Pulse: Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 6) (15 page)

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team rises
from the lobster pot as I lift the lid to check on the clams. The aroma of garlic wafts out, and I carry the heavy container to the sink so I can pour the contents in a colander. Nick comes behind me and places his hands on my hips to lean down and nuzzle my neck. “Smells delicious, babe.”

“This is only the beginning. Can you check the muffins for me?”

The oven door creaks open, and the muffin tin clatters on the stovetop when Nick removes it. I place the bowl of clams on the counter and break off two hunks of bread for us to sop up the buttery garlic water they sit in. Nick’s and my stools scrape along the floor as we slide close enough to eat.

“Oh, man. These are good.” Nick licks his fingers. “I like ocean life.”

“Do you think you could live here forever?” I take a sip of champagne, and the tart flavor mixes nicely with the taste of clams in my mouth.

“I do. I fell in love with this place last summer. I’m sure I’ll be able to handle the next five years. What about you? Is this where you want us to raise our family?”

I stare at him for a second. “You still want to have my babies? I mean... want me to have your babies?”

He chuckles as he holds a clam out for me to bite. “I know we need time to find ourselves again, but I have no doubt we’re forever. So yeah, I’ll have your babies.”

I look down at my stomach. “Oh, good. Because it took forever for me to get back in shape this time.”

Nick nudges me with his shoulder as he dips bread in the clam sauce. “How many kids should we have?”

I recall how we had a similar conversation three years ago. Only then, it was a fantasy. Now, this is real. “At least two, but let’s see how we feel when the time comes to decide on more.”

“I like that plan. So what about our wedding? Where should we have it?”

I tilt my head at him. “Are we really sitting here planning our life right now?”

“We are.” Nick takes me by my shoulders and turns me to face him. “I meant it when I said we’re forever. I don’t have a ring yet. But—”

I hold my hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. “Yes, you do.” I slip the ring he gave me off my finger and hand it to Nick.

He shakes his head. “It’s not enough.”

I take his hand and thread my fingers through his. “Yes. It is. Every time I look at it, I am reminded of the most important things in our relationship. Love, trust, and respect.”

Nick smiles at me and unlocks our grasp. “Megan Donovan, will you marry me?”

I smile as he slips the diamond on my finger. “Nick Merrill, nothing would make me happier. Yes.”

Our kiss is tender, and Nick holds my face in his hands as he says, “You and me, babe. We can weather any storm.”

I smile at him as my vision gets blurry with tears. “I’m hanging on tight.”

As we clean up the first part of our meal, I glance out the window. The snow is coming down heavily, and the ocean is gray and choppy. The power of the sea always amazes me, and I let myself get lost in watching it.

Nick says, “Do you remember that first night last summer when we went down to the beach?”

“I sure do.” I reach my hand over and place it on his butt to give it a squeeze.

“We should go down and walk it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Want to do a polar bear plunge?”

“Are you crazy? Wait. Of course you are when it comes to the ocean. But are you serious?”

“Maybe.” I glance at him with mischief in my eyes. “Too cold for you, tough guy?”

“You didn’t just say that.”

“Oh yes, I did.”

“Game on. Tomorrow morning, we’re going in.”

I chuckle and grab the champagne from the ice bucket. The liquid fizzes as I top off our glasses. I hand Nick his and hold mine up. “To the crazy man who always takes a challenge.”

“To the crazy woman I can’t live without.”

Later, we’re on the couch, full of seafood and sleepy in each other’s arms. I mumble against Nick’s chest. “We should go to bed.”

He yawns. “But it’s only ten.”

I stand up and tug on his hand. “And we know what’s going to happen. I don’t need to wait up for the ball to drop.”

“Works for me.” Nick lets me lead him up to my room.

As we snuggle together under the covers, I say, “I love you. Thanks for moving here.”

But Nick is almost asleep, and his reply is barely a whisper. “I love you too.”

S
omething cool
and soft lands on my face and wakes me. “What?” I sit up to rub my eyes and clear my vision to find Nick standing in a pair of swim trunks. I grab what he must have thrown at me and discover it’s my bathing suit.

