“This promise?”
I take the ring off her and laugh. “You know, at the time, I thought this was beautiful.”
“It is beautiful!”
I shake my head and smile at her indulgently. “Woman, it’s tacky.”
Dee takes it off me, puts it on her ring finger on her right hand, and holds it up. “Well, I love it.”
“It’s on the wrong finger.”
Dee cocks her head to the side. “What are you saying, Gray?”
“I’m saying I love you, and I want to make you mine.” I pull her close to me. “Marry me, Diandra Evergrow.”
Dee nods and throws her arm around me. “Yes!”
I kiss her softly. Dawson taps me on the leg. I break the kiss but keep her in my embrace.
“What’s up, little man?”
“Did you tell Mommy about our new home?”
Dee cocks her head to the side. “New home?”
I let her go and pick up Dawson. “We went and had a look at some larger apartments today.”
Dawson nods. “Dad says rent money is dead money.”
“Is that so?”
Dawson nods at her.
“Did you find anything?”
“We looked at a couple.” I put Dawson down, and he runs back to the window. “Real estate in New York is expensive.”
“It is,” agrees Dee. “For what we pay here for an apartment, we could get a single-family home for half the price. Maybe even less.”
“You’d move to Boston?”
“I’ve made some inquiries and reached out to James Brookes, my old boss. He’s interested in selling the Boston accounting firm.”
This makes me happy. I like New York, but I love Boston. All my friends are there as well as the New England Warriors. Boston is home.
“I love you.”
Dee smiles. “Not as much as I love you.”
GRAYSON
I’m in the hotel room with Colt fussing over my tie. It won’t sit the way I want it to. Colt walks over and undoes it.
“I keep telling you, you’re not doing it right.”
“Why does yours look so good?”
He pulls up my shirt collar and pulls on the ends of it, then sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth and ties the silk material into a double Windsor knot.
“Because, my friend, I’ve had practice. The trick is to make sure your tie lines up with your belt buckle, no gap. It looks awful if there’s a gap.”
Colt puts my collar down and steps away with a bow and flourish in front of the mirror.
Scrutinizing myself, I smile. “You did it.”
“Was there any doubt?”
“I just want everything to be perfect.”
Colt chuckles. “No one is going to be looking at you, anyway. They’ll be staring at the bride and me, of course.”
I slip on my coat. “Dee will be staring at me.”
“Oh, right, her? I forgot she was coming,” teases Colt.
There’s a knock at the door, and my mom comes in. Her hand flutters to her throat, and she bursts into tears. “Oh, look at my boys!”
Colt puts his arm around me. “Do we look good?”
Mom comes over and puts a hand on either of us. “You both look very handsome.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She looks from me to Colt and back again. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready for ages, but your son has taken forever. You’d think he was nervous or something.”
I scowl at my best friend, then smile at my mom.
“We’re ready.”
The wedding is being held in a park near the river, and the reception is in the restaurant downstairs. It too overlooks the river.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.” Mom claps her hands.
“How are you getting to the wedding?” Colt asks her.
“I’m going with the bridesmaid.”
I kiss her cheek, and so does Colt.
“Remember, you’re supposed to be there early. It’s only the bride who’s allowed to be late.”
“We know, Mom.”
“Now that princess here has his tie on properly, we’re ready to go.”
Mom shakes her head at Colt, kisses me again, and leaves us.
“You ready to go?” I ask him.
“I was born ready.”
All the New England Warriors’ players are sitting in white chairs with their respective wives and girlfriends. The press is being held at bay by a sea of security guards. Colt is standing next to me, waving and smiling at the people in the crowd. He’s so relaxed while I’m a bundle of nerves. The celebrant clears his throat. “Gentlemen, I’ve just been advised that the bride is here. Could you both face me until the music starts?”
Colt grins at me then faces forward. I scan the crowd and see my mom as she makes her way to her seat. She gives me a small wave, and then I turn around too.
It feels like I have a kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach. I have no idea how Colt is managing to look so calm.
The music starts, and we both turn around. Coming up the aisle is Dawson. He’s holding one side of a basket with the flower girl, and they are both reaching into it and dropping rose petals on the ground.
He’s practiced this for weeks. His face is a mask of concentration as he slowly makes his way up the aisle. Next comes the bridesmaid, who looks resplendent in a deep red, floor-length gown with a split in the front, revealing a lot of leg.
“Here Comes the Bride” music begins to play. It feels like everyone is holding their breath. At the end of the red carpet is the bride with her dad. Colton gasps, and although I understand his reaction, it’s hard for me to take my eyes off Dee. The deep red accentuates the color of her skin. She looks more than beautiful. I watch as she stands opposite me, her eyes never leaving mine.
