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And I'm standing in the family room, playoff spot on the board, ring on the hand of the only woman I've ever loved, and she's looking up at me and I’ve never in my life been this happy.

I get to have Margot for keeps.

"So." She swipes her sleeve across her face and lifts an eyebrow, sharp and grinning through the mess. "This spreadsheet?"

"You inspired me so I made my own." I pull her into me.

She laughs so hard she has to hold onto me to stay standing, so I hold her up, the way I'm going to hold her up for the rest of my life.

Chapter 27: Margot

My phone doesn’t stop buzzing during the drive home.

Denise

I'm not going to pretend I understand what just happened. Meridian's people have called me since the proposal video went out, and they called offering Jax MORE money. Apparently "reformed bad boy proposes to the woman who saw the real him" is worth double the original deal. The league’s board refused your resignation and you're formally reassigned off his file effective today. Your job is safe. And your statement taking the blame never went out. The airport video hit before I sent it anywhere, so there’s nothing to retract..We’ll talk Monday. Tonight, be happy and Congratulations.

I hold the screen up. "Reyes's story is dead. Derek's video has more views than her whole article by a factor of loads. Nobody's talking about a manufactured romance anymore or calling me the fixer." I keep scrolling. "They're calling you the spreadsheet guy. That's your entire brand now. You're the spreadsheet guy. And they have no idea it's a sex spreadsheet."

"I can live with being the spreadsheet guy." He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the ring. "Beats. bad boy enemy, that was exhausting."

The elevator opens straight into his apartment, and the giddy thing that's been building in my chest all night finally lets go, and I'm laughing.

He's got me against the wall by the door before either of us gets a coat off.

"Wait." I flatten a hand on his chest and hold the other up between us. The ring catches the low light. "You're going to marry me."

"That's the plan, Callahan.

He kisses one corner of my mouth, then the other, and there's nothing left in it but joy. No lie, no plan and no deadline.

"I get to fuck you. With my ring on your hand."

Then he's kissing me and I'm kissing him back, and we barely make it to the bed.

And here's what a lot of lessons taught me. I’m not the girl who walked into a video room shaking anymore. I know exactly what I'm doing now, and I know exactly what it does to him.

So when he lays me back and drops that low, wrecked "good girl" against my throat, the one that used to turn my whole body to liquid, I get a fist in his hair and I flip us, and I push him onto his back, and I look down at six-foot-three of the best winger in the league going very, very still underneath me.

"Good boy."

He barks out a laugh, delighted, a little wild, his hands flying to my hips. "Oh. We're doing that now. I think you should call me your Puckboy."

"Puckboy. Hmm.. I like it."

"Look at you." His eyes go dark and I can feel he’s thrilled.

His hands slide up my thighs to exactly the spot where I'm aching for him.

"I feel you're ready, baby. I’ll be so much more than a Puckboy for you."

That crooked grin, filthy and mine. "Give me an hour. I'll be a God."

"Big words, Hunter." I brace my hands on his chest and rock down against him, and I feel him twitch under me. "Then you'd better get started."

"Yes, ma'am. Bossy, I like it."

He flips us right back over, because he can't help it, because he's Jax and some things about this man are never going to change and thank God for it.