Chris sagged against her. “There is nothing to forgive. Nothing. I love you so much, Oakley. I love you so much.”
He crushed her to his chest, but she managed to get out the words she’d been longing to say to him. “I love you, too. I love you, too.” He kissed her again until John tapped him on the shoulder and discreetly cleared his throat.
Chris pulled away, his eyes never leaving hers. “Thanks, John. I’m coming.” John went back to whatever he needed to do and Chris took her hand in his again. He led her to the edge of the stage. Harley stood at a podium in the center, her silver dress glittering in the spotlight. “Will you wait for me here?”
Oakley nodded, then watched as he transformed from the man who’d been kissing her for the last twenty minutes to a man who was ready to take on the world.
“I’ll be back soon. Don’t go anywhere.”
Oakley had to laugh. “I promise. Oh, wait!” She snagged his coat sleeve. “You have lipstick on your face.”
Chris grinned as she pulled a tissue from her clutch and wiped his mouth. “I swear, I don’t even care.” His deep voice made her blush.
“Well, I do!” She swiped at his face once more. “That’s the best I can do with what I have. Knock ‘em dead.”
Chris held out his fist for her to ‘pound it’ just like he did with Kaden. Her heart near exploding with happiness, Oakley tapped his knuckles with her own.
“See you in just a minute,” he promised and then ran out on stage.
Oakley barely heard anything being said. Not that she didn’t care about the foundation Chris and Harley were starting, she did. She just couldn’t get over the last half hour. Goodness, the last twenty-four hours! It had all been a whirl-wind. But it was worth it. Now, anyway. She wouldn’t relive the last few weeks for anything. Hopefully, all that was behind them.
Oakley watched as Chris teased Harley about wearing a hard hat and swinging a sledge hammer. The crowd laughed but then Chris got serious, talking about the soldiers and their families who would benefit from the homes they provided.
“And tonight. We will be handing over the deed to our very first home for a surviving family,” Chris announced and everyone, including Oakley gasped. Chris cleared his throat before continuing. “This particular house and this family hold a special place in my heart. The house because it belonged to my great-uncle Ray and his wife, Mary. My brother, Carter, and I have many happy memories of growing up in that house. We spent a lot of time there as children. It’s also special to me because I did all the work on it myself,” a throat cleared loudly at one of the front tables. Chris frowned and narrowed his eyes at Carter. “Alright. I did most of the work myself. I had a little help there at the end. There, are you happy?” he directed his words to Carter, drawing a laugh from the audience.
Carter called out from his seat. “Yes!” Which made every one laugh again.
“Brothers!” Chris shook his head before continuing. “As I was saying. Since I did most of the work, I hope this family won’t hold any of my weaknesses against me. I’ll be sure to leave my card in case there are any problems.” He glanced to his side, the one across from where Oakley waited, and winked at the woman standing in the wings with a man who looked strikingly like her brother, Rafe.
Wait a second, that was Rafe! What was he doing here?
“This family also holds a place in my heart. I came to hear about Anna and her two children through my girlfriend’s brother, Rafe Abbott. When I mentioned to Rafe what I wanted to do with the house, he told me Anna’s story. Anna lost her husband, Sgt. Blake Lawson, to an IED explosion while he was serving the United States Army in Afghanistan almost a year ago. Anna has been raising her children, Leo and Hailey, on her own since then. Leo, who is five, has special needs that require a lot of special attention. He spends his days buzzing around in his motorized wheelchair, but sometimes he needs a lot of love and care from his mom. And Hailey, who is the best big sister and a sweetheart all on her own, has been begging her mom for a puppy, but they can’t have pets in their apartment where they live now. I’m so honored tonight to hand this deed,” Chris held up a sheet of paper. “To Anna Lawson.”
The crowd erupted into cheers and loud applause as Anna made her way onto the stage. She couldn’t hold back her tears as she hugged Chris and Harley. And Oakley realized why Rafe was backstage. Anna Lawson was the wife of one of Rafe’s friends, Blake. She remembered hearing about Blake’s death and she knew Rafe had helped her from time to time with her vehicle, limping it along until she could afford something else.
But why hadn’t anyone told her all this?
She was going to have to talk to Chris about his propensity for surprises and her deeply rooted hatred of them. Oakley looked to the other side of the stage and caught her brother’s eye. Rafe sent her a wink before lifting his chin toward Chris. Then he gave her a thumbs up followed by a thumbs down. He was asking her how things had gone between her and Chris. Although, he should have guessed since Chris had called her his girlfriend during his speech!
Still, she gave Rafe a thumbs up. He smiled and made a heart with his hands. It was something Lucy did all the time when she was in elementary school and they’d all picked up on it. Before she could return the gesture, Oakley heard Chris say her name into the microphone.
“Oakley Abbott. Will you please join me on the stage?” Chris turned to her with a huge grin.
Another surprise! They were really going to have that talk. But since the whole room was waiting for her to emerge from backstage, Oakley took a tentative step into the spotlight. He was so going to pay for this!
