Page 163 of Interference

Unaware of my mental spinout, he cleared his throat and faced the crowd. “We all know this project and this issue are near and dear to my heart. My teammates are also passionate about helping out, and we had a meeting before the event started.”

Clark looked as surprised as I felt, eyeing Anthony as if he had no idea where this was going.

Anthony grinned. “Each member of the Seattle Bobcats has pledged an additional $10,000 toward the cause.”

The roar of applause drowned out whatever he said after that. I quickly did the math. Twenty-three-man roster. $10,000 apiece.

My heart jumped into my throat. $230,000. On top of the…

Oh my God. All told, this night had raised $630,000 for my organization.

$630,000.

My mind was suddenly full of spreadsheets and calculations, budget sheets and wish lists. There were so many things the organization wanted to do that had been out of our reach, but now…

When Anthony returned to where I was standing, I threw my arms around him.

“Thank you,” I murmured against his neck. “You are amazing.”

“You’re welcome, baby.” He kissed my temple.

No, he hadn’t proposed (thank God), but this was even better. He’d not only helped me get the organization off the ground and onto the radar of the Casino Night organizers, he’d spearheaded a donation of almost a quarter of a million dollars from his teammates.

Hell, after that, aversion to public proposals be damned—I’d have said yes if he asked right here and now.

He didn’t, though, and after some more speeches and thank-yous, the event came to a close. We wandered through the crowd, thanking more people and shaking hands, before we were finally free to call it a night.

As much as I’d enjoyed the noise and chaos tonight, the quiet of our room was a relief. I was about as overstimulated as I could get without Lily needing to intervene. In a good way, of course, but overstimulated nonetheless.

As soon as we were behind closed doors, I took off Lily’s vest, and she wandered over to her food and water bowls.

Anthony wrapped his arms around me. “You’re going to change a lot of lives with that money.”

I smiled, trying not to get choked up. “I can’t wait to see what we can do with it.” I touched his face. “And, um… Consider that paying it forward for you changing my life.”

He cupped my face and kissed my forehead. “You say that like you haven’t changed mine, too.”

“Still. You didn’t have to pick me up off the streets when you did, and you sure as hell didn’t have to get your teammates to donate tonight.” I put a finger to his mouth to stop his protests. “You didn’t have to, but thank you.”

Then I kissed him, and whatever stubborn arguments he might’ve been considering seemed to die away.

As I drew back, I chuckled. “Not gonna lie—I panicked for a second when you took the mic. I thought you were going to propose or something.”

Anthony laughed. “No, you said you didn’t like big public proposals.” Then he took my hand, and while his smile held on, the humor faded. “That’s why I was waiting until we got back to the room.”

“Waiting—” My teeth snapped shut. “I was kidding. Just so we’re clear.”

“I know. But I’m not.”

And then, the kindest, sweetest, most incredible human being I’d ever encountered went to one knee right there in our hotel room.

“I love you, Wyatt,” he said, his voice a little thick and unsteady. “I mean it when I say you’ve changed my life for the better. And I want us both to keep making each other’s lives better.” He squeezed my hand as he took something out of his pocket. Holding up a gold band, he softly asked, “Marry me?”

I was speechless, so all I could do was nod. Maybe I couldn’t remember how to speak, but I sure as hell knew what my answer was.

The smile that broke out across his face almost melted me to my knees. Then he was on his feet, arms around me and lips against mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as I tried to fit all this into my mind.

We were getting married. We were in it for the long haul. After being so afraid for so long that I wasn’t worthy of basic kindness, never mind love, Anthony wanted me with him for the rest of our lives.

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