“We’re not quite ready to discuss marriage,” I said.
“But if you keep going out, it’ll probably happen eventually, right?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, because honestly, I’m not.
Dale and I have discussed a lot of things but marriage isn’t one of them. Since we got together, we’ve been focused on making it work and besides our little bump with Dale’s ex, we have been.
“But you have to know I’d never just agree to up and move us without talking to you. We’re a team, right?” I leaned over and bumped my shoulder against his. He nodded and smiled.
“His house is really cool though so it wouldn’t be so bad if we did move in with him.”
After dropping that bomb, he put in his earbuds and went back to playing his game.
The conversation bounced around my head for the rest of the flight and once we arrived at Dale’s house. He won’t get home until much later so at least I have time to push it from my thoughts before he arrives.
Instead of making plans with Sabrina, Hannah, and Barbara, Jeremy and I decided to have a quiet night together. We dropped the top on the Mercedes and went out for an early dinner. After filling up on seafood, we took the long way home, enjoying the ride.
I’ll admit that the thought of driving the luxury car initially freaked me out but Dale had insisted and it only took one ride for me to get over my fear.
The garage door opened as I approached then closed behind me. After putting the top up, I turned off the car and joined Jeremy inside. He was already perched on the couch flipping through the channels to find the game. Dale has every sports channel known to man so there’s no chance we won’t be able to watch.
I sat on the other end of the couch just as he found the right channel. Grabbing a pillow, I curled up to watch as Boston took the field.
It still amazes me how comfortable I feel in Dale’s home even when he’s not here. But it’s definitely better when he is. Thankfully it won’t take him too long to fly home after the game.
Dale
* * *
I walked through the garage and into the lower level and stopped short. Karen and Jeremy asleep on the couch is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I closed the door behind me and rubbed at the warmth in my chest.
After going to my room to change, I went back downstairs and placed a blanket over Jeremy. He snuggled further into the couch sound asleep.
After turning off the overhead light, I walked to the other side of the couch, leaned down, and scooped Karen up in my arms. I thought about taking her to my room but we haven’t discussed that, so I brought her into the guest room. I flipped back the blankets and set her down on the bed and covered her. The corners of her mouth curled up into a small smile as she snuggled into the pillow.
I kissed her forehead and left while I still have some will power.
The next morning, I found Karen out on the deck with a mug of coffee. She’s wearing cotton shorts and a Waves T-shirt and with her hair in a ponytail, she could pass for a teenager.
“Good morning.”
She turned from the railing and smiled. “Good morning. I’m sorry I missed you last night. You should have woken me up.”
“If I’d woken you, you wouldn’t have gotten any sleep at all.”
I leaned down and kissed her, then wrapped my arms around her from behind. She rested back against me and I breathed in her sweet scent.
“It was nice having you here when I got home last night.”
“It was nice being here.” She set her mug on the railing and settled further against me.
“I’m glad.” I kissed the top of her head. “I told you last time you were here that I want you and Jeremy to stay whenever you can and consider it your home.” She stiffened after I said that. “What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Placing my hands on her waist, I turned her in my arms to face me.
“We need to be honest with each other for this to work between us. If there’s something you don’t like here, you need to let me know.”
“No, I love it here.”
“Then what is it?”
She looked into my eyes and let out a sigh then took my hand and led me to the couch.
“You’ll probably want to be sitting down for this conversation.”
We sat next to each other and I shifted to face her.
“Karen, you’re killing me here. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m sorry, nothing is wrong. You can relax.” I raised my brow. “Seriously. There’s just something I wanted to tell you in case Jeremy brings it up to you.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. “On the plane ride down here, Jeremy asked me if we’re going to be getting married. Then he asked if we’ll be moving here if we do.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“I said it was kind of soon to be talking about marriage and that I wouldn’t make a decision to move anywhere without discussing it with him first.”
I took her hand in mine and kissed in the middle of her palm, then placed her open hand over my heart and looked into her eyes.
“I love you, Karen. I’ve never said that to another woman. Ever. I know that you’re it for me.” She blinked but didn’t say anything so I continued. “I’d be thrilled if you and Jeremy wanted to move up here. But you’re absolutely right, that’s something that needs to be discussed. As far as getting married, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it. But I don’t want to rush this or you by asking a question you’re not ready for.” I leaned forward and kissed her. “We’ve made it this far. The season will be over in a couple months then we have the whole winter and spring training to spend together.” She was still listening so I decided to swing for the fence. “And maybe by then, you’ll be ready for me to ask that question.”
A lone tear traced down her cheek and I wiped it away with my thumb.
“I know I just dumped a ton of stuff on you just now but please say something,” I said around a nervous chuckle, wondering if I’d gone too far with that last sentence. “I’m dying here.”
“I love you, too.” She wiped at the other tears that had escaped. “And everything you said is perfect. I do think we need some more time together, preferably in the same city.” Placing her hand on my cheek, she added, “But you need to know that even though I’m not ready to answer that question, you’re it for me, too.”
I pulled her into my arms and crushed my mouth against hers. As our breath mingled and our tongues tangled, I knew I’d hit a home run with that swing. Slowly ending the kiss, I looked down at her and smiled.
“Come on, let’s go cook breakfast.” I stood and held out my hand. “If we’re gonna plan the rest of our lives together, we’ll need a full stomach.”
* * *
THE END
Thank you so much for reading Dale and Karen’s story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
* * *
Please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads.
* * *
You can check out Penny Montgomery’s story in Throw Like a Girl, available on Amazon.
Check out the rest of the Waves books:
Swing and a Kiss: Carolina Waves Series Book 4 Page 24