Calvin was in a sling, his right arm slung over my shoulder as we headed to the field to deal with the media circus and listen to Rhett give the formal announcement that Calvin was out for the season. Maybe the tabloids would back off for a while. A camera flashed in my face. Maybe not.
When we opened the door to the parking lot, I was glad it was still daylight. I liked afternoon games much better than night ones. Calvin tossed me the keys to the Escalade, and I nervously got behind the wheel. I’d driven his Porsche in Long Island traffic, but not this big, oversized thing. I guessed I’d need to get used to it sometime. This was home now, and I needed to get used to everything that meant.
“Turn right out of the stadium,” Calvin told me and I glanced at him.
“Why?”
He grinned. “Calvin says just do it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Calvin says, huh? Since you’re in a sling, I’ll play.”
Following his commands, we ended up driving about twenty minutes out of the city, to an area where there was slightly more grass than concrete.
“Where are we going?” I asked for the fifth time, but he only hushed me again.
“Calvin says turn left in three… two… one.”
I stopped the SUV. “Uh, that’s a driveway.”
“Yes, I know.”
I did what he said, driving through an open gate. My heart thumped hard, then began racing, my fingers trembling on the steering wheel. In front of me was a stunning, wood shingled colonial featuring a deep wrap around porch, sitting on a large lot that seems completely out of place in this city.
“It’s… it’s…” I covered my face and began to cry.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Exactly what I’d always wanted.
The words were stuck in my throat.
“I sent the realtor a picture of the old Parker place and asked her to see if there was anything close to it within a half hour of the stadium.”
I looked at him, then at the house again, then back at him. “Is it ours?” I finally managed.
His smile could have lit up the entire world at that moment. “It can be, if you want. It’s your decision.”
Pressing the gas, I drove closer, needing to see it better. No, not really. I already knew it was everything I’d always wanted and never thought I’d have.
The old Parker place was my dream house. It was a colonial, similar to this one with dark wood shingles and a wrap around porch. I used to talk to Calvin about the house, about how I’d decorate it, and which room would be the nursery some day. I wanted four kids. Two boys and two girls. Twins would be perfect. So I wanted a big yard where we could celebrate birthdays and put up one of those large bouncy houses. There would be pony rides too.
“There’re five bedrooms and four and a half baths,” Calvin said, talking about square footage and acreage. “Want to go inside?”
My head whipped in his direction. “Can we?”
“Yep. The realtor should have it open for us. I planned this yesterday before…” he looked down at his sling. “And since it looks like we’re going to be city folk for a while longer, having our own little farmhouse in the middle of it seems like a good compromise.”
I nodded like a crazy person, opening the door to step out onto the driveway. I walked around the car and straight into Calvin’s arms — arm. “I love it. I don’t even need to go inside to know it’s where we belong.”
“Let’s go inside anyway.”
I looked at his shoulder. “Are you sure you feel like it? I mean, you just got hurt and—”
He kissed me hard, then grabbed my hand. I’ll never tell him this, but I’m kinda liking him taking charge like this.
An older lady with her hair pulled back in a bun met us at the top of the steps. She smiled and waved us inside, leaving us to tour the house ourselves, which I appreciated very much. “I’ll just enjoy one of these rocking chairs while I wait.”
The inside took my breath. Wide planked wood floors in dark expresso caught my eye immediately. They were mirrored by the dark planks of the ceiling. “Oh my.” Light gray walls with white trim softened the effect, as did the large windows letting in the gorgeous early evening light.
A sweeping staircase rose to the bedrooms above, and I could imagine our children sliding down the banister. I stepped farther inside the empty home and could envision where all the furniture would go.
The kitchen was a chef’s delight, and I’d have to take lessons to do it justice. A formal dining room would seat a table of at least twelve, while a cozy breakfast nook would be perfect for just us.
Glancing out the windows, I gasped at the pool, then the view of the Sound beyond. I stepped outside and walked to the prettiest gazebo I’d ever seen, rose bushes climbing the walls. A hammock with what looked to be a dozen colorful pillows highlighted the space. I turned back to look at Calvin... then down. Oh my God. He was down on one knee.
“For nine years now, it’s been you and me,” he began, and I immediately burst into tears. He was crying too, and I sank to my knees, moving down to his level. Our level. Together.
“I love you so much, even more now that I almost lost you. I’ll never be so foolish again. Be my wife, Whitney. Let me love you forever. Let’s make babies together. Make mistakes together. Make up together. Please, say yes.”
I was crying so hard I could only nod. “Y-yes,” I finally managed and held out my hand as he slipped the most incredible ring on my finger. This one was different from the one I’d found months ago in the little apartment.
“After we moved here, I bought you a ring and should have asked you to marry me then. But I didn’t, and we both went through hell and back because of it. That other ring no longer fits. It was perfect, flawless, but it wasn’t us. This is an infinity setting.” I held the sparkling beauty up to the light and could see the infinity symbol woven through the band with tiny diamonds.
“Infinity,” I murmured, “so we always come back to each other.”
“Yes. Always. And the center diamond is flawless, surrounded by a halo. A symbol that we respect the path, respect each other, respect what we are to each other.”
“It’s perfect.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the ring, then each knuckle beside it. “I love you.”
I crawled into his lap, being careful of his shoulder. “I love you too.”
I’m not sure how long we sat there, just holding each other that way. It didn’t matter. Nothing else matter.
Because we were back.
Calvin and Whitney.
Together forever.
THE END
Continue on to read the next book in this series, Ace’s Wild, following Ace’s story!
Ace’s Wild
THE BEASTS OF BASEBALL
BOOK 2
BOOK DESCRIPTION
This is the second sexy STANDALONE novel in Bestselling Author Alice Ward's brand new sports romance series, The Beasts of Baseball.
My major league career is stronger than ever, and women are flowing like cheap wine. I have life by the balls, and it feels like the party has just begun. I’m not ready for it to stop.