Play Me (12 page)

Epilogue

Seven months later

Garrett paced up and down the sidelines. Chris dribbled down the court, his eyes darting around, watching everyone who stood in his way. This time, Chris didn’t freeze up or panic. He dribbled through the players without even hesitating, squared off, and scored a three pointer. The crowd went wild, mostly with cheers since it was a home game, and Garrett smiled.

All that practice with Chris was paying off.

Sometimes Chris even came with him and the adults to scrimmage. The kid could hold his own against a bunch of grown-ups.

Kiersten cheered from behind Garrett, whooping so loudly she woke up the baby cradled in her arms. Amy let out a loud wail, letting her displeasure be known. Garrett spun around and gave Kiersten a pointed look. The whole way to the game, she had worried that the loud noise might be too much for the little one, but she’d come to watch Chris anyway. How ironic was it that she was the one who upset the little angel?

She rolled her eyes at him and rocked Amy in her arms.

Garrett forced himself to look away from his girls for the next four minutes. Tonight was a big night. He reached in his pocket and fingered the solitaire diamond he’d stashed there. His sweaty palm slid across the smooth metal and he extracted his hand without dropping the ring onto the floor.

The buzzer sounded and the crowd cheered. Another victory. Another undefeated season well under way, too. Kiersten came down the bleachers and stood next to him. “Good job, Coach.”

He grinned and kissed her. “Thanks, babe.”

“What about me?” Mike asked, holding his hands out. “Don’t I get a pretty word out of you?”

“Of course. Great job to you, too.” She extracted herself from Garrett’s arms and hugged Mike with her free arm. Mike snatched up little Amy, and all the women sighed collectively. Ah, the sight of a single man holding a baby. “There’s my pretty little sweetheart,” he cooed, for once oblivious to the females drooling over him, focused solely on the one drooling on him.

The moms all surrounded him and Mike, as usual. Mike was the target for their affections, now, though. Everyone knew Garrett was happily spoken for. “All right. Practice is at five tomorrow. I’ll see you all then. Great game!”

The crowd dispersed, leaving Garrett, Mike, Kiersten, Chris, and Amy. It reminded Garrett of that day a little under a year ago…the day that changed his life for the better. The day Kiersten decided she wanted to use him to get back at Pete. What had once stung now all weaved together in the bigger picture of his life.

The life he shared with Kiersten.

Now, they could take the next step. Marriage. He only hoped she’d decided marriage wasn’t such a bad thing after all. They’d been living together for seven months. Loving each other.

This was the next logical step. And he wanted to make her his in every way.

“She’s so cute,” Mike said, holding the baby’s little hand. He nudged Garrett in the ribs. “How did you make something so damn cute with that face?”

“She takes after her mother.” Garrett crossed his arms and grinned. “Hey. When are you going to settle down and have a few babies of your own?”

Mike shot him a horrified look. “Hold your tongue. That’ll never happen.”

“Why not?” Kiersten asked, her eyes on Garrett.

Garrett held his breath. “Yeah. Why not?”

“Love is a disease I’ve tried very hard to avoid catching.” Mike shuddered, but then ruined the effect by looking down at Amy and glowing with the love he obviously felt for the child. “I’ll continue to do so. The only women I need in my life are here. Well, plus Brianna and Katelyn.”

Kiersten wrapped her arm around Garrett’s waist. “I don’t see why you should avoid it. It’s not that bad, once you accept it for what it is—a crazy ride.”

Garrett’s eyes widened and he held a hand to his heart. “Why, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Don’t let it get to your head.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Or I’ll have to slap you around a little bit more.”

“Promise?” Garrett asked, his tone deep with need.

Mike flinched. “Stop that train of thought before I hurl on your baby.”

Garrett looked at Chris, who finally joined them. Chris nodded and Garrett stepped out of Kiersten’s hold, stumbled, and fell at her feet. Kiersten shrieked, Chris grinned, and Mike looked down at him with wide eyes.

“What the heck, man?” Mike exclaimed. “Did you forget how to walk or something?”

“Sorry.” Garrett reached into his pocket as he “struggled” to get up. “I guess so.”

Kiersten dropped to her knees and grabbed his arm, trying to help him up. “Are you okay?”

He pulled the ring out of his pocket, closed tight in his fist, and rose to one knee. “I’ve never been better, because I have you.”

Relief flooded through her eyes. She laughed lightly and stumbled to her feet. “Well, maybe if you remember how to walk, you’ll feel a
little
bit better.”

“I don’t need to know how to walk. All I need is for you to say yes.”

Mike groaned. “Oh God. Why in front of me?”

“Because you’re family,” Garrett said without looking back. “Besides, you’re holding my baby, and you haven’t left yet.”

“Shh,” Chris said, kicking Mike in the shin. “You’re ruining it.”

Mike glared at his nephew but kept his trap shut.

