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The horn blares.
It’s like the end of the game for me, too. When I realize I won everything, and all I have to do is accept it.
I smile down at Jacob. He’s pointing at me, grinning his head off as his teammates crash into him and Camden Church. If he scored the winning goal, if he had some key moment in the final play—I missed it. Because I don’t really give a shit that he plays hockey.
I just care abouthim.
And that’s enough.
MELODY
SIX MONTHS LATER
The ring is in his sock drawer.
AKA the most obvious hiding spot ever.
But it wasn’t like I was snooping. I was just… rearranging his socks. And looking for some of my own. The thick woolen ones that he likes to steal for under his skates, like a heathen, but they’re all that keep my toes warm on cold days like today.
I open the little black box just to make sure it’s a ring.
Ever since Knox said Jacob was my soon-to-be-husband, I’ve been waiting for the proposal… and it didn’t come. Each time he took me out to a fancy restaurant, or examined my perfectly manicured nails, or suggested we take a trip, I expected it.
So he’s been fucking with me.
Another mind game that he delights in, I’m sure. I’d bet Knox told Jacob about his slip-up, and now he’s waiting for me to lower my guard.
Well, I’m in my PJs. My hair is in a pile on top of my head. I’ve got paint under my nails, on my shirt, my forearms, even my thigh.Glamorousis definitely not how I’d describe myself today.
The ring is gorgeous, though. My breath catches the longer I stare, until I pluck it out of its silk nest and slip it on my finger.
Just to see.
First, it fits perfectly. It’s kind of a huge teardrop diamond set in other tiny stones that frame it and go down the tapered band.
Second, it seems like something I’d pick out myself. Something I wouldn’t have known eight months ago, waking up in the hospital with no memories. My sense of style—or lack thereof, Jacob likes to joke—came back about five months ago. He vetoed the need for oversized sweaters that, in his words, hide my body.
It’s usually followed up by him doing everything to make me not hide.
Including one brazen chase down the hallway outside his condo. Naked.
I clear my throat, forcing that memory away before my body can react. I admire the ring for another second, then slip it off.
“You don’t have to take it off.”
I almost jump a foot. I whirl around, clutching the ring to my chest.
Jacob leans on the doorframe, his arms crossed. I love it when he stands like that, because his biceps always bulge enough to drive me crazy. His hair is pushed back, and sweat dots his brow.
He was in the gym.
But now he’s here. Watching me… sneaking a peek at the ring.
When I don’t move, he comes in and takes my left hand. He gently pulls the ring from the grip of my other hand and slides it on my fourth finger.
“Marry me,” he says quietly. “I’ll give you a big show if you want, Mel, but I’d happily just have you and me and a witness tomorrow at the courthouse.”
“Today,” I blurt out.
