When he finally walked through the gates, I braced myself, swallowing hard and glancing at Amir as if this was one of the scenarios where he’d have to take a bullet for me. When he merely got into the driver’s seat of the car and shut the door, that told me he wouldn’t. This was a solitary fight, as wars of the heart often were. Ben had changed into his warm-up clothes, his hair still wet from a shower, and his swagger on one thousand as he walked over to me.
“I got your message.” His expression was shuttered now, not euphoric like it had been before the game.
“And?”
“And.” He set the designer duffel bag resting on his shoulder down on the ground. “I think it deserves a discussion.”
“A heart-to-heart.” I licked my lips, my hands shaky, suddenly nervous.
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
Oh God. I’d completely blown this. My chest hurt. I didn’t know why I thought it would be easy. This was anything but. I felt like I was cutting myself open for him and he was just…neutral. Guarded. I didn’t want him that way. I wanted him to feel as vulnerable as I did.
“So?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I…” I closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them again, he was still staring at me, and I thought…to hell with it, what’s the worst that can happen? I took a deep breath. “I love you. I’m in love with you, and I have been for the longest time and—”
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long have you been in love with me?”
“I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“It matters to me.” He tilted his head slightly. “Were you in love with me the first night we hooked up?”
“Probably.”
“Probably.” He tore his gaze from mine and waved at someone behind me, probably one of his teammates since they all kept walking by, making this ordeal that much more mortifying for me.
“It doesn’t matter. The point is that I am in love with you. I thought I wasn’t ready for Asher, but…well, I’m ready for you, and you’re a package deal, and I…I want to try. I understand if you’re reluctant and don’t want to bring other women around your son without having the certainty that they’ll stick around, but I promise you that I will.” I paused momentarily, taking in another gulp of breath. “I mean unless you don’t want me to stick around. In which case, I won’t. But that’s all I had to say.” I looked away because I could no longer bear to look at him.
He stepped closer and closer until he’d closed the distance between us, and he couldn’t move another inch without slamming me against the car behind me.
“Look at me, Pilar.”
I did, slowly bringing my gaze back to his, my heart slamming against my chest.
“I’ve been in love with you for so long, I couldn’t even tell you when it happened. All I know is that I kept telling myself I wasn’t, because I thought you’d never see me in that way. I’m just…I’m just a footballer. A nobody. I’m a poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks. I’m not an aristocrat. I thought I could have a normal, quiet life and not have my son involved in any of this, and I know that being with you means the opposite of that. Being with you will flip my world upside down. It will bring chaos and cameras and stories.”
I bit my lip, looking down at my feet. This was exactly what I was afraid he’d say to me. He cupped my chin and tilted my face up so I had to look at him again.
“But if that’s what being with you takes, I’ll choose it every time. Because I love you. I love you, Princess. There’s no one else I’d rather be with. There’s no one I’d rather have my son around. There’s nothing without you.”
“Really?” I laughed, unable to help myself.
“Really.”
“You love me?”
“So much, Princess.” He pressed his lips against mine. “So much.”
We kissed, standing in a deserted parking lot with only Amir and the other guards who were around watching. We stayed until the sun set with the promise that we’d take it one day at a time.
Together.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ben
Pilar and I had been happily together for a couple of months now and everything had been blissful. It was one of the reasons my parents decided to fly into town and meet her. They claimed they were here to spend time with Asher, but I knew better, and I was grateful for it. I couldn’t wait to introduce them to the woman in my life.
“Are you sure she likes Falafels?”
“I’m sure she’ll like whatever you make, Mom.”
“She’s a princess, Benjamin. I don’t know how to cook for a princess.”
“Stop being dramatic.” I threw my arms around my mother and squeezed her tight.
She’d been in the kitchen all day cooking for Pilar, who was set to come over for dinner to meet my parents and have a proper meal with Asher, Tamara, and Jack.
“Are you nervous?” My mother swatted me away with a wooden spoon.
“A little.”
“Because of us?” Dad asked over the newspaper in his hands.
“Because of everything. I just want everyone to get along.”
“Are you going to propose?” Dad raised an eyebrow.
Mom gasped, turning around. “You’re going to propose?”
“Not tonight.” I looked at both of them. “No talking about proposals.”
“We can’t talk about proposals, we can’t talk about weddings, we can’t ask if she wants children,” Mom checked off. “What can we talk about, Benjamin?”
“Just normal stuff.”
“She’s a princess. I doubt she ever talks about normal stuff,” Dad said. “What is normal stuff anyway?” He looked at the paper again. “Should I ask her why her brother is raising taxes?”
“God, no. Please no politics.”
“We’ll be mutes, Uri.” Mom looked at Dad. “We’ll be mutes.”
“Better mutes now than mutes because our tongues got cut off by the king, Esther.”
“He’s not going to cut off your tongues.” I closed my eyes briefly.
