Page 139 of What If I Knew You

Zeke spreads his legs at the last minute and the puck slides right through and into the net!

“HOLY SHIT!”

The crowd goes wild and tears of gratitude fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks. Lumin gives me a huge hug and then leads me down to the goalie to say my thank you to Zeke Miller. Except when Zeke takes his helmet off, it’s not Zeke at all.

“Bodhi?”

He beams back at me and skates forward, scooping me up in his arms and spinning me with his arms wrapped tightly around my body.

“Congratulations, babe! I knew you could do it!”

“This is so crazy! Nine million dollars!”

“Fuckin’ right. It’s for a great cause. How could we say no?”

“I know you did this, Bodhi Roche.”

He shrugs, still smiling at me. “I’d do anything for you, Corrigan. I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too.”

“I have something for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. Maybe Lumin can help me out.”

What?

I turn and find Lumin holding a flat square box in her hands wrapped in a yellow bow.

“Bodhi! What is this?”

“Open it babe.”

I pull open the lid of the box and inside is a beautiful shining gold necklace with an elegant star diamond pendant.

“It’s not a ring,” Bodhi explains. “But it’s still my commitment to you. Because before I ask you to marry me, and believe me, I will absofuckinglutley ask you to marry me one day, I want to date you.”

God, I can’t wipe this giddy smile off my face.

“You want to date me?”

He nods. “Hell, yeah I do. I want to take you out on the town. I want to eat at Mario’s with you. I want to take you to that ramen place, and to Harold’s for all the hot dogs. I want to travel with you and spend days and nights with you and treat you like the precious queen that you are. So, will you say yes? Will you date me?”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Bodhi Roche, it would make me the happiest woman on the planet to date you! Yes! Of course!”

He wraps me in a hug again, lifting me up and pressing his lips to mine. “Now lift the velvet backing from the box.”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me,” he laughs. “Lift it out.”

Lumin still holding onto the box, I carefully lift the backing out of the gift box and find a folded piece of paper. I pull the paper from the box and unfold it and squeal when I see what it is.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”

“Wait, wait, wait, ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we might have another amazing announcement,” Marlee states into the microphone. Bodhi skates me over to her where I show her the handwritten check for another million dollars for the Pacific Children’s Hospital from the pockets of the Anaheim Stars.

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