by Amelia Stone
“I know you’re in the zone. But I really need to show you something.”
She bit her lip, her dark blue eyes bouncing between me and the screen. Finally she nodded.
“Okay.”
I watched as she saved her work, locked her screen, and crossed to the door. She reached out automatically, and I took her hand, guiding her down the hall to the living room.
The house was all done now, no more renovations left to complete. I smiled as I looked around the room, noting all the little touches she’d made, the furniture we’d picked out together, the paint color she’d insisted would complement the recycled glass counters. The house was me, and it was her. It was us – two halves made whole.
Gabe Bloom was putting the final touches on the bar now. I’d finally convinced Mindy to be my business partner, and we were all set for the grand opening of Player’s, our new bar and grill, tomorrow night.
My twenty-ninth birthday.
“What did you want to show me?” Krista asked as I led her to the couch. She settled in without complaint. But she tipped her head up to me when I handed her a game controller, giving me a quizzical smile.
“What’s this?”
I drew in a sharp breath, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I wasn’t worried about the outcome of my little game, not really. I knew we were both in this for the long haul. But it was still a huge deal, and I’d put so much planning and work into this. I just hoped she liked it.
“I got a new game, and I wanted you to test it out.”
She frowned softly. “Seth. I’m busy. I’ve got like a million lines of code to roll through, and it has to be done by the end of the week.”
She started to get up, but I held my hands out to stop her.
“I know, I know. But would you just take a look at this?” I smiled. “Please?”
She huffed. “Not fair, breaking out the P word.”
I grinned shamelessly. “Hey, whatever works, right?”
She chuckled as she settled back into the couch, and I sat next to her, leaning forward to grab the remote. But I hesitated a moment before switching the TV on.
It was going to be okay. She was going to say yes.
Probably.
Definitely.
I needed her to say yes.
“What is this?” she asked, when the menu screen loaded. “Is this… is that an eight-bit Athena?”
I nodded. I’d gotten the idea when I visited her office for the first time, so many months ago now. She had this badass mural on the wall, an eight-bit version of the first game she’d ever made, and I thought she’d get a kick out of actually being able to play it.
“How did you get this?” She turned to me, a dazed smile on her face.
“Kalisha helped me out.” Krista’s right-hand woman had been invaluable in getting this done for me. “Your team has been working on it for months.”
“Oh my gods,” she breathed, her hands shaking as she expertly navigated the menu. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“It’s just one scene,” I said, trying not to let my nerves show in my voice. “It’s not a recreation of the whole game or anything.”
She shook her head. “I don’t care about that,” she assured me. “I just can’t believe I get to play my golden goddess in eight-bit.”
She turned to me, her head tipping up for a kiss, and I happily obliged, savoring those perfect lips. Lips that were the same color as the starfish mounted to the wall above our mantel.
“Can I play?” she asked, when she pulled back.
I hummed my agreement. “That’s the whole point.”
Her shoulder bounced excitedly, and I grinned as I looped a dark red curl around my finger. She buzzed with excitement as on the screen, Athena tasked a redhaired woman with an epic quest. But her smile fell as she began to play.
“This is not my game,” she said. “It’s all wrong. Phaedra didn’t go to the beach until the third act. And how is she an adult? She’s supposed to be fourteen years old.”
I chuckled at her indignant tone. “Just keep playing.”
She paused the game, then turned to me with a frown. “But this isn’t-”
I laid my hands over hers. “Please.” I smiled softly. “Just keep playing.”
Something in my tone must have convinced her, because she nodded slowly.
“Okay,” she grumbled. “But I’m talking to Kalisha about this when I go into the office on Monday.”
I chuckled, hoping that by Monday, she would be too blissfully happy to worry about her employee’s treachery.
So she played on, getting more and more into it as the protagonist, Phaedra, battled a sea monster, clearing the way for her to swim out to a small island off in the distance.
“That looks like South Bay,” she said.
I smiled. “What a coincidence.”
She gave me a suspicious frown. “Okay, funny guy. We’ll just see.”
I laughed. “Yeah, we will.”
On the screen, Phaedra was now being given the first of three riddles by a nereid. Krista made her selection from the possible answers on the screen, and Phaedra advanced to the next. When she’d correctly solved all the riddles, she was given directions to a cave in the heart of the island.
I held my breath as she entered the cave. When she saw what was waiting, she frowned.
“Wait.” She leaned forward, squinting, though her vision was now perfect. “Is that… is that you?”
I nodded, sneaking my hand to my side to reach into my pocket. My fingers closed around the little box in there, and I cleared my throat.
“Seth.” She looked up at me, her eyes glittering with the first tears, and she set the controller down. “What is this?”
“Just keep playing,” I croaked.
“But-”
“Please.” I swallowed roughly. “Just, please.”
Reluctantly, she picked the controller back up, though her hands were shaking as she hit a button to make the little eight-bit Seth talk. She hitched a breath when the figure on the screen knelt before Phaedra.
Then the screen dissolved to black, and a glittering diamond ring appeared, the words ‘will you marry me?’ flashing on the screen with a ‘yes’ and ‘no’ option.
She looked back at me, gasping softly when I held out the little blue box, silently offering it to her on my opened palm.
Her eyes flicked up to mine, bouncing between them as though trying to read my mind. She took a shaky breath, biting that starfish lip again.
Then she turned back to the screen, flicking the buttons until she’d selected the ‘yes’ option.
A wave of emotion washed over me, completely overwhelming me, and I had to put a hand over my eyes, trying to corral my tears.
