He was watching Scarlett. And she was watching him.
Nadia smiled, tucking her arm through Reid’s. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“I am.” He sounded amused. “Didn’t you introduce them to each other?”
“I did.”
“What happened?”
Nadia sighed. “It didn’t go very well. Scarlett kinda blew it.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Scarlett suddenly excused herself from her group and made her way across the room toward Viggo. He watched her approach, his face inscrutable. When she reached him, he gave her a small nod, the barest hint of a smile curving his lips.
Nadia couldn’t make out Scarlett’s words, but she assumed she was offering some sort of mea culpa for her earlier rudeness.
Viggo nodded again, acknowledging her apology.
Then Scarlett hesitated, as if she were waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t, she looked deflated. And rebuffed.
But as she turned to walk away, Viggo reached out and caught her wrist, stopping her. When she turned around to face him, he gave her a panty-dropping smile that had her looking dazed and sprung.
Nadia tried to read Viggo’s lips, but she was too far away. Whatever he said to Scarlett made her smile like a shy virgin. Then they walked off together, all but holding hands as they stared at each other.
In the wake of their departure, Avery looked somewhat perplexed, as if she were wondering what had just happened.
Jess looked peeved.
As Viggo and Scarlett walked slowly across the room, lost in their own world, Uncle Lavell and Aunt Sherise glanced up from chatting with two other couples. When they caught sight of their daughter with Viggo, they did a double take and traded shocked glances, then looked across the room at Nadia.
Uncle Lavell’s expression was suspicious and accusing. Aunt Sherise’s was unabashedly intrigued.
Nadia laughed and shrugged her shoulders, feigning ignorance. Then she turned away to exchange pleased grins with Reid.
A white-gloved waiter approached them with a tiered dessert tray filled with beautifully decorated petit fours.
Nadia exclaimed in delight, cooing over the elaborate designs until Reid chuckled and drawled, “Just pick one, babe.”
Grinning, she selected a glazed petit four decorated like a wedding present. Reid chose an elegant Christmas ornament topped with tiny silver sugar pearls.
As they fed each other the delicate mini cakes, cheers and applause erupted from their guests. They laughed, licking sweet glaze from each other’s fingers.
“Kiss her under the mistletoe!” a man called out jovially.
A wave of laughter swept through the crowd. Reid and Nadia grinned and glanced upward, expecting to see a sprig of mistletoe.
“Um, we’re not standing under any,” Nadia pointed out the obvious.
Reid’s eyes glinted roguishly. “Since when do I need mistletoe to kiss you?”
She grinned. “Good point.”
Hooking an arm around her waist, he gallantly dipped her backward, leaned over her and kissed her long and hard, eliciting another chorus of cheers and whistles from their guests.
By the time he let her up, she was breathless and intoxicated, giddy with sheer joy.
When she looked around and saw her mother’s face in the crowd, her throat tightened. Eden had tears in her eyes and was smiling radiantly. Meeting Nadia’s gaze, she blew her a kiss and mouthed, You deserve all this and more.
Nadia smiled warmly and mouthed back, Thank you for everything, Ma.
A few moments later when “In Your Eyes” began playing, Nadia’s heart melted and tears sprang to her eyes. As she stared at Reid, he smiled tenderly and held out his hand to her.
“Can I have this dance?”
“Absolutely.” She gave him her hand, and he led her out to the middle of the dance floor.
Everyone looked on with big smiles as he took her in his arms, holding her possessively close. She twined her arms around his neck, relishing the hard strength of his body against hers, the strong beat of his heart, the intense love radiating from his eyes.
As they began swaying together, everything in the background faded away. It was just the two of them. Just this moment. It was so magical, it felt like they were gliding through a dream.
“I don’t want to wake up,” Nadia whispered.
Reid smiled. “When you do, I’ll still be here.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.” He bent his head and feathered a kiss along her jawline, making her shiver and smile.
“You didn’t actually cross your heart.”
He chuckled. “That would require the use of one hand. And I’m not about to let you go, baby, not even for a second.”
Her smile widened. “Fair enough.”
He lifted his head to grin down at her. “When we get back to Denver, we can have another engagement party and invite more people—”
“More than this?”
He chuckled at her incredulous tone. “So you can celebrate with your friends and coworkers and other family members,” he elaborated.
“I’d like that very much.” She grinned. “We should also invite your teammates’ wives and girlfriends. You heard Sergei,” she teased, referring to the Rebels’ Russian goalie. “He said Jenna feels cheated because she couldn’t be here tonight. She’s gonna give you an earful when we go to their house for dinner.”
Reid smiled. “I’ll take my chances,” he said, his arms tightening around her waist and pulling her closer. “I couldn’t wait any longer to propose to you, Nadia. As amazing as it felt to score that goal, putting a ring on your finger is what made this night absolutely perfect.”
“Oh, baby.” With a dreamy sigh of pleasure, Nadia slid her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers. His breath quickened as she gave him a deep, lingering kiss, retreating just as she felt him increase the pressure.
