by Toni Aleo
“But he deserves better than me.”
“Like hell you say, let me tell you something. When Shea came to ask me for your hand, I said, ‘Are you sure?’ and you know he said, ‘I’ve never been so sure of something in my whole life.’ So, obviously, you’re perfect to him.”
Elli smiled, loving that Shea had asked her Papa too, could he get any better? “I just don’t know what to say to him.”
“Who said you had to say anything? Just kiss him senseless, y’all seem good at that,” Bryan said with a laugh, Elli smile brighten at just the thought of Shea’s lips on hers.
“I don’t know.”
“Well you better figure it out, Eleanor Rey, because there is two minutes left in this game and I’m pretty sure Shea won’t be happy about going to the cup finals in less he knows you’ll be cheering him on.”
Elli glanced at the scoreboard, seeing that the guys were up by two and that, like Papa had, said only two minutes were left. Elli let out a frustrated sigh. She only had two minutes to figure out how she was gonna prove her love to Shea. Bryan stood up, putting his hand on Elli’s shoulder.
“Go get your man, baby girl. Y’all deserve each other.”
Elli smiled, like always, Papa was right. As the seconds counted down, it was like a light bulb went off in Elli’s head and she stood up quickly, causing the chair to fall behind her as she sought Papa out.
“I need a microphone.”
The Ducks were playing hard, they wanted the chance at the cup just as bad as the Assassins did, but Shea wasn’t gonna give it to them. He was mad, hurt, and heartbroken, so when Perry skated by and Shea demolished him into the boards, he didn’t even feel the least bit bad. Since this would be his last year as an Assassin, he was gonna win this game and then he would win the cup again before going off to Boston or New York, or wherever. He didn’t care as long as he didn’t play in this rink ever again, since every time he past the board that held the glass he had broke for Elli, he died a little more inside.
He had to get out of here.
When the final buzzer rung and the crowd went nuts, Shea closed his eyes, taking in the energy of the crowd. The place was deafening as people screamed while throwing their rally towels on the ice, and blowing horns, it was crazy. As Shea was wrapped up in a hug from his team mates, all he could think about was Elli. Not that he had just won the semifinals in the NHL or that more than likely he would be holding the cup above his head in a week’s time.
Nope, just Elli.
Shea was in the middle of the huddle when he heard it. The soft sound, words to a song he knew. A song that he had listen to so many times, since watching Elli sing it on the DVD from the play she was in, “My Man.” He quickly moved out of the huddle. It was easy since everyone started moving out of the way to see who was singing. When Shea saw Elli standing in the middle of the ice in them naughty shorts and thigh high boots, he was unable to breath, think, or even move. He just watched as the woman he loved more than anything on God’s green earth sang.
To him.
Elli eyes were fixed on his as she belted out the notes like she was seventeen with no one but him in the room listening. Not the fourteen thousand that watched as awe struck as he was. Shea was sure that she was better now than she was when she was seventeen. Her voice was mature, beautiful. She was beautiful, and he would never love anyone but her. Shea’s whole body tingled as she hit the last note, her one hand raised in the air, her other holding the microphone out some as she sung her little heart out. When she took a deep breath, dropping the microphone to her side, opening her eyes to look at Shea, his whole body filled with warmth as he took in a shaky breath before skating towards her as the crowd continued to be boisterous.
When he reached her, Elli looked up at him, her eyes filling quickly with tears. She stood a couple inches away from him, as the tears started to drip down her face.
“You sang for me,” Shea said when he could actually form words. She nodded slowly.
“I did,” Elli said taking a deep breath. They stood for a good minute only looking into each other eyes as the crowd went nuts around them, but it didn’t matter. All that matter was the two of them at that moment. This was the turning point, she had made the effort. She had said she would never sing for him, and here she was. Beautiful as ever, singing just for him, so there was really only one thing to say.
“Elli, I love you baby, more than anything”
She nodded slowly again, and than just fell into him, her arms coming around his chest. Shea caught her, holding her tight against him as he pressed his lips to her. The kiss felt like their first. It was intoxicating, the feel of the lips he had missed so much. When she pulled back some to say something, he shook his head before capturing her mouth in such urgency, because nothing beat kissing Elli, especially when he hadn’t been able to in months. She came willing, giving him just as much passion as he gave her. When they parted, she looked deep into his eyes, her lips only millimeters from his.
“I love you so much,” she said against his lips, his heart banged against his chest at the sound of the words he had missed so much, “So much” she added before joining their mouths again. Shea hands moved from her cheeks, down to her back of her legs, lifting her some so he could deepen the kiss more since he was so much taller than her with his skates on.
Elli pulled back, tears streaming down her face from her sparkling green eyes. “I don’t want to be proud any more, Shea. I love you, only you. I’m sorry. So sorry.”
Shea shook his head, “No baby, don’t be sorry. I’m sorry, I should have fought harder.”
“No, Shea, how much harder could you have fought? I was a complete and utter idiot and I’ll own you the rest of my life. I’m so sorry.”
