Page 11

EPILOGUE

ASHLEY

“So, that article last week was a shock,” Meg muttered as we watched our men warm up on the field.

“Mmhmm,” I replied, distracted by the beauty of my man stretching his legs out. The pants of his uniform fit him just right, and when he bent over, I could see the outline of his…

“Control yourself,” she hissed, nudging me with her sharp elbow right in the ribs.

“Sorry. You’ve got to admit that those pants do crazy things to them.”

“Your dad’s wearing the same thing,” she pointed out, making me gag and erasing whatever dirty thoughts had been running through my head. “Anyway, back to the article.”

Seattle Whispers had printed an exclusive with Missy the week before.

Until then, she’d been sticking to her story and had insisted that I was a dirty little boyfriend stealing slut, until man after man had come forward to tell about how she’d been sleeping with them since September last year—before she’d broken up with Kip.

With proof flying around social media, she had no choice but to think twice about her being the hurt party.

See, Missy’s dad was the owner of a car dealership which dealt with the importation of luxury vehicles and boasted a long list of celebrity customers. With the shame that her insistence brought, he began to lose those customers, so he withdrew his financial support and made it common knowledge that things weren’t copacetic between them in order to save face.

With none of daddy’s money, none of his influence, her hairdresser and all of the other more prestigious hair salons refusing to tend to her locks, the doors of her exclusive designers closed to her and people treating her like she was an infectious disease, the men she’d normally use as back up financially no longer around, she finally gave in and admitted she was a big old liar, liar, pants on fire.

She also got paid $5,000 for the story, every penny of it being donated to the new Liberty Foundation.

As for Cam, he was now in the UK, hoping to sign with a soccer team called Arsenal. He’d also signed an agreement with an agent that he wouldn’t bring any drama to any club he was signed to or the deal. Oh, and he’d also given half of his sign-up bonus to the charity.

He was out of my life, and out of Seattle.

“Camber, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, contacted us to say she was delivering a copy of something to us the night before they printed it, but we weren’t allowed to discuss it with anyone, so we were semi-aware that it was happening,” I admitted, picking at a ragged piece of nail on my thumb.

All of the other WAGs were immaculate and looked like they weren’t sitting in the sun and sweltering heat… and then there was me.

“Was that how you did that?” Raine, Stan’s new girlfriend, asked from her seat beside mine, nodding at the big blue burden on my left leg.

Yes, I’d injured myself again.

“No,” I sighed, fighting against pulling the threads that kept coming loose from the Velcro straps that were around the brace keeping my leg straight. “The alarm went off in Hayden’s house on Monday as I was walking down the stairs, and it scared the hell out of me. I missed the step I was taking and boom.”

After Cam had retracted his allegations and lies, making it clear that we’d broken up long before I’d even met Kip and had never once shown any interest in swinging, the security system had been completed at Hayden’s house and I’d moved home. My family were scared that I’d be the focus of a crazy psycho after what Cam had said, so they went a bit over the top with the new security and making sure it was armed.

Things had been great between me and Kip, but I wanted to spend time making the relationship stronger, and living together so early on in it didn’t feel right. He’d been against the idea, but when I pointed out I was only next door, he’d given in and begrudgingly accepted it.

That’s not to say that we really spent any time apart. During the day we’d go about our lives, going to work and doing what needed to be done. But nights were spent together, even if we were just cuddling.

Especially now, thanks to my busted knee.

“What exactly did you do to it?” Meg asked, leaning forward to examine the small circle of flesh visible through the gap in the brace around my knee.

It went from just above my ankle to about four inches below my vagina and had three metal poles in it to keep my leg straight. And it sucked balls.

“On the last step, my knee hit the sharp edge of the stair and dislocated my kneecap. It hurt like a mother!”

Both women winced, but a wimpy wince didn’t cover the pain I’d been in at the time.

