Page 178 of Face Off
“Because I have to ask my question of the day, and it’s easier from down here.”
I frown at him. “Are you having a stroke?”
“No.” He grins, and both dimples on his cheeks pop. “Do you remember when we first started playing this game?”
“I only agreed because it got you to leave me alone, but somehow, I haven’t been alone a single day since.”
“Funny how that worked. It’s almost like I was playing the long game. Come here, Emerson,” he says, and my skin prickles. He never uses my full name, not anymore. I close the distance between us, and he takes my hand in his. “I asked you to play because I thought it would be a way to get to know you better. To push past the walls you had up and force you into liking me.”
“I think Stockholm Syndrome is finally setting in.”
“You’re such a smartass,” he mumbles under his breath, but his grin stays locked in place. “I thought we’d ask each other the most random shit and get bored of it after a few weeks, but I kept asking and you kept answering. Those questions where we showed parts of ourselves to each other, and, over time, we fell in love.”
“Yeah.” I match his smile, and he rubs his thumb over my knuckles. “We did.”
“There came a point when the purpose of the game changed for me. I started asking more subtle questions. Things you haven’t picked up on, which is mind-blowing, because you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met. I’ve been waiting very, very patiently for today.”
“Today?” I wrinkle my nose. “Today specifically?”
“Yup. Five hundred questions, remember? Today is lucky number five hundred.”
“You’ve been keeping track?”
“What do you think those sticky notes with all those tick marks on the fridge are for?”
“I don’t know,” I say, and it feels like something important is happening. “An orgasm count?”
“I’ve given you a shit ton more than five hundred orgasms.”
“Have you?” I tap my cheek. “I’m not sure about that.”
He laughs. “I love you, Emmy. I love the fire in your heart. I love your stubbornness. I love that you don’t let me win things easily, and I love that chip you have on your shoulder. I haven’t had a bad day since I met you, and we’re going to keep having good days, baby, for a long time.”
“I love you too.” I cup his cheek and run my fingers down his jaw. He’s growing a beard, and I didn’t think it was possible for him to get any hotter. “I love you so much, those three words don’t feel like enough. I love you more than I did yesterday, which is insane, because I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Anything is possible.”
“Like dancing to a Justin Bieber song?”
“Fuck yeah.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box.
A velvet box, with hinges on it.
“What is that?” I whisper.
“I had to save the best question for last, didn’t I?” Maverick opens the box, and there’s a diamond there. It’s brighter than any ring I’ve ever seen and exactly what I would’ve bought myself if he had given me the choice. “Emerson Rose Hartwell. Love of my life. The most badass hockey player I’ve ever had the pleasure of being teammates with. My sweet girl and my dream woman. Will you marry me?”
I fling my arms around his neck, and we go toppling backwards. Maverick laughs and brings his mouth to mine, a soft brush of his lips that has me gripping his shirt, needing more.
“You didn’t answer me,” he says, and I kiss him like there’s no tomorrow.
“Is my answer not obvious?” I brush a tear away. I blink and see Maverick crying, too, the stupidest smile on his face. “Yes,of courseI’ll marry you. I’d be the luckiest girl in the world.”
There’s a cheer behind me, and all the Stars players are skating toward us.
Hudson blasts a confetti cannon and Grant holds up a shirt that saysshe said yes to the biggest dick in the world!Ethan and Seymour have a sign with nearly a hundred signatures on it, and Piper is crying so much, Liam has to drag her across the ice with his stick.
