Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I nod.
“Ben’s got cancer. Well, he’s clear of it at the moment. Quinn, Mack, and I didn’t want Ben to feel alone, so we shaved our hair with him.”
“Is that why you told me to make that donation to the testicular cancer charity?”
Noah nods. “Yeah, and thanks for doing that. Hopefully with the amount of money the team sent in, we’re helping.”
“Okay, well now I’m going to cry,” Kelsey adds. “You guys are amazing to each other.”
“It’s one giant family,” Julius adds. His words remind me that I still need to speak to Noah about his future plans. He’s hinted that the Pioneers might not be it and I’d kind of like to know before my contract expires.
We eat dinner, and then the center for underprivileged kids brings all their kids in. Santa becomes the focal point and hands out a present to each child. It’s fun watching them open them, and it makes me miss my niece and nephew. I haven’t spent a holiday with them in a while and I think I’m long overdue. Maybe next year, depending on the football schedule, I can plan a family getaway for mine and Kelsey’s family. It’s too late this year. Besides, I want to spend all my free time with Kelsey, just the two of us.
As the night winds down, we start to make our way outside. Thankfully, most of the media is gone, but there are a few stragglers hanging around, snapping photos of people coming out of the hotel and getting into cars. The limo that brought us, takes us home. It’s a nice, relaxing drive, where I spend the majority of it staring at Kelsey. I’m so in love with her, it hurts sometimes. Even though I have her, I fear I’m going to lose her.
The limo drops us off and I follow Kelsey and stand behind her while she puts the code to the front door. She opens the door, walks in and gasps.
Rose petals go from the front door to our Christmas tree, which is lit up in white. Soft music plays through the sound system, and the fireplace glows. Kelsey follows the path to the tree, where a lone present sits.
“What’s this?” she asks of the medium sized box on the floor.
“Open it.”
Kelsey tears the paper slowly, showing me how long it’s going to take her to open the presents I bought her for the actual day. She opens the box, only to find another one.
“Alex.”
I shrug. Sometimes jokes are fun.
After the third box, she finally reaches the end. She pulls the black velvet box out and I drop to my knee. “I thought of a million and one ways to do this.”
“Alex!” She gasps and covers her mouth. I take the box from her hand and take the ring out of the velvet cushion and reach for her left hand.
“I know we haven’t been together long or even known each other long, but I’m a firm believer in when you know, you know, and I know. You’re the one for me, Kelsey. I’ve known from the first day you stepped into our practice facility. When I drew the piece of paper with ‘winner' written on it, I thought I would give whoever was there a quick run-down of the game, and then hightail it out of there, but then I saw you, and my world shifted.”
I slip the ring onto her finger even though I haven’t asked. “Kelsey Lynn Sloane, will you do me the honor of becoming my partner for the rest of our lives?” I look into her eyes and see tears. “Will you marry me, honey?”
Kelsey drops to her knees and holds my face in between her hands. “Yes, Alex. Hell yes, I’ll marry you.” We kiss, which turns heated in no time. “Strip me naked here,” she says against my mouth. “Show me how much you love me. Make love to me, Alex.”
“With pleasure.”
EPILOGUE
Kelsey finds me swimming laps when she gets home from work. We still don’t live together, at least not full-time because my location doesn’t make the best sense for her. And we’re both torn on what to do. We love my house, but we also love her apartment. Hers is quaint and cozy, and I love being there. But my house is perfect, with the pool, jetted tub, and indoor-outdoor living space. Kelsey’s apartment is close to work, for both of us, but we love the privacy of my home. Needless to say, we’re confused about where we should live as a couple. We’ve even thought about buying a new place. It doesn’t make sense though. Most of the homes are a distance from her job, and if we already have her apartment, why find another one?
I swim to the edge and then climb out of the pool. I don’t bother to dry off, mostly because I like the way Kelsey looks at me when I get out of the pool. She swallows hard as I approach her, with only one thing on my mind—her.