Page 105 of Make the Play

“I love you. It will all work out,” he says. “Why don’t I schedule a meeting with HR tomorrow after practice? The two of us can sit down with Sally and put it all on the table. As far as anyone needs to know, this is new to us.”

“And this?” I raise my hand, showing him my ring.

“As much as I hate to say it, you might need to not wear it for a couple of weeks. Better yet, I’ll get you a chain to wear it on, and in a month, I’ll leak to the press that we’re engaged after a whirlwind courtship. Friends, then lovers, and now we’re forever. It’s all in how you spin it, and we’ve got this. I know we do.”

I nod slowly. “Okay. Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” He kisses me once more before carrying me up to bed.

I don’t have clothes for work tomorrow, so I’ll have to get up early to run home to shower and get ready. That’s a small price to pay for being in his arms tonight, which is exactly where I belong.

“What a day,” my fiancé says, climbing into bed beside me.

I glance over at him and smile. I swear my face hurts from smiling. “Are we really getting married?” I ask him.

“That ring on your finger says we are.” Knox chuckles.

“You said something earlier.”

“I’ve said a lot of things in the last few hours. Help me out here, Corie girl.”

“You said I was your home.”

“You are my home. It’s you and me now, baby.” He pulls me into his chest and kisses me softly.

“Since losing my mom, I haven’t felt like I had a home—a place to call mine. Then you came along, and I wanted to find my home in you so badly. I wanted it so bad, I was afraid to say the words out loud for the longest time.” I place my hand on his cheek. “In you, Knox Alexander Beckett, I found not only my home and where I belong in this world, but I also found my person.”

He laughs. “Your male version of Sloane.”

“Exactly! You remember.”

“I remember every moment with you. I mean what I said. You’re my home. I’m yours, and together, we’ll build a life with so much love and happiness that the walls of our home will burst with it.”

“I love the sound of that.”

“Me, too, baby.”

“Is this where we’ll stay?” I ask him.

“I was thinking of a house, a nice big yard, and a pool for Landry and the kids.”

“Kids?”

“Yeah, the little Cories we’ll have running around.”

“I’d like a little Knox, too.”

“I’ll see what I can do, baby,” he says, pulling me into him. “Maybe we can practice right now.”

“Seems fitting,” I say, sliding my hands into his boxer briefs. That’s all he’s wearing. Of course, I’m only in one of his T-shirts and a pair of panties. In no time, we’re both stripped of what little clothing we are wearing, and he’s hovering over me. I reach for him and guide him to where I need him, but he pulls his hips back.

“Condom,” he reminds me.

“We’re getting married.”

“Damn right, we are.”

“I mean, we’re committed. I’m on the pill. We can skip that part if you want.”

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