Page 8 of More Than A Game

Damn. I guess Coach moves fast. We didn’t even know they were dating, and now they’re getting married?

Still on his knee, Coach’s voice shakes slightly, “Say yes, Katie. Say yes and make me the happiest man alive.”

Reality catches up with my mother as she flings herself at Coach. “Yes. Yes. Of course I’ll marry you.” He picks her up off her feet and kisses her a little more passionately than I’m comfortable with.

Fucking gross.

I didn’t realize I said that out loud until another cookie gets thrown at my head.

Cooper’s grinning at me. “What exactly did you see earlier?”

Mom and Coach break apart long enough for Coach to kill me with one look. “Congratulations, Mom.” Standing up, I pull Carys into my side. “Looks like you’re finally getting that sister you always wanted.”

Carys looks down the table and makes a strange face. Then she smiles. “Well, Nat, I’ve always wanted a baby sister, but I guess an older one whose clothes I can borrow won’t be so bad.”

Declan is the first to get up and offer congratulations to our parents. We all follow suit.

When it’s my turn to shake Coach’s hand, I pull him into a hug. “You know, Coach, it would’ve been nice if you’d asked my permission.”

Coach’s laugh fills the room. “That’s funny, Aiden.”

My mother doesn’t look amused, but she wraps her arms around me and reaches for Carys, who happily joins for a group hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Coach wrap Nattie up in a big hug. “Wow. I guess it’s a good thing you’re dating Brady and not me, huh, Nat? We could have been kissing cousins.”

She flicks my ear. “You would have been the weirdo kissing your sister, not your cousin.”

“You know, they say tying a game is like kissing your sister,” Declan adds looking between us.

Coach clears his throat, then claps his hands together. “No more talk of kissing any sisters. Thank you all for being incredible kids. I can’t wait to create this family with all of you.”

Nat walks to Cooper and wraps her arm around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder. She looks at her dad and asks, “So, are we doing the whole big church thing? Ooh, or are we flying to an island?”

Coach wraps his arm around my mom’s shoulder. “That’s up to Katie.” He brings her hand up and kisses it. “Just tell me where to be and what you want me wearing.”

And that’s enough of them kissing to last me a about a year.

Mom holds her hand out in front of her for a moment before looking around the room to all of us before answering, “Actually, I’d really like to keep it small. Us, the kids, and our closest friends and family. But we have to wait to hear when Cooper will get his first leave.”

Coop looks uncomfortable. “I should have two weeks off after boot camp and before my next move. It should be right around the Christmas holiday.”

My mom beams at Coach. “That settles that then. Once Cooper confirms when he’ll be off, we’ll schedule the wedding. If you can’t come home, we can all come to you. As long as everyone in this room is there, I’ll have everything I need. We can compare everyone’s football schedules and try to settle on a date. We may have to wait for the season to be over, but that’s fine with me.”

Coach pulls my mom in and kisses her again.

I’m never gonna get fucking used to that.

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