Only One Forever (Only One 8)

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “As nervous as I am about coming out.” I smile and pick up my hand. “This ring says otherwise.”

“That it does.” He smiles as the car moves forward and then stops. “You sure?” he asks me one last time before the car door opens beside him.

“More than sure,” I assure him, pushing down all the nerves I have. He steps out of the car and fixes his jacket before holding out his hand for me. I slip my hand in his, and all my nerves are gone. I don’t know how the press will spin this, and to be honest, I don’t care. The only people whose opinions matter to me are our families. Other than that, it’s icing on the cake.

I hear his name being called as soon as he climbs out, and he smiles and turns to the crowd. “Go and sign some stuff, Mr. Stone.” I point at the little kids jumping up and down when they see him. He lets go of my hand, and I step to the side, not wanting to be in anyone’s way.

The car stops, and I look up, seeing Michael get out of the car with Jillian beside him. He comes over and smiles at me, kissing my cheek as the press yells his name. “You ready?” he asks me, and I take a deep breath and put my hand to my stomach, not even aware of the gasp that comes out of Jillian.

“Oh my God,” she says. Her hand comes to touch my hand, and then she drops it when she looks around. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Well, if you think it’s a friendship ring.” I look at her. “You’re wrong.”

“He said he was waiting.” Michael shakes his head and then walks over to the crowd with Dylan.

The two of them pose for a picture together and then apart. More and more players arrive, and when Cooper gets there, the roar of the crowd is deafening. He comes over to hug us at the same time Dylan comes back to stand beside me. “Nice of you to show up,” I say, smiling at him and then looking at Erika, who is just smirking. I look over at Cooper now. “I don’t even want to shake your hand,” I say. He laughs, and I put my hand on my forehead.

“What the fuck?” he says to me. “He did it already.” He looks at Dylan, who puts his hand in mine. “My cousin and my cousin are getting married,” he jokes, making Michael groan.

“It’s much better than my cousin and my sister,” Michael says, putting his hand in Jillian’s.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Dylan says now, looking at me. “Ready?”

“No,” I answer him honestly. “But YOLO.”

Cooper walks in front of us as he starts down the carpet. “You didn’t go see the fans,” Erika reminds him.

“We’ll do this with the family, and then I’ll go over,” he says, looking at us. “Here goes nothing.”

He walks down the carpet in front of us, and Michael follows us. “Look here!” they all shout, and we stop walking, posing together.

“Wait,” Franny says, walking down the carpet with Wilson’s hand in hers. “Now you can take the picture,” she says, and we all laugh.

“What took you so long?” Jillian asks her.

“Have you seen my husband?” She side-eyes Wilson with a wicked smile. “If you think he looks hot in a suit, you can imagine how hot he is out of the suit.”

“I’ve seen him out of the suit,” Cooper says. “He’s not that hot.”

I laugh as Wilson shakes his head. “The car had a flat tire.” He tries to make up the excuse.

“You have a hickey,” I say, pointing at his neck that is being covered a bit by his jacket collar.

Franny looks at him and smiles. “That’s not a hickey,” she gloats. “Those are teeth marks.”

“I’m going to barf,” Michael says as a reporter calls Dylan’s name.

“Here we go,” he says, looking at me as he walks over to the reporter who is waiting for him.

“Dylan Stone,” he says, smiling at him. “A Dallas Oiler.”

I look over at Dylan, my chest beaming with pride for him. My hand squeezes his just a touch, and his thumb moves over mine. “It’s a weird thing.” He smirks. “Going to take some getting used to.”

“Was it a difficult decision to make?” he asks him, and Dylan just nods his head.

“It was one of the most difficult I had to make.” His voice goes soft, and he looks over at me. “But I had to do it for my family.”

“It’s going to be some good hockey watching the three of you on the ice.” He smiles at us.

“I can’t wait,” Dylan says. “We usually train with each other every summer, so it’s going to be interesting to see the dynamic on the ice.”