“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Her soft hands cup my face, chasing the last remnants of fear away with their warmth. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“No, baby. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I do, though. I hurt you. I made you question my love for you and I pulled away. It’s stupid, but I really thought I was doing the right thing. That I had to fix myself to be worthy of your love or something, but you have never asked me to be perfect or to prove my worth. You’ve loved me exactly as I am. I was just too scared of being hurt to see it.” Tears drip from Mira’s lower lashes and her lip trembles.
Reaching up, I dry her eyes with my thumbs. “Oh, sunshine, you don’t have to apologize for being scared and trying to protect yourself. I did the same thing for years, remember? It’s why I never tried to date anyone or put myself out there. Until you. You got me drunk, and when we woke up married, it was like you handed my chance to me on a silver platter.” I kiss her teary eyelids before tilting her chin up and running my thumb over her lower lip. “Not sure I would have had the courage to go after what I wanted if you hadn’t.”
“And what did you want?”
I grin and nuzzle her nose with mine. “You. Some part of me has always wanted you. But I couldn’t let myself acknowledge the attraction I felt, because you were my best friend’s little sister. You were beautiful and fiery and hilarious, but you were off-limits.
“Then you moved in and I realized what I felt for you was so much more than physical attraction. Spending time with you made it easier to breathe. You’re sunshine and fresh air and everything good, baby.” Reaching into my pocket, my fingers close around the little black velvet box I’ve carried every day since that first day in Michigan. Not even hernowhen I proposed before made me stop.
Mira’s green eyes widen as I pull the box from my pocket and hold it up between us. She clasps her hands over her heart, and they tremble. So do mine.
Flipping the lid of the ring box open, I memorize her soft little inhalation and etch it into my heart. “I know you said no when I asked you to marry me a few weeks ago, but I figure now that you’ve asked me and I said yes, well…” I take the massive diamond out and slip it onto her ring finger. “I thought you may want to wear it now.”
“Yeah,” she says with a watery laugh, “I want to wear it now.”
Once the ring is on her slender finger, she holds it out between us and admires it. I’m only admiring her. “You’re beautiful.”
“I love it. I loveyou.” Mira leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips before pulling back with a stunning smile. “I can’t wait to show Isla and Lexi.”
The way she’s looking at me—like I’m everything to her—has me tempted to sayfuck itto meeting everyone at Chasers so I can take my wife home and make her mine again in every conceivable way. But they’d kick my ass, and I know they’ll want to celebrate Mira and me working our shit out as much as they’ll want to celebrate the win. So instead of pushing my girl into the car and ravaging her, I settle for slanting my lips over hers and kissing the fuck out of her.
The little gasp she releases in my mouth as she opens for me has my dick painfully hard. I press her against the car, showing her how much I want her, and sweep my tongue inside her mouth. We make out right there in the players’ garage until a few of my teammates wolf whistle and shout at us to get a room.
Mira pulls away, the prettiest blush staining her cheeks. She looks up at me, giggles, then leans forward and hides her face in my chest.
“Oh my god.”
“Got a little carried away. Sorry, sunshine. Let’s go make an appearance at Chasers. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”
She giggles again, and god, I’ve missed that sound. We don’t talk much on the way to the bar, both of us content to soak up the other’s company. I don’t let her hand go until I’m pulling into the parking lot, then as soon as we’re out of the car, it’s back in mine.
For the first time in weeks, I feel settled and content. There’s no worry eating away at my stomach, no loneliness picking at my heart. I woke up this morning without Mira in my arms, but tonight, I’ll fall asleep holding her, and I’ll never wake up without her again. Well, without her being mine. Even if there are hundreds of miles between us during away games, I’ll still wake up each morning knowing she’s mine.
Isla, Lexi, and the guys all cheer as Mira and I walk into Chasers. They stand and clap and shout for us. Even Maddox. Once the other patrons see what the fuss is about, they join in too. And I laugh when I see what’s playing on the big screens all over the bar. It’s footage of Mira proposing to me after the game.
“This is embarrassing,” she mutters, her face turning the brightest shade of red I’ve ever seen.
Laughing, I grab my wife and dip her low, right there in front of the entire bar, and kiss the hell out of her. When we’re standing again, I raise her hand like the winning boxer in a ring and shout, “I said yes!”
Cheers go up again, along with quite a bit of laughter, as we make our way to the table in the back filled with our family and friends. They all crowd around Mira and me, hugging and congratulating us. My wife’s smile is blinding, and my heart feels like a helium balloon. If it gets any fuller, it may float out of my chest.
“I’m happy for you,” Bash says as he pulls me in for a hug. “You deserve someone to look at you the way your wife does. I’m glad I was wrong about the jersey stunt.”
I laugh. “Me too, man, me too.”
Ryder hugs me next, then Maddox, then Logan.
“Can’t believe my wingman is married,” Logan laments. “This is a sad fucking day.”
I can’t even be annoyed, because his pout is so ridiculous that all I can do is laugh. “Just wait, dude. You’ll be next. You have to be, because karma is hilarious like that.”
Byrne’s nose wrinkles like he smelled something foul. “No. Absolutely not. You won’t curse me to a life of misery and disappointment.”
“I’m gonna laugh my ass off when you change your tune one day.” Shaking my head, I clap my good friend on the shoulder. “Some firecracker of a woman is going to come along and put you in your place, and you’ll never live it down.”
