Dare You to Hate Me

And we have.

“How’s the baby?” I ask, wiggling my fingers at the little boy staring at me with his thumb in his mouth. He raises a hand and waves back, making me smile.

“He’s good. Teething like crazy.” She pecks his head and adjusts him. “Have you and Aiden thought about—”

“Oh, cut the girl some slack,” another one of the wives says. It’s the oldest one of us, who’s shut down the women more than once on my behalf. For that reason, Penny is my favorite. “I know you would have waited to have Prince, but things happen. Let them live their lives.”

Malissa grumbles under her breath, focusing back on her son and nobody else.

I give Penny a grateful smile which she returns. “Nick loved those turnovers you sent over. I had to remind him that he had to save at least one for me.”

Blushing, I shift from one foot to the other. “I can make more. I’ve thought about adding something different this time.”

A woman a few feet down says, “You should try them with peaches.”

“Peaches?” Penny remarks, scrunching her face.

“It’s Don’s favorite.”

Baking for Aiden’ team now is no different than it was nearly two years ago in Lindon. I still get requests, and I still do the best I can do to accommodate. They challenge me to change up traditional recipes with my own styles, which helps me in the long run when I decide they’re good enough to post about on my blog.

Once the guys emerge, everyone goes their separate ways. Aiden walks over to me and drops an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him for a tight hug. “Good game,” I tell him.

“You say that every time.”

I peer up at him grinning. “Because I think they’re all good. Say ‘thank you, Ivy.’”

“Thank you, Ivy,” he obeys, rolling his eyes. When he hooks the same arm around my waist and walks me out toward the corridor that leads to where the players park, he asks, “Did anyone ask about us again?”

Apparently the guys are no different with him, saying most players don’t stay with anyone as long as we have without making a commitment by now, but like me, he brushes it off.

“Malissa asked if I was going to pop out one of your babies anytime soon.” He snorts at my choice of words. “Don’t get me wrong, the act itself is definitely fun now that you know what do with your dick, but I’m not ready for—”

“I’ve always known what to do with my dick,” he refutes, eyeing me defensively even though he knows I’m teasing when I shoot him a wink. “And you never seem to mind when you’re screaming my name and cumming on my cock almost every night.”

One of the stadium workers overhears and hides a laugh with a loud cleared throat as we pass him, making me smack Aiden’s chest. “You did that on purpose.”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Maybe.”

Once we’re settled in his new Ford truck, with tinted windows to hide us from the cameras that like to harass us on occasion, I see him turning to me as he presses the start button. “We might not be ready to be parents, but we could make other decisions.”

My hand falters on the seatbelt. “Like what?”

“Open the glove box.”

Eyes darting in front of me, I hesitate only a moment before doing as he says, and I see a black box.

“Aiden…” My voice cracks as I brush my fingers over the square box before taking it out.

He puts the truck in drive and pulls out of the parking lot. “I’m not good with pretty words, Ivy. I tried thinking about how to do this in a romantic way, but we’ve never really been like that. This is more us.”

“Are you… Is this what I think it is?” I’m afraid to lift the lid and see what’s inside even though I already know.

We stop at the end of the lot where traffic passes by us. It’s then he looks over, one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other reaches over and lifts the lid for me. “Let’s get married.”

Oh my God.

“Be my wife?” he asks, eyes combing over me as I stare at him in shock. Eventually, I manage to glance down at the beautiful gold ring that has a single diamond in the middle. It’s not flashy or too fancy. It’s simple. It’s me.