Page 66 of Stick Move

Camryn tugs on my arm and points. “Daddy, this is me and you when I was just born.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done.

I scrub my scruff of a beard as a tightness grips my chest. “I…I can’t believe.”

Her eyes go wide and she takes a small step toward me. “I hope you don’t, that I didn’t?—”

“I love it,” I assure her quickly, my voice a little raspy as all the things I feel for this woman rise to the surface. “Thank you, Brighton.”

“I wanted to make it homey for Camryn…and you.”

“It really was lacking a female touch, wasn’t it?” I agree with a laugh, as I scoop up my daughter. “Okay, Bean, let’s look at all the pictures.”

After she shows me all the beautifully framed family pictures, I give them their gifts. A stuffed Bernese Mountain dog for Camryn, and a stuffed sheep for Brighton. Yes, I saw how much she admired them on the farm that day. They both love their gifts and Brighton spends the night showing me how much.

The rest of the week is spent with me at practice during the day and the three of us doing family things at night and as mundane as that is, I love every second of it. I even love that Brighton came to our home game mid-week. I can’t even put into words how much fun it is to have her watching with the other wives and girlfriends. Especially when I score the winning goal. Now here it is, the weekend already and our friends are arriving for a last blowout before our regular season begins.

With a lifeguard on duty watching the kids in the pool, I turn my focus to Brighton as she chats with a few of the women. My heart warms at how accepting they all are. That’s what I love about our team.

When we chose the date for the barbecue, we weren’t aware that there’d be a bachelorette party going on. The girls might be all over the single guys, but I’m not having anything to do with that, even though officially I am single, but dammit, I want to change that. I spot Brady, the biggest player on the team—on the ice and off—hanging out at the bar, but Melanie isn’t giving him the time of day.

Melanie is gorgeous—and older than him—and I’m surprised he’s not going for the sure thing with one of the bridesmaids, to be honest. Maybe he likes the challenge, never having had to be challenged before. It makes me laugh. Melanie isn’t the kind of woman to be impressed by his antics or his stature, and a flat-out rejection by her just might put a dent in his ego, and while I love the guy, I can’t help but think that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I walk over to my chair and grab a towel. As I dry myself, I can feel Brighton’s eyes on me. She excuses herself, and walks over to me. “Having fun?” she asks, and I let my gaze rake over her body. Her hips and breasts are a little fuller now and it looks good on her. So good in fact, I want to leave this party and ravage her.

“This was a great idea, Sunshine.”

“I really love your friends.”

“Your friends too,” I assure her and her eyes light with joy. Who knew it? The girl I knew growing up—one I thought had everything—really had nothing, and that makes me want to give her the world. I lean into her as Conner cannonballs into the pool, drawing everyone’s attention except mine and Brighton’s. Our gazes are locked on one another.

“I was thinking about something,” I say.

“Oh?” she asks, her eyes bright and shiny. She loves this, loves entertaining the team, the families—her new friends. It’s no wonder she was so good in the role of event coordinator. She thrives on this and I’m sure she’s soon going to want to get back to it, and I plan to make that happen.

I narrow my eyes, my heart pounding, and while I’m a confident man, there’s still a part of that shunned teen inside of me. “I want to talk about your position.”

She grins but then it dies an abrupt death. “Wait, you mean my nanny position? Are you not happy with the way I’m caring for Camryn?”

“No, you’re great with her. I was thinking of another position.”

“Oh, I get it,” she giggles and sags against me. “Something kinky in mind?”

My dick twitches as she brushes against it, and I shift because my damn bathing suit is not going to hide any kind of boner.

“I’m talking about girlfriend.” Christ, I feel like I’m back in high school, but here goes nothing. “Will you be my girlfriend, Brighton?”

She laughs and holds her finger up. “Aren’t I already your fiancée?”

My chest flares, as the world fades away around me. Is this really happening? Right here, right now? Christ, I never spent a lot of time thinking about how I’d propose to a woman. I was so focused on hockey and Camryn I never thought I’d fall in love. But at a pool with our friends…this certainly isn’t how I imagined any kind of proposal going down. A woman deserves romance and finesse, right? What kind of story is this to tell the grandkids?

“Is that the position you want?” I ask.

20

BRIGHTON

Last Saturday afternoon, when Noah asked me to be his girlfriend and I half-jokingly said I was already his fiancée, I caught a flash of unease in his eyes. But then, a split second later, that unease morphed into pleasure and he kissed me with all the love and passion inside him. At first, I couldn’t believe what was happening, then he whispered in my ear that we should keep the engagement quiet for now—he wasn’t ready to tell his teammates—and while that confused me, it also simultaneously occurred to me that what was happening was real. I was—am—Noah’s fiancée. Talk about a whirlwind relationship and engagement.

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