Page 91 of Offside and Off-Limits
“Now that you mention it…”
She bats me playfully on the arm and I plant another kiss on her totally kissable lips. “I told you, Triple, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“That’s better.”
A short while later, with the candied yams in the oven, the turkey is almost finished cooking, and the rest of the meal ready to go, we join the rest of the family in the living room.
“So, tell me, Ami, do you have servants and live in an actual palace in Ledonia?” Tori asks Princess Amelia, who turned up in jeans and an Ice Breakers hoodie and insisted we all call her Ami the moment she stepped through the door.
“We do, although they’re more like family, really, Theresa, my lady’s maid, in particular,” she replies.
“You have a lady’s maid?” Tori’s eyes are the size of pucks. “You’re soDownton Abbey.”
“They weren’t royal, honey,” Mom corrects.
“Orreal,” Ami says with a laugh. “Theresa and I have the best gossip fests. She’s always telling me what goes on in the servants’ quarters. I tell you, we royals are dull by comparison. So much gossip.”
“Didn’t your brother give up his crown to marry a Texan princess?” Mom asks.
“Didn’t your sister fall in love with the brother of the guy she was meant to marry?” Emmy asks.
“Don’t forget the fact we met when you had run away from the palace,” Ethan adds.
“I didn’t say we were dull, did I?” Ami replies with a smile, her eyes dancing, and from what I know about her family, they sure aren’t dull.
“That’s for sure,” Tori replies with a laugh.
“I heard a rumor,” Keira says. “Cade got Asher to bid on him at the Bachelor Auction, using Cade’s money—and won a date with himself! Is that right, Cade?”
“Sure is,” I say without missing a beat.
“Why? Did you worry no one else would bid?” Ethan asks with a laugh.
Dan shakes his head. “Tragic, Lennox. Tragic.”
“What can I say? I’m not as popular as I once was, and I like it that way,” I reply as I flash a smile at Clara.
Knowing that Clara didn’t have the funds to bid on me for the forty-five minute date to raise money to save Maple Falls, I got Asher to bid, using my money. She and I had already been together for a while when the Bachelor Auction came around, and I didn’t want to go on a date with anyone else, even if it was for charity. And besides, I was happy to donate the money to the worthy cause of saving this town I now call home. This town I want to stay in past the end of this season and beyond.
Yup, I’ve made the call. I’m sticking around with the Ice Breakers for as long as they’ll have me, making Maple Falls my permanent home. I’ve told Mom I’ll move her across the countryif she wants to live in Maple Falls, on one proviso: she stays well away from Mary-Ellen McCluskey and her gossip superhighway.
Mom’s dangled a rather big carrot: she’ll move to Maple Falls when Clara and I have kids.
When I told Clara, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would she widen her eyes in shock, telling me there was no way she was ever having any more kids? Or would she fall into my arms, telling me she couldn’t imaginenothaving kids with me?
I was ecstatic to find out it was the latter, and although I’m not diving into marriage with her just yet, I have commissioned a ring I know will be perfect for Clara when the time is right.
And I have the feeling that time will be soon.
Although I don’t know if they’ll sell, I’m planning to approach the O’Connors to make this place my home. Our home, eventually. I’m hoping they’ll say yes. You see, with six bedrooms, there’s plenty of room for Clara, her kids, and any more kids who might come along in the future.
Yeah, I’ve becomethatguy, the one who’s got his life all mapped out. But you know what? I could not be happier being that guy, looking at a wonderful future full of love ahead.
“You must be pleased with the Ice Breakers stats so far this season,” Dan says, and I’m happy to move the conversation on.
“Yeah, I am,” I reply. “We’ve won most of our games so far, with one draw and a loss. That one hurt.”
“Pretty good for the newest team in the League, I’d say,” Dawson says.
