Chapter Fifty #2
He cupped my face and kissed me deeply. I swung a leg over his lap and straddled him, not caring who the hell walked by and dared to judge us. I parted his lips with my tongue and he opened for me, igniting arousal and an aching to be as close to him as possible. He kissed his way down my neck.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t think about it like this before,” he said. “I was so afraid of forcing you to choose between two things you love and I spent so much time agonizing over it that I never stopped for a moment to think of how we could actually make this work.”
I laughed and kissed him again. “There is no choice for me, Leo. Even without all these options and the private jet, I belong with you. That’s what home means.”
He cupped my face. “I want you forever, Sophia. I’ve known that you were the one for me since you showed up in my dorm asking me to rock your world.”
My head fell backward as I laughed. “Okay, then do me one favor.”
“Anything.”
“Ask me to come home with you this time.” I rubbed my face against his hand. “We’ll figure all of this out, but I don’t want us to ever think that the best way to support each other is to be apart ever again. Promise me that won’t happen and ask me to come home with you.”
“Sophia, I will never let you get on a plane again unless I know your return date.” He kissed me. “I want you to come back to Boston with me but only so that we can make wherever we are our home. Just stay with me, Hawaii.”
I smiled. “Will you keep looking at me with fireworks in your eyes?”
“For the rest of my life,” he said, kissing my neck.
“Then I’ll go anywhere with you,” I said. “But we need to take some time and look at those dates. I need to check them against Kennedy’s due date.”
Leo pulled back and looked at me with a quizzical expression.
“Kennedy’s pregnant,” I said, chuckling.
“Um, I read your dad’s books while I was crying in bed and I thought they couldn’t get pregnant naturally,” Leo said.
“So did they,” I said, laughing. “Surprise! I’m getting a baby sister named Izzy in less than twenty weeks.”
“Wow, okay,” he said. “We’ll factor that in. I’ll be here with you if I can, and if not, I’ll be waiting in Boston when you get home.”
“Maybe I could build a spreadsheet,” I said. “I can take what you started and plan out our locations and then overlay that with important events in both of our family’s lives so we can be at events that we feel are important.”
Leo smirked at me, and I felt my cheeks flush.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re so hot when you nerd out.” He nibbled at my neck and I giggled. “You can build as many spreadsheets as you want, Hawaii. As long as we’re both honest and we discuss what we want. No preemptively sacrificing for each other.”
“Deal,” I said. “You want to stay here for a few weeks since you’re already here? We can start finding a place and I can keep Kennedy off her feet for a little bit longer by helping at the cafés. We can go back to Boston in time to find a condo before training camp starts.”
“Yes,” he said. “That sounds perfect. Plus, I’m two weeks out of shape. Maybe Eric can help me out.”
I laughed. “Oh, he can. He’s been dragging me out of bed to work out despite a great deal of bitching on my end.”
“What else have you been up to the last two weeks? I feel like I missed too much of your life.”
“Besides crying and being a surly jerk to everyone? I wrote a second novel. Which Maggie loves,” I said with a shrug.
“You wrote a book? In two weeks?” he asked. “What’s it about?”
“An aspiring romance novelist who falls in love with a hockey player,” I said with a smirk.
He grinned, looking like the arrogant ass I’d interviewed in the fall. “You wrote a book about me, Hawaii?”
“I did. And Maggie said the sex scenes are sizzling. Even hotter than my first book.”
“Damn straight they are!” Leo held up his hand for a high five.
I laughed and slapped his hand. “There is one small problem, however. It still needs a few final chapters. I couldn’t figure out how the characters got everything they wanted, so I guess I needed to think outside the box too.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Leo said, straightening his back.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Let’s hear it.”
“The hockey player shows up to get the writer back. And then the book ends with their engagement, right on the streets of Oahu.”
“Oh, really?” I said.
Leo stood up and lifted me off his lap, set me down on the bench, and got down on one knee, reaching into his backpack again.
“Yes, really.” He pulled a ring box out of his bag and held it open for me.
It was a beautiful square diamond surrounded by a border of small diamonds on a platinum band.
“Sophia, I ordered this when I went to get that pregnancy test. On my way to the drugstore I realized that whether you were pregnant or not didn’t matter.
I want to spend my life with you, and I should have told you that weeks ago. ”
“Are you really asking—?”
“Don’t steal my thunder, Hawaii,” Leo said with a smirk. “I’m asking you to be my wife. You’re it for me. We’re endgame. I love you and I’m planning to marry you, Sophia Grimes, as soon as you’ll have me.”
“Put the ring on my finger,” I said. “This is definitely the perfect ending to my book, and I want to marry you too, Leo Harrison.”
He slipped the ring on my finger and stood up, pulling me with him. He bent down to kiss me.
“Besides, now all the puck bunnies will know this fuckboy is off the market for good,” he said, cupping the back of my head. “The only woman I want beating down my hotel room door is you, Hawaii. In your underwear, if you’re up for it.”
I laughed. “I’ll be waiting in your room in my underwear. Or naked.”
“I can make that work,” he said. “Should we look at wedding venues while we’re here?”
I laughed. “I’ve always imagined getting married on the beach at my dad’s house. But if we get married here, will we be able to get Sloane on a plane?”
“For her only nephew? Of course. And if not, my dad will sedate her.”
Leo lifted me up and spun me around, pressing another kiss to my lips. “Moving here after I retire might mean we never see her again though.”
I laughed. “We’ll visit Boston all the time then too. Your family’s going to want to see all those kids of ours.”
Leo nuzzled my nose as he set me back on the ground. “Random question, but I’m a little worried about my safety. What’s Eric’s opinion of me these days?”
“Low,” I said. “He’ll come around quickly. He liked you a lot, he just did not like seeing me cry for the last two weeks.”
“That’s fair. I think this time when I see your family, I’ll start with, I’m back and I’m in love with Sophia and will be marrying her as soon as possible.”
“That should cover your bases. No more questions from them.” I turned around to face the café figuring we could go tell Kennedy the good news.
Unsurprisingly, I saw her standing at the window waving and smiling, Mom and Elena stood next to her.
Elena must have told Mom what was happening and decided to show up for the reunion.
I shook my head and looked at Leo who was waving back. “Are you still sure about me? Because they come with package,” I said.
He laughed, starting toward the door. “I’m sure. Your big ass family is my big ass family now. And I’ve got a few people in Boston who are dying to welcome you back to theirs too.”
“I can’t wait,” I said, stopping in front of the door for one more kiss. “I love you, Leo.”
“I love you too, Hawaii.”