Picking up my bags, Lola and Maddie move to the side and that’s when I see Preston standing against the wall, one foot crossed over the other, a bouquet of vibrant flowers in his hands. My eyes dart between my girlfriends, who both snicker and shrug and then they walk away, leaving me to face Preston.
Swallowing the boulder-size lump in my throat, I blink back the tears that have now begun to run down my face, dropping to the floor like pieces of my past.
Because in front of me is my future. My love. My Prince.
“Preston.” I manage to squeak out from my parched lips.
“Brinly.”
He moves toward me with the confidence of a man who knows what he wants and a woman who only wants him.
I jump into his arms, throwing my bags to the ground, and he catches me with strong arms.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I mumble, kissing every inch of his face and head. “I love you, too.”
He chuckles, pulling his head back so he can look me in the eyes. His voice is full of humor.
“Even though I’m just a hockey player?”
My lips find his, warm and wet, our tongues making up for lost time.
“You’re so much more than that to me. You’re my fairytale happy ending.”
The End
One Year Later
I stretch and rollover to find my sexy Prince Charming still lying asleep next to me, wrapped up in the rumbled sheets, an arm thrown across his face. A secret smile tips across my mouth as I recall last night’s adventures in bed.
Preston had a hockey game in Boston and rushed back home to surprise me last night. I hadn’t expected him until the next morning. I was sitting on the couch in my penguin pajamas working on a paper when he burst in the front door holding a bottle of bubbly and crushing me in his generous hug.
“What in the world are you doing here?” I asked, laughing through a barrage of kisses.
He’d pulled away and gave me a look that said I was crazy for even asking.
“It’s the one-year anniversary of our first date, silly. It was exactly a year ago tonight when I took you out on our first date.” He gave me a knowing smile, his eyes scanning over my pj-clad body. “While I love this ensemble you’re rocking, you need to go pull on a hoodie and some leggings, because I’m taking you to the Harvest Festival to celebrate.”
I was floored by his adorably sweet and romantic gesture. Not only had he remembered, but he took the time to plan our date and came back early to surprise me.
And that’s no easy feat, considering his schedule as a professional minor league hockey player is insane in the fall and winter. Yes, that’s right. My boyfriend is a professional hockey player. I’m sure my mother is grumbling under her breath right now, wherever she is.
Although Preston was planning on working after earning his degree, he’d actually decided to give the hockey thing a try. He’d drafted and was signed earlier in the year on an NHL farm team, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers minor league team. I am so proud of him and even though I’m still attending school at Oak Ridge University where we now share an apartment together, I go to his games as often as I can.
It certainly hasn’t been easy to be away from him when he’s on the road, but we definitely make up for lost time when he’s home.
Like last night.
I sigh wistfully, running a hand down his bare chest, over the ripples and valley of his athletic stomach, until I reach the edge of the sheet.
He groans at my teasing and seductively brazen action, and then with the skill and speed of a ninja, flips me over onto my back and covers me with his strong body.
“You’re getting me hard, princess. Are you doing that on purpose?”
Preston begins kissing my neck and collarbone, then moves down to my breasts, which arch forward for his attention.
I love mornings like this. How could I not? I feel like I’ve won the lottery when it comes to Preston Dahl.
There is no question in my mind that with him, I’m living my fairytale life.
