Then old insecurities took over his sensibility, and he practically shoved her out of his life.
Will snaps him out of it, reminding him practice is over. Patton lingers on the field, alone with his thoughts, all about Taylor. That loneliness follows him into the past.
We flash back to the time when Patton finally met Becca. It took the rest of the football season and into the next before that official meeting happened. Becca had been away at a private school in California—one of the reasons Taylor was in Seattle. Taylor could easily get on a plane and be there for her daughter if needed. For a fifteen-year-old, Becca was fiercely independent, and maybe she had to be, having to depend on only one parent. Her father was a total asshole who stayed out of both their lives, existing only in DNA. Patton at least got an annual birthday call from his own dad, which was more than Becca ever got.
Taylor had only been to a few games. Patton knew she attended for him, but the football club of wives wasn’t her thing. She really only liked Meg and the Montgomery family women. Most VIP sections reserved for “wives” or “special guests” were filled with catty women sporting expensive handbags. What Patton loved about Taylor was that she wasn’t with him for his money and cared even less about what his money could buy.
By the time Patton reached the restaurant to meet Taylor and Becca, he was late. The press conference ran over, and since he scored the last touchdown, the coach wouldn’t excuse him. He hurried to the table, and Taylor immediately got up to greet him. He whispered an apology, and she gave him her sweet smile and told him it was okay, that they hadn’t been waiting long—a lie, because Taylor was always on time. Still, she made it okay for him.
Then Patton introduced himself to Becca, who returned his greeting with sass: “The football star I’ve heard all about.” Taylor reprimanded her, but Patton said it was okay. Becca asked if he was a star, and he admitted he was only a star when they won. If he dropped the ball, fans weren’t happy. Becca noted the pressure. Then she went straight for the jugular: “And what about my mom? Where does she fit in your life? Or does she only matter during the off-season?”
Taylor was horrified and demanded an apology. But Becca said she was being honest. Since it had taken this long to meet him, she wanted an answer. Patton didn’t flinch. He gave Taylor a reassuring look and faced her daughter. He told Becca he was in love with her mother. Yes, he worked and traveled a lot, but so did Taylor. They had both agreed to take time to get to know each other before he met Becca. Taylor loved her and was overly protective, not wanting to bring just anyone around her daughter. He respected that. After talking about it first, they agreed it was time, because he wasn’t going anywhere.
Becca replied, “We’ll see,” and thanked him for being honest. She said her mother seemed to think certain subjects were off-limits because she was younger. She disagreed. Taylor told Becca she didn’t treat her as if she had no mind of her own. Becca was smart and mature for her age, but Patton was right—Taylor wanted to be sure about them before introducing him. Why was that so wrong?
Before the night completely went to hell, Patton stopped them both and ordered for the table. Taylor gave him a silent thank you, and he changed the subject, making the night about getting to know Becca. He gave all his attention to her because this night was really about getting her approval. Taylor never said the words, but Patton knew by the way she lit up every time she talked about her daughter that Becca’s opinion mattered. He didn’t blame Taylor for exercising caution.
He asked Becca if she had done a Google search on him. She admitted maybe she had. The internet was loaded with all she wanted to know. Taylor looked horrified, but Patton raised his hand—he had this. He agreed the internet provides a lot, but he suggested something different: ask him something that wasn’t on the internet or on the front cover of a gossip rag.
Becca sat back, hesitated, crossed her arms, and then said, “Look, you seem like a nice guy, and you make my mom happy, but you don’t have to go through a big inquisition for me. What you have with my mom is your business, and I don’t need to be a part of it.”
Taylor began to say Becca’s name with tears in her eyes. Patton reached for Taylor’s hand and kissed her soft skin. He felt her tremble, watched her blush. He loved how she reacted to him. He told her it was fine, that he had this. Then he turned back to Becca, who lost some of her edge when she saw Taylor begin to cry.
Patton said this wasn’t the night he envisioned, but here they were, knee-deep in emotions. He told Becca she had every right to her feelings and opinions about him, but he kindly asked her not to use those opinions to hurt her mother. Taylor loved her, and no matter who was in her life, she would always put Becca first.
Becca asked how he knew that, trying in vain to be tough and not break down. Patton said, “Because she is the only one that has and will never stop, for as long as she lives, being your mother.” Taylor gasped audibly. Patton wasn’t sure if he had revealed too much of what was confided in him about Becca’s biological father. Did he betray her confidence?
Then Becca reached for a napkin to dry her eyes and said, “You’re honest.” Patton asked how she knew. Becca explained that when she looked him up, she read football stats and saw photos with supermodels on his arm, but there wasn’t a lot out there about Patton James, the man. He got through a night with a moody teenager and was still sitting upright. The way she saw it, he held his own, and that made him alright in her book. He didn’t bullshit her or say something just to appease her. He went right for the jugular, and it was the right move. She respected honesty, and it was clear he loved her mom—not just in words but in actions. She thanked him.
Patton could have said many things, but he kept it simple: “You’re welcome.” Becca got up, hugged her mom, and whispered something in her ear. The dark clouds of the evening parted. By the end of dinner, the ice had melted a bit, and Becca agreed to come to the next home game.