Kiersten watched with a wrinkled brow, then looked down at Garrett. He knew the moment she realized why he was still on the ground. Knew it because her eyes glazed over with tears. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “Garrett?”

“Let’s go.” Mike grabbed Chris by the arm and hauled him out of the gym, giving them privacy. Kiersten watched them leave, then turned back to Garrett.

Garrett took a steadying breath and swiped his free hand down his pants. “I’ve loved you for longer than I can remember. I’ll always love you. I know you’ve had a hard time accepting love and believing in love, but I hope you’ve grown past that. I hope you know you can trust me.”

“Of course,” she whispered.

“And I chose to do this here for one reason. I watched you across the gym every single game and tried to remind myself you would never want me. I watched you, and wanted you so badly every single time. But that night you invited me over and opened your arms to me was the night my life finally began. It was the night you made me complete.” He shoved his hair off his forehead and smiled up at her. “I remember watching you that night. Mike was mocking me for holding on to a childhood crush and I said I’d gotten over you. It was the biggest lie I ever told. I’ve never gotten over you—and I never want to.

“I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile. Making you
happy
.” He held the ring up between his thumb and index finger and she gasped. “I want to spend the rest of my life as your husband. Kiersten, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

And he waited. Waited to see if she’d grown past not wanting to ever be married. Waited to see if she’d make him her husband, her partner, her love.

“Oh my God.” Tears streamed down her face and she let out a strangled sob. “Yes! I love you, too. And yes!”

She sank to her knees and threw herself at him, kissing him passionately. He hauled her close, never wanting to let her go. And now…he wouldn’t have to. Except for one more time…

He broke the kiss and grabbed her hand. Sliding the ring on her finger, he grinned at her. “There. Now it’s official. You’re mine.”

“Sweetie.” She wriggled her hand, watching the diamond. “It was already official.”

He stood up and swung her over his shoulder. He gave a gentle slap on her ass, then headed for the door. “Let’s go tell everyone you said yes.”

He kicked through the double doors and almost knocked Mike over. Chris sat on the lobby bench outside the gym door, holding Amy, and Mike had apparently had his ear to the door.

“Since she’s over your shoulder,” Mike said, smoothing his hair as if he hadn’t been caught eavesdropping, “I assume she said no and you’re kidnapping her to haul her off to a chapel to force her hand?”

“And if I was?”

Mike shrugged. “Then I’ll watch Amy and Chris.”

Kiersten reared up. “Hey. What about sibling loyalty?”

“He’s good for you. Even can see that.”

Garrett grinned and set Kiersten down on her feet. But he didn’t let go of her. He needed her by his side too badly. He threw an arm over her shoulder. “Keep talking like that, and she’ll be playing matchmaker for you.”

“And with that? I leave.” Mike grabbed his bag. “Hey, Chris, want to have a Call of Duty marathon? I’ll bring you to school tomorrow with me.”

Chris hopped to his feet and handed Amy off to Garrett. “Sure. If it’s okay with you guys?”

Garrett nodded. It would be nice to have the place to themselves tonight. Amy was too young to question the loud noises coming out of Mommy and Daddy’s room. “Fine by me.”

“Me too,” Kiersten said.

Mike and Chris left. Kiersten turned to Garrett, rose on tiptoe, and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He entwined his fingers with hers and they left the lobby, hand in hand. “And I’ve got a surprise for you tonight.”

She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. “ one?”

“Mmm hmm.” He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “Remember that drawer you didn’t want me to go in the night we made Amy?”

She raised her brows. “Uh, yeah.”

“Remember why?”

“Oh, God. Yes.”

“Well, it’s my turn to play with the bunny.” He leaned in close and nibbled on her ear. “And I know exactly what I want to do with it.”

Her heated gaze raked over him. “I’ll look forward to that. Almost as much as I look forward to every day with you by my side.”

“That’s a promise. I’ll be there. I swear it.” He dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. “For the rest of our lives.”

She dropped his hand and cradled his face. “For better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.”

Then she kissed him…

And didn’t let go.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank my editor, Shannon Godwin, for helping me make this story the best it could be. Your advice is invaluable!

Also thank you to my agent, Louise Fury. You’re the best!

To all my writing buddies who keep me sane…THANK YOU. You all rock!

Thanks to all the readers out there who have fallen in love with the heroes authors love to write. Without you, there would be no books.

And, as always, thanks to my wonderful family. Without you, there would be no me.

About the Author

Diane Alberts has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another.

She is a multi-published, bestselling author with Entangled Publishing, Swoon Romance, and Decadent Publishing. She has, as of this date, four books with Entangled Publishing, one book with Swoon Romance, and five older books with Decadent Publishing. Her February release with Entangled Publishing, ON ONE CONDITION, hit #18 on the Barnes and Noble Bestseller List, and TRY ME, hit #76 on Amazon. Her Swoon Romance novella, CAPTIVATED BY YOU, hit #31 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list. Diane is represented by Louise Fury from the L. Perkins Agency.