“Easy there, Rocket,” she whispered teasingly. “Our guests are watching.”
The blue of his eyes seared her with molten heat. “We’re leaving right after dinner,” he growled low.
An electric sizzle shot to her core. “You’ll get no argument from me,” she breathed.
“Yeah?” A crooked grin curved his mouth. “Then you’re definitely gonna make the perfect wife.”
She laughed.
His expression went soft. Framing her face between his hands, he gazed down at her and murmured, “Thank you for saying yes.”
Nadia smiled into his eyes, falling even harder. “Thank you for asking….”
Overtime
Epilogue
The next two weeks flew by in a haze of activity.
The day after they returned from Detroit, Reid and Nadia went looking for wedding venues. They visited several places before arriving at a secluded château located an hour outside of Denver. It was perched high on a cliff overlooking the mountains and a scenic river gorge with cascading waterfalls. The moment they pulled up to the property and saw the stunning views, they knew they’d found the perfect spot. The woman waiting to give them a tour was more than delighted when they promptly booked the venue for their June wedding.
The next day, they met with a renowned caterer that had contacted them after hearing about their televised engagement. She’d catered weddings for several famous athletes and celebrities, and was excited about working with Reid and Nadia. She helped them select a lavish reception menu, smiling warmly as they laughed and nuzzled while feeding each other different samples of cuisine. She impressed them with her expertise, professionalism and kickass food. But what sealed the deal was her offer to add Sanders hot fudge cream puffs to the dessert menu.
Their mothers enthusiastically threw themselves into wedding planning, sometimes calling each other several times a day to swap ideas. The two women had really connected at the party, pleased to discover that they had a lot in common. They—along with Avery
—were already planning Nadia’s bridal shower.
When Reid had to go out of town for an away game, he left a credit card with Nadia and commanded—yes, commanded—her to use it for anything she needed or wanted. He made it clear to her that money was no object. Even though he personally didn’t care about the minutiae of color schemes and flowers and seating arrangements, he wanted Nadia to have the wedding of her dreams. So no expense would be spared.
While he was gone, Nadia went with her mother, Aunt Sherise, Scarlett, Jess, Bianca and Ana to meet with florists and look for bridesmaid dresses. Reid’s mother and sisters accompanied them via Skype.
One day when Reid overheard the women gushing breathlessly over Asha Dubois’s “jaw-droppingly spectacular” bridal gowns, he called in a favor to his friend Mason Wolf, whose uncle happened to be married to the legendary fashion mogul.
That evening over dinner, Reid surprised Nadia with the news that Asha had graciously agreed to design her wedding gown, as well as her bridesmaids’ dresses. All they had to do was fly out to Atlanta to meet with Asha, and the sooner the better.
Nadia was so stunned and excited that she jumped out of her chair, rushed around the table and kissed Reid all over his face, whispering his name in a voice full of love and wonder. After thanking him profusely, she called her mother and bridesmaids to share the good news. All their girlish squealing and celebrating made him feel pretty heroic.
He couldn’t take all the credit, of course. So while Nadia was on the phone, he texted his thanks to Mason and promised to buy him drinks when the Falcons came to town to play the Broncos.
Mason texted back: Hook me up with one of wifey’s fine ass cousins and we’ll call it even.
Reid laughed and responded: I got you.
Nadia was still floating on cloud nine when they went to bed that evening. She showed her gratitude long into the night, loving Reid so thoroughly that he could barely get up for practice the next morning.
His sweet fiancée surprised him with breakfast in bed, wearing a French maid’s uniform complete with a black-and-white garter belt, sheer black stockings and outrageously high heels. The sight of her in the sexy getup almost sent Reid into cardiac arrest.
After demurely settling the breakfast tray over his lap, she turned around and bent over to pick up something she’d conveniently dropped on the floor. The ruffled hem of the short dress lifted to reveal a black thong nestled between the mouthwatering globes of her ass cheeks. Reid’s dick sprang to attention so fast that the rush made him dizzy.
Nadia fed him the delicious meal, her wicked laughter soon dissolving into breathy moans when he proceeded to devour her, taking her on the bed before carrying her to the shower.
That morning was the first time in ages that he was late to practice, and Coach gave him an earful for the infraction. But it was so damn worth it.
As luck would have it, Reid had a long stretch of home games and Nadia’s college was closed for the holidays, so she had three weeks off from work. They spent every moment they could together. They cooked together, dined by candlelight, curled up on the sofa and watched indie films, took long walks through the woods and went ice skating. Nadia was adorably wobbly on her feet, so Reid was teaching her how to become a better skater. He never let her fall, but every time she came close, she let out a bewitching peal of laughter that took his breath away and made him fall deeper and harder in love.
They spent many pleasurable hours making love by the fire, in the heated Jacuzzi, on the rooftop terrace under the stars. They talked about their life and future together, discussing the many places they would visit, how many kids they planned to have and when they would get started.
