Taking Chances (BYC #3)

41. Anne

41

ANNE

I t’s been a month since I last saw him. The tears have stopped, but the memories of him are as fresh as they were on day one. I hope he’s doing well. Connor told me his mom moved into her own place with Lennox’s help—I hope she’s OK, too.

Every evening as I lie in my bed, I imagine his hands around me, gently caressing me. Every night, I’m waken up by sex dreams of the two of us. Every book I read, I imagine him as the main male character, but then I get upset when he falls in love with the FMC and don’t finish the book.

Luna is, luckily, feeling better and her snuggles are keeping me afloat. So I put the book down, grabbing my phone while she purrs in my lap.

A text from Rina appears on my screen.

Ooh, I hope it’s another photo of Daisy!

It’s not.

Rina:

Guess who’s in need of some babyless friend time?

Meeee!

Please tell me you can join me for a drink tonight!

I chuckle, reading the texts.

Me:

Sure, Rins. Can’t wait

Let me know when and where :)

She shoots me the location of an ice rink open year-round.

Rina:

We can meet here. I’ll leave Eric to skate, and we can chill at the coffee shop.

P.s. I plan to dress up since I rarely get to these days, just so you know.

Me:

Great! See you there

The summer heat has picked up, so the ice rink will be great to cool us down. I also appreciate the heads up about the dress code.

The green sundress I got a few days ago makes me feel like a million bucks. My makeup is light and my hair naturally wavy. Rina and Eric pick me up in front of my building in the afternoon.

“Hi, E. Excited for the skate?” I give him a high five.

“Mhm,” he murmurs, a smirk on his face.

Ookay. Guess I won’t get more than that.

“How’s Daisy?” I ask Rina instead.

Rina and I chat as she drives to the rink. She stops in front of the entrance, turning to me. “You go ahead and grab us a seat while I park the car.”

I nod before asking, “Eric, you coming?”

“Urm, I’ll go with Mom.”

What’s up with him today?

I shut the door and head inside.

The place looks completely empty, almost like it’s closed, but the entrance was open. My face scrunches before I see a sign with an arrow pointing to the right.

Huh, maybe they have some renovations going on.

I follow the sign, then follow the next one again. The place is still silent.

What the hell is going on?

Eventually, I reach the entrance to the rink and the sign pointing to go inside. I pull the heavy door, getting my ass inside where my breath is knocked out from me.

The first thing I notice are the stars. It’s not an open-air rink and it’s still daytime outside, but the ceiling is dark and covered in stars.

My heart pumps wildly as my gaze travels down to the ice. The ice that is covered in pink rose petals surrounding a pink carpet. And there at the end of the runway carpet, a figure stands on his skates, looking larger than life.

I choke on a breath when my eyes meet his deep blue ones. A humming melody starts all around me, as if seeping into my bones. I look around to see the top rows of the stands filled with people humming. It takes me until one of them starts singing to recognize it’s “Work Song” by Hozier, my mind hazy with emotion.

My sobs come in perfect rhythm with the song as I make my way to him. He’s in a black button down, his tattoos peeking out his rolled sleeves.

“This is my favorite song,” I say between sobs.

“I know.” He smiles, and it hits me. This is the proposal. I look around, as if checking if it’s real. This is the romantic, over the top, fantasy proposal I told him about the first time we met.

My hands shake as I try to pull myself together. “I can’t believe you remember.”

“I remember everything about you, Firecracker. Every word you said, every look you gave me.” His voice shakes with determination as he towers over me, his height combined with the skates intimidating.

His hands grab hold of mine, enveloping me with safety I only ever felt with him.

“Like an actual firecracker, you lit up my sky that first night, and I haven’t managed to find my way back to darkness ever since.” Another sob slips out and his calloused fingers wipe the tears under my eyes. “I love you, Anne. You’re way too perfect for me, but I’m not good enough of a man to let you go. I can’t promise you happiness, but I promise I’ll do my goddamn best to make sure it’s all you feel. Let me take care of you.”

I drag him down to my level and smash my tear-stained mouth to his. He brushes his perfect lips against mine for just a second before pulling away, his thumbs caressing my arms.

“I’m not done yet.” He shoots me a nervous smile.

And then, he drops down to one knee, skates and all. My heart’s beating louder than the choir as he extracts a tiny box from his back pocket.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say between sobs. “I know marriage was never something you wanted. We can just date.” This whole thing is incredible, but the last thing I would want is to force him into something.

“You’re right. It wasn’t.” He clears his throat, looking straight up into my weeping eyes. “And you deserve for me to date you, to woo you. I plan to do that, but in the meantime, I want you wearing my ring. I want you wearing my ring, then my name and then carrying my children. I want it all, Anne. With you.” A distinctly unladylike wail escapes me, pulling another smile out of him. “So please… marry me.”

I nod eagerly, whispering, “Yes.” My whole body wracks with shivers. He pulls out the ring and puts it on my shaking finger. It’s absolutely gorgeous, rose gold with a pink diamond in the middle. I stare at it for a second before pulling his mouth back to mine.

“Not yet, Firecracker.” He giggles. “We have one more thing to do.”

“What…” I don’t finish the sentence, and he picks me up as if I weigh nothing, lifting me over his head and starts to twirl us on the ice.

My sobs turn to laughter as I realize what he’s doing. “You’re crazy,” I squeal.

“You wanted Olympic figure skating twirling.” He shrugs, setting me back down on the carpet. “Hopefully, this qualifies as that.”

My heart soars at his words. Things I want, no matter how ridiculous they are, matter to him. Even before this, everything we did, he listened and noticed what I wanted, what I needed, and gave me exactly that.

“I love you, Lennox.”

“I fucking adore you, Firecracker.”

My head rolls back with an ecstatic chuckle. “How did you do this?” I point to the starry sky.

“You wanted an open-air ice rink, but it doesn’t really work with the summer heat. So I had to improvise. I don’t fully grasp the technology behind it, but I think it’s a hologram or something?”

“It’s incredible.” I smile. “Can I kiss you now?”

Grabbing me by the hips, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. Our lips collide with urgency, his hand finding its way into my hair.

“It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to taste you,” he murmurs before his tongue slips into my mouth, the kiss turning frantic.

His cock grows harder beneath me, and I let out a needy whimper, my core aching for him.

“Sounds like that will get you fucked right here on the ice, Firecracker.”

“Take me home, then,” I pant out.