“Where have you been sleeping?” I ask her.
“In my old bed in one of the spare bedrooms. I just didn’t feel right that you weren’t here.” She shrugs.
I kiss her hard, needing her to feel how much I love her. “What else?” I say, panting as I pull away from her kiss.
“I found office furniture that I love, and it was delivered last week. I got it all set up and organized, and I’m ready to dive into the foundation. I’ve been working with John, and all of the paperwork has been filed and approved. The Latham Reeves Foundation is official.”
“You’re going to do amazing things, future Mrs. Reeves.”
She grins. “Fiji.”
“What about Fiji?”
“That’s where I want to get married. I just want it to be our parents, and if Nixon and Tessa can make it, that would be great. And anyone you want to be there.”
“You. All I want is you. You have my schedule, and you said your Amex arrived, right?” I ask. She nods. “Good. Make it happen. Just tell me when and where, or if you want me to handle it, I can do that too. Just tell me what you need, baby.”
“You and me in Fiji.”
“How did you come to decide on the location?” I ask, running my fingers through her hair.
“I typed in destination weddings, and it popped up. The images are beautiful.”
“How soon can we make this happen?”
“Well, with the season, it’s going to be difficult, especially if we want Nix and Tess to be there.”
Damn. “So, what you’re telling me is that I have to wait until after the Bowl game to marry you?”
“Probably.”
“That’s too far away.”
“It’s a few months at best. That will give our parents time to plan to be off work, and us time to plan it all out.”
“What do you need from me to make this happen?”
“Nothing. I found an amazing resort. I can show you pictures later. If you like it, I’ll call and set it up. Then I just need to tell our families, Nix and Tess, and find a dress.”
I can’t help but think about the last time she was in a wedding dress and how it all ended. “Do you have one in mind?” I ask her.
“Simple. Elegant. Flowing,” she replies wistfully.
“Anything you want, baby. I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Me too, Coop. Me too.”
We spend the next hour talking about life and getting caught up. She tells me more about what she’s been up to and her ideas for the foundation, while I tell her about camp and how stoked I am about the team this year. “I really think we have a Bowl team,” I tell her. All the guys are on point this season.
“I know you’re going to kill it.” She kisses my chin. “Now, let’s take a tour. I’m dying to show you what I’ve done while you were gone.”
We start in the kitchen as she shows me how she has it all organized, and we go room to room. There are pictures of us from when we were kids to now all through the house, and it tells our story.
“This room,” she smiles up at me, “I’m not sure about. If there is anything that you don’t like, we can change it.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect,” I say as we stand outside the office that we decided would be mine. “Open the door, Reese. The suspense is killing me.”
“Remember, we can change it if you don’t like it.”
“Baby….” I lean down and kiss her, then pick her up and move her out of the way. As I push open the door, the first thing I notice is the dark mahogany desk that I picked out a few days before leaving for camp. It’s all set up with my laptop and a framed picture of us. I recognize it as my first game at CU.
Next, my eyes land on the framed jerseys on the wall. “How did you get all of these?” I ask. My Pop Warner jersey, my high school jersey, the jersey from CU, and now the Defenders. They’re all framed and sitting proudly on my office walls.
“Your mom. She had the Pop Warner and high school. I found your CU jersey in some of the boxes I was unpacking, and the Defenders jersey is the one they gave you on draft day.
“The curio cabinet, you might not like, but I wanted to be able to display your achievements. There are going to be so many more I wanted it to be a safe place to display them.” She points to the cabinet sitting in the corner.
It’s filled with the trophies of my youth, all the way through college. There are ring holders sitting on the top shelf. One with my three college rings and another sits empty. “What’s up with the empty one?” I ask her.