Page 94

“Run! Run to third- go, go!” Quinn shouted over his familiar hometown baseball diamond.

They were back in Michigan for two more days, then Rae was making her big move with him to Los Angeles.

Quinn had been helping coach one of the local teams after Rae had mentioned her patient asking if he’d be able to stop by and see the team.

It was the last game of the summer season before school started and his team, The Pirates, were officially undefeated.

Quinn watched as Avery Aimes slid into third base.

“Safe!” the referee called out, and Quinn pumped his fist.

The kid was good. Rae had told Quinn about his injury last spring when he’d taken a fastball to the wrist. It had healed up really well and he was back in the game as if he’d never left. In any case, the injury hadn’t stopped the kid from running bases like the Flash.

“I’m seriously considering adopting that kid,” Quinn said to the coach who also happened to be Avery’s father.

Mike Aimes let out a bark of laughter, “Yeah, I might have to fight you on that one.”

“He’s gotta be getting scouted already, right?” Quinn asked, watching Avery stand up and brush his pants off a little before turning his attention to where the next batter was stepping up to the plate.

“Oh yeah,” Mike nodded, “he’s got some options. Mississippi, Louisiana... Arizona .”

Quinn smirked. “I am partial to Arizona.”

“Ball!” The umpire’s voice rang out and Quinn refocused his gaze on the player up to bat .

He’d only been working with these kids for a little over two weeks and he’d already found himself getting attached.

He wanted to come back and watch them play during their school seasons and was trying to figure out how to get some sort of VIP experience set up in LA or with the team here.

They held baseball camps for kids, but they weren’t cheap.

Quinn supposed he wouldn’t mind footing the bill to give some of these kids an experience like that.

He knew some of the boys on the team just played to keep busy, stay active, and be social.

But there were also some like Avery who reminded him of himself in ways; their focus and dedication, their readiness to take any instruction or constructive criticism when he offered it.

For some of these boys, the sport was part of them, embedded in their identity.

The Pirates beat the Wildcats 8-5 after a strong last hit with loaded bases had earned them three runs.

Quinn stood back and watched in delight as the mob of black and red uniforms jumped up and down on the field together, celebrating their undefeated season.

He couldn’t help thinking of his final championship game in high school, celebrating with his team and then getting his first mind-blowing kiss from Rae.

Looking around the park, he noticed the familiar faces in the stands who had come to watch after Quinn had pestered constantly, telling them they needed to come see his amazing team.

It was true he was proud of his team and was grateful for having taken part in their season, but there may have been a different motivating factor to having everyone here at the park where he, Chris, Jett, and Rae had played so many games.

He scanned the crowd, seeing Rae’s parents standing up, and Chris, Victoria, and their little girl, Sophia.

Brody and Amira had come to show their support, too.

Even his mom had come out to watch the game and was sitting next to Sandra.

He may not have been playing, but he still felt his chest swell at the thought that his mom had finally made it to one of his games.

He grinned when he saw Jett sitting on the bleachers next to Zoey.

Jett was smiling as he spoke and Zoey had her head thrown back in laughter .

“Hey Coach,” Rae said as she slid her arms around Quinn from behind and bit playfully at his shoulder.

Quinn spun around, wrapping his arm around her as she kept hers circled around his torso.

She wore a plain white t-shirt and a dark blue athletic skort with her usual Converse on her feet.

A timeless look on this woman, honestly.

Her hair was down and resting over her shoulders.

“Look,” he nodded toward Jett and Zoey with a smirk, “what do you think of that?”

Rae followed his gaze and found the smiling couple. “I think if she’s into centaurs, she’ll be thrilled,” Rae replied, one corner of her mouth tugging up in a playful grin.

“Centaurs?” Quinn questioned, brows scrunched as he looked down at Rae. “Those are the half-man half-horse...wait,” he stared, incredulous. “How the hell did you find that out?”

“Accident,” Rae giggled. “I tried to look away, but I had to keep doing double and triple takes to confirm that was in fact what I was seeing. I was in shock.”

“You had to?” Quinn pressed, skeptically. When Rae simply shrugged, he sighed, “Great, now I’m competing with Jett fucking Miller. Who would’ve thought?”

Rae swiped the hat off his head and pulled it onto her own, then pressed her lips to his cheek. “Oh, there’s no contest.”

Quinn cupped her jaw and rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone before meeting her mouth with a deep kiss. His heart was racing as he breathed her in and he wondered if she would ever stop having this effect on him. It seemed unlikely.

“Great team there, kid,” Charlie said, his friendly and sonorous voice cutting through the commotion around them. Quinn broke away from Rae to face him and smiled. “You know, you could just stay here and coach. I’m sure your old school would hire you in a heartbeat.”

“You want me to retire from the majors to coach high school baseball?” Quinn replied, his crooked grin showing his skepticism.

“Sure, why not?” Charlie shrugged. “You’ve got enough money to put away to be more than comfortable.

Why do you think we went through all the trouble to get you on travel teams and make sure you could play ball any chance you got?

You think we wanted you to be in the majors?

” He shook his head. “No, no, we wanted you to stay right here in your own hometown. LA is overrated anyway.”

“Oh my gosh, Dad,” Rae said, rolling her eyes, and Quinn couldn’t help smiling at how much she sounded like her teenage self. “Why don’t you just adopt him and get it over with? Trade me for Quinn like you’ve always wanted to do.”

Charlie gasped theatrically. “Raelyn Elise, how could you think such a thing? I just don’t want him taking you away from me.”

“Uh-huh…”

“We’ll come back during the off season,” Quinn assured Charlie as Margaux now sidled up to her husband. “We can even stay at your house again and make you get sick of us. You’ll be ready for the season to start up again.”

