Page 40 of The Winning Hat Trick (The Steel City Knights #1)

Celeste

" Y ou know you're never going to get him out of here, right?" Brooks sidles up next to me.

We met up with Wren and Brooks at The Tavern for dinner last night since it's been a while since we've been able to get together with them.

When Wren started talking about wanting to get some decorations for the tattoo shop for Halloween, Mac suggested we all go together.

He was unimpressed with the small amount of decorations I had at the house.

"What do you mean?"

Brooks is smiling as he watches Mac and Wren argue over the best horror movie while they flip through costumes.

"Halloween has always been his favorite holiday.

He used to beg us to dress up as a theme every year.

When we were younger, it wasn't really hard to get us on board, but as we got older and our interests changed, I know he missed dressing up together.

Mom and he would spend hours decorating the house, and Dad would let him stay up late and watch all the movies Mom said he couldn't after she went to bed.

Not sure why he latched onto Halloween, but it's always been his favorite. "

"Huh." I thought it was cute that Mac was excited about the holiday, but he did a good job downplaying how much he actually loved it.

"I checked his schedule when we got home last night. The Knights have a home game on Halloween, but it's in the afternoon, so he'll be able to go trick-or-treating with you and the kids. Don't be surprised if he tries to talk you into dressing up with him."

"Oh, I haven't dressed up in years." My brows furrow as I try to figure out what I'd even dress up as.

Halloween in Pennsylvania can be tricky.

The weather is unpredictable in October.

I've trick-or-treated in the snow one year, then it's been in the mid 70s the following year.

It's honestly one of the biggest struggles as a mom when planning the kids' costumes.

I always have to figure out how I can layer or remove layers, depending on the weather.

"Do you think he'd like to dress up as a theme together?" I ask Brooks.

"I think you'd make his whole year if you planned a themed costume for your whole family and included him."

"Great, no pressure," I grumble.

"Sorry, Cel. There really is no pressure. He's going to be excited enough to take the kids trick-or-treating. If it's too much stress to come up with a theme that will make everyone happy, don't worry about it. Seriously," Brooks reassures me as I chew my bottom lip.

I walk aimlessly through the store as I follow Calla and Talon, who are mesmerized by the costumes and decorations.

I'm not sure if there's a theme that would make both of them happy.

Calla is all about princesses while Talon is all boy.

I'm still trying to figure something out when Calla walks past a cheerleader costume and grabs a pom-pom.

An idea strikes. We could dress up as characters from the Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movie.

Talon would love getting to dress up as a zombie, and Calla would love to be a cheerleader.

I swear we've watched that movie a million times, but it's one that both kids enjoy and all of them have great underlying messages in them. Plus, the music in them bops. I think I can get the kids on board. I just hope Maclan likes the idea.

I don't pay much attention for the rest of our shopping trip, my mind too distracted on what I'd need to bring our costumes to life.

I find a really cute Seabrooks High cheerleader outfit for Calla online, but we'll have to piece together the zombies costumes. My mom is great at sewing, so I don't think it will be too hard. Layla loves the werewolves in the second movie, so I figure I can dress her up as one of them.

I still have a lot of contacts from my modeling days, several of which are makeup artists. At least one of them should be able to give me some pointers on how to best achieve the makeup for the zombies.

"Earth to Cel?" Mac squeezes my leg, his hand resting there as he drives us home from the store.

"Sorry, got lost in my head."

"I could tell. You've been doing that a lot today. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's great. I was actually just thinking about Halloween. I have an idea about costumes for the kids. I just need to run it past them."

Mac's eyes dim a bit, but he quickly brushes it off. "Oh, that's cool. I'm sure they'll love whatever you come up with."

"I hope so." I try to hide my sneaky smile, but it's hard.

"Are you getting excited for your runway show?"

"I am. I'm also really nervous, but knowing you and the kids will be there helps. Honestly, with dinner last night and our shopping trip today, I forgot that it was this weekend." Anxiety starts creeping in at the idea of being on the runway again.

"Hey, enough of that. You're going to crush it." Mac grabs my hand, brings it to his lips, and kisses my knuckles.

"Thanks, Mac. What do you say we divide and conquer when we get home?"

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" Mac doesn't even bat an eye at where "home" is but knows I mean my house. It's been weeks since he's stayed at his own place, and I'm not sad about it.

"You start dinner while I get the kids cleaned up? We can eat it picnic style in the living room."

"That sounds great."

Once home, I do take the kids upstairs to clean them up, but I also have another motive.

"So, I have an idea for Halloween costumes this year," I tell Calla and Talon.

"You do? But we usually pick out our own." Talon looks at me like I've lost my mind.

"I know that, bud, but Brooks told me something about Maclan today."

"Okay." Talon's confusion intensifies at my vagueness.

"Mac loves Halloween. It's his favorite holiday. Brooks said that when they were younger, Mac used to try to talk his brothers into dressing up in themed costumes. So they'd dress up as different things, but they'd match, like the Ninja Turtles."

"Oh, that's really cool. Do you want to do that?" His eyes are big as he bounces on his feet.

Calla joins him even though she doesn't know why he's excited.

"Yes. I thought that maybe we could dress up as characters from the Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movies, so you could be a zombie, werewolf, or an alien." I look at my son hopefully as I impatiently wait for his reaction.

