Page 35 of The New York Nighthawks, Vol. 2

DEMPSEY

Damn, I’d never seen anything more beautiful than this curvy brunette laughing—or as arousing.

Granted, I wasn’t happy that Skye hadn’t taken my offer seriously, but I couldn’t really blame her.

How often does a man you just spilled coffee on ask you to marry him? Especially one who was a decade older.

The words had just kind of spewed from my mouth before I could stop them.

Once they were out, I immediately knew I was completely serious.

This woman was mine. It was ironic that we’d been discussing asking some woman on the street to wear my ring, then I bumped into—literally—the woman I wanted to wear it permanently.

Now, I just had to convince her that I wasn’t joking.

As Skye’s laughter waned, I took the opportunity to openly admire her for a few seconds.

She was drop-dead gorgeous. Her soft brown hair hung just below her shoulders and framed her heart-shaped face with layered wisps.

She had big brown eyes that reminded me of a sweet doe, a cute nose, and round mouth with plump lips.

At six-foot-three, I towered over her by at least a foot, and even though my two-hundred-and-twenty-pound body would dwarf hers, I knew we would fit perfectly.

She had big tits that would most likely overflow from my hands and completely fill my mouth.

And her wide hips were perfect for grabbing onto while I drove inside her… and for carrying my babies.

That thought nearly caused me to stumble backward, not from fear or anxiety, but from the anticipation that slammed into me. I couldn’t fucking wait to see Skye with my ring on her finger and her belly round and swollen with our child.

First thing to do was convince her to marry me, then I’d work on knocking her up. It would be one more tool in my arsenal to make sure she stayed mine forever.

“Baby, if you keep laughing at my proposal, you’ll hurt my feelings.

” I gave her my best pout, and her cheeks turned pink as she giggled again.

I sighed as though I was terribly wounded, then held my hand out toward the coffee shop.

“Okay, I’ll take you up on the dry cleaning and that coffee, but only if we have it now and you are willing to at least discuss marriage.

” I tapped the duffel bag slung over my shoulder. “I’ll even dress for the occasion.”

Skye rolled her eyes and smiled with fake exasperation. But something flashed in those pretty brown orbs as she turned to walk inside that gave me pause. It looked for a second like she was worried.

As we entered and walked toward the counter, I put my hand on her elbow and leaned in close. “If I’m making you uncomfortable, please tell me. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

She suddenly stopped and turned her head, tilting it back so she could look at my face.

“I’ve known you for maybe five minutes, and I already know you would never hurt me.

” Relief flooded me and pleasure at knowing she felt the connection between us.

“If you want to keep proposing, who am I to stop you? It certainly does wonders for my confidence.” Then she winked, making me laugh.

Damn, she was adorable.

I let her go ahead of me as we once again headed to the counter.

Not just to be polite, but because her ass looked absolutely amazing in her jeans.

I needed a second to ogle, then adjust myself.

Her body was made to be loved, and I had every intention of being the only man who would ever have that privilege ever again.

We reached the register, and she waited for me to place my order, but when the cashier looked at her, she just shook her head. “That's all.”

I frowned. “You just spilled your coffee,” I stated as I glanced pointedly at my shirt and pants, as if she wasn’t already aware that I was covered in both of our drinks.

Skye shrugged and looked down at her purse as she set it on the counter. “I wasn’t all that thirsty anyway. Why don’t you go get changed while I wait for our order?”

Something felt very off, and I had a feeling I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to embarrass her. So I just nodded, then leaned in and kissed her cheek before making my way to the restroom.

Once I’d washed up a bit and put on clean clothes, I stepped out of the bathroom and scanned the shop. Skye was waiting near the pickup area, and since the restroom was located just around the corner from the order window, I took a chance that she wouldn’t see me.

I only had to wait for one person before I was standing in front of the same girl who had taken Skye’s order minutes before.

I pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and showed it to the cashier.

“Hello,”—I glanced at her nametag—“Nina. If you can remember what that woman ordered when she was in here about ten minutes ago…” I trailed off, and Nina's eyes lit up.