Charlie replied “Perfect!” just as Margaux and Rae shook their heads and gave an “I don’t think so” in unison.

“Well, I’m still out for the rest of this season, and probably part of the next.

While Rae’s traveling with the team, you can come stay in LA.

We’ll have a men’s weekend. Jett and Chris can come, too.

Although, I suspect Jett might ditch us while he’s there,” Quinn said, eyes wandering back over to his friend and his publicist still sitting together, smiling and laughing amiably.

“Wait, wait!” Rae put a hand on Quinn’s arm. “I took a job so I could be with you, so that we didn’t have to be away from each other again, and you’re going to ditch me as soon as we get back to spend time with my dad?”

Quinn shrugged. “I’ll have the guys keeping a close eye on you on the road. They’ll make sure you stay out of trouble.” He did his best to hide his grin at her responding scoff and eye roll.

The baseball field and stands were clearing out and people from both teams were scattered, parents of players talking to one another, teammates making plans and talking about the upcoming school year and next baseball season.

The field was empty now and Quinn took in a slow steadying breath, reimagining for the ten-thousandth time that day when he’d given Rae batting lessons.

Chris and Victoria, along with their young daughter, came down from the bleachers and greeted Rae’s parents. Margaux doted on Sophia while Chris and Charlie exchanged comments about the game.

Chris turned to Quinn finally and said, “Celebratory dinner at Trojan? We’ll open it up to the kids for the evening.

It’s a special occasion so they can stay past nine.

” After the bar had gotten so much recognition for being a place Quinn frequented while everyone was buzzing about his new relationship, they’d put in place a rule that those under twenty-one weren’t allowed inside past nine o’clock.

Nodding, Quinn said, “Yeah, I’ll tell the coach.

Just give me a minute. I wanna do something first.” He then grabbed hold of Rae’s hand and lifted his chin toward the empty ball diamond, “C’mere, I have to show you something.

” He tried, and failed, to not meet Charlie’s gaze before pulling Rae toward the field.

Charlie’s eyes went wide, then crinkled in a knowing grin, and it made the task of keeping his own smile and emotions under control that much more challenging.

“You’re not going to make me run bases again, are you?” Rae asked as they stepped out onto the field.

“No,” Quinn laughed. Holy shit, his heart was thumping so hard in his chest, he could feel it reverberating through his entire body. He was nervous and excited and anxious, but also somehow completely content that he was exactly where he wanted to be.

He stopped at home base and brushed his foot across the plate a few times before shifting his gaze to look at Rae.

This woman was his entire life. She was his center, his constant, his best friend, his soul mate.

He’d known it for so long, and how could he not?

The proof was everywhere. In the way she looked at him, how he looked at her.

The way he’d always felt so calm and grounded in her presence.

He’d never wanted or needed anything more than he needed her.

He tried to work out what to say, even though he’d rehearsed it several times, the words suddenly felt as though they weren’t enough.

There were absolutely no words, no script he could go off of that would accurately depict how deeply and desperately he loved her.

Finally he grinned playfully. “I have one more fantasy I want to make a reality.”

Rae was grinning, but her eyebrow ticked up and she glanced sideways at the small crowd of their friends and family gathered just outside the dugouts. “Okay, but you do realize my parents are here. And your mom. And I think Jett would absolutely implode if he saw me naked.”

His laugh let loose the tension and anxiety that had knotted in his chest, though his heart was still pounding like an eight-oh-eight drum. Catching her gaze he asked, “Do you trust me?”

She grinned. “Of course.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders and directed her to a specific spot just off the plate, concentrating hard on where her feet were placed.

He then walked behind her and grabbed her hips, pretending to care where they were placed, though it was really just for show and being reminiscent of his favorite memory here with her.

Walking back around to face her, he tried to poke her lower hip at her ticklish spot, but she was prepared and swatted his hand away.

He smiled down at her, meeting her gaze from beneath his ball cap.

“Rae…” he began, and was suddenly caught up in emotion.

A million memories of them together swarming in his mind.

He swallowed hard, reached into his pocket and knelt in front of her and produced a small square box.

Quinn watched her face as her expression changed from wide-eyed surprise to absolute delight, her bright beaming smile lighting up her face.

“Yes!” She exclaimed before he could say or do anything else.

Laughing, he looked at the box that was still closed in his hand, “Rae, I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”

“Yes!” Rae repeated, hands on either side of her face.

“You don’t even know what’s in here,” Quinn replied, though his heart was already bursting with joy and excitement and complete fucking bliss that Rae had already said yes. “It could be a cock ring or a butt plug.”

“Okay, we’re going to completely gloss over those words when we retell this story,” said Rae, though the smile had not disappeared from her face.

Quinn shook his head, then finally flipped open the box to reveal a shining, bright white diamond ring. Tears rolled down Rae’s cheeks as she beamed down at him, and he felt the same emotional intensity building up inside himself but swallowed around it.

“Raelyn DeRose,” he began again, “You are my best friend, my favorite person, my soul mate. I’ve loved you my entire life, and I will spend every single day for the rest of it trying to prove that I deserve you.

I know this might seem fast to you, but I feel like I’m running about ten years late.

We don’t have to get married this month or this year or even next.

..all I’m asking is to spend forever with you.

” Quinn paused, taking in this moment as she swiped another happy tear off her cheek. “Rae, will you marry me?”

Rae nodded vigorously and extended her hand out. “Quinn Casey, you know I will.”

His smile split across his whole face as he slid the diamond ring on her finger and stood up to pull her around him, covering her mouth with his, claiming her, kissing her deeply as he felt her tears wet his cheeks.

He was smiling and laughing into their kiss because finally, fucking finally he knew she was his.

And he was hers.

And it was all he ever wanted.