6 Months Later #2
I changed into a more formal outfit, and we went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
The mood around the table was mixed. The players who’d been part of the team for longer were, for the most part, positive.
They knew that changing the team from a hot mess to a championship contender wouldn’t happen overnight, but the younger players were less patient.
They wanted instant gratification. As a result, a handful of pouting young men were looking to drown their sorrows.
The team had reserved a private room for dinner, and because there was no one else to worry about bothering, both Coach Dunn and Assistant Coach Willets spoke to the team to make sure they knew that neither of them was unhappy with their performance.
Even Stephen Robertson and Joseph Trent joined. Robertson gave a spiel about how the team was on the exact trajectory he wanted them to be on, and Trent just congratulated them on coming as far as they had.
“We’ll get there next season,” Austin assured the guys around us.
“Yeah, we will,” Jesse agreed.
After we all stuffed ourselves with food, Austin and I walked Hazel back to her room, and then he took my hand and led me to the stairs.
At first, I assumed we were going to his room, but he didn’t turn down any of the corridors coming off the staircase.
Instead, we took the stairs all the way to the top.
“What are we doing?” I asked as he pushed open the door to the roof and guided me through it.
His lips quirked. “Be patient and you’ll find out.”
He closed the door behind us, and I took advantage of the moment to look around. A metal railing ran around the edge of the rooftop, but otherwise, it was largely empty, except for a wooden bench positioned to look out over the city.
Stars glittered overhead. A cold breeze nipped at my cheeks, and I pressed my fingertips to them in an attempt to keep them warm.
“Come and sit.” Austin escorted me to the bench and sat on one side, motioning for me to sit on the other. “I needed a bit of air last night and discovered this place. Isn’t the view beautiful?”
My heart softened. “It’s lovely. You can see so many stars from up here.”
At our place in Chicago, even though we were in the suburbs, you could never see more than a handful of stars at night.
Austin reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. His fingers traced around the outside of it as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it next. He looked up at me. His eyes—the ones I’d once thought cold—were full of affection, and my heart beat rapidly against my rib cage.
“Jane…”
“Yes?” I waited patiently for him to continue.
“Before you came along, I didn’t really know how to love anyone properly. I always told myself I was putting it off into the future so it wouldn’t distract from my career, but I was afraid that if I did try, I’d fail.”
“Like you’d let yourself fail at anything,” I whispered, fighting the nervous smile that wanted to curl the edges of my lips.
He huffed. “Well, you know how my dad was. Anyway, I know that what happened between us was always supposed to be fake, but we’ve known for months that we’ve gone far beyond that. I don’t think it was ever fake. Not really. Loving you is the realest thing I’ve ever done.”
My chest expanded and my stomach swooped. Where was this going?
He lifted the lid of the box and offered it to me. Inside, nestled on a bed of black velvet, was a heart-shaped locket.
My heart fell a little.
Silly woman. Did you actually think he might be proposing this soon?
People didn’t get engaged after dating for a matter of months. Not the ones I knew, anyway.
“I love it.” That was true. The locket was simple but stunning, with an ornate key design etched into the front of it.
“Good.” He swallowed, his throat bobbing, then reached for my hand.
“I’d like you to officially move in with me.
I know we already kind of live together, but that started when you were my assistant, and we never really talked about moving in as a couple.
I want you to move into the house properly and know that you’re there because I want you there with me always.
My stomach flipped over. “Austin.”
“We’ve already said that you aren’t my assistant anymore, but I want to make it clear that I don’t expect you to do things for me,” he continued. “I’ll hire a new assistant next season. I want you with me as the woman I love and nothing else.”
My eyes stung. I sniffed. “You had to just go and be sweet, didn’t you?”
One side of his mouth hitched up. “What do you say?”
I shook my head. “I don’t mind doing the assistant stuff for you.”
“But you shouldn’t have to. You should focus on getting a job as a speech therapist. I know you’ve had a couple of companies interested in hiring you, so do your research and decide where you want to work. Let me take care of things for a while.”
I bit my lip. “You’ve already given me all that money. It feels like too much.”
He rolled his eyes. “I should be able to spoil my wife however I want to.”
“Y-your wife,” I stammered, confused.
He gestured to the locket. “Open it.”
With trembling hands, I removed the locket from the bed of velvet. As I lifted it, there was a faint clink of metal on metal. My pulse thrummed steadily at the base of my throat, and I forced myself to draw in a slow breath as I eased the clasp open.
Sitting inside the locket was a gold ring with a princess cut diamond in the center and the infinity sign wrapped around small diamonds to each side.
I looked up, only to find that Austin was no longer sitting beside me. Instead, he’d dropped to his knee in front of me.
“I love you, Jane Foster-Wright. Marry me?”
“Yes!” The word emerged without a single quaver or stutter. I’d never meant anything more.
Austin picked the ring up between his too-large fingers and slid it onto my ring finger, then he kissed along the length of it and across the back of my hand to my wrist.
“Thank you.” He rose and kissed my lips, smoothing my hair back from my face with one hand. “You mean the world to me.”
My breath caught. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” His smile became mischievous. “And when we’re married, you’ll definitely be wearing my name anytime we play the Dragons. Standing in my section. Cheering for me. Your husband.”
I smirked. “I suppose I will.”
Alec would forgive me.
“Kiss me again?”
He obliged, and I went into his arms beneath the twinkling stars. Safe in his embrace, I couldn’t wait to start our future.
Together.
Austin