Page 117 of Center Ice
Jameson turns and bends his head, nipping at Lauren’s ear so that she squeals and backs away, and he follows her.
And that’s when Audrey emerges from the bedroom, with Jules trailing behind her. Her dark hair is down, the loose curls falling over her bare shoulders. Cheeks pink, her face is glowing, and those gorgeous full lips have a hint of gloss. She literally takes my breath away, over and over, all the freaking time.
She walks toward me, the black t-shirt material of her sundress hugging her curves, and the bottom flowing around her knees. The whole thing is held up with two tiny satin straps on her shoulders. Everything else going on around me fades away and I only see her. When she reaches me, she leans up on her toes to give me a quick kiss.
I must be getting much better at the whole self-restraint thing, because I don’t run my hands along those seductive curves and slide my thumbs under the straps of her dress like I really want to. Instead, I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her to me as I whisper, “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
She laughs lightly, and says, “Thanks.” She’s getting better at taking compliments.
Behind her, I watch Graham unzip his sweatshirt and toss it on the couch, and I know it’s game time. “You’d better start saying hi to our guests,” I suggest, as I kiss her forehead, and then guide her hips away from me so there’s a sliver of space between us. I hate it when I’m not touching her, but I need her to stop focusing on me so she sees Graham.
“Alright,” she agrees, and turns to start saying hello and thanking people for coming.
“How long do you think it’ll take her to notice?” Jules asks quietly as she comes up next to me.
“No idea. But I probably should stick close to her, so I’m there when shedoesnotice.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“I’ll be shocked if someone doesn’t accidentally spoil it.” My money’s on Caitlyn and her overly dramatic reactions to everything, but I don’t say that to Jules because the two of them seem to get along well. Plus, my relationship with Caitlyn really is so much better than it was.
“Nah,” she says. “Everyone’s going to love it so much, they wouldn’t dare ruin the surprise.”
“You didn’t tell Colt, did you?” I ask, watching Audrey chat with Missy and my mom.
“I told you I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Well, you do live with the man.” I look for Graham, trying to make sure I’m still close enough to Audrey in case she sees him and his shirt.
Jules’s laugh is a snort. “Not by choice. And it doesn’t mean I swap secrets with him.”
“I don’t need to know anything about what you two are swapping–”
She slaps my arm hard and laughs, saying, “Ew, stop it. That’s so gross.”
“Let’s just hope he knows how to keep it cool when he sees Graham’s shirt.” Colt’s the biggest kid of them all, so maybe I should be more worried about his reaction than Caitlyn’s.
“Your message in the group chat wasveryclear. You’ve got a surprise planned, and when people realize what it is, they need to not act suspicious. I’m sure most people have guessed.” She nudges me in the side. “Go on, get your girl.”
I don’t know why I’m nervous as I come up behind Audrey, where she’s now talking to her brother, but I am. I face two hundred-and fifty-pound giants who are trying to pummel me while I skate around the ice on literal knife blades, and itdoesn’t faze me. But give me a five-foot-six brunette with the brightest blue eyes who holds the key to all my future happiness, and suddenly I have fucking butterflies roaming around my stomach.
I scan the room, and Graham is walking around with his chest puffed out, like he wants people to start noticing his shirt. And they do. I see it in the way Lauren’s hand flies to her mouth, her lips formed in a silent ‘O.’ I see it in the way Walsh shifts his baby to his other arm as he turns to look at me and nods in approval. I see it when Colt’s eyes widen, and he looks over at Jules like he might murder her. I see it when my mom grips Missy’s hand and her eyes fill with tears. I see it on the faces of every person who loves us as they realize what they are about to witness.
After another minute, the only people in the room who don’t seem to know what’s happening are Audrey and Jameson, because their heads are tucked together in conversation. When Graham looks at me, I give him a little nod and he walks toward Audrey.
The room has gotten quieter. The music still plays in the background, but people are so focused on Audrey that it’s like they’ve forgotten to carry on the conversations they were having. So Graham’s voice rings out when he says, “Hey, Mom, can you tie my shoe for me.”
“Sure, Bud,” she says as she turns and looks down at him. I’m only a step behind her when she gasps. I guess she finally noticed theDad wants to know if you’ll marry him?shirt Graham’s been walking around the party wearing for the last five minutes.
She starts to turn, like she’s looking for me, and the minute our eyes meet, I drop to one knee directly behind her, holding the ring box out in my hand. Her hand flies to her chest as her eyes fill with tears. This proposal is not unexpected—I’ve beensaying for months that I’m going to marry her soon—but I guess the timing is.
“You may be wondering,” I say while looking up at her, “why I’m proposing in a room full of people when I know what a private person you are, and how much you hate being the center of attention.”
Her chest shakes with laughter as a small smile graces her lips. “Pretty much.”
“The truth is, I couldn’t imagine proposing without our friends and family being part of this moment. Many of the people in this room have been there for you and Graham since before I was in the picture. And everyone here helped get us to this point in one way or another.
“For years, I thought I wasn’t ready to settle down, but now I realize that I just hadn’t found the right person yet, because nothing about being with you and Graham feels like settling. There is no place I’deverrather be than right next to you. You’re the person I think about before I skate out for a game, the one I look for when I line up at center ice, the one I can’t wait to get back to the hotel and call when I’m away.” In the background, my teammates laugh because they’re always giving me shit for rushing back to talk to her instead of going out.
