Off the Ice

by L. P. Dover

  Justin and I burst out laughing. “I told you she’d say that,” I said. He’d asked to know every little thing that Ellie liked. He wanted to make sure she had everything she’d ever need. I didn’t want her to turn into a spoiled brat, but she deserved way more than I could ever give her. Although I had a feeling I was going to have to monitor what all Justin gave her. It was clear he was smitten by her.

  Justin bent down and Ellie climbed on his back. “Ready to see your room?”

  She squealed, and held on. “Yes.”

  He carried her upstairs, and I giggled the whole way. The door to her room was shut, and even I had no clue what it looked like. Justin assured me Ellie would love it. When he opened the door, it was a magical paradise. He let her down, and she stared at everything in awe. The walls were a light lilac, and the bedspread had a giant unicorn on it, with soft pastel colors. It was all glitter and sunshine.

  Gasping, she ran inside and picked up the giant white stuffed unicorn in the corner. It was like watching her at Christmas time. “Thank you! Thank you! This is so pretty.”

  Justin leaned against the doorframe. “Think you’ll like living here?” he asked her.

  She nodded, and searched around the room. “Oh, yeah. Does this mean you two are going to get married?”

  Silence filled the room, but Justin looked at me with a devilish grin. I could see myself marrying him, but we hadn’t talked about it yet. The thought of it excited me. I wanted to see what it was like being in the spotlight with him before we made any of those kinds of decisions. Ellie stared at us, waiting.

  Justin shrugged. “I don’t know if your mommy wants to marry me. She hasn’t said a word about it.”

  Ellie turned her gaze to me. “Do you, Mommy?”

  I glared at him, and then looked over at Ellie, smiling. “Maybe,” I replied. “Right now, we’re going to stay here for a while and see how it goes. How does that sound?”

  She shrugged. “Okay.”

  Justin chuckled, and nodded downstairs. “The biggest surprise is downstairs, peanut. Ready to see what it is?”

  Jumping up and down, she clapped her hands excitedly. We all went downstairs to the basement, where the movie theater was. It just so happened that Justin had Ice Princess already playing on the screen. Ellie flopped down in one of the recliners, mesmerized by it all. Justin pulled me out into the hallway, still giving me that mischievous grin.

  I smacked his arm. “Thanks for putting me on the spot.”

  He winked. “I was curious to see what you’d say.”

  “Did you not like my answer?”

  He shrugged. “Hard to tell. You said maybe, which gives me hope, but other than that, I didn’t get much from it.”

  “Maybe you’ll just have to ask me and find out.”

  Pulling me close, he kissed me, nipping by bottom lip. “I might just do that one day.”

  Epilogue

  Meghan

  Closing my eyes, I breathed in the sea air as it whipped all around me. The sound of the waves was music to my ears. It wasn’t as hot in October at the Outer Banks as it was this summer, of course, but it was still warm. The sand was cool under my feet, and for the first time in months, I had a book in my hands. It was nice to sit back and relax with my favorite two people, who were making a sand castle beside me. Nothing could be more perfect. It was nice having a private jet whenever we wanted. With Justin having a couple days off, we were able to fly to the beach house.

  Ever since Ellie and I were discovered at Justin’s first hockey game, it’d been a whirlwind of craziness. We’d done numerous interviews, and were even on a talk show. It was actually quite exciting. Justin had warned me that it was just the beginning. Ellie was ecstatic about it all. She’d already landed two commercial gigs, and filming was set to begin in a few weeks.

  Ellie giggled, and I turned my attention away from the crashing waves. “What are you laughing at, Ellie-Bear?” I asked. She was so cute in her black and pink bathing suit and her floppy hat. And as always, Justin was sexy as hell with his chiseled abs, wearing a pair of navy swim trunks.

  Ellie and Justin crouched down next to the sand castle, whispering to each other. She lifted her head and waved. “Nothing. We’re just talking about hockey. I can’t wait for the game next week. They’re so fun.”

  Justin winked. “She likes to watch me score.”

  “Don’t we all,” I teased, winking back. “Your team played amazing last week. I sense another Stanley Cup win next year.”

  Ellie squealed. “That would be awesome.” She wrapped her arms Justin’s neck and batted her eyelashes at him. “I know something else that would be awesome.”

  Chuckling, he stood, and she latched on to him. “What is it peanut?”

  “Well … I was hoping you’d let me invite Ashlynn over next Saturday for a playdate.” Ashlynn was her best friend at school. I was happy she was able to make friends so quickly. In another couple of months, I was going to be a teacher at her school.

  Justin shook his head, and smiled over at me. “You see this? She thinks that by giving me her puppy-dog eyes that I’m going to say yes to everything she asks.”

  I tried to hide my smile and failed. “She has that effect on people.”

  Justin kissed her forehead, and set her down. “Fine. She can come over as long as it’s okay with her parents.”

  “I’ll talk to her mother,” I said. “We’ve been texting back and forth the past couple of weeks. I promised her we’d get coffee when I got back into town.”