When the bride and her father make it to us, it breaks my line of sight to Dee, and I finally take in Skye. Her blonde hair is pulled away from her face and hangs in curls down her back. The dress isn’t white but a champagne color that suits her complexion. It clings to her curves and falls gracefully to the floor. Glancing at my best friend, he’s got tears in his eyes.
He shakes Skye’s dad’s hand and then, as if she’s made of glass, carefully takes both of her hands in his. The celebrant begins his speech, and I find myself once again lost in the vision that’s Dee.
She takes my breath away.
The engagement ring, a large tanzanite emerald-cut stone surrounded with diamonds, shines in the light, letting everyone know Dee is mine.
Colt nudges me, and I look at him. “The ring?”
“Oh!” I pat my pockets, and a look of terror goes over his face. I wink at him and pull it out of my coat pocket.
The audience chuckles, and Colt looks relieved. When I look back at Dee, she shakes her head, a huge grin on her face.
The celebrant announces, “You may kiss the bride!”
The guests stand and cheer. Skye reaches up and wipes the tears from Colt’s face. Nothing but love radiates from the couple. As they walk down the red carpet, our teammates line the aisle blowing bubbles at them.
It’s funny to see such big men doing this, but it’s what Skye wanted and whatever she wants, Colt delivers.
I move to stand next to Dee. I kiss her and then hold up her hand, lean back and take in all of her gorgeousness.
“You look stunning.”
Dee blushes. “So do you.”
Dawson pushes between us, and we both take one of his hands and walk down the aisle together as a family.
GRAYSON
Dee is on the dance floor with Dawson in her arms. The bride and groom have long since gone. I’m amazed that little man is still awake. My mother is also on the dance floor with Skye’s dad. The way she’s looking at him, you’d think he was the most engrossing human being on the planet. She laughs a little too hard at his jokes, and as soon as the formal part of the day was over, they’ve spent every moment toget
her—he even made sure she was sitting next to him at the reception.
“Penny for your thoughts?” asks Dee.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“Your mom looking happy?”
I smile at her and shake my head. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Dee chuckles. “Come on, Gray, time to get this little guy home.”
Holding out my hands, Dawson immediately wants me to carry him. We walk out of the reception room to the elevators and up to our room. Dawson falls asleep on the trip.
Dee lovingly strokes his head. “He did so well today.”
“Yes, he did. Although he didn’t think much of the flower girl.”
Dee bursts out laughing and then holds her hands over her mouth to stop herself from making too much noise.
“She tried to kiss him. He didn’t like that at all.”
I grin at her. “Let’s put him to bed, he’s had a rough day.”
Dee giggles and helps me undress him. We booked a suite with a king-size bed and had them put a single bed in our room for Dawson. He doesn’t wake as Dee puts a teddy bear in bed with him, and I pull up the covers, then we leave the room and head for the couch.
I take off my jacket, the tie was long ago discarded, and drape it over an armchair. Dee steps out of her heels and scrunches her toes into the carpet, making a moaning sound.
“That bad, huh?”
“Yes and no, it’s just good to have them off.”
“Would you like a drink?”
Dee nods. “Coffee.”
There’s a coffee pod machine in the room, so I walk toward it and make her one. When I come back to her, she’s sitting on the couch. Eagerly, Dee holds up her hands to take the hot drink off me.
“Will you be able to sleep?”
“Coffee doesn’t keep me awake.”
I sit next to her. “Have you had a good day?”
“Yes. Skye was so relaxed. I was bundle of nerves, but she was fine.”
I laugh. “Colt was the same.” I don’t admit that I too was nervous today.
“Must be true love.” Dee shakes her head. “Do you remember how many girls he dated in college? I never thought he’d settle down.” Dee lowers her voice. “And I never thought he’d get a nice one like Skye.”
Chuckling, I say, “She had him from the moment they met, only he didn’t know it yet.”
Dee sips her coffee as I reach into my pants pocket and pull out the pendant she gave me so many years ago. Holding it up, her brow furrows as she tries to see what it is. Recognition goes across her face, and she reaches for it. “You still have it?” She turns it over and smiles as she looks at the engraving on the back.
I nod. “It was from you. I even have that sweater you gave me.”
Dee laughs. “Do you wear it?”
“Not very often. It reminded me of you, and I missed you.”
Her face turns sad, and the smile disappears. “I’m so sorry, Gray.”
Reaching up, I stroke her face. “Don’t be. It’s all in the past.”
“You’ve given up everything for us. It’s not what I wanted.”
“I know that, Dee.” Taking her hand in mine, I raise it to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “You did the right thing at the time. I wasn’t ready to be a father. I was so hung up on my life plan, I don’t think I could have accepted a change. At the time, I thought I would have done anything to keep you, but in hindsight, I wasn’t ready.”
“You’d worked so hard to get a scholarship and then to get into the pro league, I didn’t want to ruin it for, you but in the end, I did, didn’t I?”