“Rise and shine. We’ve got an ocean to swim.”

I groan. “Oh, right. Polar bear plunge.” I fall back down and say, “I think that was the champagne talking.”

“Well then, you’re about to regret your words. C’mon.” The bed bounces under me as Nick crawls over to me. He whips the covers off my body.

“Hey!”

Strong fingers grab my sleep shorts and drag them, along with my panties, down my thighs. I squirm in an attempt to stop him. “What are you doing?”

Nick reaches for my shirt and pushes it up. When he reveals my breasts, his voice gets husky. “What
am
I doing?” He lowers his mouth to suckle me, and I arch up into him. Strong hands move down my body, and he strokes between my legs.

I sigh. “Don’t stop.” He replies by sliding a finger into me, and I let out a small noise.

Nick says, “About that swim. It can wait.”

After Nick wakes me up properly, he still insists we take the polar plunge. Having done this before, I know how cold it’s going to be, but I can’t resist his excitement and follow him to the beach in boots and a ski jacket over my bathing suit. I grabbed two oversized towels from the bathroom for when we’re done.

Our feet slip over the wet snow on the deck as we jog to the beach. I let out a scream as we do, because it’s cold and the wind is biting against my bare legs. When we get to the sand, Nick turns to me. “How do we do this?”

I kick off my boots, and he follows my lead. I drop my jacket and take off running. “Quickly!”

I hit the water and don’t stop, because I’m hoping I can get in and out before the pain of the icy temperature hurts too much. When I’m waist deep, I dive in, and that familiar sensation of the oxygen being sucked out of my lungs makes me pop up and gasp.

Nick is right behind me, and he stands to shake the water from his head and let out a scream. I swim over to him and wrap my body around his. He grips my bottom and laughs with me. I kiss his salty mouth and say, “Sometimes you have to jump in the icy water to get what you want. I love you.”

“And I’ll continue to do it for the rest of our lives. I love you, too, Megan.”

S
now flies
up in the air as the helicopter touches down. The engine is loud, and nobody tries to speak over it. Even though I’m not tall enough to hit the blades, I crouch once Nick and I jump down. My ski boots sink into thick snow as we walk away to a safe spot. Casey, Jason, Lori, and Kaleb rode with us and follow our path. The rest of our party will arrive in a few minutes.

Lori’s eyes are wide in a mix of fear and excitement. She’s the least experienced skier in the group, but I have no doubt she can handle the run down. Kaleb turns in a small circle to take in the scenery and says, “Wow. Now this is how to get married.”

The sky is the perfect shade of blue, and we’re so high up that it’s like being on top of the world. I scan the area too. Mountains surround us, and civilization isn’t visible from our vantage point. For a moment, I wish it could just be Nick and me. He puts his arm around my shoulders. “This is so us.”

Ever since Bellae set the stage for natural-looking makeup, the business has taken off, and the press has been hounding me. I can’t go anywhere without a photo being taken, and the last thing I wanted for my wedding was a paparazzi fest. We figured taking a helicopter up to eighteen-thousand feet would keep them away. And the bonus is we all get a killer ski run when it’s over. “I know.”

We’ll have a big ceremony for my mother and our families in New York and allow the press to document it. But our real wedding is happening right here in just a few minutes. The chop chop of helicopter blades approaches as the rest of our crew comes. Drew, Alex, Dannika, Christian, and a local pastor who can ski scramble out to join us.

Kaleb takes everyone’s skis, and I watch as he creates mock fencing with them by sticking each individual ski in the snow. He winks at me. “It’ll make for better pictures.”

Casey lifts her phone and says, “Good thinking. Because I’m taking a hundred.” The others have made their way to us, and she grabs the pastor to instruct him on what she wants pictures of before we start.

Jason is her sidekick and arranges everyone for a group photo. After a few, including many candids of us joking around, Nick finally calls a halt to the production. He says, “Hey, I have a woman to tie down. And if you don’t stop soon, she might ski off without me.”

“No way. I’m not going anywhere until I’m Mrs. Merrill,” I say.

