Page 142 of Imperfect Player

The fact that he’s standing here next to me . . . I hope to hell that means he knows it now too.

The tension between Maddox and Ethan is palpable. Okay, mostly directed at Ethan by way of Maddox.

Ethan pulls out my chair and I take a seat, both of us ignoring the looks from Maddox. Dinner is about to begin, but first come the speeches. Just like Ethan told the reporters, this is what tonight is about. This is what matters.

Yolanda makes an introduction.

The head of the children’s foundation speaks.

Then the announcement comes.

Ethan Ambrose will be taking the mic.

My heart races in my chest. Is he ready for this? Is the world ready for this?

“Did you know about this?” I whisper to him before he rises to his feet.

“I asked for it.”

As though he needs it for luck, he presses a soft kiss to my cheek. “I love you, sunshine.”

Tears well in my eyes, and I haven’t even heard what the man has to say yet.

Ethan heads to the front of the room, the audience clapping as he makes his way to the stage.

“Thank you, everyone. You have no idea how happy I am to be here. For several reasons. Like so many kids out there, I was put up for adoption by my parents. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite the way anyone would have liked, and I spent more than my fair share of time bouncing from foster home to foster home until I finally aged out of the system. Being a kid with a fair shot at life is hard enough. Any additional struggles can destroy a child’s future. That’s what I love so much about Bright Star and what they stand for. They want to help kids overcome those hardships, learn to cope with the disappointments that life brings. They want to make the world a better place by starting where it counts—with children. They are our future, and it’s up to us to do right by them.”

A round of applause fills the room.

“Many of you may have noticed that I kind of dropped off the face of the earth recently. Unlike the kids that Bright Star helps, I didn’t have that guidance. Instead, I had a bottle of whiskey and a hell of a woman at my side. My drinking almost ruined my life. All because I didn’t have the tools I needed to learn how to cope, or the guidance to tell me it’s okay to not be okay. So yeah, this endeavor is personal and close to my heart. I am one of those kids, and my goal is for none of them to have to end up in the position that I did. Thank you for coming tonight and taking part in this amazing event and even more amazing organization. Please enjoy your night, and don’t forget to open those pocketbooks.”

The entire room rises to their feet as they clap. I’m not sure if they’re clapping for Bright Star, Ethan’s speech, or Ethan himself, but all three deserve a round of applause as far as I’m concerned.

Ethan walks up to me with a soft smile on his face and his heart on his sleeve. His right hand rests against my cheek as he stares me directly in the eyes.

“You are more of an addiction than any alcohol or any drug. You, Everly, are . . . everything. You’re the sunshine to my clouds. You’re the beauty to my beast. You’re the perfect to my mess. You are what gets me through every day. You are why I’m still standing here. I wanted to be better—for us.”

“You are the most perfectly imperfect man I’ve ever met.”

Chapter 45

Ethan

“We should probably talk first,” I say between kisses as Everly and I stumble our way into my condo.

“Talk later. Make-up sex now.”

“I’m a bad influence on you,” I say as she sheds my suit coat off me.

“The worst,” she agrees, her hands undoing my belt.

“Everly,” I groan, knowing damn well that there is a lot of shit that we need to talk about, figure out, deal with before we should be doing this.

“Nobody leaves, Ethan. So whatever has to be said, it can wait. Neither of us are going anywhere.”

It’s a valid point.

Even if it weren’t, the moment her hand touches my dick, I’m done for.

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