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"Marshall."

He held up his hands in surrender.

"The yard is clean, babe."

Cooper let out a bark as I pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Told you."

We both looked over at Cooper and laughed.

The doorbell rang at seven, and when I opened the door, Mila stood there. She was wearing a burgundy jumpsuit and heeled boots, her dark hair falling in large curls. She carried a bottle of champagne in one hand and a gift in the other.

"This is the moment." She said, stepping inside. "Where's the hockey player?" She asked, looking around the living room.

Marshall appeared from the kitchen. He stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Marshall Hayes. I have heard so much about you."

Mila looked at his hand, then at him, evaluating everything. Then she looked at me and pulled him into a hug.

"You bought treats for Cooper. I think I already love you." She said.

The tension I'd been carrying dissolved, and we moved into the kitchen, where Marshall poured us some wine and handed Cooper another piece of jerky.

Dinner was amazing. I'd perfected the roast chicken and vegetables I'd been practicing. Wine flowed, as did the conversation, even though Mila had started by grilling Marshall. She asked about his childhood, his career, and whether he could handle the attention that came with professional sports without letting it change who he was.

He answered everything without hesitation, telling her all about his childhood. Then she looked at me and asked him how he felt about my past. Marshall looked at me and then back to Mila.

"She is the strongest person I know. What she went through would have broken most people. It didn't break her. She rebuilt from the ground up, and I plan to spend every day proving to her she made the right choice by letting me in."

Mila sat there, stunned by his answer. Then she looked over at me. She didn't say a word, didn't need to. Her eyes said it all.

He's the one.

After dinner, Mila and I made our way out to the back patio while Marshall loaded the dishwasher and fed Cooper. The fairy lights added a warmth to the backyard that had been missing.

"You look happy." Mila said, standing beside me. "Genuinely happy, not that fake happy you used to have, trying to convince me and everyone else that you were fine."

I looked out at the backyard. "I am happy. I love my life and my career. I adore spending my time with these difficult clients and crazy deadlines. I love my house and my dog, and I love him." I said, looking back at the house to Marshall in the kitchen window. "It's weird. I never thought I'd be able to love again after what happened."

Mila put her glass down on the patio table and hugged me tight.

"You deserve this." She whispered. "Every single piece of it. You deserve to be loved by someone who wants to build you up. You deserve to wake up in the morning and not be afraid of the day's events."

"Thank you."

"Now, I hate to bring up a bad subject on a wonderful night, but have you heard from Brett?"

I looked out over the backyard.

"Well, after that player on the opposing team went after Marshall, I contacted a lawyer. I had them send a cease-and-desist letter, and I put a restraining order in place. Because he is in the public eye, I also had the lawyer send that to the general manager of the ball team. His lawyer responded to mine with an apology, and he has been suspended from the team. Sweet justice."

Mila wrapped her arms around me again and we stood there for a long moment, hugging one another. When Mila pulled back she wiped her eyes.

"If you tell anyone that I cried, I will deny it. I am so glad you stood up for yourself and fought him."

"Well, I can't have him showing up here again, nor harassing Marshall, and I will only tell some people you cried."