Chapter 12
AMES
Ihadn’t heard from Dakota, and it was driving me batshit crazy. Every time I heard a sound, I would go diving for my phone, so eventually, I just gave in and stared at it while I paced in front of the elevator.
I didn’t doubt they’d offer her a job, but I was anxious to hear it and celebrate with her. If I had to wait much longer—
The elevator whooshed to my level, and I breathed a giant sigh of relief. When the doors slid open, I rushed over and gathered Dakota into my arms, lifting her off the ground. “How did it go?”
“Um, it…they offered me the job.”
“Fuck, yes!” I shouted as I spun her around. “Congratulations, baby.”
She didn’t say anything, and it suddenly registered that she hadn’t sounded very enthusiastic when she’d shared her news.
I stopped and gently set her on her feet. “What’s wrong, baby? Why aren’t you excited?”
Her brown eyes turned misty, and she sniffed, sending a streak of anger through me. Why the fuck was she crying? Had they done something?
“Calm down, Ames,” Dakota said hurriedly, probably seeing my reaction. “I am excited. It’s a great opportunity.” She gave me a fake smile, and I rolled my eyes.
“Then why do you look like someone just took away your favorite toy?” I asked suspiciously. Her lips curved down, and I picked her up and carried her over to the couch. When I sat down, she curled herself up against me, resting her head on my chest and hugging my torso.
“Talk to me,” I encouraged, tenderly stroking a hand over her hair and down her back.
“The job is in London!” she blurted before she promptly burst into tears.
I was stunned by the news and her sobs, so it took me a few seconds to get my bearings.
“They offered you a job in London?” I wanted to ensure I understood exactly what we were discussing before I said anything else.
“Y-yes,” she cried. “I mean, not forever.”
“Oh.” I hated my next words before they left my mouth, but I would do anything for Dakota. “Long distance isn’t the end, baby. We’ll make it work.”
She’d calmed down a little, but her beautiful brown eyes were shiny with moisture as she looked up at me. “We’re so new, Ames. Long distance is hard for people who’ve been together for years.”
“I don’t give a fuck about anyone else, Dakota. They aren’t us, and we are all that matters. I won’t let you go, so if I have to suck it up for a while and do the long-distance thing, then we’ll make it work.”
“You’d really do that?” she asked hesitantly, her eyes shining with hope.
I dropped a gentle kiss on her lips before murmuring, “Of course, I will, Dakota. Haven’t you figured it out yet?”
Her brow furrowed. “That I’m yours?”
I laughed and pressed my forehead to hers. “That, too. But I was talking about how much I fucking love you, baby. You’re my world. My everything.”
Dakota gasped, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. A little worry crept in when she just stared at me with those beautiful brown eyes glistening with tears. Then she dropped her hands to my shirt and beamed a magnificent smile at me. “I love you, too.”
“Thank fuck,” I grunted before I sealed my mouth over hers.
I gathered her as close as possible and kissed her even more fervently when I thought about the distance that would soon be between us.
A thought popped into my head, and before I could think twice about it, I tore my mouth away and stated, “We’ll get married before you go. ”
“Wait.” Dakota shook her head and blinked a few times as if trying to clear away a fog. “Did you just tell me we’re getting married?”
“Damn straight,” I growled as I leaned forward to grab my cell phone off the coffee table. “Dempsey knows a judge who—”
“Hold your horses, Ames Yarrow,” Dakota snapped, punching her fists onto her hips.
“I refuse to let you drag me to the courthouse for a shotgun wedding.” Which wasn’t an impossible scenario since I’d never bothered to wrap up before coming inside her.
Which I’d done more times than I could count in the short time we’d been together.
I paused and grinned. “It’s not really a shotgun wedding if you aren’t knocked up.”
Dakota rolled her eyes. “If you’re serious about wanting to marry me”—I scowled at her implication that I would joke about something like this—“then we can do it as soon as I get back.”
My expression turned even darker, and I growled, “I am not going to let you leave without putting a ring on your finger, Dakota soon-to-be Yarrow. It’s the only way I’ll agree to this long-distance bullshit.
And I’m not going to wait a year or two, or however long you have to stay in London, to marry you. ”
Dakota’s eyebrows shot up, and she put her hand on my chest, shaking her head. “Six weeks.”
“You leave in six weeks?” I scoffed. “That’s more than enough time to plan a wedding.”
“No, the training internship in London is for six weeks.”
I stared at her in surprise as I digested the new information. “It’s only for six weeks?”
She nodded. “Yes, but that’s a really long time to be apart when we’re so new. I’m afraid your feelings for me will change, or you’ll meet someone else…” Her eyes filled with fresh tears, and I grasped her face, locking our eyes.
“There will never, ever be anyone else for me, baby. You are it.”
“I feel the same way about you. But—”
“No buts, Dakota. Besides, this discussion is completely pointless now.”
“Pardon?” She looked adorably confused and just a little offended, making me laugh.
“Baby, it’s only six weeks. We don’t have to be apart. I’ll come with you.”
Dakota gasped and clutched my wrists. “You’ll come with me?”
I nodded, then kissed her nose. “Damn straight.”
“But what about your job?”
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in the crook of her neck. “I need to start teaching you about football, baby. The guys will never let me hear the end of it if my wife knows nothing about what I do.”
“Okay. But can we get back to the part where you said you’d spend six weeks in London with me?”
I raised my head and smiled. “I don’t report for training camp for almost eight weeks. Until then, I can do whatever the fuck I want. And that means being wherever you are.”
“I…” Dakota lit up like the Fourth of July and beamed at me. “I can’t believe it! My dream job, spending six weeks in London, and being with you the entire time. You really are my good luck charm!”
Cocking my head to the side, I winked playfully. “I guess you owe me.”
She giggled and shrugged. “I suppose.”
“You do.” I stated. “And you can pay your debt by marrying me.”
Dakota’s expression turned soft and dreamy. “I’d love to marry you, Ames.” Then she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “But not until we come home from England.”
I pretended to consider her demand. “The week we come home then. That gives you a month and a half to plan it.”
She looked as though she might argue, then sighed and nodded.
“Deal?” I asked as I stuck my hand out.
“Deal,” she repeated, giving me a firm handshake. When she went to take it back, I tightened my grip and pulled her close, kissing her deeply before murmuring, “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, Ames.”
“Now…about that shotgun wedding…”