Chapter 49
Reid
I slip inside just as the press conference starts.
I find a seat in the back row and ignore the journalists that have turned my direction.
The best way to deal with them is just to ignore them; eventually, they’ll realize I’m not here to give them anything.
I’m here for my girl and my girl alone. I silence my phone and then look up at Riley.
She’s absolutely beaming, coming off that amazing game.
I test the bond between us and feel her happiness.
I can’t help but smile when she sees me in the crowd.
Her smile brightens, and it does something to me, knowing I put it there.
You got this, I mouth to her; and her smile increases.
My gut tightens, and I force myself not to think about getting her all to myself again tonight.
My phone vibrates, and I glance down at it.
It’s a return text from the realtor our pack works with.
A quick skim of the text reveals good news, and I can’t wait to show it to Riley.
I’m really hoping she’ll love it as much as I do.
If not, we’ll find a different house. But there’s no way we can go back to sharing a house with everybody.
We need our own space to be together and to let our wolves run.
I pocket my phone just as Riley answers a question.
She does an amazing job fielding questions, but I’m anxious for her to be done.
It’s been too long since I’ve held her in my arms. There’s definitely a buzz in the room, and I wonder if Riley has any idea what she’s started.
The game tonight was well attended, more so than the earlier games in the season.
And they’re just going to continue to get more popular.
Riley’s starting to draw attention, just as I knew she would.
She’s going to change women’s college basketball.
It’s started, and it’s only going to grow.
I walked through the college store before I found my seat tonight.
Already, there are more jerseys with her name and number.
I stare up at her and wonder if she’s figured it out yet.
She’s going to leave her mark here; that’s for sure.
Finally, the press conference ends. I stand and start towards her, but her coach stops her.
I stay back, so I don’t interrupt. I can’t hear the conversation over everybody else talking around me.
As soon as her coach walks away, I slip in behind her and wrap my arms around her.
Her scent settles me, and I take it deep into my lungs.
“You good?” She leans against me a moment, and I relish the feel of her.
When she turns around to face me, I frown at the tears on her face.
“What did she say?” I ask as I wipe a tear away.
Anger rises in me at seeing those tears.
“She told me she think’s I’ll have an offer to play professionally after college,” she blurts out. “That’s the WNBA, Reid!”
I chuckle and pull her closer. “I know, Baby.”
“That doesn’t shock you?”
“Nope, not in the least. I always knew you could if you wanted to.”
Later, when we’re in the car, I take her hand in mine, just content to touch her. “So, I have something to show you.”
She looks over at me. “Okay.”
I take a left turn instead of right and start towards the house I’ve been looking at.
It doesn’t take long to get there; it’s not far from school.
The houses on this road are really spread out.
When we get to the one I’ve been looking at, I pull into the driveway and park. “Uh, what are we doing?” Riley asks.
“Come on.” I climb out of the car and walk over to her door and open it for her.
“What are we doing?” She asks again and climbs out of the car. She takes my hand and reluctantly follows me towards the front porch. But when we get to the first step, she pulls back. “Reid?”
I turn to her. “I want to show you the inside of this house.”
I start forward, but she stops me. “And get arrested for breaking and entering?”
I grin. “I have the code. Dan sent it over.”
She pauses. “You talked to Dan about this?”
I nod, and then I play dirty. “It’s got a fireplace.”
She looks at the house and then back at me. “It does?”
I know how much she loved the fireplace in the place we just stayed at. I grin at her. “You and your heat; you’d never know you were a shifter.”
“Quiet, you.” But she grins at me.
“Do you want to go check it out?”
“I don’t understand. Are you looking at this for you and me?”
I reach out and wrap my arms around her and pull her soft body to mine. “Yeah, Baby. It’s for you and me, unless you want to keep staying in the dorms in a bed by yourself.”
“I don’t want that, but don’t I have to?”
I run a thumb down her cheek. “I talked to your coach. If we were married, you don’t have to stay on campus, even as a freshman. You wouldn’t risk your spot on the team.” I say all this and watch her carefully. “The last thing I want to do is push you into something you’re not—”
“Are you asking me to marry you, Reid Marshall?” She lifts an eyebrow.
“Because certainly you wouldn’t do it before you were ready and had an actual ring to make it legit.
” I’m already moving. I drop down to one knee in front of her and find the small box I’ve carried around for weeks.
Her mouth drops open in shock when I hold it up to her. “Wait, what?”
I smother my smile. “Riley.” I wait for her to look at me. “I love you and have for a very long time. You’re my mate and everything to me. I don’t exist without you. Would you do me the honor of—”
“Yes!” She throws herself at me before I finish, but I catch her anyway. I’ll always catch my girl.
“I didn’t even get to finish the question,” I tell her.
She pulls back to look at me. “Okay. Finish.”
I grin. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” My heart thunders in my chest as I take the ring out of the box and slide it onto her finger. She gasps. “Reid.”
“Do you like it?” I ask, framing her face with my hands.
“It’s gorgeous.” I breathe a sigh of relief as she continues to admire it.
I knew it was the one for her the second I saw it.
It’s 14K rose gold and totally unique in that the two sides never really touch.
There are two hearts, one at each end; the hearts lay next to each other.
Only the hearts touch. The effect is stunning.
“The two hearts represent you and me.”
“Reid, I love it so much.”