“What’s her name?” she asked as she typed something on her computer.

“Skye Baird.”

“Ten minutes ago?”

“Right around then.”

Nina hit a few more keys than the tiny printer next to her spit out one of the order stickers they put on the cups. She handed me the slip, but I shook my head. “I’ll take one of those and make sure they call her name, not mine.”

“Sure thing.” She rang up the drink, and I paid for it. Then I handed her the tip.

“Excellent service, Nina, thank you. Oh, and please add her last name to the label so she doesn’t think it’s a mix up when her name is called.”

Nina smiled brightly and tucked the extra money into her pocket.

I stepped away from the counter and spotted Skye sitting at a table by the window, staring outside. When I approached, her head lifted, and she smiled.

“Wow,” she breathed as she looked me up and down. “You clean up good.”

I laughed and took a seat. “We had some PR interviews before practice this morning, so I just happened to have my suit with me.”

She eyed my clothes once more, then shook her head as she pushed a drink across the table to me. “I don’t want to know how much that suit is worth, I’m just going to thank my lucky stars that’s not what you were wearing when I spilled coffee all over you.”

“Skye Baird!”

Skye’s head whipped toward the sound of her name being called, and her eyebrows shot up. “That’s weird. My name isn’t exactly common.”

“Probably because that drink wasn’t meant for anyone else,” I responded dryly.

“But…” Her eyes narrowed on me. “Why would you buy me a drink?”

“Well, you spilled yours as well,” I explained as I picked up my cup and took a sip of my coffee with a splash of oat milk. In season, I tried to eat healthy, but I needed something to cut the bitter taste of the brew.

“Yeah, but I bumped into you.”

“Which is why I agreed to the dry cleaning.” Although, I had no intention of actually letting her pay for it. “Now, why don’t I go and get your coffee for you, and then we can discuss the elephant in the room?”

“The elephant?” she echoed, her brows drawing together as a cute wrinkle popped up in the middle of her forehead.

“Yes. Our wedding date. I’m still waiting for a yes, but we can hammer out the details and get back to that part later.”

Skye’s smile lit up her face when she laughed, and my already aching cock twitched. So fucking gorgeous.

I went over to retrieve her beverage and held it in front of her when I returned. She reached up to take the cup, and I made sure that my fingers brushed along hers during the exchange. Her little shiver sent a streak of satisfaction through me at the knowledge that the attraction was mutual.

“Now, I realize that most women dream of a fairy-tale wedding, and while I’m perfectly happy to do that, it will have to be a renewal of vows because I’m not waiting a year to marry you.”

Skye cocked her head to the side and grinned. “Wow, you’re really committing to this. Well, for your information, I’ve never really thought about my wedding. I guess I was more focused on it being with the right person, so when and where don’t matter as much to me.”

“You become more and more perfect every fucking second, you know that?” I complimented, enjoying the pink stain it brought to her cheeks.

“If you say so,” she chuckled.

I observed her in silence for a moment, then decided it was time to be serious and find out where we stood so I knew where to go from there. “You really don’t believe I’m serious, do you?”

Skye laughed and took a sip of her drink.

“A professional football player gets coffee spilled on him and immediately falls for the clumsy woman, sweeping her off her feet and whisking her away for their happily ever after.” She shook her head, but there was a wistful quality in her eyes that gave me hope.

“Life isn’t a romantic comedy. But you’ve turned my crappy day around, so for that I sincerely thank you. ”

It was time to fall back and regroup. Figure out my next play.

“Hmmm, well, we’ll see about that. In the meantime, how about you give me your contact information and we can coordinate on the dry cleaning?”

That flash of worry passed over her eyes again, and I gritted my teeth to keep from telling her to forget it. I didn’t like her worrying, but I also wasn’t going to give up my only surefire excuse to see her again.

We exchanged numbers, and I escorted her outside. It took everything I had to watch her walk away, but I comforted myself with the promise that very soon, she would be mine, in every way possible.