Page 98 of Houston, We Have a Problem
Darcy starts to cry again, this time letting it out despite the damage it could do to her makeup. “How are you so great?” she whispers before wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight embrace that I happily return.
“Because you make me want to be great.”
“How long do you think you’ll have to stick around doing interviews?”
Too long. “I told Roundy I’m only giving his people an hour.”
“Good. Then what?”
I hadn’t really thought about it, but I have a feeling Chad is going to find the Enhance video pretty quickly if he hasn’t already. He’ll tell everyone else, and I’m going to have all of my siblings descending on my house to demand an explanation. I’m fine with that, as long as they don’t stay all night.
But until they show up?
“How about a nap?” I suggest with a chuckle. “I just made the biggest announcement of my life, and I want to hide from it all for a little bit. And hold you in my arms.” I nuzzle into her neck, glad she’s in such monstrous heels so she isn’t so far below me.
Laughing, she plays with the hair at the nape of my neck and sends a shiver through me. “You don’t think we spent enough time on my couch yesterday already? It’s really not that comfortable.”
Oh, she does not want me to go there. But I go there anyway. “Well, my bed is pretty comfortable,” I say in a low voice that makes her shiver. “But there are a couple things that should probably happen before we get to that point.”
She doesn’t even flinch, merely pulling herself closer. “Such as?”
“Such as the fact that I’ve never had a woman in my bed because the only woman I want there is my wife.”
This time she does react, pulling back enough to look up at me with wide eyes. “Really? Never?”
I nod. “Surprising, right?”
“You’re telling me you never…not even with Bonnie Aiken?”
I tuck some hair behind her ear, loving how easy this conversation is. Some of my past girlfriends thought I was crazy for waiting, especially back when I was convinced I didn’t want to settle down. They made some compelling arguments, but I’m glad I never changed my mind. “I promised my mom I would never treat a woman poorly,” I say quietly. “And I’ve always thought something like that should be shared with someone I am deeply in love with. Someone I’m fully committed to. I never felt like that about anyone, so I never wanted to go too far into a relationship that I didn’t think would last. Not until you. You’re a forever kind of deal, Darcy Paxton.”
Her breath hitches. “Are you asking me to marry you, Houston Briggs?”
Chuckling, I kiss the tip of her nose. “Not tonight. But someday I will.” And then I press my lips to hers, feeling like everything in my life is falling into place and settling into something truly wonderful.
Epilogue
Darcy
July 2
“You should have warned mehow hot it gets in Sun City in July. I’m sweating like a pig.” I wave my hands over my armpits as if that might help.
Houston, on the other hand, looks cool as a cucumber with his arms stretched out along the backs of the seats and his hat tugged low on his head to hide his face. I tried to convince him to contact the manager before we showed up and do an interview or something, but he said he was just here to enjoy some baseball.
This calm of his is fake. This is the first time he’s been around the Red-tails since he retired last fall, and he hasn’t hidden his nerves well. He’s been nervous for days.
“You say that like Missouri isn’t at ninety-eight percent humidity right now,” he says. “Dry heat is so much easier to handle.”
“Maybe, but I already miss the way your hair curls in St. Louis.” I brush my fingers through what hair I can see poking out beneath his hat. He’s due for a haircut, but he keeps telling me he’s waiting for the right moment because he hates getting his hair trimmed. Apparently, Chad tried to cut his hair once when he was eight, and it was a complete disaster. He’s never recovered, and haircuts only happen by necessity. I’m not sure what constitutes a necessity, but I’ll leave it be. Until Jesse starts looking at him with disgust, it probably isn’t that bad.
Houston grins at me before returning his attention to the game, but he doesn’t say anything about my hair comment. He’s been unusually quiet today, which makes me wonder if something is bothering him.
“Are you glad to be back home?” I ask him, grateful for the noise of the crowd around us because it makes my question feel less frightening.
Houston glances at me. “Of course. It’s always nice to visit.”
Okay, but it’s not technically visiting. He still lives here in New Mexico, even if he spends most of his time with me in Missouri or on the road when I’ve got a story. I don’t travel a lot lately, saving my limited free time for the really juicy stories. The ones that make people cry because they’re so full of heart. The rest of the time, I’m busy coordinating my team and finding the next promising athletic talent. Technically, I only managed to get away from the office for this trip because the Red-tails’ new starting pitcher has been taking the league by storm. I’ll never tell Houston, but this kid is possibly the best pitcher the team has had in a decade.
