Page 18

W hen they finally reached their next destination, Hunter quickly got out of the car. The driver opened up the trunk. Hunter retrieved a bag full of ice skates and warmer jackets for them to wear while ice skating. Luna looked at the supplies.

“Ice skates?” she said curiously. “I am a terrible ice skater. I’ve told you this. You will see me make a fool out of myself tonight.”

They both laughed together. Hunter reassured her that he would be there to catch her if she fell.

“It will be fun,” he said to her assumingly. “Just trust me. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Hunter had arranged for the team’s training stadium to be fully decorated and reserved exclusively for that evening. He couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to ask Luna such an important question. Hockey had played a significant role in Hunter’s life, shaping countless experiences, and it was the very thing that had brought them together. As he opened the door to the stadium, he watched Luna step inside, her eyes widening with surprise and wonder.

As soon as she walked inside the stadium, her eyes lit up, almost as bright as the stadium. Elegant strings of white lights were placed all over the ice rink and the seats of the stadium. Rose petals decorated the floor, leading to the audience’s seats and down to the ice rink. Luna could not believe how beautiful everything was. For such a large space, everything was ornately decorated for just the two of them. How did Hunter pull this off?

“Frank pulled some strings for me,” Hunter said, almost reading her mind.

“Well, then I must thank him,” Luna said while still looking around at the lights and flowers. She walked down to the opening for the rink. Hunter sat the bag on the ground and took out two jackets and two pairs of skates.

“Here,” he said to her gently. “Let’s put these on, and I will help you skate.”

Luna took the skates and the oversized coat from Hunter. She put them on. Hunter helped her get to the ice.

Luna moved onto the ice. She was a novice, but Hunter did not mind that. He liked helping her. Hunter reached her hand and helped to guide her along the ice. He even gave her some pointers as to how to skate better. Hunter let go of her hand. She wobbled, trying to find the edge of the ice rink to hold onto.

“Just trust yourself. Trust your feet,” he said to her, cheering her on. “You are gliding. It is like a dance, and you love to dance, darling.”

Luna let go of the edge of the ice rink. She wobbled a bit again but found her balance. She started to get the hang of ice skating. Hunter watched her and smiled.

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “Yes, that is it! Look at how effortless you make that look. Come on, skate to me.”

Hunter reached out his hands and urged her to skate to him. Luna attempted to glide to Hunter. However, she ended up tripping over herself and propelled her body towards him. Hunter caught her just in time before her body hit the ice hard. He helped to break her fall, and the two of them tumbled to the ice on top of one another. They both began laughing.

“I told you I was a terrible ice skater,” Luna said to Hunter, laughing. “But I do appreciate you trying to teach me.”

The couple continued to giggle together, lost in the romance of the evening. Even something as trivial as falling down didn’t matter to them; they tumbled onto the ice, laughter echoing around them. As Luna looked off to the side, she spotted a small jewelry box lying on the ice. It resembled a box meant for a ring, and she gasped.

“What is that?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

Hunter glanced over and realized that the box must have fallen from his pocket during their fall. He reached for it, feeling a rush of adrenaline. Well, now that the cat was out of the bag, it was now or never. They remained sitting on the ice, the moment hanging in the air.

Luna was speechless, her heart racing as she waited for Hunter to make his next move. Was this it? Was this the moment she had been dreaming of?

With deliberate care, Hunter opened the jewelry box and turned to face her. Inside lay a stunningly elegant diamond ring. This was really happening—Hunter was truly proposing to her.

“Luna,” Hunter said to her lovingly. “From the moment we met, it has been an adventure. I love you with all of my heart. The support you have shown me and Adam has made me realize that I cannot live without you. Will you marry me?”

Tears began to fill Luna’s eyes. She could hardly see; she attempted to blink the tears away. She was overjoyed. She was able to muster out the word yes, and she nodded her head. Hunter smiled. He gently placed the beautiful engagement ring on Luna’s finger. She reached her arm out in front of her to get a good look at it. It was perfect. She leaned over and kissed Hunter.

“I can’t believe that this is actually happening,” she said to him happily. “You are my dream come true, Hunter.”

“You are mine,” he replied cheerfully. “This is exactly as everything should be.”

Hunter and Luna embraced once more before heading back to the vehicle, waiting for them outside.

“Is this why you had my family flown in?” she asked him inquisitively. “You had this whole thing planned?”

“Of course,” Hunter said bluntly. “I had to ask your mother’s permission to marry you before I popped the question.”

Luna leaned in and kissed Hunter in the back of the car, her heart swelling with joy. It meant so much to her that he had asked for her mother’s hand in marriage. Excitement bubbled inside her as she wondered if they could stop by the hotel to share the good news. Hunter smiled and instructed the driver to take them to where Luna’s mother and sister were staying. She could hardly wait to tell them that she was engaged.

“How do you think Adam will handle the news?” Luna asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

She wanted to ensure that Adam would be okay with Hunter remarrying. Hunter reassured her that he had already spoken to Adam about their plans. “For his age, he understands what it means,” he explained. “He’s actually happy to know that you’ll officially be his mother.”

Luna’s heart melted at his words. The thought of finally having the family she had long dreamed of filled her with overwhelming happiness.

Hunter and Luna watched as the city lights grew closer and closer. They held hands as they approached the hotel where her family was staying.

“Are they expecting us?” Luna asked Hunter. “I guess we should have called in advance.”

Hunter reassured her that they both knew that he was going to propose to her that night. They were sure to be up and awaiting the grand news of their engagement. The driver parked the car and got out to open the door. Upon getting out of the vehicle, the couple was bombarded with paparazzi.

“Hunter!” one man with a camera shouted. “Luna!” he yelled to get her attention.

