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After the third box, she finally reaches the end. She pulls the black velvet box out and I drop to my knee. “I thought of a million and one ways to do this.”
“Alex!” She gasps and covers her mouth. I take the box from her hand and take the ring out of the velvet cushion and reach for her left hand.
“I know we haven’t been together long or even known each other long, but I’m a firm believer in when you know, you know, and I know. You’re the one for me, Kelsey. I’ve known from the first day you stepped into our practice facility. When I drew the piece of paper with ‘winner' written on it, I thought I would give whoever was there a quick run-down of the game, and then hightail it out of there, but then I saw you, and my world shifted.”
I slip the ring onto her finger even though I haven’t asked. “Kelsey Lynn Sloane, will you do me the honor of becoming my partner for the rest of our lives?” I look into her eyes and see tears. “Will you marry me, honey?”
Kelsey drops to her knees and holds my face in between her hands. “Yes, Alex. Hell yes, I’ll marry you.” We kiss, which turns heated in no time. “Strip me naked here,” she says against my mouth. “Show me how much you love me. Make love to me, Alex.”
“With pleasure.”
EPILOGUE
Kelsey finds me swimming laps when she gets home from work. We still don’t live together, at least not full-time because my location doesn’t make the best sense for her. And we’re both torn on what to do. We love my house, but we also love her apartment. Hers is quaint and cozy, and I love being there. But my house is perfect, with the pool, jetted tub, and indoor-outdoor living space. Kelsey’s apartment is close to work, for both of us, but we love the privacy of my home. Needless to say, we’re confused about where we should live as a couple. We’ve even thought about buying a new place. It doesn’t make sense though. Most of the homes are a distance from her job, and if we already have her apartment, why find another one?
I swim to the edge and then climb out of the pool. I don’t bother to dry off, mostly because I like the way Kelsey looks at me when I get out of the pool. She swallows hard as I approach her, with only one thing on my mind—her.
“Hi, Kels,” I say as I lean down and kiss her. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you,” she says breathlessly. “I have a present for you.”
Any other day, I’d take her to the house or at least under the patio to the outside living room, but she actually has a present for me. Without taking her eyes off mine, she squats down and picks up the wrapped gift.
“Open it.”
Slowly, I take the bow off, undue the taped sides, and lift the lid off the box. My eyes widen when I see the book I wrote nestled in tissue paper.
“It’s the first copy,” she tells me. “They were delivered today, and Russ brought the first one to me.”
I take my book out of the box and hold it in my hand. When I approached Kelsey about this, it was an excuse so I could see her, and she made all of this happen. Now that I’m holding it in my hands, this is the coolest thing I have ever done. Sure, I’m a pro football player and have the hottest and best fiancée and my life is pretty great, but this . . . this book that has my name on the cover is by far the most amazing thing I have ever done.
“Wow!”
“You know, it’s not every day that I get to see my client’s reaction when they get their copies. I kind of like seeing your reaction.”
I sit down on the chaise and flip through the pages. The illustrator did a fantastic job, and the Pioneer colors really pop on the glossy pages. My fingers trail over the words in amazement.
“You know I never thought this would happen.”
“Why not?” Kelsey asks.
Shrugging, I continue flipping through the pages. “I used this as a ploy to spend time with you, and now look at it.”
“You did good,” she tells me. “But there’s more.”
“There is?”
She nods. “Russ has you booked for a signing at the bookstore.”
“No way?”
“Yep, and the children from the center all get a free copy.”
“I really like that.”
Kelsey sits next to me. “There’s more.”
“I’m not sure I can take anymore news,” I tell her.
