Double Score

It was probably the thing that kept us most grounded. With a quick twenty-minute commute, I didn’t feel as if we were ever far from each other. Once I was kicked off the Goddesses, I started traveling when the Wranglers traveled. Sam and I made sure we never spent more than three days apart. That was our new rule—and we’d never broken it.

I realized he had done everything in his power to make me happy. He had built the studio the way I wanted. He had hired a physical therapist to complete my rehab. He had paired me with an astonishingly talented choreographer, despite all my protests. He did what he wanted to do, but it was all because he loved me.

“You know that’s why I’m down on one knee right now. Because we work. We know how to make it work.” He held the ring closer to me. “I want our future to be together. Will you marry me, Natalia?”

I took in the moment. The fire. The flickering candles. The flowers everywhere. And here we were at one of our most romantic spots, where we had spent an incredibly intimate night together. It was the night he let me soak in an enormous tub of overflowing bubbles. It was the night I had told him about my accident. It was the night I knew I was in love with him.

I sighed. “Today is the day I’ve waited for since I fell.” I focused on the depths of his eyes. “And the only reason it happened is because of you. You made me put on those pointe shoes when I’d been scared to for months. You wouldn’t let me stop rehab. You gave me the best choreographer in the business.” I giggled. “And you bought me a plane.

“Because of you, I made prima ballerina today. I have my dream back.” I looked down at the ring. I had been too consumed by his words to really notice it until now. Holy shit, it was the size of Texas.

“So is that a yes?”

I threw my arms around his neck. “In every language. In every way it’s possible to say it. It’s a yes.”

His lips covered mine and I groaned from the intensity of his kiss. It was always like this with Sam. He always made my body feel fire and air at the same time. He made me feel protected and loved. And we were going to be together for the rest of our lives. I sucked at the corners of his mouth, lingering over his firm lips.

“Try it on,” he whispered.

“Oh right.” My body was already moving with his and flush with anticipation. I had forgotten about the ring.

I held my left hand forward as he slipped it over my ring finger. It sparkled in the candlelight.

“It’s perfect.” I admired the stone on my hand.

“It’s big enough, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Sam, are you kidding? It’s bigger than big.” I could feel the weight of the platinum circle my finger.

“Good. I want everyone to know you’re my wife. That you belong to me.”

I crawled into his lap. “I do belong to you.” I pressed my forehead to his. “I’ll always belong to you.”

His arms circled my waist and I pressed my lips to his. I’d never been this happy. I’d never felt such love and warmth.

“And what about you?” I teased. “How big a ring do you want?”

He looked at me. “I have to wear a ring? I’ve got this one.” He held up his right hand, showing off his national championship ring from last year.

I nodded. “Oh yes. Not during the game, of course. Or practices. I understand that. But I want everyone to know you are this ballerina’s husband.”

He tugged at the back of my hair, dragging his lips over my throat. My breath quickened. I loved how it felt when he held me in his arms. When he directed my movements. When he created the dance between us. I was ready to burst into flames thinking about his next step. How he would position my body. How it would feel when we were taking each other, owning each other, promising ourselves to each other with a new commitment between us.

“If the ballerina wants me to wear a ring, I’ll wear it,” he growled behind my ear, kissing my skin roughly. I shivered.

“Yes, I want you to wear a ring.” I bit my lower lips as he pushed the shirt off my shoulder.

“Deal.” His hands skidded under my shirt, pushing my bra over my head with it.

He grinned widely. “You know what I’m going to do now?”

I licked my lips. I could only hope. “What?”

“Fuck you with nothing but that diamond on.”

I sighed as he picked me up from the floor and carried me to the bed. I watched silently as he peeled my pants over my legs, doing exactly what he promised. Was this happening? Was I engaged to a man who I had given my body to so freely, my heart tumbling quickly after?

Sam threw his shirt on the floor a