  His smile broadened. “I’m happy to see you making friends. You can always invite Grant, Samantha and Emmett, and whoever you want to stay with us one weekend. I know you miss everyone from Wyoming.”

  “I might just do that.” He’d told me for weeks that I could, but I’d been so busy getting settled in that it was hard to imagine having guests. I did miss my family and friends.

  Ellie pulled on Justin’s arm, and he knelt down. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded.

  “What’s with all the secrets?” I asked, narrowing my gaze at them. “Is there something going on I should know about?”

  Justin looked up at me, and smiled. “Actually, there is. Ellie wants you to look at our sand castle.”

  Ellie reached for my hands, and I stood. Their sand castle had a moat that went all the way around it, and it stood about three feet tall. They’d worked on it for about four hours. I stood in front of it, and nodded in approval. “It’s magnificent. I love it.”

  Justin nudged me closer. “Why don’t you take a look inside?”

  Carefully, I stepped over the moat and peeked inside the castle doorway. There was something inside, but I couldn’t tell what it was. “What is it?” I asked.

  Ellie snickered, which made Justin laugh. “Reach in there and find out.”

  Turning around, I glared at them. “So help me God, if you put a crab in there or something gross like seaweed, I’m going to beat you both.”

  Ellie groaned impatiently. “Just do it, Mommy.”

  Clenching my teeth together, I reached inside, not being able to see a damn thing. I was terrified of touching something slimy. When my fingers tapped something hard, I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t anything alive. I grabbed the object and slowly pulled it out. It wasn’t until I got a good look at it that I realized what it was.

  The breath whooshed out of my lungs. Resting in my hands was a small, black box. Justin took my elbow, and helped me over the moat while Ellie bounced on her feet excitedly. Clearing his throat, he grabbed the box and knelt down on one knee. I looked around—no one was on the beach. It was just us.

  “Meghan,” he murmured, opening the box. The diamond ring glittered in the sun.

  I slapped a hand over my mouth. “Oh my God.”

  Justin pulled out the ring, and gently took my hand, his emerald eyes staring up into mine. “I love you, Meghan. By now, you know that I’d do anything for you and Ellie. I’d given a lot of th
ought of how I was going to do this. Yes, I could’ve taken you to the island, or anywhere around the world, but this place is special for us. It’s where I first met Ellie, and where our relationship turned into something more.” I looked over at Ellie, her eyes glistening and lip quivering. Justin pulled her close, and hugged her. “I made sure to ask this little one’s permission first. We had a heart to heart.”

  “Seriously? You knew about this?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Justin made me promise not to tell.” The girl was good at keeping her word. She looked over at him and smiled. “He told me he wasn’t going to try and take my daddy’s place, but that he’d be honored to be a dad to me if I’d let him.”

  Tears filled my eyes, and my heart felt like it was going to explode. “And what did you say?”

  His eyes grew teary as she kissed his cheek. “I said yes, that I would love for him to be my dad.”

  Justin hugged her hard. “And I’ll never forget those words for as long as I live.”

  Ellie stepped back, and Justin looked up at me. “I got a yes from one of my girls, but now I kneel here, waiting on an answer from the other.” He kissed my hand, and held it tight. “I love you, Meghan. And I will love you until the end of time. I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime to find you. Now that I have, I’m not letting you go. With that being said, I have one question to ask you.”

  I held my breath, and my knees grew weak. I’d dreamed about the day I’d hear that question come out of his mouth.

  He held up the ring. “Will you please be my wife?”

  Tears flooded down my cheeks, and I fell to my knees. “Yes!” I cried. “I’ll be your wife.”

  My fingers shook as he slipped on the ring, and then he kissed me. It was the best feeling in the world. Nothing existed except us, in that moment. I was going to hold onto that feeling for the rest of my life.

  Ellie flung her arms around us, and we hugged her tight. “I can finally get what I’ve always wanted!” she shouted excitedly.

  Brows furrowed, Justin and I looked at each other before turning to her. “What could you want that you don’t already have?” I asked.

  She giggled and let us go. “A baby brother or sister. You need to get married soon so I can have one.” She grabbed the water pail and ran down to the water to get more.

  Justin pulled me into his arms. “I’m good with that. What about you? We could get married this winter and get busy making those babies.”

  Leaning up on my toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “Sounds good to me. The sooner I marry you, the happier I’ll be.”

  He smiled, and cupped my cheek. “Couldn’t agree with you more.”

  THE END

  A Note From Author

  Remember the message in the bottle when Justin and Meghan were on the private island? Be sure to check out LOVE AGAIN to find out the story behind it. If you’re new to my books, I like to intermingle my characters, even if they’re part of a different series. It’s fun letting them appear in other stories.

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.

  She loves to write, but she also loves to play golf, go on mountain hikes and white water rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols.

  Dover has written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal Shifters series, the Society X series, the Circle of Justice series, and her standalone novels It Must’ve Been the Mistletoe and Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose a setting in which to live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.