Then we are yanked back to the present. Will and a few teammates stand behind Patton on the field. Will tells the others to go ahead. He asks Patton what’s going on. Patton asks, “Did I make the wrong choice?” Will needs more information. Patton means Taylor. After his near career-ending accident, he couldn’t think beyond football and how losing it would affect his life. Taylor never left his side—from the hospital to all those months of rehabilitation. He forced her out because it was becoming too domestic, and he didn’t believe he could have both.
Will tells him that’s not true. Patton is not some wet-behind-the-ears rookie. He is a seasoned player with an incredible career, but somewhere along the way he messed up big time in his personal life. Who put the idea into his head that he couldn’t have both? It’s ridiculous and unfounded. From where Will stands, Patton’s life is lonely. If he weren’t so stubborn back then, he’d be married to Taylor by now. Isn’t that where they were headed before it all turned to shit when he got hurt?
Patton says he doesn’t know, maybe. But it doesn’t matter now. It’s over. She’s moved on, and judging by her relocation to Paris, he’s long forgotten. He tries to end the conversation, saying it’s giving him a headache. Will pushes him to finish what he was going to say. Patton explodes: “You’re right, I messed up! Is that what you want to hear?” He throws his helmet and balls his fists.
Will says it doesn’t give him pleasure to see his best friend in pain, but he needs Patton to be honest. He can’t keep up with Patton’s ever-changing moods. Does Patton want another chance with Taylor or not? Make a decision already.
Patton says, as if he stood a chance. His actions that day will forever be his biggest regret. He doesn’t know how to make it right. Is it even possible after all this time? The look on Taylor’s heartbroken face when he forced her out of his apartment and out of his life was worse than getting pounded into the turf while his bones crunched beneath him. He thinks he loved her from the minute he saw her. There was always an undeniable pull between them that kept him connected to her. The day he declared them over was the day he broke that connection—he broke her.
He admits he wanted her and made her fall in love with him. When he got hurt, he felt weak and less than the man he was when they first met. She didn’t do anything wrong but love and take care of him, but that love turned to suffocation. He couldn’t breathe. He felt pressure to do right by Taylor, and then to prove something to the coaches, management, and even Will. Will says he wouldn’t have judged him. Patton says, “I judged me!”
He calls himself an arrogant bastard who only thought of himself and what he wanted, not what Taylor wanted. He wasn’t ready to walk away from the game, and he knew back then he couldn’t have Taylor and football, so he made the only choice he could live with at the time. He pushed her away and has lived with that selfish choice every single day since she left. His mind has been at war with memories of what he had with Taylor. He fooled himself into believing she would just show up to the game and give him another chance. Why would she after the way he treated her? Maybe her agreeing and not showing up was her way of getting back at him.
Will says no, not that girl. Taylor loves him too much to ever hurt him that way. Patton says they will never know because she didn’t show up and left him just as alone as he probably made her feel. He says they can talk until sundown, but it won’t change the fact that he lost Taylor, and it’s completely his fault. He’s tired and needs to get out before they shut the lights down. He asks for twenty minutes.
As he walks off the field, Will calls him back and asks, “So the letter you received means nothing to you?” Patton stops and turns. He says it does, but you can’t turn back time, and he can’t bet his future on the romantic whims Becca believes in. Will tells him Taylor isn’t seeing anyone, if that’s what he thinks. He wasn’t going to bring it up, but since Patton is all about sharing today, he figured he would mention it. Patton asks how Will would know. Will says women talk, and the last time he checked, Taylor is still friends with his wife. If Patton ever wants another chance with Taylor, he needs to go see her before he truly loses her forever. This is not just about Patton. In any relationship, sometimes one person has to put in more work, and for a long time it was Taylor. What did Patton expect her to do after he told her to leave? Wait by the phone while watching the clock, hoping he would call and tell her how much of an asshole he was?
Patton says, “Gee, thanks for that.” Will says, “You’re welcome.” Her daughter is not the only one who tells it how it is. Someone has to say it to Patton. He is his own worst enemy when it comes to love. Will tells him to get out of his head, man up, and remember that Becca would not have sent that letter if all hope was lost. Think about it, but make a decision soon.
And that is where the chapter leaves us—Patton standing on the field, torn between the life he built and the love he destroyed, with Becca’s letter burning in his memory and Taylor’s possible departure to Paris looming over every heartbeat.
## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
This chapter hit me right in the chest. The contrast between Patton’s controlled excellence on the field and the chaos in his heart is beautifully painful. The flashback to meeting Becca is one of the strongest scenes because it shows exactly why Taylor fell for him: he is honest, protective, and willing to fight for the people he loves. But the present-day Patton is a man drowning in regret, and Will’s tough love cuts through every excuse. I felt the ache of a love story where the greatest obstacle isn’t another person—it’s Patton’s own pride and fear. The chapter balances tenderness, confrontation, and raw confession so well. It’s emotional, frustrating, and deeply human.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Patton will finally stop running from the truth. Will’s words—especially the reminder that Taylor isn’t seeing anyone and that Becca’s letter means hope—will push him toward a decision. I predict he will go to Taylor before she leaves for Paris, or at least try to reach her in a desperate attempt to undo the past. But it won’t be easy. Taylor has spent years healing, and she won’t simply fall back into his arms. There may be a confrontation full of tears, anger, and long-buried truths. Becca might play a role too, perhaps revealing what she wrote in the letter or urging Taylor to listen. The next chapter will likely be the moment Patton either proves he has changed or loses Taylor forever.
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