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That night, we go for dinner with my parents and the rest of the team to celebrate. Tasha won bronze, and Brooke got nothing, so she spends most of the evening pouting in the corner. Clint sits next to me, his hand on my thigh as we eat. My parents are so thrilled about my win that they’re actually talking to Clint and being nice which gives him the perfect opportunity to not only redeem himself, but to impress them with what a thoughtful and smart guy he is underneath that cocky façade.
When we leave the restaurant, we walk them back to their hotel. We stand outside the lobby for a moment and my dad turns to Clint and says, “I may have been wrong about you, Clint.”
“Thank you, Mr. Cruz. I totally understand why you were upset.”
“Call me, Tom.”
“Tom?” Clint stifles a laugh with what I’m pretty sure is everything he’s got.
My dad rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I know, I know. The actor.”
My mom shudders in the cold night air. “We should let these two get some sleep. Clint has an important game tomorrow.”
“Oh, right. I was so excited about Dani’s win that I forgot we’re going to kick some Canadian butt tomorrow.” Clint squeezes my hand.
Later, as I climb into bed, I see a small black box sitting on my pillow. “What’s this?”
“It’s just a little something to seal the deal we made a week ago.” Clint, who was already in bed, props himself up on one arm and smiles at me.
“Is that your lame-ass way of proposing?” I give him a sassy look.
“No,” Clint, says, kissing me softly on the lips. “This is. Danika Cruz, I have never loved another woman the way I love you. I know it’s fast and it’s crazy, but I also know it’s right. Will you make me the happiest man on the planet and say yes to being my wife?”
I nod, tear
s filling my eyes. “I will,” is all I manage to say.
He kisses me long and deep and soon he’s inside me, our bodies moving together in the perfection that is us. The world floats away and I lose myself in his eyes and in the promise that tomorrow brings. When we come, this time it’s different. Our eyes are locked on each other and it’s full of a tender passion that makes me want to weep. Neither of us say anything about it, but we don’t bother with the condom this time and I know it’s because Clint wants to make this the start of our forever every bit as much as I do.
When it’s over, he finally opens the box and shows me the ring. It’s an enormous round diamond set in a band of diamonds.
“Wow. I gave the right answer,” I say, then try to contain my excitement while he slips the ring on my finger.
The flight home feels fast to me. That’s because I’m sitting next to my future husband. We both go home with gold medals, except I have two of them, so I get to tease him about only having half as many golds as me. We snuggle together in the seats and watch movies, then sleep wrapped in each other’s arms until we land at L.A.X.
We’ve already figured out that I’m going to move in with Clint, which should work out nicely, since Hunter is moving out, having found love with a reporter. My parents aren’t thrilled that I’ll be moving in with Clint, but I think they can see how perfect we are together and they’re starting to trust that he has the very best intentions when it comes to their little girl. Well, mostly…
Epilogue
Clint- Four Years Later
“I’ve got her.”
“No, I’ve got her,” Dani says, one hand on her hip and the other one hanging onto our daughter’s hand.
“Babe, if anyone’s going to teach Isabella to skate, it should be the captain of the Kings.”
“As opposed to a double gold medalist and two-time world champion figure skater?”
“No way do I want her figure skating. I want her to play hockey.”
“What’s wrong with figure skating?”
“The tiny outfits.” I shake my head. “No way. She’s going to be covered up from head to toe. Besides, you shouldn’t be skating in your condition.”
“Of course I should. The doctor says I’m perfectly fine to skate.”
“Mom, Dad,” Isabella says. “I kate with both of you, okay?”
