“Tied?” Matthew laughs at me.
“I want to marry her. I want her to be my wife. I want to watch her wear my ring, knowing that she’s mine. I just want her to be mine.” I blow out, taking my cap off, rubbing my hands in my hair.
“Okay,” he says. “I’m not sure why you are telling me this.”
“I’m asking for your permission. I want you to tell me that you approve of me, of us. I want to make sure you are okay with this. You’re her main man. I want to be her other main man.”
“You make her happy. Before when we would go to Dad’s for the week, I would worry about her. Now I don’t. I know that you won’t let anything happen to her. That you would put her before anything. So, my answer is yes. Do it. Ask her,” Matthew says, smiling.
“Okay, good, one down. Now I just have to convince her to take a chance on me.”
“You got a ring?” he asks, and I nod.
“I do. I had it since I went away on that god-awful road trip.”
Matthew throws his head back and laughs. “Dude, you were terrible. I thought they would bench you, that’s how bad it was. I cringed during most of the games.”
“Thanks, buddy, glad I can make you laugh.”
Three days later, I’m standing in the middle of the family room. The decorator just left. It took six hours for her to transform my house into a winter wonderland.
When she opens the front door, what is going to greet her is the banister wrapped in garland with white lights.
Lit candles make a path to the family room, red rose petals scattered in the pathway.
The family room is what is blazing. The fireplace is lit, making the room glow. The monster of a Christmas tree is in the corner of the room. I told her I wanted a big tree. I had no idea she would walk in with a fifteen footer.
Everything on the tree is either white or silver with about a million lights, or what seems to be a million. There are huge vases on every single surface, filled with water and white branches with tea candles floating in them.
There are fake white trees all around the room as well, all lit up. The huge bay windows have tea light falling down on them. It really looks like a fucking fantasy.
I’m standing in front of the fireplace in my charcoal dress pants that I know she loves so much and beige knitted turtleneck sweater. The blue Tiffany’s box in my pocket weighs me down.
I know she’ll be here any minute. I had Meghan text me when she would be on her way home.
I mean, besides Matthew I also kind of had to get Meghan’s permission. She actually cried when I told her. But if we are honest, it’s the pregnancy making her soft. Yup, it seems that she will be welcoming a new member to the team. Even though it’s too early to tell, Tom is set on it being a boy.
I hear her car door slam shut. “Here goes nothing,” I tell myself.
I’ve played many hockey games against some of the biggest bad asses out there. Played a game with two broken fingers. That felt like child’s play to me compared to this.
I hear the door open, and I know exactly when she sees it all when I hear a gasp.
“Cooper,” she calls softly. I hear her heels click on the floor. Meghan made an excuse that she wanted to go girl shopping with her just to make sure she dressed nice. I couldn’t care less if she came in with battered up pants and a stained shirt.
She rounds the corner, her hand in front of her mouth. She looks at me with tears in her eyes.
“Hey.” I smile at her. She’s beautiful. She stands there in her tight dark blue jeans, her white V-neck sweater fitting her perfectly. Her black jacket, big bulky black scarf, and heeled booties complete the look.
“I got a tree,” I tell her, watching her take in the room.
“I see that. Santa also came and threw up everywhere.” She giggles. “What’s going on?” She turns around, making sure she sees everything.
“Come here for a minute.” I take my hand out of my pocket. I hold it out to her, and she slides her fingers through mine. “I want to ask you something.” I look at her and then finally get down on one knee.
She covers her mouth. I’m not sure what the sound was. It was a mix between a scream and a sob. “Cooper,” she whispers.
“I’ve never been in love. I never thought I would be. I thought that this feeling everyone spoke about was a myth, something that was made up. Till I met you.” I kiss her hand, my throat starting to grow thick. “The first time I saw you, I knew you’d be trouble. I just didn’t know how much trouble you would actually be.” I laugh, thinking of the first time I saw her getting out of her car. “When you got on that ice, that is when I knew you would possibly kick my ass. I watched you from afar at first, till I couldn’t take it anymore. The minute I sat with you my world tilted. It was like it was finally right. The more time I spent with you, the harder it was to stay away from you. Then I met the kids, and I have to say if you weren’t the whole package before, you were definitely the whole package in that moment.” A tear falls down her cheek. “I want to be there every single step of the way. Holding your hand. Wiping your tears, hearing your laughter, cringing when you yell to put the garbage out.”