Jason claps his gloves together. “Then let’s get this wedding happening!”

We line ourselves up with Jason next to Nick, and Alex is next to me. She asks, “Do you remember when we were little how we used to fantasize about our wedding day?”

“And I always wanted to wear red velvet and get married in a snowstorm?” I glance down at my dark-red ski outfit. I suspect my dream came from a fairy tale illustration, but the memory makes me smile.

“Not that far off, are you?” Alex kisses my cheek. “You’ve always done things with a flair all your own. I’m super proud of you right now.”

I didn’t think it could be possible, but my heart swells a little more with love for Alex. I give her a quick hug. “Thanks.” The pastor holds up his hands to stop the chatter, and I turn to face Nick.

He puts his gloved hands out for me to hold. Wind blows snow up to coat my face with a fine mist of it, and I blink as moisture lands on my eyelashes. Fortunately, I’m wearing sport mascara that won’t smudge. I smile that I can’t stop thinking about Bellae products even on my wedding day.

But when I stare into Nick’s warm brown eyes, all my thoughts become him. He started off as my favorite ski buddy and became the man I wanted to spend my every hour with. When our temporary utopia shattered, we found a way to pick up the pieces and turn our love into a healthy relationship for the rest of our lives. I blink again, but this time it’s for the reaction to my heart pulsing with love.

The pastor’s voice rings out as he speaks about trust, respect, and commitment. I vow in my heart to honor his words. When it’s my turn to speak, I say, “Nick Merrill, my love for you will never die. I promise to respect, honor, and cherish you forever.”

Nick repeats my words, and we both remove our gloves. Alex takes mine, and I place my hands in Nick’s. He envelops my fingers to keep them warm as the pastor asks, “Do you, Megan, take Nick to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

I place a solid gold band on his finger, and when it’s my turn, the ring Nick slips on my finger is a surprise, because I expected a simple band. I inhale sharply when I see it’s channel set with small diamonds all the way around. “This ring is an endless circle of my love and commitment to you.”

The pastor speaks again. “Do you, Nick, take Megan to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

Alex hands me a platinum band, and I place it on Nick’s ring finger as I say, “This ring is an endless circle and signifies our love and commitment.”

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Nick gazes down at me, and his eyes sparkle with tears like mine. When our mouths meet, I taste the salty moisture of our emotions combined. When it’s time to break away, Nick doesn’t release me, and pulls me back for another kiss that makes our friends whoop and chuckle as he extends it to the point of our own laughter.

Casey grabs me for a hug first. “I’m so happy for you.” She pulls away to take my hand and inspect my ring. “That’s perfect. It’s like you’re wearing snowflakes.”

“It is.” I smile at her as Dannika, Lori, and Alex look too.

Dannika says, “It’s gorgeous. Nick knows you well.”

“That he does.” I find him, and he comes to me. He pulls me against his chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He kisses me again as the girls chatter about how beautiful the ceremony was. We stop when skis thud to the ground while Kaleb starts lining them up for us to get ready. Bindings click when we all step in to prepare for an amazing powder run down pristine terrain.

Nick and I lead everyone over to the section of the mountain where we’ll ski. He turns and says, “Thank you all for joining us today. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the first day of the rest of my life with Megan.”

Jason says, “I just came for the free heli skiing. Thanks, man.” Casey hits him as we all laugh.

Christian says, “And he’s coming to our house for the free liquor.”

Dannika and Christian are having a party for us after we finish skiing, and more of our friends will be able to come celebrate our wedding with us. I insisted nobody bring gifts, and it should be a great chance to reconnect with some of my favorite people in a casual setting.

Snow rushes under my skis as we glide over to the section where we’ll go down. The consistency underfoot is similar to smooth frosting, and my heart beats a little faster in anticipation of what we’re about to do. When we get to the edge of the steep expanse of terrain, I grin. Nick steps over to be by my side.

He bumps my shoulder with his, and in a low voice meant for my ears only, he says, “Turn ’em right.”

“And left.” I lean to meet him in a kiss. And when we finish, we both take off down the mountain for the run of our lives.

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