Play Me

Dad came back to join me, and I said, “I think I need to start interviewing for a new general manager for the team. Doing it sooner rather than later will give me time to train them on my responsibilities before the season’s over.”

He put his arm around me, and I leaned against his shoulder. Life was working out better than I’d ever imagined. It was hard to keep my emotions in check considering all Dad had done. When I had first seen him that morning at breakfast, I had run into his arms, thanking him. “I think it’s wise to start looking for a replacement.”

I needed someone competent to run this team. Maybe if Amber wanted to stay in Bowling Green, I could look at creating a hybrid role. She could assist me remotely while still working with the new manager I planned to hire. It would help the new manager since Amber had experience. I focused back on Hunter as I watched the team dump water on him and Mac. I couldn’t help but laugh. This was one of those moments in time I wanted to freeze forever.

After the game, things had gone into warp speed. I’d hardly seen Hunter. The plan was to meet for dinner at a local restaurant, The Night Cap. It was one of the nicest restaurants in town, a steakhouse pub with a great atmosphere. Hunter and I had enjoyed takeout from there quite often when we had been hiding our relationship. The parking lot was empty when we pulled in, which seemed odd.

I checked the time. Eight o’clock. Not too terribly late, but definitely past the dinner rush. Since we’d been busy after the game, entertaining sponsors, it was the earliest we could get together with our parents. Our families were so different, yet alike when it came to the important things, like their views on family. In the owner’s box at the stadium during the game, everyone had gotten along so well.

At the door, Hunter paused and turned me to him. “You know how much I love you, right?”

I smiled, knowing I would never tire of hearing Hunter say those words. “I do. And you know I feel the same way about you.” He took in a shaky breath, which seemed odd for Hunter. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just needed you to know. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been able to spend much time together lately. And tomorrow morning, I’m going to the ranch.”

He was right; we hadn’t. I touched his cheek. “We have the rest of our lives, Hunter.”

“Yes, we do.”

What I said obviously put him at ease, and he opened the door for me. We walked in to the sight of a big banner that said congratulations! I put my hand to my mouth and backed up. “Oh no, Hunter. We’ve made a mistake.”

He looked at me like he was going to be sick. “What?”

Horrified, I whispered, “We’ve got to go. Back up slowly. Then, they won’t know we’re here.”

He raised his eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

I pointed to the banner. “We’ve walked into someone’s party. It says ‘Congratulations.’ We have to go.”

He laughed out loud. I shot my hands out in panic. “Shh! Don’t be loud! Was there a sign at the door? I didn’t see a sign. I thought we had reservations.”

I rushed to the door and turned to see if Hunter was with me. Instead, he continued into the room. I loudly whispered, “Hunter, come back here! We need to leave.”

“I’m thinking we should crash the party.”

“No, we have to go.”

There was a cake in the middle of the room. He took his finger and ran it through some of the icing at the base of the cake, and my mouth dropped open.

I was beyond shocked. “Hunter! That’s someone’s cake.”

He gave me a wink. “It’s delicious. Do you want some?”

“No! We need to go.”

The door to the kitchen opened, and a waiter came out. I pressed myself against the wall, hoping it might camouflage me. Hunter was on his own. The young waiter calmly walked over to talk to Hunter. I waited for my boyfriend to be called an icing thief and kicked out of the restaurant. But the waiter left the room, allowing Hunter to stay there. If we weren’t supposed to be there, I figured the guy would have asked us to leave.

Curious, I walked into the room. “What’s going on?”

He chuckled. “I will never stop loving you and your crazy antics.” Taking my hands in his, he looked into my eyes. “When we first met, I thought I was going to die from Lysol fumes.”

I giggled. That had been really bad.

“The night we were stranded and you thought we were going to die from a ghost haunting, I gave you my heart. You brought me back to life, Kendall. You were the missing piece I’ve been searching for all along.”

Tears welled in my eyes. This was the moment I dreamed about happening but was too scared to hope for. Hunter got down on one knee. “I will follow you to the ends of the earth, Kendall. I want the next chapter in our lives to be with me by your side as your husband while you conquer the world. I want to help you achieve all your dreams. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

I nodded, whispering, “You are the only dream I want now, Hunter. Yes, yes, a million times, yes.”

He scooped me up and kissed me hard as our families walked into the room. Hunter set me down, and my mom engulfed me in a hug.

“I am so happy for you, Kendall. Hunter is an amazing man.”

“He is. Thank you, Mom.”

Dad was next for a hug. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to think of you as anything but my little girl.”

“I won’t ever stop being Daddy’s girl.”

I hugged my dad fiercely, and he kissed the top of my head. Brett and Aubrey were next to hug me. “Welcome to the family. I am so happy to have you as a daughter,” Aubrey said.

My parents looked on lovingly. Aubrey whispered in my ear. “I’ve got more wine we can drink later.”

“It’s a date.” I laughed.

Brett shook my dad’s hand. “I appreciate you going easy on my son when he asked for Kendall’s hand.”

We all laughed. Hunter joined me again, and I turned to face him, wrapping an arm around his waist. “When did you ask my dad?”

“Yesterday, after we talked shop.”

“I want to get married at the ranch where we plan to start our lives.”

Hunter’s eyes gleamed with happiness, and I knew he wanted that, too.

Our mothers came to our sides. “Oh, you guys are going to have the wedding at the ranch?” Aubrey asked.

Hunter gave me a squeeze as I turned to his mom. “Yes, and I was hoping you two could plan it.”

There were gasps all around. “I want to focus on Hunter and me instead of getting lost in all the planning. None of the details matter as long as at the end of the day, I get to marry my soul mate.”

Aubrey squealed, and my mom gave one of those excited claps while bouncing. It was like our mothers had regressed and turned into kids.