by Karina Halle
His eyes dart from side to the side, at all the people, all his fans, that are listening to his every word and watching us like a television program. “I mean, I don’t know any of these people. But I do know that I want them all to know just how much I love you. That if it wasn’t for you, if it wasn’t for Kayla Moore, I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t be the man I am today. A better man. And yes, a man that’s terrified that you might just say no in front of the entire world. But that’s the risk I’m willing to take for the chance that you may say yes.” He swallows hard, his eyes measuring me. “Will you marry me?”
“Are you serious?” I whisper, still feeling like this is some kind of dream, like someone is going to pull the rug out from under me and I’ll fall flat on my face, humiliated. But I guess he has to be feeling the same way too. Every moment that the ring, shining beautifully, is held out there in his hand, waiting for my finger, is a moment that he dies a little inside.
What the fuck am I even waiting for?
As if there was ever anything to think about.
“Yes,” I tell him gleefully.
It hits me once, twice.
Oh my god, he’s asked me to marry him.
Oh my god, I’m going to marry my lover, my best friend, the man of my dreams.
“Yes!” I say louder now, smiling so wide it hurts. “Yes, I will marry you Lachlan. I love you. I love you.”
He grins at me with some much joy it takes my breath away. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” I tell him, shoving my ring finger toward him. “Put the damn ring on it already.”
He laughs, his eyes watering, and slips the gorgeous ring on my finger. His hands are shaking. It might just be the most adorable, most vulnerable moment and we’re sharing it among so many people.
But it doesn’t matter. Because it’s our moment.
I stare down at it on my hand. It’s so beautiful. Not because of how it looks, because it really is gorgeous, but because it came from him. Because he chose it for me when he knew he wanted me to be his wife.
I look up at my future husband and I can’t even believe it.
“I’m so lucky,” I say, beaming at him, my cheeks hot and stretched from smiling so hard.
“Aye,” he says with a sly smile. “But then again, so am I.”
The next few hours pass by in a blur. I can’t really believe what happened. Pictures are taken because obviously the local paparazzi is going to go a little bit nuts and Lachlan’s family come by to congratulate us and I can tell they knew he was going to do it. I was the only one caught unaware and boy was I caught.
Finally we manage to break free of all the hoopla and we’re on our own and heading in a cab back to the flat. We don’t speak much in the back. I just stare at my ring while he holds my hand and stares out the window. I’m still coming to terms with how surreal the day has been. First he wins the team an epic game, then he proposes to me in front of thousands. I mean…he fucking proposed! On one knee and everything.
I’m getting fucking married!
It hits me even harder once we get into the flat and I realize that this is really, truly my home now. All of the beautiful cornices and designs, everything will be my home.
More than all, he’s my home.
Always will be, wherever we are.
Emily and Lionel greet us at the door as usual, wanting attention, perhaps feeding off of our happiness, but Lachlan quickly whisks me away into the bedroom. He closes the doors behind him and peels his shirt off, displaying tattoos and abs for days. One of his latest tattoos is the word “love” across his chest.
The love is for me.
He strides across the room, grabs me, pulling me toward me and gazes at me so intensely I fear I may spontaneously combust. “I love you,” he says to me, his burning eyes roaming over my skin. “And this, us, this will be forever.”
“You promise,” I whisper.
“Always,” he says.
He kisses me long, deep. Beautiful. Our lips are sweet with love.
We fall back into bed.
And find each other again and again.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s no secret that my muse for the character of Lachlan is none other than the magnificent actor, Tom Hardy. But it’s also Mr. Hardy himself that inspired me to do more than just write a book. An advocate for adopting shelter dogs and a warrior against the unfair stigma and treatment of pit bulls, Hardy uses his fame and stature to try and help educate people on the matter. And while my own fame and stature is absolutely miniscule, especially compared to a mad genius like him, it did inspire me to speak out and do more for a cause I deeply believe in.