Shaking my head vigourously, I say, “No, no, no!” I smile and chuckle. “You made my life better. You gave me a son, and you moved here to Boston. It’s you who’s given up everything.”
“Except you can’t play ball anymore, and I know you wanted to.”
“Not going to lie, it’s going to be a rough transition. But I’ve had three good years. Football was always a short-term goal. I’ve achieved that.”
Dee sips her coffee. “What now?”
I raise my eyebrows up and down and smirk at her. “Do you remember Lochlan MacKenny?”
“The model? He’s not someone you forget easily.” I growl at her, and she shakes her head. “I simply meant, he’s good-looking.”
“You are not making this any better.”
Dee laughs. “I only want you.” As if to prove the point, she holds up her engagement ring.
“Loch has a plan. He wants to open a clinic here in Boston for sports medicine, and he wants me to be a part of it.”
“Does he want you to work for him?”
“No, more than that. Loch wants me to invest. This will be the first of many. It won’t only be a clinic, it will also be a gym, an all-around health center. He has plans to open them across the country.”
“Why does he want you?”
“I’m going to be the face of the business. Loch has it all planned.” I sit up a little straighter. “The man who gave up his dream to save his son and now wants to help others.” I put an arm around her. “There’s a lot of money to be made in the health sector… athletes who need to be rehabilitated or need help with training, and then there’s the everyday person who wants to lose weight, get toned, feel better about themselves. We’ve even talked about having a whole health approach and having a team of mental health professionals, which I think is a great idea. Football can be a mind fuck. If your head isn’t in the right frame of mind, you’ve lost before the game even starts.”
“Which is the same for everyone, not just athletes.”
I nod. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re going to need a good accounting firm to help you out.”
Laughing, I pull her onto my lap. “I’ve already talked to Loch about it, and he seems to be on board with you looking after that side of things.” Smiling, I kiss her cheek. “Tyson is interested too. The New England Warriors have a small army of people who look after them, and he’s hoping to cut costs by using us. He thinks with me there, the guys will be more receptive to it.”
“It sounds like a great opportunity for all of us.”
Dee rests her head against mine. “It will be. There’s just one small thing I want to do before we go into business with Loch.”
“What’s that?” whispers Dee.
“I want you to marry me. I want you and my son to have my last name.”
Dee holds up her hand and touches her engagement ring. “We’re halfway there.”
“I want to go all the way.”
Dee smiles. “What about adding to our family?”
“Another baby?”
Dee nods. “Yeah.”
“We can have as many as you want.”
Dee takes my hand and presses it to her stomach and smiles. “I’m hoping for a girl this time.”
My heart races. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“How far along?”
“Nearly twelve weeks.”
I stand, taking Dee with me and putting her on her feet. “We’ve got to get married, and now!”
“Honey, we’ve got plenty of time.”
Cupping her face in my hands, I kiss her. “We’ve got the rest of our lives, but we need to get married before this baby arrives.”
“Why?”
“Call it male pride, but I want my family to have my last name, and my children to know that I love their mother so much that I want to commit to her for the rest of my life. I want the world to know you belong to me, and I belong to you for now and always.”
Dee’s eyes shine with tears. “I love you.”
“Is that yes?”
“Oh, honey, I’m never leaving you again with or without a wedding. You’re stuck with me.”
I kiss her quickly. “Together, we can tackle anything, even a new life.”
Tackling Love, Book 1 in the Tackling Series
BLURB
Colton Anders
<
br /> Quarterback for the New England Warriors.
Playboy, cocky, self-assured, used to getting what he wants.
Skye Hadley
Teacher at a high-profile private school.
Quiet, plays it safe, never breaks the rules.
Unexpectedly, their two worlds collide.
Colton tempts Skye one night, and she throws caution to the wind, taking him home.
Unknowingly propelling herself into a world filled with fans, media, and an abundance of unwanted attention.
The media is grueling, but their chemistry is undeniable. Vulnerable in lust, Skye wants nothing more than to give in to her heart’s desires.
With the world watching, will Colt be able to win Skye over in this fun, sports romance?
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BLURB
One big secret can change everything.
A feisty waitress.
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The attraction is mutual, but Eric must decide if he can protect the secret he holds close to his chest without destroying Cherie, or whether he must walk away from the small-town girl he’s falling for.
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Are you ready for the spark?
This is a standalone book and the first in series for The MacKenny Brothers.
ALSO IN THE SERIES:
Spark of Vengeance: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 2
Spark of Hope: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 3
Spark of Deception: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 4
Spark of Time: MacKenny Brothers Series Book 5
MORE BOOKS FOR YOU TO ENJOY:
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Savage Stalker Book 1
Tackling Life: A Sports Romance (Tackling Romance Series Book 2) Page 13