Page 131 of The King Contract
“After this camp, if I see Dan’s faceanywhere, I may commit murder,” she jokes, tucking her hair behind her ear. Dan’s chest heaves, but he doesn’t comment. “I don’t want to mess up the flow you’ve got going on here, either. Ooh, should we do a toast to our last night?”
Mack and Callum cheer in agreement and leap into sorting out plastic cups for us to pour champagne into. We’ve had a strict no-alcohol policy during the camp, so drinking a swig of champagne is something we’re all keen for.
When we all have a cup in our hands, we form a circle in the middle of the room, and everybody automatically looks at me.
“Well, I guess I better start,” I say, clearing my throat. “I couldn’t have done this without each of you. I mean it. This wouldn’t exist; I wouldn’t have become champion again . . .” I glance at Millie beside me. “I wouldn’t have the best woman in the world moving into my home next week.”
“Totes cute,” Mack sings sarcastically.
“We’ve helped kidsandadults become more confident,” I continue. “We’ve watched them grow in such a short amount of time and helped give kids an experience some of them never thought possible. A week of doing a heap of stuff we all love to do wasn’t what I initially envisioned. It’s better. Better than I could have ever thought possible. I’m grateful to the volunteers and the counsellors, to my sponsors and family, but you guys . . . I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone else.”
My chest swells as I look around the circle, the truth of my words settling over me with a buzz. My heart is so full of gratitude and pride at what we’ve achieved this year, and I’m forever grateful for every step that led us to this point.
When I look at Millie again, her brown eyes glisten, and she’s chewing her bottom lip. “That was beautiful.”
Mack pouts. “I’m about to bloody cry.”
“Well said, mate.” Callum lifts his cup. “Thank you for a stellar year. I can honestly say, it’s been one of the best of my entire life.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Dan agrees, his gaze landing on my sister, who looks surprised. I hazard a guess it’s his way of calling a truce to whatever their latest argument is. Dan rarely chimes in on toasts or says anything remotely sappy.
“Hear, hear!” Mack bellows, and we raise our cups. “To a fucking great year!”
“It’s been one of the best years of my life too,” I say quietly to Millie, as everyone swigs their drink. “And you’re the best part of it.”
She gazes up at me and smiles. “Really? Even better than becoming champion?”
“Fuck yeah.”
She rolls her eyes as she reaches her hands around my neck, stopping inches from my mouth. “You are such a cliché, Noah King.”
I pull her into me and she squeals, champagne sloshing out of her cup. “I’m going to keep cliché-ing the shit out of you.”
