“That’s comforting to know. C’mon, let’s go.” He grasped my hand and we headed out.
In the underground parking, he opened the truck door. Before he helped me up, I faced him. “You know, maybe if you get a normal size truck or car, you wouldn’t have to do this every time?”
His eyes narrowed. “Do I complain?”
“No. But it must get tiring by now?”
He cupped my neck and kissed me, slowly and decadently, stealing my mind. A soft sigh escaped me, and I leaned into him. He caressed my nape, his other hand sliding down my back, and he squeezed my bottom, making me lose all focus. He glided his mouth to my ear, his minty breath a warm caress on my cheek. “Then I’ll miss out on this, especially holding your sexy backside.”
I huffed out a laugh.
Lips quirking, he grabbed me by my waist and helped me into the truck. The necklace he’d given me two years ago fell on my lap, and I groaned. “Please, don’t let it be broken.”
War picked it up, fiddle a bit with it, then he put it on me again. “Fixed it.”
“Thank you.” I stroked the pendant.
As we headed toward the Mission and Mulligan’s bar, I took in the chockablock street. “Two years ago, this month, was the first time I met you in Mulligan’s when Max proposed to Ila,” I told him.
“I recall,” he murmured, his attention on the busy street. “Not the engagement so much, just you.”
“I was so aware of you, too, and trying to avoid you at the same time. I mean, I heard of the player’s rep.”
He snorted. “True, we did have one, but everyone else ceased to exist once I saw you.”
I believed him. Because these last two years had shown me that. I’d traveled along for his games because he wanted me with him, and I could take my work along with me. I’d started to understand hockey, too, and enjoyed it. War pushed himself, played hard, and was a force to be reckoned with on the ice. Then he was made captain a year ago, a crowning moment in his career.
And, of course, there were the women. I guess sports stars would always have groupies and hangers-on. But War was polite and didn’t encourage them.
I twirled my necklace with a finger and glanced at him in the passing streetlights. I loved War deeply and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. But every time I thought about bringing marriage up, the memory of that prenup humiliation with my mother reared its ugly head and shut me down.
Maybe Ila and Ray would help me see things more clearly.
My necklace fell on my lap. Again. Darn.
I needed to get the clasp fixed at the jeweler. War wasn’t doing a very good job of mending it. As I picked it up, the pendant dropped open, and the small frames with pictures of War and my dad unfolded—
Wow, nottwo, but three frames? The bottom one had something stuck inside it.
I dug it out—a small piece of folded paper.
Frowning, I unfolded and peered at the few lines in the dark interior of the truck, and my heart started to pound. Hastily, I switched on the light, revealing the tiny square of paper which had yellowed a bit. I recognized the sprawling handwriting.
Charli, I write this to you today because I want you to know exactly where I stand.
I love you, Blue, so yes, somewhere in the future, I want a commitment from you. I want it all. I want forever with you. If you find this first before the two years are up—yes, that’s my limit—and your answer is yes, then come find me. If you’re still not ready, find me anyway so that I can convince you of the truth.
My breath caught in my throat, my heart drumming against my sternum, and I became aware of how quiet War had gone. And that he’d already parked the truck on a side street.
“What is this?” I whispered.
“Exactly, what it says,” he said quietly.
“It was here all this time, on me?”
“Yes.” He rested an arm on the steering wheel. “Every time I scored a winning goal and sought you out in the crowd, I’d hoped you’d found the proposal and would wave it at me as a yes. It would be a double win.” He huffed out a laugh, then sobered. “I still want it all, Charli. That hasn’t changed. I’m twenty-nine. I want a life with you. You’ve always known that.”
Emotions choked me, from stunned disbelief to amazement, and my mouth, usually so quick with a comeback, had dried up. I had no words.