“Are you sure?” I rasped. “You didn’t even open the box.”
She laughed, and a moment later I felt her legs straddling my lap. I opened my eyes to see her smiling down at me.
“I don’t care about the ring.”
I barked out a laugh. “I spent a fuck ton of money on it. Maybe care a little.”
She let out a weird donkey noise, her hand closing around the box. Then she opened it, her eyes glittering with emotion as she pulled the ring from the box.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “I love it.”
I slipped it on her finger with trembling hands, and we both stared down at it. My ring. On her finger.
“Really?” I asked, not even caring about the vulnerability in my voice.
She nodded. “I love you. I love the ring. But I love you more.”
I exhaled like I’d been holding my breath. “Love you.”
She kissed me then, holding my face in her hands like I was precious. But she broke it off much too soon.
“Wait.” She shook her head out like she was clearing it. “Shit. I forgot something.”
And before I could protest, she climbed off my lap, hurrying out of the room. She was back a minute later, a gift-wrapped package in her hands. She took t
he seat next to me once more, then dropped the gift in my lap.
“I was going to give this to you tomorrow, after the grand opening, but I figured now is better.” She frowned, her eyes widening in apprehension. “You know, in case the contents change your mind.”
I gave her the side eye. “Pretty sure nothing you give me could make me change my mind about wanting to marry you.”
She snorted. “Maybe wait to say that until you open this.”
Curious now, I tore into the paper, pulling the top off a shirt-size gift box once I was done. Then I pushed the tissue paper aside, finally getting a peek inside.
I looked up at her, then down at the box.
Again.
Once more.
Okay, last time.
My hands shook as I reached into the box and pulled out a tiny catcher’s mitt. It was barely bigger than my hand, but the details were perfect, down to the last lace.
I looked up at her, staring in wonder at my beautiful freckled goddess, the woman who was going to be my wife. “What is this?”
She gulped, her eyelids once again blinking against a fresh onslaught of tears.
“Well,” she said. “I thought about just wrapping up your dad’s mitt. Because he played with it, and then he passed it down to you, you know, his son.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “But it wasn’t enough, because we need-”
“Two.” I pulled the other mitt out of the box, a sob-laugh escaping me. “Twins?”
She nodded. “You know they run in my family, and I just went for the first ultrasound yesterday, and Dr. Stewart heard two little heartbeats in there.” She bit her lip. “You’re not mad at me for not telling you, are you? It’s just, I only found out last week when I realized I missed my period, so I thought it would be a good surprise for-”
I cut her off with my lips on her lips. I kissed her once, twice, again, over and over. I tasted her, savored her, treasured her. I loved on this woman, this amazing, talented, funny, beautiful woman who was going to marry me and have my baby.
Babies.
Twins.
Gods!
“I love you,” I told her. “All three of you. So fucking much.”
And then my Krista, my other half, smiled at me, and I felt like I’d hit the game-winning run. Better than that. With her here, in my arms, by my side, I felt like I’d won the game of life.
“Good,” she breathed. “Because you can’t get rid of me now, Holt. You knocked me up.”
I laughed. “Well, then it’s a good thing you’re gonna marry me now.”
She nodded, kissing me again softly. “Lucky for us it all worked out, huh?”
I shook my head. “Don’t need luck,” I told her. “We have each other.”
And that would always be enough. More than enough. It was everything.
This book, you guys. This was hands down the hardest book to get out into the world, for so many reasons. I have so many people to thank for helping me make it happen, and I’ll try my best to remember them all.
First, to Amy Lyn, the first person to read the very first oh-so-rough draft of Krista and Seth’s story, almost four years ago now. You were a fan from the start, and I love that you never stopped asking me when I’d get around to finishing this book. Thank you for always pushing me, supporting me, and just being whatever I needed you to be. I love you, my friend, and I hope the very long wait was worth it.
To my superstar admins, Jennifer and Denna, for always going above and beyond the call of duty to keep my group and my sanity going strong.
To Jenn again, for stepping up to help with promotional duties when I was too overwhelmed to do it myself.
To my StoneHearts, for always being the funny, amazing women (and two dudes) who uplift, support, and educate me on a daily basis.
To all my readers, for your understanding and support. You waited so patiently for this book, and I hope you love it as much as I do.
To all the authors who make up this varied and diverse indie publishing community, of which I am lucky to be a part, thank you for always being willing to share your knowledge and experiences.
To my dad, for making sure my Baby Chuck still got to water all the bushes when I was too busy to get up from my desk and take him out.
To Aunt Trish, Matty, Uncle Mark, and everyone who took care of the family during our greatest crisis to date. You are the best.
And finally, to my Mim, for always being my inspiration. You are different now, but not less. Never, ever less. Thank you for fighting, and pushing, and trying every single day. I love you more than my luggage.
Amelia Stone writes contemporary romance about real(ish) people who just want to love and be loved, because let’s be honest, we all do. She is the author of the Time for Love series and the South Bay Soundtracks series. She knew at the age of five that she wanted to be a writer, and she wrote and illustrated her first book in the third grade. (It was about kittens, of course.) When she’s not writing, she can usually be found eating Mexican food, listening to New Wave music, or attempting to co-opt someone else’s dog. She lives in Arizona with Helpful Charlie the wonder mutt, and Captain Mal, the sweetest kitty friend in the ’verse.
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A Time for Love:
One More Time
The First Time
Moments in Time
Time After Time
South Bay Soundtracks:
Desire
Crazy in Love
Lover’s Game