  L.P. Dover is represented by Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency and Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management for dramatic rights.

  For More Information:

  www.lpdover.com

  Other Titles by LP Dover

  Breakaway Series

  Hard Stick

  Blocked

  Playmaker

  Off the Ice

  * * *

  Forever Fae Series

  Forever Fae

  Betrayals of Spring

  Summer of Frost

  Reign of Ice

  Second Chances Series: Love’s Second Chance

  Trusting You

  Meant for Me

  Fighting for Me

  Intercepting Love

  Catching Summer

  Defending Hayden

  Last Chance

  Intended for Bristol

  Gloves Off Series: A Fighter’s Desire: Part One

  A Fighter’s Desire: Part Two

  Tyler’s Undoing

  Ryley’s Revenge

  Winter Kiss: Ryley & Ashley [A Gloves Off Novella]

  Paxton’s Promise

  Camden’s Redemption

  Kyle’s Return

  Armed & Dangerous Series: No Limit

  Roped In

  High-Sided

  Hidden Betrayals (Coming Soon)

  Circle Of Justice Series

  Trigger

  Target

  Aim

  In the Crossfire (Coming Soon)

  Society X Series:

  Dark Room

  Viewing Room

  Play Room

  ROYAL SHIFTERS SERIES

  Turn of the Moon

  Resisting the Moon

  Rise of the Moon (Coming Soon)

  A Very Merry Christmas Series:

  It Must’ve Been the Mistletoe

  Standalone Titles

  Love, Lies, and Deception

  Anonymous

  Going for the Hole

  * * *

  CHILDREN’S BOOKS –

  MOONLIGHT AND ALEENA SERIES

  Moonlight and Aleena: A Tale of Two Friends

  * * *

  Keep reading for a sneak peek at GOING FOR THE HOLE by L.P. Dover.

  Going For The Hole

  L.P. Dover

  Chapter One—Lucas

  “You sure this is a good idea?” My brother tossed me a shirt and I put it in my suitcase, along with a month’s worth of clothes.

  Sighing, I zipped up my luggage and ran a hand through my hair. Aiden stared at me, his brows furrowed in concern. He looked like our mother with his light blond hair and blue eyes. She’d be giving me the same expression, if she were alive today. Sadly, we’d lost her five years ago.

  “Look, I know what I’m doing.” I gestured toward the door. Down the hall was a whole room filled with nothing but my trophies. “I’ve won too many tournaments to count. Hell, I could quit now and be set for life. But I need a break, before I burn out.”

  Aiden blew out a huff and threw his arms in the air. “All I’m saying is that you’re on a roll right now. You’re kicking ass in the tour.”

  He was right, I was. Competing in the PGA Tour had been the highlight of my life for the past nine years. No one had yet to beat my driving record. I had sponsors, a manager who happened to be my father, and a team of people who worked for me—including Aiden . . . my younger brother of five years, who also happened to be my well-paid caddy.

  I picked up my suitcase and walked past him into the hallway. He followed me down the stairs to the front door, where his bags sat, packed up and ready to go. “Are you trying to say you don’t want an all-expense paid trip to Myrtle Beach?” I asked.

  A slow smile spread across his face. “I want the damn vacation, brother. Don’t forget, I’m the pack mule who has to carry the clubs for your ass. You wouldn’t make it one hole without me.”

  “Exactly.” I burst out laughing, and his grin grew wider.

  “
I guess you know what’s best.” He looked serious once again. “And I want you to be smart about this. So, if you want to take a break, I’m all for it. Spending a month at the beach sounds pretty damn good to me. I just know our father’s not going to like it.”

  My dad had a habit of being my manager first, father second, even though his intentions were good. He’d spent his life on the golf course, earning a name for himself. After my mother died, he passed his clubs down to me, along with his legacy. Aiden enjoyed the sport, but his talent laid with the calculations. He knew exactly what club to give me for each shot, and he was always spot on.

  A car door slammed outside, and I opened the front door.

  Noah Bradfield, my best friend since elementary school, lifted his arms in the air with the biggest smile on his face. “You ready, cocksuckers?”

  Personal trainer by day, he was known by the media as my bodyguard—mostly because he was always around. I didn’t need one though, as I was more than capable of taking care of myself. But he liked the attention, and it broadened his business. Besides, the ladies loved him, and he was fun to have around.

  “Hell yeah,” I shouted, tossing him one of my smaller bags. “Since I’m paying, you can load up the car.”

  Groaning, he carried my bag to the shiny, black Cadillac Escalade and tossed it inside.

  “Dad’s not going to like this,” I agreed, turning to Aiden, “but he’ll have to get the hell over it. I’ve given up nine years of my life. It’s about time I have some fun.” Granted, I belonged on a golf course. Out there, I felt at peace. Competing was a different story though. It could be stressful, wearing me down hole by hole. And lately, the pressure had become too much, especially with all the new blood joining the tournament each year.