Epilogue
A lex had been right to grumble. He’d been right in the middle of getting his very own Christmas present, and giving one too, when someone banged on the closet door.
Too many damned people knew where they were and, judging by the muffled laughter, also assumed what they were doing and had decided to torture him further by cockblocking him. Assholes.
Instead, he was stuck at his own house, playing host to the players who had all decided to stay in town for the holidays.
It was a tradition for the Knights that one player host Christmas night pot luck and players and their families rotated in and out.
The Knights were more than a team; they were a family.
And, like any family, they had overstayed their welcome.
Alex had a woman in his arms that he wanted to spend some quality time with, though his balls shriveled every time her sister and brother-in-law glared at him from across the room.
“Would you care to explain why Dylan keeps shooting death glares at you? I thought you both were tight, like brothers. Isn’t that some sort of pitcher—catcher requirement?” Lucy leaned back in his arms and wiggled her ass on his erection.
He groaned and tightened his arms around her. “If you care about me at all, you’ll to sit still.” He fingered his sore eye. “I may have pissed him off a little too much this time.”
She frowned and traced the bruise. “Did he actually hit you over me? Seriously?”
He grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her finger tips. “It was worth it. And honestly, I deserved it. I acted like an ass.”
She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his, then lingered for a second kiss. “We’ve been over this. You’re my ass and you’re forgiven. Maybe I should talk to Dylan.”
“Maybe you should talk to Dylan about what?” A male voice spoke from next to them, the tone expressing clear displeasure.
Alex and Lucy both glanced up to see Dylan and Savannah standing next to them, Savannah with a smirk on her face and Dylan looking less than pleased.
Lucy started to shift off of Alex’s lap, as if she was going to stand, but Alex, held her firmly in place, partially to hide the erection her kiss and wiggling had inspired, and partially to protect him from a second black eye.
With a disgruntled glance at him, she settled into place.
“You shouldn’t have hit Alex.”
Dylan arched an eyebrow. “Why not? He hurt you. Not acceptable in my book.”
“That was for me to work out with him, not for you to interfere. I had it handled.”
Savannah dug her elbow into Dylan’s side, hard enough to make him grunt. “Told you to stay out of it.”
“You were egging me on. Don’t play the innocent,” Dylan retorted.
Lucy pushed off Alex’s lap and stood, pulling him to his feet. “You two have to work together next season. I expect you to make up.”
“I’m not kissing him.”
“Hell no.”
Both statements came quick, fast and furious, from both Alex and Dylan, and both Lucy and Savannah rolled their eyes. “As much as I’d love to see you two kiss and make up, that’s really not necessary. A simple handshake will do.”
“Lucy, I understand Dylan’s point. You’re his sister and I hurt you. It’s going to take time for him to get over this. You can’t just wave a magic wand and make it all right.”
Lucy glared at Dylan. “Why not? I’m his sister-in-law and I’m okay with all of this. I’ve forgiven you. We’ll figure the rest out as we go. I don’t need Dylan to fight my battles. In fact, I’ve been fighting them by myself for a long damned time.”
Alex’s heart clenched at her words and he faced her.
He took her shoulders in his hands and gently turned her to face him.
“Lucy, that’s what family does. They stand by each other, defend each other, and have each other’s backs.
They support each other unconditionally, and take on everyone for each other. ”
She stared up at him, a glimmer of tears in her eyes. “But I can take care of myself.”
He wiped a tear from her cheek. “Of course you can, love. But you don’t have to go it alone. Not anymore. We’re all here for you.”
L ucy blinked up at Alex, the once fun and light Christmas night had turned into a much more serious, emotional evening, and definitely not the way she had planned it.
She had thought they might spend time with her sister and Dylan, have a nice dinner, and maybe have some great make-up sex after Savannah and Dylan left.
Instead, it had turned into a team party, with local players and their families showing up for a pot-luck, since it was Alex’s turn to host the team who hadn’t gone home for the holidays.
That wouldn’t have been so bad, except her emotional wounds were being laid bare for all to see, wounds she thought she had buried so deep, not even an archeologist could unearth them. Yet Alex had proven once again that he had the quickest route to her heart and to her soul.
She pasted on a smile and hoped he bought it. “I know. But I’m fine and I handled this just fine on my own.”
Dylan, her interfering brother-in-law, who was so not getting a Christmas present that year, cleared his throat. “Lucy, I’m sorry for butting in but he hurt you. I’d do the same thing to anyone who hurt Lindsey.”
She spared him a quick glance. “I’ve met your sister and Lindsey would de-ball any man who hurt her and feed them to him in a stew. She doesn’t need your protection.”
He winced but pressed on. “She has it anyway.”
Savannah stepped forward and put a gentle hand on Lucy’s shoulder.
Oh, this was one conversation she didn’t want to have in public.
Savannah knew all of Lucy’s secrets, all of her past, and no one needed to hear that basket of crazy.
“Lucy, I may not have always been the best big sister and our family was never exactly the Hallmark family ideal, but you were always there for me. I’d like to think I could be there for you in some way. ”
There it was. The straw that broke her emotional wall. The tears began to flow more freely. Lucy turned and hugged her sister tightly. “Savannah, you’ve always been there for me and I love you for it. And you too, Dylan. But I need to make my own way. You can help me but trust me to find my way.”
“No can do. Family is always going to be up in your business, little sister. We’ll let you find your path but we’ll be right behind you, supporting you in every way.” Savannah hugged Lucy fiercely, her own tears merging with Lucy’s, while the two guys watched.
Lucy eventually pulled away and leaned into Alex, who immediately enveloped her in a warm embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You’ll never get rid of us now. None of us. Which actually brings me to my Christmas gift to you, if you’ll accept it.”
She turned in his arms and frowned. “I kind of thought this was the gift. Us getting back together.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “While I agree that I am an amazing catch, you deserve so much more.”
“Definitely,” Dylan muttered under his breath and Savannah slammed her elbow into his ribs again.
Alex squatted next to the chair and then got on one knee. Oh shit. Please god don’t let that be a ring. She was so not ready for that level of commitment. Not quite yet.
He looked up at her, an expression of deadly seriousness on his face. The room got quiet as some of the players filtered in from the kitchen to watch the scene play out. Then he winked and held out the small jewelry box.
“Lucy, I love you and hate that you’re not here every day when I wake up, when I come home, when I go to bed. Thor misses you and my house is only a home when you’re here. Please, make my house a home.”
What kind of proposal was that? She took the box with shaking fingers and undid the silver ribbon. She popped open the lid of the blue box and a brass house key sat shining in the space. It took a minute for the meaning to set in.
She stared at him and he grinned at her. “Will you move in with me?”
“Thank god. I thought you were asking something else.”
“I’ll save that for next Christmas, if my habits don’t chase you away.” He stood and held out a keychain.
She couldn’t help but laugh. It was a dancing elf. Only Alex. He got her like no one else did. She definitely wasn’t ready for marriage. She had too much shit in her life to figure out. But she was definitely ready for a future with this man, and moving in was the perfect next step.
She hugged him tightly, and whispered, “I have a present for you, but I don’t think you want your team mates to see it.”
He released her quickly. “Everybody out. Party’s over.”
D o you want more of the Knights of Passion? Check out the first book in the series - Going All the Way . Read on for an excerpt.