Page 122 of What if I Told You

Or his car…

“August, how did you feel about your first game back after your four-game suspension?”

“Uh, I felt good.” He nods. “I spent time in the training room and practiced with the team for tonight’s game during the last two weeks so hopefully that showed in my performance tonight.”

Totally showed, babe. You looked hot out there!

“August,” another press member raises his hand. “Can you tell us any more about your past relationship with Jeff Furbling and have you heard from him at all over these past two weeks?”

Fuck off on the Furbling. He’s not talking about it.

“No comment,” he tells the man before he sits.

That’s right, babe. You tell ’em.

I raise my hand while keeping my eyes glued to my notepad so he doesn’t know it’s me sitting here.

“Yeah. In the blue hat.”

I clear my throat before I begin and then say, “Um, Auggie…can I call you Auggie? Seems like a cute name for you, doesn’t it?” I raise my head so he can see who I am and then stand from my seat. The other members of the press stare at me with furrowed brows. Clearly they don’t recognize me outside my mascot costume.

He smiles back at me. “Uh, yeah sure. I’ll allow Auggie.” He winks. “But only for you.”

“Alright.” I beam, pulling off my hat, my long brown hair falling around my shoulders. “I was actually wondering if maybe you might be interested in marrying me.”

The crowd chuckles, assuming I’m making some sort of joke. Even August blinks several times and sits back in his chair watching me, a huge smile widening across his face. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Of course. Marry me,” I say again. “Because I love you and because somehow I was able to sneak into this press conference with all these professionals and nobody pushed me out so this is me, your unmasked team mascot standing in front of all these press members asking you to marry me.”

Cocking his head, he narrows his eyes and shakes his head. “Do you know what you’re doing Ms. Montgomery?”

I laugh among a now murmuring crowd with microphones pointed at me. “Well, I’m pretty sure I’m just a girl standing in front of a hot hockey player, asking him to marry her. That was the goal anyway. Am I coming across some other way because this feels pretty cut and dry here.”

In the back of the room, the rest of the team comes barging in and somehow I know they just got word that I was in here proposing to August and didn’t want to miss out.

Auggie sits up straighter in his chair and clears his throat. “I just wanted you to be sure because I don’t want you to ask me to marry you if you’re not sure this is what you want. What if I told you I don’t want you if I can’t have you forever?”

“So that includes for better or worse? Richer or poorer? Sickness and health and all that other stuff?”

“All that other stuff and so much more,” he answers with a smirk.

“Sold,” I tell him. “Let’s get hitched.”

August shakes his head with a laugh. “I love you Ella Montgomery. I’ll marry you any day, anytime, anywhere.”

“I love you too, August Blackstone. How does Vegas sound?”

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