Shea smiled, “It’s in the past baby, let’s start our future.” He took a deep breath in before pulling the chain out from his jersey, pulling it so it broke causing the silver chain that had been his constant companion to fall to the ice.
“Shea?”
When he held up a ring, looking down at her, the tears came faster down her face as what he was doing sank in, but he was ready.
Shea was ready for his forever with Elli.
“Marry me, Elli.”
Elli gasped as her hand came over her mouth, knowing what he was about to do and actually hearing him do it was two different things. As she looked into his eyes, he said, “Don’t ever leave me again. Love only me, for the rest of our lives. Move into our house, make love to me every night, and make babies with me, Elli. Please, because being with you made me a better man, and I could never love anyone the way I love you. So please, marry me.”
“Oh, Shea,” she cried, looking at the beauty of the ring, the pink diamond was sparkling so bright it took her breath away. How did he know that she had dreamed for an untraditional ring especially after the horrid one Justin had given her? But this was not the time to think of Justin. Elli watched as he started to get nervous, which who could blame him. He was asking her to marry him in front of thousands of people during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and all she could do was gape at him.
“But our house was sold,” she said sadly since it was the only thing she could get out, he smiled shaking his head.
“Yeah, to me. Do you think I would let something you love go to someone else?”
Elli’s body tingled as she looked into his beautiful blue eyes, “So you aren’t going anywhere?”
“Not as long as you want me.”
“I want you for forever.”
“Good, so what do you say?”
She thought for a moment, a small grin on her face. “How many babies we makin’?”
“At least three,” he said with a grin, she thought that over for a moment, narrowing her eyes up at him.
“I don’t know, three?” she said just to tease him.
“Damn it, Elli, say you’ll marry me!”
“Oh course! Yes!” Elli said with a giggle as Shea laughed, after letting out the gust of
air he was holding. Shea slid the ring down her finger before picking her up kissing her laughing mouth hard. Elli was gonna marry Shea, they were gonna have babies, move into their house, love each other for forever. Her dreams would be her reality.
Elli’s heart felt like it was gonna explode at all the love that was filling her as she looked into Shea’s sparkling eyes. Elli smiled against his lips as they parted, moving her fingers up into his sweaty hair.
“There’s gonna be a fee for that glass,” she whispered against his lips. He smiled, biting her bottom lip before saying, “Best two grand I’ve ever spent.”
Epilogue
“I can’t find anything!” Elli yelled as she moved through her and Shea’s spacious bedroom, tearing into the suitcases that still lay on the floor, three days after they had arrived home from their honeymoon in the St. Luca Islands. She was looking for her grey wool hat and couldn’t find it anywhere. Elli was running crazy late; she wanted to stop by the hospital to see Harper and her new baby, Allison, before heading into the office, since she had a meeting of her own with Shea later that afternoon.
“Baby, what are you looking for?” Shea asked as he came out the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, his razor in one hand. Elli’s mouth watered at the sight.
“My hat! The wool one,” she said ignoring his sexiness, and throwing clothes over her shoulder as she looked through the suitcases again. If she left that damn hat at the resort in the islands, she would cry. She loved that hat.
“Baby, it’s in the truck.”
Oh, yeah.
When Shea’s arms came around Elli’s waist, she smiled, running her hands over his forearms before turning in his arms, looking up into his eyes. “Are you gonna go see Allison today?” he asked as he nibbled on her neck.
“I am,” Elli said breathlessly before Shea ran his tongue right under her ear, taking her ear lobe into his mouth.
“How much time do you have?” he whispered in her ear while his hands came down over her ass, pressing her into his hard length. The man never quit…not that she would ask him too.
“Mmm, five minutes top.”
Elli was on flat on her back before “minutes” left her lips.
Forty five minutes later, Elli rushed through the house, fixing her clothes as she looked for her brief case. Elli couldn’t say no to Shea if her life depended on it, not that she really wanted to say no.
Elli walked into the kitchen that had been painted while they were in St Luca, to get her coffee. She admired the color, a pale green as she took a sip of her coffee. The people Shea had hired to do the home décor were doing such a wonderful job. Elli loved it. She loved their home.
Elli found her briefcase and cut through the dining room to the living room, glancing up at the large portrait of Elli and Shea in front of the Belmont Mansion. Elli’s gown was sparking, magnificent in the bright fall sun while Shea’s black tux looked refined. Even with his damn chucks, Shea still looked dashing, and he was all hers.
For forever.
As she looked at each other picture from their magical day, all she could do what smile. That was until her eyes fell onto the picture of her family. It still broke her heart, even three weeks later, that her mother wasn’t in any of her pictures. Elli was still furious with her mother but when Olivia didn’t show up to Shea and Elli’s wedding, Elli knew once and for all that Olivia never did love her. Elli glanced back up to the picture of her and Shea kissing and her smile returned.
Why should she dwell on something so sad, when she was married to the most amazing man ever?
“Honey, I’m going!” Elli yelled as she slid her feet into her heels. Shea came around the corner, only a pair of boxers on as he walked with a little pep to his step. The man drove her mad. He grinned as he wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her softly on his lips.