“Craig said Kip was the one who found you screaming and that he was freaked the hell out the next day and kept checking his phone in case you called. The fact he kept calling you when you didn’t text him every twenty minutes didn’t go unnoticed either,” she added wryly.

Looking up at the man in question who was watching me with concern in his beautiful eyes, as his light blond hair moved with the breeze, I smiled. “Yeah, he’s been a little bit overprotective. They had to give me something to sedate me while they popped the kneecap back in, and apparently he had to be held back by Dad and Hayden when he couldn’t hear me screaming anymore in the waiting room while they did it. He got his wish, though, because me and Able are his new roomies now. I’m not trusted on my own.”

Both women burst out laughing, but I was still watching my man who was pointing to his eye, then his heart, then finished it by pointing at me.

“That’s kind of romantic when you think about it,” Raine sighed.

She wasn’t wrong there.

“Have you seen the orthopedic surgeon yet about it?” Meg asked, focused on the medical side now and not the romantic one.

“Because it’s Labor Day on Monday, I couldn’t get an appointment until Wednesday. The doctor I saw, though, said he thinks the surgeon will just review the x-rays, get a follow up set done, maybe even order another MRI and advise me to keep this big thing on for a while,” I prodded the brace, growling when I hit a sore area. There were quite a few of them seeing as how I’d gone ass over tea kettle down the stairs. “I can’t believe I’m back on crutches. It’s like I’m cursed.”

Just then, Kip walked over to where Rajesh was holding out a microphone for him.

The lawyer had become a good friend throughout the Missy and Cam debacle and was now helping the family out with the legalities of the Liberty’s foundation.

The money raised from donations was being split between the foundation and existing leukemia charities, and there was a third collection for the Children’s Hospital.

The Liberty Foundation was helping families and patients out with expenses and living costs, something that was a huge problem for a lot of them. With the money raised some of that burden would be lifted, enabling them to focus on the patient instead of how they were going to afford to live. Riley was managing the press side of it all, and the hope was to eventually be able to help people all over the country.

I watched in confusion as Kip took the microphone and moved to a small stage in front of where we were sitting.

The crowd that filled the stadium had been going wild as the players all lined up behind him, but the second he held his hand up, they went silent.

“Thank you all for joining us today. As you know, this game is being held in memory of a special young lady, Liberty Echo, who lost her battle with leukemia in June. Liberty bands have been available throughout the city for the last couple of months, and we’ve been amazed at the amount of them you guys have bought. Research and support for conditions like cancer and leukemia are key in our fight against them, but funding is always hard to come by. You guys are making both of those things easier, and we’re very grateful to you.”

He paused and looked over his shoulder at where Dad was standing. “Of course, we need to thank my awesome girlfriend, Ashley, for making the bands. Without her and the company, Because I Said Sew, we might not have them. Ash, can you stand and make yourself known, please?” he asked, looking straight at me—the shit head.

Feeling Meg’s hands on my arm urging me up, I hissed, “How the hell am I meant to do that? I can’t even get to the itch in my foot that’s been driving me nuts!”

They meant well, but when Meg and Raine both got up and lifted me out of my seat, I about died of embarrassment as I waved, doing my best to smile as I found my balance.

“As you can see, Ashley had an accident recently,” Kip said into the microphone, getting a chorus of laughs from the thousands of spectators as he hopped down off the stage and made his way over to the side of the stadium, right under where we were sitting.

Looking up at me, he murmured, “Her having a busted leg makes it easier for me to do this, though, because at least she can’t run away, folks!”

Frowning at him in confusion, I watched as he reached into the back of his uniform pants and pulled out a box. Where he’d hidden a box, I had no idea. I’d examined his butt in great detail only moments before, and I hadn’t seen a thing.

“Ashley, I know it hasn’t been long since you assaulted me—” he began, making me gasp.

“I didn’t assault you. You were under me when I fell off the wall,” I growled, not realizing that the crowd could hear it thanks to Hayden who’d come up behind me with another microphone.