The fit is perfect, and it looks so good on her finger. “My ring on your finger...” I shake my head. “You are just fulfilling one fantasy after another for me, Baby.”
Her eyes meet mine. “What other fantasies have you got?”
I groan and kiss her but only for a moment before I stand up and set her on her feet. “Let's check out the house another time.” I start to tug her towards the car, but she laughs and pulls her hand free.
“No, we’re here now. Come on; I want to check it out.”
“You’re killing me,” I grumble but follow her up the steps. I use the code Dan gave me and unlock the front door. It takes a moment to find the lights. When I do, we both stop.
“Oh, Reid. It’s perfect.” I take her hand in mine, and we begin to explore.
We check out the kitchen and dining room area, the living room with the huge fireplace and mantle, and the bedrooms. Last, we check out the backyard that has an amazing deck overlooking a large yard that disappears into the trees.
That’s one of the reasons I specifically requested to see this house.
“It’s even got a swing.” I follow her to the swing, and we try it out.
I wrap an arm around her, and she lays her head on my chest. “It really is perfect,” she echoes her earlier sentiment.
“It is. If you like it, we can live here during the duration of your college years.”
“What about you? When you finish?”
I tighten my arm around her. “I’m not going anywhere, Baby. I’ll be right here beside you until you graduate.”
“But what if you want to play ball after college?”
“I don’t.”
She turns to look at me. “You say that now, but...”
“I’m not going to change my mind. I want to be here for your college career. “
“But what if—”
“Hey.” I kiss her softly, silencing her argument. As always, one kiss is never enough. I kiss her again and again. I finally force myself to pull back. “If I change my mind, we’ll figure it out, okay?” That seems to settle her.
“Okay.”
Needing her closer, I pick her up and move her to my lap. She melts into me, and I kiss her neck. “So, what do you think about this house?”
She sighs. “I love it.”
“Good. I do too. I’m going to put an official offer in then, if that works for you.”
“Yes.” She fingers the hair at the back of my neck, and I have a hard time paying attention. “We should combine bank accounts soon.”
I lean forward and kiss her. “We will.” She relaxes fully against me, and I run my fingers up and down her spine, unable to refrain from touching her. “I have something for you.”
“You just gave me a ring, Reid.”
I chuckle. “I know, but I have something else for you too. Let me grab it; I’ll be right back.” I set her down carefully on the swing.
“Do we need to leave?” she asks as I walk away.
“Dan said the house is as good as ours if we want it, so he said to take our time.” I leave her and walk back through the house and out to the car and grab the small bag from the trunk and then walk back to where she’s sitting on the swing.
I flip on the light as I go, so she can see.
I give her the small bag and sit down next to her, close enough that our bodies are touching.
She opens the bag and pulls out the stack of cards, four to be exact.
She looks down at them and then at me. “I wrote one each year on your birthday after I knew you were my mate. So, there’s one for your fifteenth birthday, sixteenth, seventeenth, and then this year’s.
I couldn’t give them to you at the time, but I want you to have them now. ”
“Reid, that’s amazing. Thank you.” She opens the first one, and I pull her on my lap once again.
I stay quiet as she reads. I know the words like I wrote them yesterday.
Each card gives some of the highlights that happened to her that year, and each one ends with me telling her that I love her and will wait for her.
A few times, she wipes away tears; but I know they’re happy ones.
I can feel her happiness through our bond.
When she picks up her card from this year, I run my fingers through her hair.
When she finishes, she turns to me and buries her head in my neck. “Thank you for waiting for me.”
“Always.” I turn, so our lips meet. She groans against me, and I stand up, still holding her.
It’s officially time to get us home. I get the house locked up and us in the car in record time.
Her ring flashes in the light of the car before we close the door, and I can’t help my smile.
This girl I’ve waited forever for is finally mine.
“What are you smiling about?” she asks.
I look over at her. “It was worth the wait.” She doesn’t even ask what I’m talking about; she knows. We’re almost back to the house when our phones both ding at the same time. She checks hers. “What is it?” I ask. I know it’s good news, whatever it is, because she’s smiling.
“Tessa sent me a write-up about tonight’s game.”
“Read it to me,” I encourage her.
“It’s not really anything,” she protests.
“Do they mention you by name?”
“Yes.”
“Then read it; I want to hear it.”
“All right. Fine.”
Freshman guard Riley Blackwood led her team to victory tonight with another outstanding performance, finishing as the game's leading scorer with thirty-five points.
But Blackwood's impact extended far beyond scoring. She also led her team in assists and rebounds, showcasing the all-around skill set that has made her one of this season's breakout stars.
Already leading her team in scoring, assists, and rebounds this year, Blackwood has proven herself to be a true triple threat and a difficult matchup for any opponent.
With performances like tonight's, expectations continue to rise for No. 52. If the start to her freshman year is any indication, Riley Blackwood's future is incredibly bright.
She finishes reading, and I look over at her. “Triple Threat, huh? I’m going to have to start calling you that.”
“No, you’re not.”
I pull into the driveway and park. “Come on, Triple Threat, let’s go.”
She laughs, and I smile. Making her laugh will always be my favorite thing. “Let’s get inside. I need to show you how happy I am to be engaged to you,” Riley says in a sexy voice.
I’m out of the car in seconds. Okay, second favorite thing.