Chapter Nine #3
That made a lot of people laugh, including Rosie. That was when he realised how many people were watching. It didn’t stop him, because he didn’t dare. She might still walk away.
“Where is this going?” Rosie asked quietly. “Would you marry me?”
Wow. Big commitment straight away. But he knew that was what her parents wanted, and they didn’t think he was marriage material. Seeing her before him, he already knew he would marry her right this second if he could, if that was what she wanted.
Louis went down on one knee. A lot of people gasped at that. Colby was kneeling on his seat, watching everything. Agnes and Mauve just stared, enjoying every moment of this drama.
“Without a ring?” Rosie asked, her voice trembling.
She had a point; this was very decisive and not very romantic.
“I am improvising here, sorry.”
Someone patted his shoulder, and he looked over. That person grabbed his hand and placed something in it.
Staring at the ring, Louis was so confused.
Someone just handed me a ring to help!
It was the man on the other side of the aisle. An elderly man. The ring was beautiful. A diamond cut into the shape of a flower on a gold band.
“I can’t take this.”
“Please,” the man responded. “My wife would have loved such a proposal. She can’t be here, so let her ring be part of it. She would want it to be used again, and not just in my wallet.”
Louis’s heart broke for the man. “I am sorry for your loss.”
“Don’t be.” There were tears in his eyes, but he was also smiling. Like it had been a good life. “I had forty years with that beautiful whirlwind of a woman. You remind me of her. You do what you need to do. Take it.”
Louis did, feeling the weight in his hand. Not just from the ring, but this momentous occasion. He squeezed the man’s arm.
“I am Louis, by the way.”
“Arthur. Now, get back to what you were doing.”
“Will do, Sir.”
Turning back to face Rosie, she was just as stunned by this turn of events. There Louis was, down on one knee, on a plane full of people, about to propose with a ring gifted by a stranger.
What a day.
“Rosemary, I am here to show you that my sport comes second to you. You come first before anything else in my life. Each moment I have with you, I have felt strong. Happy. I am proud to have you at my side and honoured to be by yours.
“I love you. I want to be with you, if you want to be with me. You want to get married, then I am down on one knee begging you. Will you marry me?”
That smile dropped and the life left her eyes. He had gone too far too quickly.
No! No! No! He had lost her.
“This is too much too soon. And I don’t even know if I want to get married.
It was simply something my parents wanted.
They asked me if you ever would, to prove you would never choose me.
” She shook her head and pushed the ring back at Louis.
“No. You are doing this because you are scared, not because you mean it. Just like my parents, you are finding a way to control me.”
That broke his heart into splinters. He had meant it, but he couldn’t force her to believe him. Was he controlling her? It made him recoil. It made him sick.
He just thought it was what she had wanted.
The plane booed at her. His protective side came out to play, and he rose to his feet to glare at them all. Rosie was hiding her face in shame, and he pulled her hands away to see her face.
“Absolutely not. No booing. That isn’t fair to her. I asked a question, and she gave me her answer,” he said mostly to her, but loud enough for them all to hear. “I will respect it.”
“Don’t you get it?” Rosie hissed. “I am leaving because of you. I cannot stay because I will always remember what I lost.”
“You haven’t lost me,” Louis whispered. “We can take it slowly. I can try to win your parents around. I can change. But I will not force you.”
“Not just you . . .” she admitted. “My parents, too. It hurts being stuck in the middle. I want to be with you, but . . .”
Oh, no. What had happened? Had she lost her parents?
“You also don’t want to disappoint your parents. You want to be free to make your own choices,” Louis finished for her. She nodded. “Do you want me to leave the team?”
She shook her head; her horrified expression told him she meant it. “Absolutely not.”
“Then what do you want?” he asked gently. “You don’t want to be with me. You don’t want to remember what we had. However, we still work together.”
“I don’t know!” she cried.
Breathing deeply, he wasn’t winning. He had to back off. Letting go of her hands, he took a step back.
“I am sorry for bothering you and chasing after you. I just wanted to show you how serious I am about us, but I will not push. I will leave you alone, as you have asked of me,” he told her.
“You are angry. Scared. Upset. I will respect that. You don’t want me, so I will respect that, too.
But please don’t leave the team because of me. ”
Her gaze met his again. Uncertainty crossed her features.
“You are part of my team, and I will protect you all. I will work with you however you need so you feel safe and comfortable.
“We need you back. The whole team needs you back. They are all worried about you and waiting to hear you are okay. You are brilliant at what you do. The best I have ever met. The team doesn’t deserve to suffer for my failure.”
Rosie remained quiet.
“If you never want to speak to me, then okay. Maybe Hank or Morgan can be your main contact in the team.”
“They hate me,” she murmured. “Or they will after this.”
He shook his head. “No. They are hoping I bring you back. They all truly care about you.”
She brightened at that, but only slightly. For so long, she had needed to feel wanted. Now she was.
“You never have to speak to me again if you do not wish it. It will destroy me, but I would rather have you nearby than far away.
“If we meet in the corridor? I will walk into another room. You want to send anyone to do horrible advertising, well now you have me to do it. No arguments.”
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back. “I need to think about it.”
“Okay.” Well, at least he may have won her back in that regard.
With that, she took her seat now that the person behind her had sat back down. Louis did the same. Mauve patted his hand in comfort.
He handed the ring back to Arthur. “Thank you for the offer.”
Arthur nodded as he claimed it back. “I am sorry it didn’t work out.”
After that, he got lost in conversations with those around him in the hope of forgetting the rejection. He didn’t look at Rosie, not once.
The plane landed, and he helped get bags down.
“I would have married you,” the elderly woman he helped at the start whispered, then winked, as he handed her bag back.
He gave her a hug. “Thank you. That actually means a lot.”
Helping Agnes and Mauve off the plane and through customs, he spotted Colby at the luggage carousel. Hunting through his bag, Louis found his Ice Hounds hoodie.
“Hey, Colby?”
Colby looked over. Louis handed him the item of clothing. It was huge, but it was something the boy could cherish. Thankfully, it was clean, too.
“Thought you might like this.”
The boy screamed and jumped in delight. At least someone could leave with a smile, and it made Louis feel better, too. The fans were another reason he played. Their loyalty was amazing, and he hoped to inspire future generations to play.
He also handed his card to Colby’s mother, then Mauve, Agnes, and he even caught Arthur. “It means a lot that you all cheered me up. When you get back home, contact the arena. I will organise some tickets for you to watch a game, if you’d like.”
There was a lot of hugging and thanks, and Louis got through it. The whole time he stopped himself searching for Rosie. He had chased after her to show he was willing to drop everything for her, but he wasn’t going to make her uncomfortable.
He wasn’t going to keep chasing to be shot down again. She said she wanted to be with him, but with too much going on, he respected that she did not want to risk it. Now, he would just have to deal with it and get on with his own life.
He was now in Paris, and he got a result. Some things you just lost, and he had to accept that. He felt even more empty. A failure.
Picking up his bag, he headed off to the ticket desk to figure out how to get home tomorrow.