Chapter Ten #3
they call Christian up onto the stage and introduce him to the masses. The
cheers from the crowd are deafening. I watch with pride as he takes it all in.
They’re cheering for him—not the team, just him.
I’m happy. I’m truly happy. This is where he’s meant to be.
Even if it is ridiculously cold.
But hey, it’s not winter year-round, so…that’s a plus.
Once I stop looking at this change as being all about me and
what I’m losing, it’s easy to see what I’m gaining.
Right now, it’s Christian’s time to shine, but I know there
will be room in the spotlight for two when the time’s right.
Spring training doesn’t start until March, but there
are so many things we need to do before then. When we get back to California, I
have meetings with my agent about some potential roles, plus production is
starting again for Workin’ for Laughs.
Meanwhile, Christian prepares for his move. He no longer needs an apartment in
Newport Beach, and whenever he comes to LA to see me, we’ll just stay at my
place. Still, it’s bittersweet when we pack up his apartment. It’s where we
fell in love. We have so many memories that we will cherish forever.
Things are happening, and we’re busy. One afternoon,
Christian surprises me by stopping by the apartment unannounced.
“Hey, Ella Rose,” he says, kissing my cheek.
“Hey, you. What are you doing here?”
I lead him to the kitchen to get us something to drink when
he completely shocks me.
“How would you feel about going to Wonder Land for a week?”
Spinning around, I bang into the refrigerator door, nearly
falling on my butt. “Um…what?”
“Wonder Land? You know, the place in Florida that you love
so much.” He’s teasing, and his smile is absolutely adorable. “I was thinking
maybe we could take one last vacation before life gets chaotic. And since
you’re the one making most of the sacrifices, I wanted to go somewhere that’s
special and meaningful to you. So? What do you think?”
“Oh, my goodness! Are you kidding me? I love this idea!” But
I don’t know if my schedule will. “Hold that thought,” I tell him as I run to
my room to grab my planner. I find him sitting on the sofa and immediately join
him. “Okay, when are you thinking?”
“You tell me what dates work for you, and that’s when we’ll
go. I’ll handle all the arrangements.”
Seriously, could I love him more?
We look over my calendar and realize we need to do it sooner
rather than later. “What can I do to help?”
He kisses me, caressing my cheek as he does, and it makes me
all gooey. I just melt against him. “Not a thing. I’ve got it all under
control.”
I have a feeling he’s got something up his sleeve, but I’m
not going to let myself think about it and possibly ruin whatever it is.
Christian may not think he’s romantic, but he seriously is. So, I will be
patient, sit back, and enjoy the plans he makes.
And hope my curiosity doesn’t get the best of me.
Two weeks later, we land in Orlando, and I’m shocked when a
limo picks us up.
“Christian. What in the world…?”
He’s smiling, clearly enjoying my joy.
My next surprise is when we pull up at the most deluxe hotel
of the Wonder Land Resort. “Are you kidding me?” I ask excitedly. “We’re
staying at The Grand Brightwater?” I cannot hide my wide-eyed wonder.
This is like…top tier. It has always been my dream to stay
here, but it’s completely out of my budget. I’ve come here to just walk around
so many times, dreaming of the day I’d be able to afford to stay. I can’t
believe I’m going to be staying here.
We walk into the lobby, and it’s just as magical as I
remember. The Grand Brightwater blends Victorian romance with storybook
elegance. I feel a little like royalty as I walk in. The decor is all soft
blush and champagne tones, antique gold filigree, creamy marble floors, and
cascading chandeliers shaped like floating glass petals. The architecture feels
grand but intimate, less palace and more enchanted lakeside manor.
The hotel’s signature scent of white magnolia and vanilla
musk with a faint note of honeyed amber greets guests in the lobby. I already
know they sell candles and lotions with the scent, and I will want to take them
all home with me. I’m already wrapped up in the ambience and feeling right at
home.
