Page 170 of Miami Ice

Beckham sets the tray down on the table next to my bed. “My phone is blowing up,” he says. “Because of your post.”

I study him, trying to gauge his reaction to this. He sinks down in the chair vacated by Scarlett and reaches for my hand again. “Thank you for standing up for me,” he continues, his eyes locked on mine. “I know that was a pre-emptive strike against what the Manatees might do.”

“There are going to be some people who think you did the wrong thing,” I say. “But I think a whole lot more are going to support you and what you chose today.”

“I will always choose you, Georgie,” Beckham says, squeezing my hand. “Always.”

“I will always choose you, too.”

“Because you love me,” he says, smiling gently at me.

“Because I love you,” I reply, smiling back at him.

And now all that remains to be seen is if the Manatees agree with the decision Beckham made, too.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I stare down at the plate of food in my lap and a huge lump swells in my throat. I work hard to blink back tears.

“What’s wrong? Do you feel okay, Georgie?” A look of panic filters across Beckham’s face. He quickly puts down the plate of food he’s holding on the coffee table and drops down beside me, taking one of my hands in his. “Are you nauseous, baby? Does your head hurt?”

I look into his coffee-colored eyes, which have quickly filled with worry for me.

“No, nothing is wrong,” I say, smiling at him. “Everything is right.”

Beckham stares at me in confusion. I squeeze his hand in mine.

“This isn’t the Christmas Eve I had planned. I wanted it to be all about you,” I say, my voice wobbling. “But you’ve made it absolutely perfect, and I love you so much for it.”

I was released from the hospital this afternoon, and Beckham has done everything in his power to not only take care of me, but make sure today still had all the magic of Christmas Eve. He’s put on a holiday playlist from Spotify. On the TV in the living room, there’s a YouTube video of a fire crackling in the fireplace. When it’s time for me to rest, he’s right there, taking the boot off my ankle and draping me in cozy Pinkmas throw blankets.

He was in the kitchen for a while, watching a video on how to prepare lobster tails with linguini, and now? He’s brought me a beautiful plate of food he’s prepared himself—all to make Christmas Eve special for me.

Beckham slides his other hand to the back of my head, cradling it gently. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me about the slippers?” he asks, a playful smile beginning to form at the corners of his mouth.

I bite down on my lip to keep from laughing. When we were checking out of the hospital, they brought me my belongings in a clear plastic bag. Because they cut my pajamas off me in the ER, the only thing I had was the gingerbread woman slippers.

The second Beckham saw them, he took the bag from my hand and immediately threw them in the trash, telling me they were a danger to me, and he would never let me wear slippers again. My garland suffered the same fate—Beckham pulled it down as soon as we were home. I was informed I’m never to have anything blocking the handrail ever again. If I insist on it, Beckham said he will insist on installing an elevator in his new house and I will be required to use it.

“There was never anything to forgive about the slippers,” I say. “You’re right. They were slippery on the bottom. They are the reason I fell.”

“I’ll never forgive the gingerbread lady.”

“She’s more maniacal than the nutcracker, you know,” I tease.

“Nothing is more maniacal than that,” he insists, nodding his head in the direction of the nutcracker.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Beckham says, leaning over and brushing a kiss upon my mouth. He picks up his food and takes a seat next to me on the sofa. Winston quickly comes over, wagging his tail and staring up at Beckham.

“I don’t think lobster is on your meal plan,” Beckham teases him.

I pick up my knife and fork. “He thinks he can play you like he does my mom.”

“Or like you did the media,” Beckham says slyly.

I grin happily. My social media strategy worked. Yes, there were some fans and trolls who thought Beckham should have played, but most of the reaction was positive in support of him. Loads of Connectivity Story Shares and TikToks were made about our “love story” and how Beckham is the kind of man you want by your side.

It ended up going viral.

---