She drove like a crazy woman and made the ten-minute drive in five. She screeched into the parking lot, slammed into an empty spot, and leaped from the car. Amelia sprinted down the dock to the blue-and-white houseboat, not stopping long enough to wonder when Brick had bought it or if he’d bought it. Macy waited for her with the door open and launched herself into Amelia’s arms.
“I love you, Meel.” She sniffed and grabbed Amelia’s hand.
Odd, the child didn’t seem the least bit upset. In fact, she was insufferably pleased with herself. She’d stepped in a trap, and it’d snapped shut. She looked up, glancing around.
Brick stood in the doorway, watching her, his expression guarded.
“Hey.”
She narrowed her eyes and shot daggers at him. “I thought you were gone?”
“Did you really think I’d leave my daughter all alone? You wound me.” He put his hands to his heart and smiled that lopsided smile she could never resist. This time, she did, as difficult as it was.
“You two set me up.”
He and Macy shared a conciliatory grin and both shrugged, looking so much alike she couldn’t help but see the resemblance.
“You wouldn’t take my calls,” he said with no remorse. “Good little actor, isn’t she?”
“Great.”
“Macy, could you leave Amelia and me alone for a few minutes?”
Macy nodded enthusiastically, giggling; she ran into the house and pounded up the stairs. Brick led Amelia inside. She glanced around. The gas fireplace flickered cheerfully on one wall, warming the entire place. A huge Christmas tree took up a good portion of the living room. A couch and coffee table completed the furniture. The walls were bare of paintings and pictures.
“Where’s all your stuff?”
“I thought we’d get new stuff, something cozy, less cold. Decorate how we wanted.”
“We?”
“Macy’s living with me permanently now.” He winked at her, moved to the kitchen, and poured her a glass of wine. He snagged a beer from the fridge for himself and handed her the wine.
“Have a seat.”
“If you let Macy pick the decorations, everything will be pink.” She sat down on one end of the couch.
He snorted. “Yeah, it will. I’d rather you decorated.” He sat down on the couch next to her, leaving only an inch or two between them. She tried to scoot away but had nowhere to go.
“I’m not decorating one room of this house, not even a closet.”
“You’re not going to make this easy.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. By the determined set of his jaw, he wasn’t going to give up easily, and she prepared herself.
“Whatever this is, no, I am not.”
He made no move to touch her, as if he knew the timing wasn’t good. He scrubbed his hands over his face and peeked between his fingers at her. “Hear me out, please.”
She glanced at her watch. “Fine, you have ten minutes.”
“Okay, then, I’m an idiot. A selfish bastard. But I’m also a reformed bad boy who very much wants to be your good man.”
She snorted a bitter laugh. “Sure you do.”
“I do, Ammie. These past few weeks have been absolute fucking torture. I tried to return to my old life, only I couldn’t. I didn’t want it anymore. I saw it for the empty, shallow life it was. I don’t want to go backward. I want to go forward. And I’d rather do that with Macy—and you.”
He grabbed her hands and held them. She didn’t pull them away. She should’ve, but the earnest plea in his brown eyes pinned her in place.
“I know what I want. I wish I’d realized it sooner, but I didn’t. I’m too hardheaded to see what’s right in front of me until its absence knocks me over the head. I love Macy, Amelia. Love her. I realized she needed to be with me. But our family won’t be complete without you in it.”
Amelia choked back a sob. Brick was a charmer; he knew how to get women to do what he wanted. She couldn’t cave, couldn’t fall for his act again.
Only as she looked into his eyes, she couldn’t see any deception. Only regret. Deep, deep regret. “It’s warm in here, and you’re not sweating.” She wasn’t sure why that mattered, but it did.
“Yeah, weird, huh? Once I’d stopped letting my stepmother’s opinions guide my choices, I didn’t overheat as much. I do prefer it cooler, though. Does it matter?”
Strangely, it did, and she nodded slowly. “You want me here because you want us to be a family?”
He nodded. “Not as my nanny, but my life’s partner. My girlfriend. My lover. My best friend. I want it all, Amelia. Am I crazy to think I might have it all?”
“Probably.”
He chuckled. “You’re going to make me suffer.”
“Maybe.” She wasn’t about to give him anything.
“Have you missed me? Missed us?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t lie. She’d missed them both. “You could’ve fixed all this if you’d been honest with yourself and us in the first place.”
“I know. I guess I’m not that smart. I have to have the painful truth bludgeoned into my stubborn skull with a mallet.” He squeezed her hands and leaned forward. She didn’t move away when he rested his forehead against hers. “Can you forgive me?”
Her resolve faded with every word. She raised her head to seek his mouth. They kissed, a slow exploration, a journey down an unmarked road with no idea of where it might head, but a road they’d travel together.
He ended the kiss and cupped her face in his hands, searching her face.
“I love you, Amelia.” He blinked back a few tears and kissed the tip of her nose. She couldn’t come up with any reason to fight him any longer. She wanted to stay with him. Be with him. Love him back.