But one of the coolest things about this resort? At night,
the entire lobby glows in rose-gold light from hundreds of tiny sconces
designed to look like fireflies in glass.
It’s magical.
And I’m staying here!
I think I know what Christian has planned for us, but I
don’t want to jinx it and even say the words to myself. This is wildly
romantic, and he’s making one of my dreams a reality.
By the end of this trip, I have a feeling that one of my biggest
dreams will have also come true.
He gets us checked in, and we walk through the atrium—a
sweeping glass-roofed conservatory at the heart of the resort, filled with
living greenery, a trickling fountain, and moonlight that spills in after dark.
A pianist plays soft instrumental Wonder Land and Storyteller classics that I
recognize from my childhood. The music drifts up through the balconies of the
guest floors.
Magical.
Our suite is positively decadent and has a perfect view of
the storybook castle right in the middle of Wonder Land’s signature park. I
open the door that leads out to the balcony, feeling like a kid on Christmas
morning. I don’t think anything could be more perfect than this.
Then I turn around and find Christian down on one knee.
Oh, my goodness…
My hands immediately fly up, covering my mouth as I look
down at this incredible man who clearly knows my every wish.
He lets out a soft breath. “I never thought my hands would
shake like this.” Then he seems to relax. “Ella Rose, I’ve played in front of
forty thousand people. I’ve stood on fields where every breath feels like it
matters, and every mistake echoes for miles. I’ve faced pressure, expectation,
noise…and somehow, this moment is louder than all of it. Because it’s you.”
His lopsided grin is so freaking endearing that I don’t even
let him say anything else. I’m instantly in his arms, saying, “Yes! Yes!”
We’re both laughing, but then I realize he probably planned
to say more. I sit back on my heels, holding his hand, and smile.
“When I met you, I thought I was pretty solid. I had my
career. My plans. My future mapped out like innings in a game. But then you
walked into my world, and somehow everything—everything—got better.
Brighter. You turned the spotlight into something warm instead of blinding. You
made all the miles, all the airports, all the games feel like they led me
somewhere worth arriving.
I’ve always talked about being a team. That’s how my brain
works. Wins. Losses. Commitment. Showing up. Pushing through the slumps.
Celebrating the victories. And I realized somewhere along the way that every
time I thought about the future, it wasn’t just me on the field anymore. You
were there, too.”
I reach up and caress his powerful jaw as he continues.
“You, laughing in the stands. You, singing in the car into
an inflatable microphone. You, reminding me I’m more than what I do. You, being
home…no matter where we are.”
Tears sting my eyes, and my heart feels ready to burst.
“I don’t want us to be two people trying to balance separate
worlds. I want us to build one. Together. I want to face the noise with you. I
want to come home to you after the great games and the terrible ones. I want to
cheer for you when you shine and hold you when the world gets unfair. I want
every chapter, every season, every impossible, beautiful, ordinary day…with
you. So, this is me, right here, heart wide open, doing the scariest and
easiest thing I’ve ever done all at once.”
I know what’s coming, and yet I still hold my breath.
“As I look into your eyes—the same eyes I saw for the first
time by chance on a plane and then at a baseball game while you were wearing my
jersey—I see the same ones I want to look at for the rest of my life.” He
pauses. “Ella Rose…will you be my teammate for life? Will you marry me?”
Christian’s a man of few words, but when he uses them,
they’re powerful.
Tears stream down my face as I nod and whisper, “Yes.”
That’s when I notice he’s not holding a ring box, but a cute
Hello Kitty purse—another I don’t have. I look at him, and he nods at the
purse. “Look inside.”
I spot a little blue box and pull it out. I think I’m a
little in shock that all this is happening.
“Don’t you want to see the ring?”
Oh, right. I do! I open the box and slip the ring onto my
finger, twirling it in the light. “It’s a perfect fit,” I whisper, and he
smiles.
“Just like you’re a perfect fit for me,” he says, and he’s
right. We’re a perfect fit.