I smiled when he kissed me again. “Love you too.”
He set me down just as the game finished and cupped the back of my neck with his hand. “You know one of these days, I’m going to ask you to marry me, right?”
My smile widened because we’d been playing this game for about four weeks.
“Is it today?”
His answering smirk was delicious. “I don’t know. Today isn’t over yet, now is it?”
I watched him with narrowed, suspicious eyes because that was a new answer. Then he ran off to celebrate, and I tipped my head back to breathe in everything I was feeling. Confetti rained down on my face, and I caught a shiny red piece in my hand.
As I was rubbing it between my fingers, smiling at all the celebrations surrounding me, I saw Matthew making his way back over. He’d wiped off his face, which was covered with a devious, heart-flutter inducing smile.
With both hands, he gripped the sides of my face before he kissed me, before he wound his tongue around mine as I sagged against him.
His voice was low when he spoke against my lips. “Yeah, it’s going to be today. I was going to try to be patient so we could be alone, but then I see you standing there, looking so beautiful and perfect and mine, and I can’t wait.” He held my eyes as I started to cry. “I can’t wait another minute, another second, because I can’t imagine anything feeling better than this moment right now.”
“Matthew,” I whispered brokenly.
He dropped down onto one knee, and everyone around us started chattering excitedly. My hand was shaking as he gripped it in his own.
“Slim, I want you to be my wife. I want to wake up every single day knowing that you’re there, that I get to be there for you, and that I can love you through anything we might face because I know you’ll do the same for me.” His eyes glistened brightly under the harsh lights of the stadium, and I could see it even through the sheen of my own tears. “Will you marry me?”
I fell to my knees and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Yes, yes, yes,” I whispered through kisses. He buried his head into my neck and sighed heavily with relief. I started laughing. “Were you really going to do this later?”
He smiled as he lifted his head. “Yeah.”
“My crazy man,” I said, cupping the side of his face. “This was perfect.”
“There’s a ring at home for you, I swear.”
I kissed him softly, and his arms tightened around my back as he held me to him. “I don’t even care about the ring,” I told him.
His eyes searched mine, face full of such tenderness that my heart flipped over backward. “So I can return it then?”
I smacked his chest, and his answering laughter was all I needed.
The End
Acknowledgments
Fun fact about me: If I woke up tomorrow and 1- was a man and 2- had the talent to play professional football, I’d play defense. There is something INCREDIBLY appealing to me about being the one who needs to knock the quarterback on his ass, the one who snags the ball out of the air for an interception, the one who can force a fumble and turn the game on its head. Writing a character like Matthew—whose career is inspired by the incomparable JJ Watts—was a lot of fun for me because of that. Other than Peyton Manning, some of my all-time favorite players have been on defense. So to players like Von Miller, Bob Sanders, Charles Woodson, and Dwight Freeney, I thank you.
I always struggle when I sit down to write acknowledgements, because I often wait until the last minute, and I want to write giant, effusive paragraphs to properly thank each person who helped me mold this book the best possible version of the story. Occasionally, I manage enough time to make that happen, but this is not one of those times.
To my family, for unwavering support.
To Fiona Cole (the other integral half of the #dreamteam) and Staci Hart for putting those first crucial and critical eyes on this, and not letting me rock in the corner when I desperately wanted to.
To Kathryn Andrews, Kandi Steiner, Caitlin Terpstra, and Michelle Clay for giving for giving me honesty and support and suggestions that put the final polish on Ava and Matthew’s story.
To Najla Qamber for another beautiful cover.
To Jenny Sims at Editing4Indies and Amanda Yeakel for proofreading.
To Enticing Journey for all their exceptionally organized promo help.
To my reader group, bloggers and bookstagrammers for loving and believing in my books.
To my God, my Lord and Savior.
Other books by Karla Sorensen
Washington Wolves
The Bombshell Effect (Luke and Allie’s story)
Amazon
The Three Little Words Series
By Your Side
Amazon
Light Me Up
Amazon
Tell Them Lies
Amazon
The Bachelors of the Ridge Series
Dylan
Amazon
Garrett
Amazon
Cole
Amazon
Michael
Amazon
Tristan
Amazon
Standalone title
Hooked: A dark romantic comedy co-written with Whitney Barbetti
Amazon Universal Link
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About Karla Sorensen
Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons, and big, shaggy rescue dog.
Photo credit: Perrywinkle Photography
Find Karla online:
karlasorensen.com
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