“Damn you.” She managed a wry smile. “I love you, too. I didn’t want to, but I do.”
He grinned broadly. “Of course you do. I’m irresistible.”
She swatted at him chest. “You’re a mess. You need me.”
“Yeah, I do. Someone has to keep me in line.”
“I guess Macy and I can do that.”
She pulled his face back down to hers and kissed the hell out of him.
Epilogue
Brick, Amelia, and Macy took their seats next to one of the many expansive windows in the Space Needle’s restaurant. The sun was setting over Puget Sound and the Olympics, making a dramatic backdrop of reds, purples, and oranges.
Amelia had been surprised when Brick suggested a Christmas Eve dinner at the Needle rather than joining his teammates for a party at Cooper and Izzy’s waterfront home. Tomorrow they were moving into the houseboat, all three of them agreeing it would be the best Christmas gift ever. Vi and Dean would be helping them. Amelia had been worried about her brother, but he was stronger than she gave him credit for and was doing okay, despite the debts Ruby had left behind. Brick had volunteered to lend him the money to pay it all off, and Dean had almost cried he’d been so overwhelmed and relieved.
The restaurant floor of the Space Needle rotated three hundred and sixty degrees every hour. And they were enjoying a rare, clear winter night with a wonderful sweeping view and an excellent meal.
Macy pointed at the windows. “What does that say?”
Amelia, busy savoring her warm brownie dessert, looked in the direction Macy was pointing. As the restaurant slowly rotated, large letters formed with Christmas lights came into view on the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“I’m not sure yet.” Amelia gasped as the last few letters became visible.
Marry Me.
The murmurs grew louder as the patrons tried to guess who this special sign had been made for. Amelia glanced at Brick, who’d been oddly quiet as he picked at his dessert.
“What does it say?” Macy asked again, bouncing in her seat. Even she could sense the excitement buzzing in the air.
“It says ‘Marry Me.’ How romantic.” Amelia was as curious as everyone else to get a glimpse of the lucky woman. “I wonder w
here the couple is sitting?” She glanced around. All heads had turned in her direction, so the lucky lady must be sitting close by. People were smiling; some were laughing. Amelia blinked a few times as a few of the Sockeyes players and their wives or girlfriends appeared from around the corner. They were all smiling. Then she saw Ethan and Lauren.
Something was up.
She turned to Brick. “I wonder why they’re here—”
Amelia stopped in midsentence and choked on the wine she’d sipped. Brick was no longer in his seat. He was standing by her chair, smiling down at her.
Now that he had her attention, he knelt on one knee and took her hand in his. Amelia lost the power of speech. Her brain couldn’t process what she was seeing. All she could do was gape at him, her mouth opening and closing like a guppy’s.
Brick’s lopsided, adorably cute, nervous grin stole her heart. “Amelia.” He cleared his throat and wiped his forehead. “I—I—love you. Will you marry me and make this family official?” He rushed through the last words as if fearing he wouldn’t be able to get them out before emotions rendered him speechless.
She was struck stupid. Unable to react.
“Ammie?” He squeezed her hand. His palm was sweaty and his eyes troubled with uncertainty.
“Say yes,” Macy shouted and was promptly joined by the other onlookers.
“Yes. Yes. Yes!” the people in the restaurant chanted.
She threw her arms around his neck and almost knocked him over. “I love you, Marty. I do.”
“I know.” He grinned at her. “So is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
He pulled a large diamond ring from his pocket and slid it with a shaky hand onto her finger, then enveloped her in his arms. Macy leaped from her chair, and they pulled her into a group hug, while the entire restaurant erupted in cheers.
“I hope you realize what you’re getting into,” Brick said.
“Oh, I do. I truly do. I’m getting into a forever family.”
“Forever. I like the sound of that.”
And so did she.
~ THE END ~
Thank you for spending time in my world. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. If you did, please help other readers discover this book by leaving a review.
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COMPLETE BOOKLIST
The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks.
Evergreen Nights Series
Save the Last Dance
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?
The Gift Horse
Madrona Sunset
Game On in Seattle
Skating on Thin Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Crashing the Net (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Love at First Snow (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Melting Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Blindsided (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Hearts on Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bodychecking (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Bottom of the Ninth (Seattle Skookums Baseball)
Game Changer (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Goaltending (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Defending the Goal (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)—Fall 2017
Men of Tyee
Sacked in Seattle—Summer 2017
Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series
Fourth and Goal
Forward Passes
Down by Contact
Backfield in Motion
Time of Possession
Roughing the Passer
Standalone Books
Christmas Break
Daring to Win (Carly Phillips’ Dare to Love Kindle World)
Game for You (Bella Andre’s Game for Love Kindle World)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami's new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo's Top Ten Most Completed Authors, an honor bestowed on the year's "most engaging" authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan, is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle, and still misses her SuperSonics. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.
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Goaltending: Seattle Sockeyes Hockey (Game On in Seattle Book 8) Page 23