Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“My lap isn’t broken,” I tell her, and then by her ear, I whisper, “You found that out not two hours ago.”
She snickers. “Keeping time?”
“Duh. I’m due for a repeat performance in another twenty minutes,” I say, and her laugh is like music.
From the couch, Clara says, “Ew.”
“Right? We need men so we can be distracted by our own guys and not hear them,” Elliot agrees, and Dan gives them both a look.
“No hockey players,” he practically begs.
Clara smiles sweetly. “Sorry, Peepaw. Hockey players are hot.”
The three McDavid sisters with hockey-player other halves all nod in agreement. He waves her off. “Then find one not on the Bears.”
She shrugs as Eliza leans into my chest, our eyes meeting. “Everything okay with Coach?”
With my voice low, I say, “Yeah, he wants me to give him a year once I’m cleared to non-contact and see what we can make happen.”
She searches my eyes. “What are you thinking?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s too early.”
She nods slowly. “Understandable. But know that, no matter what, I support you.”
“I don’t want to put you through this again. I’m bound to get hurt.”
“By then, I’ll be a pro,” she insists, her eyes sparkling. “I know who I married. A hot, hockey-playing alpha. So please don’t put aside your dreams because of fears of how it’ll affect me. No matter what, I’ve got you.”
“I’ve got you always, Eliza,” I say softly as I gaze into her eyes.
She cups my jaw. With a smile, she says, “I know.” I kiss her nose, and before I can react to her statement, she goes on. “But the last time you gave up a year of your life, you got the best thing ever.”
She giggles and probably expects me to laugh too, but what she doesn’t realize is she’s absolutely right. “You are the best thing in my life,” I whisper, holding her gaze.
“And even though you were scared, you tried, and look how that worked out.”
“I fell for you way before I tried, Eliza. You’ve been it for me. I was just too much of a dumbass.”
Her eyes get a bit glossy, and then she winks. “I know.”
I can’t help but grin at her. “You always knew, huh?”
“I did,” she says confidently. “Because you were it for me.”
My throat goes tight as I hold her gaze, and I know I don’t want to waste another minute. “If I could, I’d get out of this seat. But I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Her brows furrow as I dig into my side pocket. I pull out a black bear-shaped box with an orange bow on top of it, and her brows pull in even farther. “What’s that? Is that a bear?” she asks with a chuckle, and I nod.
“It is. I feel bears are important to us.”
She blinks. “No, they’re not. I don’t want them anywhere near us.”
I laugh and then lean in so my lips touch her ear. “You know I’m the only one allowed to eat you, Wife.”
“I can’t with you.”
I give her a wide smile before I hand her the box. “Like I said, I would get down on one knee, but I’m a bit broken.”
Her eyes are full of so much love as she nods. “Just a little bit broken.”
She slowly opens the box to reveal a two-carat round diamond on a roped gold band, along with a matching wedding band made of diamonds. In the light, they sparkle just as her eyes do, and when I look at those sparkling eyes, my breath catches at the tears that well up.
She looks up at me, and I finally find my breath and then my words. Quietly, I whisper, “I love you, Wife. More so than I ever thought I could. I was starved before I met you. Starved for joy, for love, for peace, for everything that you have brought into my life. I didn’t know what it was to be loved until I met you. I can’t even imagine my life without you. You make me a better man and a better person. Eliza James Katz, I want to spend the rest of my days as yours. Only yours. Forever. Be my wife forever, Wife?”
Tears spill over onto her cheeks, and I wipe them away quickly. She gazes into my eyes, and I take the box from her. I pull out the rings, not needing her answer because I know what it is. I slide the rings down her finger, and I wait for the panic that I would have felt before. But as I suspected, it doesn’t come. This girl is mine. I look up at my wife, and she leans in until our foreheads touch. “Forever the easiest yes of my life.”
I capture her lips, and while I don’t know what the hell is going to happen with my career, I know that no matter what, we’ll always be standing next to each other.