Forever with Me (With Me in Seattle 8)

“Rhys is running over with a ball!” Natalie says.

Nic is all smiles as the tall, handsome player hands her a ball, kisses her cheek, and shakes Matt’s hand.

“I wish we could hear what they’re saying,” Jules grumbles.

“He wanted it this way,” Caleb says softly.

Rhys points to the ball in Nic’s hand, and she looks down at it, then her jaw drops as Matt lowers himself to one knee and takes her hand in his.

“Is it just me, or is this cheesy as fuck?” Mark asks.

“Shut up, it’s not cheesy. It’s brilliant.” Brynna smacks Mark’s arm, shutting him up.

We can’t hear what’s happening, but suddenly, Nic is nodding furiously, and Matt puts a ring on her finger, then stands and lifts her off her feet, hugging her tight, whispering in her ear.

Rhys and his teammates applaud and begin to circle around them to congratulate the happy couple.

“Fuck that! I want to hug them now too!” Jules, careful not to lower her phone, jumps up and leads us all down onto the field. Stacy, Brynna and Meredith jump the wall, garnering the attention of security, but Dom holds up a hand.

“That’s their brother. They’re just anxious to congratulate him.”

“No more jumping down,” the tall security man says sternly, then his jaw drops when he sees Leo. “Is that Leo Nash?”

I immediately walk to the man and speak quickly, in my no-nonsense voice. “This is a family outing. Not a photo op. I hope you’ll remain discreet, please.”

“Of course.” He nods and walks away, minding his own business.

When I turn to rejoin the others, Nic and Matt are surrounded by family and players, but Dom is waiting for me with a sober face.

“What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head. “Not a damn thing.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the others.

“He wrote Will You Marry Me on a baseball!” Nic exclaims and shows everyone.

“Aww, and had your favorite player give it to you,” Stacy says dreamily.

“I’m your favorite player?” Rhys asks, as if he didn’t already know.

“Maybe,” Nic says, and then laughs. “Yeah, you definitely are.”

“Is it my undeniable good looks?” he asks.

“No, it’s your batting record. Seriously, you have the most hits this year in all of the MLB, and watching you hit is like watching a dance. You’re damn good.”

Rhys cocks his head to the side and watches Nic more seriously. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry to break this up, guys,” the security guard says, “but I need you to take your seats. We’ll be starting soon.”

“Okay, that was cool,” Mark concedes as we go to find our seats.

“I want nachos,” Brynna announces. “And a hot dog.”

“Pizza!” Stacy agrees.

“We’re going out for dinner after this,” Nate reminds the girls.

“We’re at a baseball game,” I say, as if it makes perfect sense.

Because it does.

“We need Cracker Jacks too,” Sam says. “And cotton candy.”

“And a dentist,” Luke says with a cringe.

“Beer.” I add.

“The beer here is warm,” Dominic says.

“I don’t care. I’m at a game. I need beer and peanuts.”

“Wait!” Meredith stands, looking about. “Where are Matt and Nic?”

We all turn and search the area, and suddenly Caleb points back down to the field. Matt and Nic are coming out of the White Sox dugout, headed for the field.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins. “Throwing out the first pitch today is a young woman who just got engaged on our field! Give a big Seattle welcome to Nic Dalton!”

“Oh, my God, I have to get Will back!” Jules is furiously tapping the screen of her phone as we all jump up, cheering loudly.

“Atta girl!” Brynna calls down to the field. Dom and his brothers are whistling loudly.

“This is so fun!” I clap my hands, jumping on the balls of my feet.

Nic walks out to the pitcher’s mound, ball in hand, but instead of standing in front of the mound, she stands on top of it and gives the catcher an arrogant look. Her lips twitch, but then she winds up and throws the ball perfectly, right into the catcher’s mitt, as if she’s a pro who’s been throwing baseballs for years.

“Holy shit, Will, you’re not the only one in the family with a hell of a right arm,” Isaac says excitedly.

“That’s so fucking awesome!” Will exclaims through the phone.

Matt and Nic wave at the crowd, then join us in the stands.

“You are so damn cool,” Luke says to Nic as he pulls her in for a hug.

“I know,” Nic replies, and laughs as she’s passed from brother to brother.

“Okay, you all have your own girls,” Matt says finally. “Hands off mine.”

“Now, back to food,” Brynna says, and flags down a guy carrying a box full of peanuts.

“It’s going to cost us a thousand dollars to eat all this junk,” Nate says.

“You can afford it, ace,” Jules replies happily, and cranes her neck looking for another vendor. “Where’s the pizza guy?”

“Were those rookies hitting on you when we were down hugging Nic and Matt?” Meredith asks Natalie.

“Yeah.” Nat shrugs and shakes her head. “They didn’t know any better.”

“They do now,” Luke replies mildly.

“What did you say?” Stacy asks.

“He didn’t say anything,” Nat replies and lays her head on her husband’s shoulder. “He glared at them like a caveman and the one guy recognized him and they shut up.”

“I’m a caveman?” Luke asks in surprise.

“You’re all a bunch of cavemen,” Meredith replies.

“Am I a caveman, cara?” Dom murmurs in my ear.

I snort and stare up at him, then lean in to talk into his ear. “I believe it was you who fucked me against the building on your property because I joked about fucking someone with an apa.”

I pull back and see his eyes narrow. “And just hearing you say that makes me want to do it again.”

“See? Caveman.”

***

“I’m so fucking full,” Brynna says as we walk down the sidewalk outside of the stadium toward a nearby pub.

“That’s because you ate everything except for the seat you were sitting in, legs,” Caleb says with a laugh and takes her hand in his.