I rescued a pit bull mix from a high kill-shelter in San Bernardino, California. Or, I should say, the lovely ladies at the non-profit Vancouver Island Flirting with Fido organized a rescue run, trucking up dogs from various shelters and bringing them up to Canada to fit them with various loving families. Most of the dogs are pit bulls or mixes, bully breeds that are misunderstood and usually cast aside, the first ones to be put down in a shelter alongside the sick and the old. Because these dogs do have a terrible reputation, the organization takes special care to let people foster the animals first so they can find out if the dog is meant for them. Not every dog is for everybody – especially rescue dogs who may or may not have been abused and have behavioural issues – and dog ownership is a life-time commitment. It’s not just until you have a baby and then you decide you don’t want your dog anymore. It’s not just until you have to move and you don’t want to bother finding an apartment that takes dogs. It’s not just until the dog is old and can’t play anymore and just isn’t as cute. A forever home is a forever home.
So my husband and I took this scared little pit bull mix, Bruce, into our home. And it wasn’t easy. There were times at the beginning where I thought I couldn’t handle it. Bruce wasn’t like the dogs I grew up with. He was terrified of everyone and everything. Tail always between his legs, shaking like a leaf. He didn’t bark, he didn’t make any sounds. He just wanted to run away and be on his own, away from human hands that he thought would only hurt him.
But we persevered. I wanted to be that forever home for Bruce. I was afraid that in any other hands, he would never be happy, never trust, never come out of his shell.
Slowly but surely though, he did come out of his shell. With lots of patience, lots of love, and, yes, lots of frustration, Bruce learned to trust us. He learned his commands. He learned to be a big puppy in such a way that makes me think when he was living on the streets as a young dog, he never got a chance to even be a puppy.
Now Bruce is a completely different dog. He barks at strangers who come to the house, which is both bad because it’s annoying and good because it means he finally has confidence. He’s protective of us and we’re protective of him. He’s better with people in general too, once he figures out they aren’t to be feared and of course he adores being around other dogs. One day soon we’ll be rescuing another dog in need so he can have a little buddy to love on and play with.
But of course, I feel that it’s not enough. That’s why I decided to donate $1 from every preorder of The Play to animal charities who need the funding. From major ones like Best Friends Animal Society, Battersea Dogs & Cats, SPCA and others, to smaller ones like the aforementioned Flirting with Fido, Villalobos, and more. So if you’re reading this book because you preordered, THANK YOU. Your money is going to help dogs, cats and other animals get the loving homes they need. You’ve helped save a life.
And if you didn’t preorder, there is still time to make a difference. My check from this book will come at the end of January and it’s then that I’ll be making the donations to the various charities. You’ll be able to follow along with this on my website: www.authorkarinahalle.com under “News.” If you want to give, you can always donate to the ones I’ll have listed. If you don’t see a charity listed that you think is worthy, please email me at autho
[email protected] with the subject line “Save the Puppies” and I’ll see what I can do. My goal is to donate to as many deserving organizations as possible. Depending on how fundraising goes, I may even donate all of my release day sales to the charities as well, so if you also bought this on release day, THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME. Also, buying a book on release day is super special to authors like myself, so thank you again.
Of course, I can’t just thank generous readers, Bruce and Tom Hardy for this book, so without further ado: Scott Mackenzie, I’m sorry I spent all of our Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand trip writing. Who knew this book would be this big? Who knew I could actually write a 150,000 word book while freaking CAMPING. Yeah, I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Are no vacations safe anymore? First I write The Pact while in Hawaii, now I finish half of The Play while gallivanting around New Zealand in a campervan. What’s next? You know what…don’t answer that. But I promise to make it up to you. *wink*
Many thanks to my parents, Kara Malinczak, Laura Helseth, Stephanie Sandra Brown, Sandra Cortez, Kelly St-Laurent, Dani Sanchez, Taylor Haggerty, K.A. Tucker (this table of contents is all her, she can write AND format, who thunk it), Mark Coker, everyone in Hallewood for their enthusiasm, feedback and talent, Instagram (it’s where it’s at), and of course my loyal crew of Anti-Heroes. You’re the best bunch of readers an author could ever have. I am truly, truly lucky and extremely grateful to have you. Let’s have Tom Hardy Parties for the rest of time!