“Give Allison a kiss for me, and I’ll see you at twelve right?”
“Yup, when are your momma and daddy gonna be here?”
“Four-ish I think? Grace is pissed they are staying with us and not her.”
Elli laughed, her new sister in law became jealous so damn easily, “They haven’t stayed in the new house yet, Grace will be okay. Hell, invite her to stay, too. Ryan would love to stay in his room.”
Shea smiled, kissing the side of her mouth, “I will.”
“Alright, love ya.”
“Love you more. Have a good day.”
“Will do,” Elli said with a grin before she walked past the picture of her and Shea in front of the Cup the Assassins had won a week after they had gotten back together. What a great day it was. She sat in her seats at every home game and went to all the away games, cheering on her fiancé. It was one of the greatest feelings ever, watching her man hold that cup over his head. Elli couldn’t ask for anything better than what she had. She was so happy; she walked around with a permanent grin on her face.
Elli got into her truck and drove around the circular driveway, going the way towards the hospital. After stopping to get flowers in the gift shop for Allison, Elli made her way up to the maternity wing. Since her and Shea had been there yesterday, Elli knew where to go. When she entered the room, Harper stood with sweet baby Allison in her arms, walking back and forth in front of the bed. Harper looked up at Elli with a freaked out expression on her face.
“I’m fu-screwed, Elli.”
Elli giggled, laying the flowers on the table beside the bed, and then heading to look at the bundle of pink in Harper’s arms. Allison was red from where she had been crying, Elli could tell she was a little fussy.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“She’s just like me and she’s only a day old!”
“Harper, she is beautiful, perfect. She’s probably just hungry.”
“See, that’s where I say she’s Jakob’s baby, she eats all the damn time!”
They both looked down at Allison’s beautiful little pink face, and Elli smiled as Harper just looked scared out of her mind.
“Aw, she’s sweet.”
“Whatever, you’re just blinded by the cuteness.”
“Probably,” Elli agreed as she took the baby in her arms, loving the feel of something so sweet and perfect resting in her arms.
“Did you tell him yet?”
Elli laid her lips softly to Allison’s forehead before shaking her head, “Not yet.”
“But you will today, right?”
“Yeah, when he signs the contract today, he’ll see.”
“Good,” Harper said just as Jakob entered the room, decked out in his “I’m a Daddy” shirt.
“Elli! Where’s Shea?”
Elli smiled as Jakob took Allison from her, kissing her head. “He’s doing yard work or something, I don’t know.”
“Cool, he should have come. Ally misses her Godfather,” Jakob said with a laugh as Elli and Harper shook their heads. The ongoing joke of Shea being the “Godfather” was about to get on Elli’s last nerve. She didn’t know if it was the way they said it or just the fact that when Shea was in the room, he was the “Godfather,” not Shea. Elli couldn’t really be mad, though, because, bless their hearts, they were just so excited to have Allison finally, and so was she.
Elli watched as Harper snuggled close to Jakob, both of them looking down at beautiful Allison, nothing but love in their eyes for their perfect bundle of perfection. Elli wanted that moment, she wanted her baby. Elli started to feel like she was interfering in a private moment, so she gathered her things.
“I hate to run guys, but I gotta get to the office.”
Harper looked up, while Jakob was still memorized by the beauty of his daughter, “Oh no, don’t go yet.”
“I have to. I love you guys,” Elli said hugging Harper tightly. She went over to Jakob, kissing his cheek before laying a soft one on Allison.
“She’s beautiful, huh?” Jakob asked, Elli grinned up at him.
“Most beautiful baby ever.”
Jakob grinned big at Elli before walking
with Allison to the little chair in the corner.
“Call me later, you know, afterwards,” Harper said as she wobbled with her to the door.
“Will do. Congratulations again, Harp, she’s gorgeous.”
“Thanks, she gets that from me.”
Elli left laughing, everything was so perfect.
Or at least it would be after Elli’s meeting with Shea.
“Mr. Adler, Mrs. Adler will see you now,” Janet, Elli’s assistant said. Shea rolled his eyes as he got up, walking into Elli’s office. Why he had to wait to see his wife was beyond him, but whatever. Elli grinned up at him when he entered and he couldn’t help but grin back. She would forever be the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He loved her more with every day that passed and he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.
They had only been married three week, but it felt like forever. The wedding was magical, the honeymoon perfect, now it was time to start their lives together. Grow old, raise their children when they finally decided to have some, and to just be together as man and wife. Shea knew when he set eyes on her so long ago that she was the one, and he just loved when he was right.
“Hey, baby,” he said, leaning over the desk to place a kiss on her lips, she smiled as they parted.
“Hey,” she cooed as he sat back in the chair in front of her desk.
“Where’s everyone at?” Shea asked. Bryan wasn’t there, neither was Damon.
“I figured we could do this between us.”
Shea’s body filled with lust, something that always happen when his hot little wife was around, he gave her a seductive grin before saying, “Let’s just skip it then, come over here, let me show you the benefits of signing and being married to this hockey player.”