“Congratulations on the new engagement, Hunter!” a woman with a camera yelled while pushing the camera into his personal space. “Luna, how does it feel to go from nanny to fiancé?” she asked Luna smugly.”

Hunter tried to move around the crowd of people. He finally found Luna’s hand and ran with her to the front entrance of the hotel. Two hotel security guards ushered them inside and created a barrier from the paparazzi. Hunter and Luna were safe inside the hotel, thank goodness. Hunter took a deep breath and looked back outside at the numerous people with photographs. It was then that he saw one man with a large camera walk over to his driver, Tony. He watched in bewilderment as Tony reached out his hand and retrieved a roll of cash from the unknown man with a camera. He heard Luna gasping. She was trying to catch her breath from all the fear and excitement. At least they were both safe in that moment.

“How did the paparazzi know already?” she asked Hunter in confusion. “You literally just proposed to me. How did they get the information so soon?”

“Tony,” Hunter said angrily. “Tony, our driver, sold us out.”

Hunter was so angry. He could not believe his trusted driver sold a story about him and Luna to the press. He felt betrayed. Tony had been his driver for the last four years. He was amazed at what greed did to people. Loyalty was hard to find. Luna looked up and stared at Hunter. She could tell by his facial expression that he was angry. She had never seen him so mad. She wanted to calm him down. It was their special night, and she did not want anything to ruin it.

“Hey,” Luna said, grabbing Hunter’s arm. “Hey, honey. It is okay. We are safe inside the hotel now. We dodged the cameras for now. Let’s not let them ruin our night, okay?”

Hunter’s face was still stern. He felt that Tony had put both his and Luna’s lives in danger. They were bombarded by the cameras, and it was complete madness out there. If he had not acted quickly and got both himself and Luna into the hotel, who knows what would have happened? What had just occurred was unacceptable, and Hunter was not going to tolerate it. He turned to Luna.

“Go upstairs to the penthouse suite and share the wonderful news with your mother and sister,” he said to her calmly. “I am going to take care of this. I am not going to let this happen ever again.”

Luna pushed the button to activate the elevator. When it opened, she slowly walked inside the elevator and turned around to watch Hunter approach the reception area of the hotel. The doors closed.

Hunter walked to the reception desk and asked the receptionist if he could use their phone. He told them that it was an emergency, which, in a way, it kind of was, given what had just occurred. Hunter dialed the number for the car service he had hired Tony from. When the manager answered, he let him have a piece of his mind.

“I don’t care if you had nothing to do with it,” Hunter said sharply to the manager. “You should have vetted the driver before sending him my way. I want a new driver before the night is over, and I want Tony fired. I just saw him taking money from the paparazzi, and that’s unacceptable. You deal with high-end clients regularly, and if you want to keep your business running, I suggest you handle this immediately.”

Hunter slammed the phone down and then looked up at the receptionist. She stared at him in horror.

“Sorry,” he said to her. “Rough night.”

Hunter walked over to the elevator and went up to meet Luna and her family. When he reached their room, all of his anger melted away. Lisa and Luna’s mother were embracing her. They were all so excited to hear about their engagement.

“Mom, I can’t believe that you knew Hunter was going to propose,” Luna exclaimed. “I can’t believe that you knew, and you did not say anything!”

Her mother laughed.

“Surprise!” she yelled in excitement. “I wanted it to be a wonderful surprise for you.”

At the end of the visit, Luna’s sister and mother promised to see them the next day. Hunter and Luna walked outside the hotel and saw their new driver waiting. They looked around them and breathed a sigh of relief that no cameras were in sight. They quickly got into the car and headed back to their apartment.

When they arrived at their apartment, Luna shared the news of her engagement to Hunter with Ella. Ella was ecstatic and overwhelmed with joy. She hugged Luna tightly.

“I knew that you two would end up together,” she said lovingly.

Hunter walked into the room and checked on Adam while the two women caught up with one another. Adam was fast asleep in his bedroom. He looked a little pale, but Hunter did not think anything of this. He walked back into the kitchen and thanked Ella for watching Adam. She assured them that Adam had a great day with her and that she would be available for the rest of the time that Luna’s family was in town. They thanked her for helping them.

“Also, good job bringing in the family,” Ella said to Hunter with a wink. “I wonder how you got that idea?”

They both laughed. Luna had sensed that Ella had something to do with Hunter flying her family in from Guatemala, but now it was confirmed. She hugged Ella again.

“Thank you both,” she said to them kindly. “It did mean a lot to me that my family was here for his special night, and tomorrow, I am sure the magazines will have it documented first thing in the morning.

“What?” Ella asked Luna. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, girl,” Luna said to Ella with a smirk. “Oh, girl, you better sit down for this story.”

Hunter walked over to the kitchen counter and started making a pot of coffee. Ella eagerly sat down at the kitchen table and waited for Hunter and Luna to place cups, cream, sugar, and coffee on the table. Ella sat across from Luna as she eagerly awaited to hear the juicy story.

“Come on, Luna!” Ella said with a chuckle. “Spill it!”

Luna poured coffee into each cup. She and Hunter walked Ella through what had occurred with their former driver and the paparazzi after their romantic engagement. Ella listened in amazement and was happy to hear that Luna had handled the situation with the paparazzi better than she had in the past. She really was adjusting to this new life with Hunter, and the adjustment looked good on her. There was a glow about her.

Luna looked absolutely radiant. Her skin was glowing, and she had even looked a little curvier than usual in the best way. Ella made a small gasp and then took a quick drink of her coffee to cover up her excitement. Ella had noticed that glow before. Her mother had the glow once when her mother was pregnant with Ella’s sister. Ella smiled to herself as she continued to listen to Hunter and Luna’s story. She pondered and asked herself whether Luna was pregnant.