“Folks, I’m gonna have to ask you to indulge me a little here. Some of you might have seen me earlier with this beautiful lady-” cat calls from the audience made Chris laugh and run his fingers through his hair before he latched onto her hand and pulled her center stage with him.
Oakley glanced over to her brother who grinned from ear to ear and stood beside an equally smiley Anna.
“Yeah, um. Well, you see. This is Oakley and she’s my girlfriend. We had a little…misunderstanding, but we finally got things squared away this evening.” He turned to face the audience. “That’s probably what you saw,” he said in a stage whisper that had everyone laughing. “And there’s just one more thing I need to take care of before I can leave this stage or do anything else for that matter.”
Before she knew what was happening, Chris dropped to one knee in front of her.
Oakley gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She stared into the blue eyes of the man she loved and burst into tears.
Chris laughed a little. “Baby, don’t cry. I’m trying to propose.”
“Chris,” she admonished with a squeak.
Chris reached into his pocket and withdrew a small velvet box. He flipped open the top to reveal the most gorgeous diamond she’d ever seen. But that wasn’t what was important. As much as she loved the ring. She loved the man even more. Infinitely more.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, all serious now. “Because I love you and I want to make all of your dreams come true. Will you marry me, Oakley Abbott?”
Oakley laughed through her tears and rushed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and shouting, “Yes!”
Chris caught her in his arms and kept them from falling over on the stage floor. “Yes?” he asked, the word echoing through the dining room. He still had the microphone.
Oakley nodded. “Yes, Chris. I will marry you.”
Chris whooped and swung her in the air. A grinning Harley Stone came and retrieved the microphone and spoke into it, thanking all the guests for their generosity and congratulating Anna. The audience rose to their feet and clapped, but Oakley and Chris could only see each other.
“Can we go home?” he asked, once he set her back on her feet. He’d moved them off stage again and Oakley was having a hard time catching up.
“What? Go home? Tonight?” Didn’t he have a room? Because she did.
“Yes,
the plane’s ready. Raul said he’d fly us home right now.”
“But, why? I have a room. I planned to stay.” She was so confused about what was happening right now.
“I want to see Kaden. I’ve missed him. Please, can we go home?”
He missed Kaden? He wanted to go back so he could see her son? Who was this man and what had she done to deserve him?
Oakley threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, Chris. Let’s go home and get our boy.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Oakley and Chris took a few minutes to say goodbye to Rafe and Anna. Carter jumped up on the stage to congratulate them and then waited while they talked to Harley.
“Oakley.” Harley approached them with a tentative yet sincere smile. “It is so good to meet you. I’m so happy for you both.”
Oakley wasn’t sure how to respond, but held out her hand. Harley took it and pulled her into a warm hug. “I’m so sorry about those pictures,” she whispered in Oakley’s ear.
Oakley pulled back and Harley smiled again. “If it’s any consolation, he talked about you the entire night. And your son. You all are very lucky to have found each other.”
Surprised as she was by this sudden turn, Oakley believed Harley was sincere. “Thank you.” She reached for Chris’s hand. “And we are lucky. I’m lucky.”
Chris’s eyes softened as he looked at her. They finished saying their goodbyes and asked Carter if he wanted to leave with them tonight. He said he would stay a few days and Chris promised to send the plane back sometime the next day.
They rushed up to Oakley’s room so she could change out of her dress and pack. Once she’d changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt, Chris offered to help her pack. However, once she realized his ‘help’ wasn’t all that helpful, she pushed him into a chair and demanded he stay until she was finished.
“You are no fun,” he grumbled.
Oakley poked her head out from the bathroom. “You’re the one who wants to leave tonight.”
Chris rose from his chair even though she wasn’t done packing and reached for her. “Do you want to wait until morning? I know I’m being impulsive. But I just proposed to you and you said yes. I feel like we should be with Kaden tonight.”
Oakley cupped his cheek with her palm. “I can’t think of any better way to end this day than to share it with you and with Kaden. So, let’s go.”
Chris nodded and pressed her lips with a quick kiss. “Let’s go.”
They arrived in Denver three hours later. Chris hurried her to his truck and opened her door. He tossed their bags into the back and circled the truck to jump into the driver’s seat. He kissed her again before pulling out of the parking space.
“I love you,” he murmured against her lips.
Oakley smiled. She would never tire of hearing those words from him. “I love you, too.”
“Alright, let’s do this.”
The drive to her parent’s house was quick at that time of night. There was hardly any traffic. Chris pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. The house was dark, but she’d expected that. It was well after midnight after all.
“Can we get in?” Chris asked quietly once they reached the front door.
Oakley held up her key ring. “I have a key.”
Chris used his phone as a flashlight so they could see once they got inside.
“I’ll go tell my mom. You go get Kaden.” She pointed to the room where her son slept when he was at her parents house.
“What about his stuff? His bag?”
Oakley waved his words aside. “Don’t worry. We can get all of that tomorrow. Or whenever.”
Chris nodded and walked into the dark room.
Oakley turned toward her parent’s room and tip-toed to her mother’s side of the bed.
“Mom,” she whispered, shaking her mom’s shoulder. “Mom.”