“You literally knocked me on my ass that first night,” he murmured, smiling widely.

“ And then she stabbed him in the thigh the second time they met, ” Craig yelled, not needing a microphone for his voice to be carried to the one in Kip’s hand.

Shooting a glare at him this time, I hissed, “You couldn’t just forget about that, could you?”

Every last one of the team shrugged and shook their heads, but it was Stan who cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “ We’ve got videos !”

“Why exactly are they here again?” I asked Kip who was laughing at the proceedings.

“To beat your dad’s ass, baby,” he replied straight faced. Before Dad and the guys on his team could argue it, he went back to whatever it was he was doing—mainly embarrassing me. “You’ve continued to knock me on my ass every day since that first night, Ashley. Every day brings us something new, and I love every second of it. Just like I love everything about you. You’re the sun in my sky, the moon in my dark. You’re my everything.”

“More than the diamonds in a Super Bowl ring?” I teased.

“More than those,” he promised with a glint in his eye.

“More than the cake in the ice cream cake waiting for us at home?” I pressed.

This time he paused and chewed on his bottom lip. “You got us a cake?”

“I got us a large one to celebrate.”

It took him a moment, but eventually he conceded. “Okay, more than the cake in an ice cream cake.”

Bursting out laughing, I bumped into my brother when I lost my balance, only just remembering he was standing there with a microphone when he caught me.

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

“Waiting for this tool to get to the point,” he gestured at Kip with the microphone.

Turning back to my man, I said, “Not that this isn’t fun, but the previous thanks would’ve been enough. This thing in the heat is itchy as heck,” I pointed at the big blue burden on my leg. “And standing up’s making it throb something fierce.”

“Well, if you hadn’t mentioned cake, I’d have asked you to marry me as soon as I told you that you were my everything. But you had to mention the cake and we got sidetracked.”

I swear the entire earth stopped spinning at that moment, and every molecule of oxygen was sucked out of it. “You… what?”

Then he got down on one knee, meaning that I had to lean over the barrier to see him, and opened the box in his hand, showing me the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. Well, seen from a distance that was, but it was still gorgeous.

“Ashley Louise Wilkes, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I promise to hold your hand in the ER, not grab your butt when I lift you into my vehicle, keep you supplied with ice cream cake, feed your crazy blind dog anything but cupcakes, and to rub your back and call you a princess every day.”

Looking up at my dad who was watching it all with a huge grin on his face, I chuckled when he gave me a thumbs up.

“Well, I do love it when you look after Able,” I acknowledged, making it sound like I needed to think about it. “But I’d miss it if you didn’t grab my ass in public when you lift me into your vehicle made for a giant. I also love eating ice cream cake with you, seeing as how it’s the only food that comes from outside the house you haven’t ruined for me.”

The crowd started laughing, but they didn’t know how bad it really was. I couldn’t eat anywhere anymore without thinking of a stranger’s hands on it or checking what research he’d done into the place.

“And I am a princess and deserve to be told that all the time.”

Kip burst out laughing into his microphone as Hayden shoved his under my nose. “Just say yes, damn it, Ashley. It’s hot as balls and my arm’s getting tired.”

“Your arm’s tired? Imagine how my leg feels, you insensitive a—” the rest of the word was muffled by Meg’s hand as she covered my mouth. When she finally released me, I looked back down at Kip who was still kneeling as he waited for my answer. “Of course I’ll marry you,” I yelled down at him, but as he got up, I caught sight of a big grass stain on his knee. “But I’m not getting the grass stains out of your uniform.”

“What about blood?” Hayden whispered, and then burst out laughing at my look of horror. “Bet you wish he played soccer now. We’re gentlemen, so blood rarely happens.”

I was about to say something derogatory, but big hands caught me by the shoulders and turned me around. Before I could even blink, Kip was kissing me and putting the ring on my finger as the stadium burst into a roar of applause.