As much as I absolutely loved my parents, having them here every minute of the day was definitely testing my patience. It was the main reason I hadn’t asked them to stay for once. I was grateful when the front door opened, and David walked in with a bottle of wine. He lifted it up.
“Brought wine instead of champagne. I wasn’t sure if you were going to propose, but this was on sale, so I went with this.”
“Jesus.” I shook my head and turned around.
“See? Even David thinks you might propose,” Mom said.
“I’m hoping you don’t scare her off.” I looked at the three of them, and back at the front door when it opened again and Tamara, Jack, and Asher walked in.
“Are we early?” Tam asked.
“You’re fine.” I waved a hand.
“We were just discussing Benjamin proposing to the princess,” Mom said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
“Is the princess going to be my stepmommy?” Asher asked excitedly, then looked back at his mother. “It’s okay, Mommy, you’ll always be my real mommy.”
“I’m fully aware of that, Ash.” Tamara laughed. “And quite frankly, I’m a bit excited about the princess joining our family.” She winked at him and looked at me. “Are you proposing today?”
“No. No. No.” I brought both hands up and looked at the ceiling. “Why is this happening?”
“I’ll tell you what, if she sticks around after today’s lunch, you should probably propose,” Jack said, laughing.
“Brother, you read my mind.” I looked at him and shook my head.
The doorbell rang, and that was when I froze. It was her. She’d been here a million times now. I’d given her a key to my place, and she’d given me one to hers. We’d been together officially for months, but she’d never been here when all of the most important people in my life were here. Suddenly I felt extremely n
ervous.
“Can I open it?” Ash asked, jumping up and down.
“Yes.”
He ran over and opened the door, bowing. “Welcome, Princess.”
She laughed. “Ash, you don’t have to do that every time you see me.”
I smiled wide at the sound of her voice. I hadn’t even seen her yet, and my heart was already beating a mile a minute. When she did step inside with Amir in tow, she smiled at everyone. She crouched and hugged Asher first, giving him a kiss on the head. It’d been so beautiful to watch them together. For all of her reservations about children, Pilar treated Ash as if he were her own, and kept in touch with Tamara about everything. I’d always thought people with blended families were a little crazy. How could that ever work? But for us, it did. We all tried very hard to make it that way. Jack and I texted back and forth and watched some matches together. Tamara and Pilar had become friends because of Asher, but now spoke even when Asher wasn’t involved. My mother and father shared a look that said they were weirded out by all of it but smiled, and I knew as strange as this was, they were proud. After Pilar said hello to Tam and Jack, she greeted David, and finally, walked over to me. It was obvious that she was nervous to say hi to my parents. I kissed her hard and grabbed her hand.
“Mom, this is Pilar. Pilar, this is my mother, Esther.”
“So pleased to meet you, Esther.” Pilar smiled and laughed when my mother pulled her into a hug.
“You’re lovely. Thank you for coming over. I wanted to personally thank you for putting this goofy smile on my son’s face,” my mother said.
“Mom,” I warned.
“You’re blushing,” Pilar said, laughing as she looked at me. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Stop.” I looked away, knowing I was fully blushing, then looked back to introduce her to my father. “This is my father, Uri.”
“So nice to meet you, Uri.” Pilar smiled and hugged him as well.
Dad chuckled. “A hug from the princess!”
“Normally, I charge for those.” Pilar winked.
“Oh? How much?” Dad cocked his head.
“I’m just kidding.” Pilar laughed.
“Well, you should consider charging,” Dad started.
“Next thing you know, he’ll want to start taking care of your finances,” David said, pointing at Dad. “Careful with that one.”
“Nonsense.” Dad waved him off. “I’m not a financial advisor, I’m a math professor who happens to know a lot about financial stability.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Pilar said.
“Pilar, I have a new car.” Asher ran up to her with the remote-control car my parents had given him. “Do you want to play?”
“Sure.” She smiled. “After you eat your meal.”
“Aw, man.” He pouted, then smiled. “Okay, fine. I’m sitting next to you though.”
“As long as your mom is okay with that,” she said, running a hand through his hair.
I couldn’t stop watching her. She was so good with everyone, and I knew without a doubt my parents loved her already. We spent the rest of the day eating and talking and playing with Asher. The only thing missing was my brother, but I knew deep down, he’d be happy for me as well.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Pilar
Much to our disbelief, Kayla had managed to get herself out of jail. Apparently, she had a rich boyfriend now, who paid for a great lawyer. The story was that there was no proof that she’d done what she had. There were no cameras in that area, and no witnesses. I had half a mind to pay a pretend witness, but I realized that was the kind of thing my father would have done, and the kind of thing we would spend the rest of our lives trying to clean up. Still, when I saw her walking toward me outside of the stadium, I let Amir take the lead.
“You need to stay twelve feet away from her,” he said.
