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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

corbin

My wife, whether it’s a marriage of convenience or not, is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. The cream-colored strapless dress hits her mid-thigh, showing off her body and her legs in those heels—Jesus, I almost had a coronary when she came down the stairs.

“Jim, Clay, Robert. I think you’ve met my wife once before. Oakley Shearer.”

“Congratulations, Oakley. You’ve married a good man. Almost too good,” Clay says, clearly amused.

“Yeah, yeah. I was just waiting on the right woman at the right time. I had been determined to wait to marry until my playing career was over, but she shot me in the heart with those blue eyes, and I fell.”

Jim offers his congratulations, kissing Oakley on the cheek. “We’ll leave you with Robert. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about.”

Oakley squeezes my hand, so I pull her closer and wrap my hand around her waist. “Thanks for coming, Robert. I want you to know how much I enjoy your daughter’s company. I’ll take care of her.”

For the record, I mean every word coming from my mouth.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Oakley looks up at me, “Really? One, he doesn't deserve to know anything about me. Two, if he doesn’t care enough to have wanted to take care of me for the past twenty-one years, then he doesn’t deserve to know who takes care of me. Third, I can take care of it myself. I don’t need fancy clothes and shoes. I don’t need a wedding that costs tens of thousands of dollars. All I’ve ever wanted is to be loved. Have a good day, Mr. Beech.” She shrugs and walks away.

“Oakley,” he says, seemingly demoralized.

As I glance between her and her dad, I realize if we’re married, truly married, she doesn’t need her dad’s money. “Robert, I’ve always liked you. But for the life of me I don’t understand how you could disown her. Wait, that’s not the word I’m looking for. How you didn’t and won’t accept this wonderfully complex person into your life is beyond me. All she wants is a father. Well, don’t worry. She has a family—mine,” I grumble, feeling a pang of protectiveness rising within me. The longer I talk, the angrier I become.

“Corbin, my wife doesn’t know about her.”

“Well, if you're worth the dust you're made of, you’ll tell her. And take a chance that she’ll understand. Besides, the team knows, and it will eventually come out. Until you accept Oakley into your life, I won’t be in the same room with you after today. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to celebrate with my wife.”

I had no idea when I entered into the marriage of convenience that it would be so emotionally taxing. My body feels like it’s running on empty, and it needs to be filled, and I know just the woman to make it happen.

Oakley and I float around the room but every time we get separated, I find her with Becca. Maybe she’s winning her over.

A sudden burst of laughter comes from behind me, and it’s my former Stallions teammates: Bryce and Emmaline, Brooke and Reed, Presley, and Flynn, with Dane and Lettie by their side. And John is by himself, the last holdout since I’m now married. I’m damn lucky to have friends like them.

Back slaps and fist bumps come with congratulations.

“Oakley, Becca.” I raise my voice and motion for them to come over.

Becca knows everyone but Emmaline. “I’ve heard so much about you. Corbin says Bryce isn’t the same guy.” She turns to John. “How have you been? It’s been a long time.”

“Waiting on the love of my life to realize she married the wrong guy.” My sister blushes.

What the fuck is going on?

John says to Oakley, “Good to see you again. You vanished at their wedding.” He hooks his thumb at Bryce and Emmaline.

“She didn’t vanish. She stole my truck.”

Oakley smirks. “Yeah, but then I stole your heart. You said so on our wedding night.”

If I’m honest, she stole my soul and the ability to breathe the day I met her.

“True.”

The satisfied smile on Oakley’s face makes my heart pound against my rib cage.

“Who’s babysitting the kids?” I ask Dane.

He answers, “My mom and Lettie’s grandparents. Looks like we lost our sitter.”

“I love your kids, and I want them to know their Uncle Corb. That’s what Kingston and Laney call me,” I say to Oakley.

Laughing, Oakley says, “You have a lot of nicknames: Corby, Sugarbear, and Uncle Corb.”

“Don’t forget God,” I tease, and it’s the first time I feel the distance between us dissipating.

She slaps my arm. “I have never called you God.”

“We need to correct that, my little thief.” This time, I lean down and cuddle her lips for a moment. When I pull away, her eyes are still closed, so I kiss her again and again. My former teammates wander off to mingle with my current ones.

The Stallions grab Oakley and make a circle around her, and we welcome her to our Stallion Family, each giving her blue carnation.

"Listen up, folks, a new bride is in town. She’s joining the Stallions, and we won't let her down. From slap shots to cake cutting, we'll show her the way. She's now part of our team, like it or not, eh! So, let's raise our glasses and welcome her with cheers. Another member of the Stallions family, we'll have no fears!"

Her face is red as a tomato as all eyes are focused on her until Becca says, “Everyone gather around. Our host has a speech prepared.”

With my fingers laced with Oakley’s, I clear my throat and summon the words I want to convey from my heart.

“Thank you for coming on short notice. I worked all week to keep this a secret from my bride. She deserves the world, and I admit this first week of marriage has been hard, for all the same reasons I didn’t want to find someone to settle down with, until my career was over. We hardly see each other, and she’s lonely. Since her mother passed away, Oakley has been on her own, so I need to give my family to her. She’s worthy of a family, but in all honesty, I’m not sure if I’m worthy of this woman standing next to me. My Mamaw once told me that I would find the person who makes my heart pound and my belly flutter. I knew what it meant because I was a teenager once, and every girl made me feel like that—but that was all hormones. With Oakley, I get them when I just look at her whether she’s dressed up like today or if she’s in her pajamas, with bed head, curled up with her dog Dixie.”

She pulls on my hand and looks at me from her lashes, showcasing her gorgeous, expressive eyes. “Our dog. When you married me, you got Dixie too.”