“Wha-” Mercy murmured before coming awake. Her mother was a light sleeper. She said it came from years of having small children. “Oakley, honey. Is everything okay?”
Mercy reached over to turn on the small lamp at her bedside. Oakley felt bad for worrying her, but she’d be even more worried if she woke up and Kaden was missing.
“I’m engaged.” She hadn’t meant to say that! It just popped out.
Mercy frowned. “You’re what? What are you saying?”
Jerry stirred in the bed beside Mercy, his back to them. “What’s going on? Oakley, what are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night? Didn’t we have enough of that when you were in high school?”
Mercy slapped at her husband. “Oh, stop it, you old grump. Oakley says she’s engaged.”
Jerry didn’t even roll over. “To who?”
Mercy looked to Oakley, her eyes sparkling. “To who?”
“To me,” a deep voice said from the door.
It was Chris and his arms were filled with blankets and little boy. Even Jerry sat up then. Oakley knew just what he was thinking, too. It wasn’t every day an ex-football star came into your bedroom in the middle of the night.
“Oh, sweetie. I’m just so happy for you.” Mercy pulled Oakley into a hug.
“Thanks, Mom.” Oakley squeezed her mother tight, knowing Mercy approved of this fiancé, she wasn’t just telling Oakley what she wanted to hear.
“Congratulations to you, too, Chris. And welcome to the family,” Mercy said over Oakley’s shoulder.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Chris looked at Jerry. “Sorry, sir. I guess I should have asked your permission first. Things got a little complicated.”
Jerry’s mouth worked like a fish, but he finally pulled himself together. “That’s alright, son. Just treat them both right and we won’t have any problems.”
Chris nodded. “Yes, sir.” He looked to Oakley. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” She turned back to her parents. “Sorry, to wake you up. We wanted to get Kaden and take him home with us.”
Mercy’s face crumpled and Oakley thought she was going to start sobbing right then and there. But she knew it was because her mother was happy for her. Happy that she’d found a man that didn’t just want her, but wanted Kaden, too.
Oakley kissed her mother’s cheek then leaned across her to kiss her dad’s, too. “See you guys later. Tomorrow or the next day.”
She turned out her mom’s light and hurried to Chris’s side to take the phone from his hand so they could see. She hooked her hand in the waistband of his jeans and they walked out of her parent’s house together.
“I forgot about his car seat,” Chris said when they got to his truck.
“Oh. Mom keeps a booster on the porch for emergencies. I’ll grab it.”
Once they had a still sleeping Kaden locked into his seat, Chris drove them the short distance to Oakley’s house.
They didn’t even have to discuss it. Chris carried Kaden through the house and Oakley grabbed the blanket from the sofa as well as the comforter and two pillows from her bed then followed Chris into her back yard.
Oakley spread out one blanket, tossing the pillows onto it. Chris lowered himself to the ground and she followed soon after, arranging the comforter around their shoulders. Oakley watched as Chris relaxed, tension ebbing from his back and shoulders.
“I didn’t think I’d be here again.” His eyes watched Kaden where the boy slept in his arms.
Oakley squeezed herself closer to his side. Chris turned to kiss the top of her head.
“Let’s watch the sunrise. I don’t want to leave you,” he murmured into her hair.
“Okay.”
“And let’s get married tomorrow.”
Oakley lifted her head to stare at him. “What?”
“Can we? I don’t want to wait another day to be with you. We can do a big wedding if you want in a couple of months or we can renew our vows next year and make a big deal about it, whatever you want, but please, don’t make me wait anymore.”
Something about the rawness in his voice made her inside
s turn to jelly. She knew she’d agree to just about anything as long as it meant they could be together.
“I don’t need a big wedding.” She lifted her hands to frame his face. His whiskers rasped against her palms. She climbed to her knees and rubbed her nose against the scruff.
Chris’s lips curved into a smile. “Is that a yes? You’ll marry me tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll marry you tomorrow.”
And then she kissed him.
Until sunrise, Oakley kissed her Chris. Not one of the Hollywood Chris’s, but one that was just as good looking. Better actually.
The next day, they drove to the courthouse like she promised. There they met Mercy and Jerry who would have skinned them both alive for not inviting them. Rafe, who’d been on an early flight home, and Lucy were there, too. And of course, Cam, who manned Chris’s phone on FaceTime with Carter. Mercy kept hold of Kaden who was bouncing off the walls at the prospect of Chris becoming his dad, requiring loving arms to hold him tight while a judge made their little family legal.
Later that night, in Oakley’s bedroom in her tiny house, Chris loved his wife.
And she loved him.
They were happy, and that was all that mattered.
The end.
Until Book 2, Humbling the Spoiled Billionaire.
Author’s Note
I’m honored that you would take the time to read Chris and Oakley’s story. If you enjoyed Marrying the Football Billionaire, I would sincerely appreciate a review on Amazon. Author’s love to hear from readers! Plus, it helps others to find my books. Please, if you have a complaint about an aspect of the book’s formatting or editing, contact me at [email protected] as opposed to leaving a negative review. I am always working to improve where necessary and those negative comments remain even when authors update to make corrections.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Find Stephanie Street
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