Dirty Player: A Rough Riders Novel
Page 27
He let me go, and Oliver’s hand went to my lower back. A look I didn’t understand passed between the two of them before we heard another roar rumble through the crowd.
“That’s Coach,” Beaux said, nodding at Oliver. “Need to get to the podium.”
“Come on.” Oliver pressed me forward, stopping briefly to accept congratulations and pats on the back from media and fans and family members of teammates while he pushed me toward the podium with him.
My feet halted as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Come with me.”
I glanced between Beaux and Oliver. “I should stay here.”
“Fuck if you are,” Beaux said, a teasing glimmer in his eye. “Family’s allowed up here when the MVP trophy is presented.”
My eyes widened. “MVP? You?”
“What am I, chopped liver?” I laughed as I turned to Oliver, who repeated Beaux’s exact question from earlier.
“You?”
He nodded, lips twisting into a smirk. “Of course. You said yourself that catch would go down in history as the best ever.”
“You’re an asshole,” Beaux said, slapping him on the shoulder. “Of course it’s me. Wouldn’t have gotten the win without my arm of steel.”
My gaze jumped between both of them and their banter. I had no idea who was being serious and who had won, but it didn’t matter. They were both incredible and had played an amazing game.
Reluctantly, I let Oliver guide me onto the podium. There, I was met by Jillian, who had found Danny, Kolby with his daughter, Mya, on his hip, and the coaches with their families.
As soon as we made it up there, Oliver pulled me to his side as Coach Pomville gave a speech that sent the throng of people in front of us into another hysteric cheer.
When he was done, he turned to Oliver and winked. “And now, for our MVP! A man who has been with this team for the last five years, who has fought the hard battles, celebrated the victories, and helped lead this team into what it became today. Our Team Captain…and our MVP, Oliver Powell!”
The sound from beneath the podium became so loud that I fought the urge to cover my ears, but my grin spread so wide I thought my cheeks would burst.
Oliver tugged me forward with him to accept the trophy, not dropping his hand from mine until he had the MVP trophy in his hands and raised it above his head.
“Thank you,” he said into the microphone, smiling down at his parents, who had made it into the front row. After his dad’s heart attack at the first game of the season, they’d gone home and he’d had surgery. Then he’d sold his farm, but it took him so long to recover from surgery and then finish the sale that they hadn’t been able to make it to many games during the year. Tears dripped down both his parents’ cheeks when Oliver smiled at them and began thanking the crowd for the honor, thanking his coach and his team. I barely heard it over the noise, despite him being next to me.
“Now, I’d like to thank the most important woman in my life.” He turned to me then and my jaw dropped. Next to him, I saw Beaux pull something out of his pocket and slide it into Oliver’s outstretched and waiting hand.
My brow furrowed when Oliver set the trophy he’d been holding on the podium and grinned out at the crowd.
“Earlier this year, I had one thing on my mind: this game. I wanted to win and wanted to make it to the Super Bowl more than anything else. But then, this beautiful woman standing next to me walked into my life and my entire game plan changed.”
My hands went to my mouth when I saw what Beaux had placed in his hand. A box. A black box. A small, tiny, black velvet ring box.
I shook my head frantically and tears began falling down my cheeks.
“You’re not doing this,” I said, glancing at the crowd behind us and in front of us. He couldn’t be doing this. Not in front of television cameras and millions of viewers.
“Oh, I’m doing this,” he said, pulling back from the microphone so only I could hear him. He turned back toward the cameras, and I was almost blinded by the constant flashing. “Shannon Hale, I love you and I want everyone in America to know it. Make me the happiest man in the world, knowing that on the day I finally won the ring I’ve been wanting my entire life, that you also agree to this ring for the rest of yours. Say yes, and have this day go down in history as being absolutely, one hundred percent, the best day I could ever have in my entire life.”
“You’re insane,” I whispered, not realizing my voice carried to the microphone.
“Say yes!” someone cried out from beneath the podium. The entire New Orleans stadium began shaking while I swore, and every person in attendance chanted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Oliver leaned toward the microphone and smirked. “They’re waiting for your answer, honey.” He opened the box, and I saw the ring that sat inside. It was gorgeous, a huge emerald-cut diamond that had to have cost more than his Audi sports car.
My entire body trembled from the shock, the rush of the day, and the way the podium seemed to shake.
“Yes,” I finally managed to choke out. I nodded repeatedly and stepped toward him until he draped an arm at my lower back, pulling me flush against him. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
“You hear that?” he called into the microphone. “Now it’s the best day of my life.”
He slid the ring onto my ring finger and bent down, enveloping me in his arms, and kissed me while the thousands of people in attendance roared their approval.
THANK YOU
Eeeek! Dirty Player was so much fun to write. I hope you’ve enjoyed delving into the dirty mind of Oliver Powell just as much as I did.
Thank you first, to all of my early readers of this book. Kathryn, Lisa, Laura, Kelly, Brittainy, and Tonya...I absolutely love all of you and your input. Thanks for helping me tighten this up and make it even better than the original version I sent you.
Special thanks to my “team” that takes my manuscript and makes it into an actual book…Amy, Emily, Summer, Shannon…from cover design and editing to proofreading and formatting, any success I have with a book is largely due to all of your hard work, too, so thank you all so much for working with me, for putting up with my craziness, and my last minute ideas or schedule changes.
To all my author buddies and FTN…F*ck It. You all rock. Here’s me flashing you the middle finger.
To all the readers and bloggers who read my stories and leave reviews or send me emails and private messages, thank you for not only taking the time to read my books, but to go the extra step and contact me directly or leave a review. They all mean everything to me.
To Christy and Kelly, just because I love you. I am so thrilled to have met both of you this year and forming friendships I know will last forever.
And finally to my family…you may not always understand my special brand of crazy, but you manage to put up with it. You’re the best and I love you all to pieces.
About the AUTHOR
Stacey Lynn currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and four children. When she’s not conquering mountains of laundry and fighting a war against dust bunnies and cracker crumbs, you can find her playing with her children, curled up on the couch with a good book, or on the boat with her family enjoying Minnesota’s beautiful, yet too short, summer.
She lives off her daily pot of coffee, can only write with a bowlful of Skittles nearby, and has been in love with romance novels since before she could drive herself to the library.
If you would like to know more about Stacey Lynn, follow her here:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staceylynnbooks
Twitter: @staceylynnbooks
Website: http://www.staceylynnbooks.com
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on the site where it was purchased.
And don’t forget to check out Stacey’s other books:
S.Layne ~Erotic Romance
(www.facebook.com/slaynebooks)
Entice, The Affair Series
Embrace, The Affair Series
Enflame
Untitled – Late Summer 2016
Just One Series
Just One Song – Zack and Nicole
Just One Week – Chase and Mia
Just One Regret – Grayson and Kennedy
Just One Moment – Lynx and Sarah
Standalone Books
Remembering Us
Don’t Lie To Me
Try Me – A Don’t Lie To Me Novella
The Nordic Lords Series
Point of Return
Point of Redemption
Point of Freedom
Point of Surrender
Upcoming Releases
His To Love
His To Protect
His To Cherish — November 2016
His To Seduce — March 2017
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
Thank you
About the Author