A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. We’re making progress unless this is all fake on her part. I peck her cheek and continue, “Anyway, I remember calling Bryce on his wedding day, letting him know I might be late because a girl and her dog were stranded at a truck stop. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said something like ‘ You don’t have to rescue everyone that needs help. I should call a tow truck or pay for a rental car. She may not want to come to a wedding in Atlanta.’ But if I had given her money or paid for a tow truck, we wouldn’t be standing here today. I love her spirit, her stubbornness, her lips.”

My chest rises as I actually mean everything I’m saying. This has nothing to do with our arrangement.

I’m in love with Oakley. Oh God, help me.

“Oakley, thank you for being everything I ever wanted, and I promise to earn your love each day,” I say with a heavy exhale, not knowing how she truly feels about me. I know she wants to be friends, but I’m not sure if she wants more.

My teammates yell, “Cheers!”

My dad says, “Raise your glass.”

The littles tug on Sophie and Renae. “We need a glass. We need a glass. That’s not fair.”

“Shh.”

My dad continues, “Kids, you have juice cups on the table.” He gives them a moment, then everyone gathers around us. “Corbin, you’ve always had a soft spot in your heart, and I knew it would take time to find your one true love. Oakley is a beautiful young lady who, from what I understand, keeps you grounded, not caring about fancy cars or food. Oakley, welcome to our family. I’m proud you have my last name. Join me in welcoming my new daughter to our family. Cheers.”

I’m holding back tears, but Oakley leaves my side, charging toward my dad, nearly knocking him over. “Thank you,” she bursts out in sheer joy.

My dad is humble and kind, but he says, “We’re hoping you know what you have in our son. He’ll treat you like a princess, but he’s deliberately stayed away from relationships, not because of hockey but because he loves hard and falls harder when it doesn’t work out. I’m asking you to give as much as you get.”

I’ve never seen Oakley silent except when we’re backed into corners. So I step in. “Dad, Oakley gives me everything I need. I promise.”

“Did he tell you I stole his truck? Because I’m thinking we should lay our cards on the table.”

“He did. But I told him you just borrowed it.” Dad laughs, getting louder and louder.

As I watch Oakley’s eyes light up with delight, her laughter mingling with the music of the surprise wedding reception, my heart grows two sizes at how much she’s enjoying this. The last thing I want for her is to be unhappy, and that’s how I made her feel this past week.

She hugs my dad, then hangs out with Winnie and the other WAGS.

I grab her from behind, kissing under her ear. “It’s time to go.”

“Aww, shoot.” Disappointed, Oakley exaggerates her frown.

“Don’t worry, the Stallion crew is coming over for a while and half of my family is staying with us. The other half at Becca’s,” I reassure her that the festivities aren’t over.

She gives me a broad smile, and I know we’ve made a large step forward today. But after my family leaves, we need to have a heart to heart.

There’s a caravan leaving the arena all of the way to my house. My family yells dibs on the rooms. My parents, Mamaw, and the littles are staying with Becca, so the twins call dibs on the room that Oakley has been staying in. I had the maid come while we were at the wedding reception, to change all of the sheets and prepare the rooms for my family. My family won’t think anything of her clothes being in that room since my closet is stuffed. Vance came from Germany on leave, so he and Isaiah are taking the room on the left, leaving Jasper and Pepper the two bedrooms in the basement.

The Stallions arrive, and we all head out to the backyard where I hired a chef from a local barbecue joint. The backyard has been transformed with a volleyball net, a couple of bouncy houses for the little kids, and tables everywhere.

Reed Cross slaps me on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you man.”

“Thanks, I just have to figure out how to hold onto her.”

His eyes crinkle around the edges. “What’s that mean? Shearer, you’re a catch. She’s just as lucky as you are.”

I scan the area to make sure no one’s around. My sister is talking to Basilio again, giving me pause. I make a mental note to ask Becca about it. Becca and I never keep secrets from each other, so this has me a little off kilter.

“I don’t know. She’s been really unhappy since we got married.”

“She seemed happy today.”

“She did. I did it for her because every girl deserves a better wedding than being drunk at a pool party.”

“But you had the ring to propose, so it was going to happen anyway, right?”

I nod and take a drink from my bottled water. “Just have to find a balance.”

“If it helps, keep her happy at night, send her flowers on days you're out of town, and send funny memes. Brooke and I have done it for years. It’s good when I’m on an away trip, and she sends me something, and I get to laugh and think about her laughing when she was scrolling through socials trying to find the perfect one for the occasion. Last week, she was a judge of a ballet competition, and she said it took her an hour to find a hockey player in a tutu. She thinks we should put on a charity event, Pucks Dawes, Reed, John, and Flynn were juniors. I got into the game for three minutes, but watching it back, I’m amazed I played at all since these guys are next level.

Bryce, Reed, and their wives have to head to the private airport and say their goodbyes. Becca offers to take John to the commercial airport where he’ll be flying first class. “Hey, everybody can’t be as rich as those two,” John says. “Congrats again, Shearer. Hope I’m half as lucky one day.”

“Thanks, I’ll see ya during the season.”

As we finish saying good night to the rest of my family, I glance at Oakley and ask, “You ready for bed?”

“You gave my room away.”

I smile and give her a reassuring smile. "No, you belong in my room with me." Without any hesitation, she follows me as we make our way upstairs, our hands linked together, hooked by the pads of our fingers.

Once we reach my room, Oakley goes into the guest room to retrieve her pajamas and Dixie's crate. She brings them back into my room and gets ready for bed. She settles into a spot on the bed as far away from me as possible.

I pull back the down comforter and slide in. Her head is pointed in the other direction so I ask as my hand skims her silky smooth arm, “Can I hold you tonight?”