Page 115 of Thunderstruck
“Not if Galvin has anything to say about it,” Mel grumbles.
I clear my throat. “About that…”
Moxie’s eyebrows shoot up. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Cole is buying the Thunder,” Carissa says before I can. She joins me at my side, slipping her hand into mine even though that’s probably going to end up on our list of rules.
“You’rewhat?” Moxie’s shout makes a couple of the guys stumble as they run past, curiosity clear in their eyes. Thankfully, Moxie drops his voice. “How in the world could you possibly afford that? An MLR franchise is at least four million, and that doesn’t say anything about an already established team.”
Apparently he’s done his research. Scratching my jaw, I pretend to consider what he’s saying to me before I say, “Well, outside of buying my house, I haven’t spent all that much since moving back to California.”
“Did you miss the part where I said the word ‘million’?” Moxie says, rolling his eyes. “You could be the best paid player in the league, and you still wouldn’t—”
“I made twenty-two in the NFL. Million,” I add when he doesn’t react. “Every year. And I happen to be good at investing, so my net worth has been steadily growing over the last couple of years.”
Still staring at me, Moxie seems to have lost all function until he finally lets out a short laugh and a muttered curse. “How much are we talking here, Evanson?”
“I want to know this too,” Carissa says with a smirk.
This conversation was a terrible idea. I should have waited until I actually owned the team before I said anything. “Does it really matter?” I ask Moxie. “I’m buying the team. And I’ll tell you later,” I say to Carissa, “as long as you promise you don’t love me for my money.”
“I fell in love with you before I knew you were rich,” she replies brightly.
Suddenly it feels like I swallowed a bowling ball, and I gape at her. She didn’t say…did she?
Eyes going wide, Carissa claps a hand over her mouth. “No! I was going to say that for the first time in a way more romantic way!”
“I don’t care about romance,” I breathe and cover her mouth with mine, hardly caring about rules or professionalism or anything except the fact that she loves me. She could have told me that in the middle of the security line at the airport, and I still would have loved hearing her say the words.
I know Carissa cares about romance, so I fully intend to find ways to surprise her and brighten up her day, no matter how bright she already makes the world. This life of ours may not be a hockey romance, but itis a rugby romance, and as I kiss the woman I love on the side of a pitch, I make a vow to ensure Carissa’s life exceeds her every expectation.
I have a feeling our reality is going to be so much better than any book.
I’ll make sure it is.
Epilogue
Carissa
Three months later
I expected Candora to look different. I can probably blame my expectations on the fact that most of what I’ve seen of this country has been over video chats with Freya, who almost never leaves her castle when she’s at home. Everything inside the royal residence is an antique or designed to look timeless, and Freya is always so poised and proper that I sort of expected to be walking intoDownton Abbey.
Sure, there are sheep on the side of most roads and people riding horses down the highway, but other than that, Invem, the capital city of Candora, looks like any other modern city. If that city is crazy clean and teeming with trees, of course.
“I might move here,” I say, tilting my head back and soaking up the sun as we sit outside a cute little café in the middle of the city. Invem is just as full of people as Los Angeles, but there aren’t nearly as many cars. Everyone is either on bikes or horses if they’re not walking, which meansthe air is impossibly fresh. But that could also be because of the rain this morning. I didn’t realize how much I love rain until I moved to a place where it has only rained like four times in four months, if that. “The only drawback is the fact that it’s freezing.”
Cole laughs and stretches out his legs, looking for all the world like he has never been more relaxed. “That’s the only drawback? Not the fact that I live in California?”
I peek at him, still trying to get as much sun as I can. “You could move here too.”
“But my team is in Los Angeles.”
“They have rugby in Candora.”
“What about Dad and Gramps?”
That makes me pause. I think August would murder me if I convinced Cole to move to a different country. Gramps, on the other hand… “Gramps would totally move here with us. He’s still secretly hoping he has a shot with Freya.”