They made plans to go camping and hiking and canoeing when the weather was warmer. Nadia’s enthusiasm filled Reid with gratitude and appreciation. He couldn’t believe he’d been lucky enough to meet a woman who not only loved the Foo Fighters as much as he did, but was open to partaking in outdoor adventures. When he jokingly asked her if she was really black, she’d sputtered indignantly and pummeled him with her pillow until they were both howling with laughter.
During those two weeks leading up to Christmas, they went running every other day and worked out together in Reid’s home gym. Nadia was in great shape, but she wanted defined abs to show off on the beach when they went to the Maldives for their honeymoon. So she’d been doing a lot of sit ups and crunches and using the stairclimber and stationary bike.
As Reid quickly discovered, working out with his beautiful fiancée was distracting as hell. He couldn’t take his eyes off her curvy body in a spandex tank top and short-shorts, her pert breasts bouncing enticingly as she jogged on the treadmill, brown skin glistening with sweat. Jesus H. Christ. The sight of her exercising drove him crazy with lust. They could never get through a workout session without him ripping off her shorts and bending her over the weight bench or the treadmill, her hands gripping the rails as he took her from behind. It was like the ultimate porno—only better because their orgasms were punctuated with fervent I love yous.
Since Nadia was practically living at his house, he cleared some drawers for her and asked her to officially move in with him. She refused at first. She didn’t want to leave Nelson high and dry with the rent. And she was old-fashioned enough to believe that they should be man and wife before they lived together. But Reid couldn’t wait that long. He loved coming home to her after practice and when he returned from the road. Just knowing she’d be there waiting for him put the biggest smile on his face and made him want to rush home to her.
After some pleading and cajoling—and seducing—he managed to persuade her to move in with him after New Year’s. And Bianca agreed to move into the loft with Nelson to cover Nadia’s half of the rent. So everything worked out perfectly.
For the first time since he’d bought his house, Reid decided to put up a Christmas tree. He and Nadia went to a local tree farm and roamed around before finding the perfect tree, an eighteen-foot Douglas fir. Armed with a chainsaw, Reid cut down the huge tree the way he and Ryder had been taught when they were boys. He didn’t think much of it. But when he was done, Nadia clapped and cheered exuberantly, her eyes shining with admiration and awe as she stared at him. It made him feel fifty feet tall and mightier than Paul Bunyan.
They took the tree home and set it up in the high-ceilinged living room. With a cozy fire crackling in the grate and Christmas ballads playing in the background, they decorated their tree with beautiful ornaments and lights, laughing and stealing kisses while they worked. When they were finished, they stood with their arms wrapped around each other’s waist and admired the glowing tree, blissfully reflecting on all the holiday memories and traditions they would create with their children in the years to come.
The Rebels’ stretch of home games came to an end the week of Christmas. They were flying to Canada on Monday to play the Edmonton Oilers on December 23. After the game, they would have four days off to spend the holidays with their families before they had to travel to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs. It made no sense to fly back and forth to Canada in such a short timeframe. So Reid had already decided to rent a lakefront cabin near Toronto, where he and Nadia would celebrate their first Christmas together.
It was supposed to be a romantic getaway with just the two of them. They even planned to visit Niagara Falls and take in some other sights. But once they shared their plans with their mothers, their romantic getaway quickly turned into one big family vacation. Calls were made, flights were booked, two more cabins were reserved.
And just like that, the Holden-Warner Holiday Retreat™ was official. Their giddy mothers even sent out personalized postcards announcing the “Christmas in Canada” festivities, complete with a three-day itinerary. Even their grandparents—both sets—were making the trip. It was sure to be a boisterous, chaotic and memorable Christmas.
The day before the Rebels were due to leave for Edmonton, Reid and Nadia slept in late. Coach had given the team the day
off from practice to reward them for working hard and playing well. The caveat, of course, was that they couldn’t lose to Edmonton. If they got beat by the Oilers, Coach warned sternly, they’d never see another day off again.
They were taking him at his word.
That Sunday morning, Reid was the first to awaken and open his eyes. Sunshine poured through the windows, taking some of the chill out of the air. Nadia lay on her side facing him, curled up under the heavy covers. Her satin scarf had fallen off during the night, causing her carefully wrapped hair to come unraveled around her face.
Reid smiled as he watched her sleep, feeling the same sense of wonder he felt every morning he woke up beside her. He couldn’t wait to make her his wife. Couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.
Leaning forward, he brushed her hair off her face and kissed her forehead, then rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. After taking a leak, he brushed his teeth and pulled on a pair of dark lounge pants.
When he came out of the bathroom, Nadia was still asleep. But she’d moved into the spot he’d vacated, as if she were instinctively seeking his body heat.
Reid stood there watching her for several moments. Then a slow, mischievous grin crawled across his face.
Sauntering over to the nightstand, he picked up his phone and pulled up one of his playlists. Seconds later, the opening guitar riffs of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” blasted into the room.
Nadia startled awake, her eyes snapping open and darting wildly around.
Reid burst out laughing.
She stared up at him like he’d lost his mind. “What the hell?”
Wicked Games (Denver Rebels) Page 49