“Oh, I’m not here for her.” Kayla frowned. “I’m over that. I’ve moved on.”
“Yet, here you are.” I waved in the direction of the stadium behind us.
“Only because my boyfriend owns the opposing team.”
“Chelsea?” My eyes widened. “How you manage to land these men is an absolute mystery to me.”
“I have what some call a golden vagina.”
“Well, you should probably get that checked. It sounds like a medical condition.”
“You had your moment, now you can leave,” Amir said.
“It’s fine.” I waved a hand. “Hopefully we won’t be seeing each other again anytime soon.”
“Well, you’re right about that. This is my last outing in Paris before I have to leave town for good, thanks to your brother.” She shot me a look.
“I would apologize, but I’m not sorry for it. We don’t like trash hanging around here.” As I turned around with Amir in tow, I spotted two of our security walking up to her.
“She really isn’t allowed anywhere near you,” Amir said. “I guess she’ll have to watch the game from the hotel or wait for her new boyfriend in London.”
I laughed as we walked inside.
We watched the match, and thankfully Le Bleu beat Chelsea by two points—both scored by my boyfriend. He had me sitting on the field today in the owner’s box. Generally I said no to that since I knew he hated the extra media attention, and this would definitely bring some on. Still, he’d asked, and I’d relented after telling him as much. He smiled and said that he was fine with the attention as long as I was there. At the end of the game, they had a ceremony to give out a plaque to a retired player, and Ben was front and center. I stood up and clapped and then Ben picked up the microphone and addressed the stadium, which was still a full house.
“I don’t share much about my personal life with you, not because I don’t love you, but because I didn’t want it to overshadow my skills on the field,” he said, “But today, I want to introduce my son, Asher.” The crowd clapped and roared as Asher ran onto the field wearing his father’s jersey—number four. “And as you all know, Asher and I have a very important person in our life, Princess Pilar.” The crowd roared again. My heart pounded. What was he doing? “Asher and I were wondering if she’d join us out here.”
“What?” I mouthed. I looked around everywhere, and my eyes landed on Amir, then on Elias beside him. And Aramis beside him with Adeline, Joss, Warren and Camila beside them. “What is going on?”
“Go!” they all signaled.
I saw Tamara and Jack and Ben’s parents and my mother, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it all, but my feet moved, and I walked out onto the field with the roar of the stadium driving me forward even faster. I couldn’t imagine how it must feel to concentrate on playing out here. I covered my mouth as I reached Ben and Asher, who ran up to me to hug me.
“What are you doing, Benjamin?” I lowered my hand.
“Asher and I have a question that only you can answer,” he said, still speaking into the microphone. I bit my lip as he leaned down to include his son in on the speech, and then Ben said, “Will you marry me?” as Asher asked, “Will you marry my dad?”
I laughed, covering my face with both hands as I started to cry and nod, and cry and nod some more, and laugh.
Ben took out a box and got on one knee in front of me, giving the microphone to Asher so this part wasn’t publicized.
“I never thought I’d be the kind of man who would want to settle down with someone, and I know you had your reservations about me and the baggage I brought with me as well, but this last year with you has been the best of my entire life. I don’t want it to ever end. I will never stop being in love with you, Princess. Marry me. Please.” He smiled up at me. I nodded some more.
“Yes.”
He slid the ring onto my finger, a beautiful oval, diamond-encrusted ring that, like Ben, was so much more than I’d ever imagined. He stood up and hugged me, lifting me off the ground as I kissed him. Asher jumped up and down, cheering along with the crowd in the stadium. It was, by far, the most p
erfect moment I’d ever experienced.
Sign up for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter
and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.
There's a contest every month!
Click here to subscribe.
As a bonus, all subscribers can download FIVE FREE exclusive books!
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Seven
Click here for more information.
THE BISHOP by Skye Warren
A Tanglewood Novella
TAKEN WITH YOU by Carrie Ann Ryan
A Fractured Connections Novella
DRAGON LOST by Donna Grant
A Dark Kings Novella
SEXY LOVE by Carly Phillips
A Sexy Series Novella
PROVOKE by Rachel Van Dyken
A Seaside Pictures Novella
RAFE by Sawyer Bennett
An Arizona Vengeance Novella
THE NAUGHTY PRINCESS by Claire Contreras
A Sexy Royals Novella
THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Darynda Jones
A Charley Davidson Novella
CHARMED by Lexi Blake
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
SACRIFICE OF DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy
A Guardians of Eternity Novella
THE QUEEN by Jen Armentrout
A Wicked Novella
BEGIN AGAIN by Jennifer Probst
A Stay Novella
VIXEN by Rebecca Zanetti
A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella
SLASH by Laurelin Paige
A Slay Series Novella
THE DEAD HEAT OF SUMMER by Heather Graham
The Naughty Princess: A Sexy Royals Novella Page 14