"Hmm, that could be cool, I guess. I think I'd make an awesome werewolf." He bares his teeth and holds his hands up as if they are claws.

"You most definitely will. Calla, I thought you could dress up as Addison." I pull my phone from my pocket and show her the costume I found. She squeals and jumps up and down. "I take it that you like the costume."

"Yes, Mama! I lub it so much."

"Great. So, I figured we could turn on one of the movies tonight and then ask Mac if he'd like to join us. What do you think?"

"Yes!" Both kids cheer.

When we get back downstairs, Mac has dinner ready.

Having his chef come a few days a week and prepare meals has been a godsend.

Not only is her food delicious, but it's also healthy without the kids realizing they're eating a ton of veggies.

We settle in to eat and watch the movie, but I can tell the kids are too excited, so I nod to Talon to let him know it's okay to ask Mac.

"Hey, Mac?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Um, Mama had a fun idea for Halloween."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Would you want to dress up with us like the people from the movie?" Talon points at the screen.

Mac's eyes get huge as he whips his head towards me. I nod to let him know that, yes, we want to wear matching costumes with him, and I smile as delight fills his face.

"That sounds amazing, bud. Who do you think I should be?"

"You're Zed, and mom's Addison. Duh." Talon says with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, of course. My bad." Mac ruffles his hair.

Now that their exciting news is out of the way, the kids dig into their dinner. Mac mouths, " Thank you, " over their heads. I smile back, glad I could make him this happy with something so simple.

Planning our costumes over the next few days was the perfect distraction from my upcoming runway show, but now that the day has arrived, I can't ignore it anymore. We arrived in New York yesterday, and I've been going non-stop since.

I had to be fit for my pieces and meet with a few brands who were interested in booking Talia. I left the kids with Mac early in the morning to meet Gabriella at the venue where the show is taking place.

"Hey, babe. You're in here."

I follow her through a maze of hallways to find several makeup stations set up. I sit in the chair, then squeal in delight when I see an old friend. "Ah, hey, Zinnia. How are you?" I stand and squeeze the life out of her.

"I'm fucking fantastic now." She squeezes me back. "As soon as I saw your name on the call sheet, I told all the other MUAs to back off."

"I'm glad you did. It's so good to see you."

"Likewise, babe." Zinnia smiles at me.

"Great. Now that you're in good hands, I'm going to head back to the hotel to help your man wrangle children. I'll see you after the show."

"Thanks, Gabs." I blow her a kiss, which she returns before bustling out the door.

I fall into the chaos of what it takes to put on a high-end fashion show.

My nerves are long gone as I slide on the gorgeous first look.

It's a stunning dress with the most buttery-soft fabric that feels like heaven on my skin.

Before I know it, I'm standing in line, and it's my turn to walk the runway.

As if no time has passed, I strut down the long runway. The adrenaline rush lights me up as I make my way back to the end of the stage then go get my second look.

When the show is done and we're doing our final walk, I can't stop the smile that spreads on my face when hearing Mac and my kids cheering for me. They're screaming their heads off, making me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

"You did amazing, gorgeous." Mac pulls me into his arms and kisses me after the show. "I'm so fucking proud of you."

"Thanks, Maclan."

"Seriously, woman. You owned that stage." Gabriella beams beside us.

"Thank you for believing in me when I didn't." My voice cracks as tears fight to escape.

"Always." She smiles at me.

"Now, as much fun as this has been, who's ready to head home?" Mac hefts Layla up in his arms as Calla and Talon cheer below.

We'd like to stay longer, but Mac missed practice to be here today.

He has a game tomorrow and needs to get home to rest, especially since trick-or-treating is after the game.

Mac, being the sweetest man ever, spoiled us with a private plane so we didn't have to deal with taking the kids on a packed flight.

It made our trip a lot easier, and we are home in no time.

The kids and I rest up in the morning then make our way to the arena to watch Mac and Thor dominate in their game. The post-game celebrations are quick as many players are eager to get home to their families. The kids are extra excited to find out Thor is coming to join us tonight.

It's a mad dash once we get home to get everyone dressed in warmer clothes and loaded into the car. Wren and Brooks invited us to come eat pizza with them at their apartment before trick-or-treating. I wait until everyone is done with their food before diving in with their makeup and costumes.

My parents show up and help wrangle the kids, which is much appreciated since they are all so excited, and Mom has half of their costumes.

The costumes she made them look so good that the kids could be extras in the movie.

Mom gets them dressed while I do their makeup.

I'm so busy dealing with the kids that I don't notice Mac slip away.

"Who's ready to trick-or-treat?" he calls from behind me.

When I turn, I gasp to see him fully decked out as Zed from the movie. My man went all out, from the costume to the make-up to his green hair. He looks amazing, and I'm more glad than ever that I was able to convince the kids to do this.

"Like what you see?" he wiggles his brows at me.

"Damn straight. You look amazing, Mac. Who— How—"

"I did his make-up." Wren smirks from behind him, proud as hell—as she should be.

"You killed it. I should've let you do the other kids." I wave at my poor attempt in comparison to hers.

"Nah, they look great. You're going to be late if you don't hurry up, though."

"Crap." I grab my costume and race towards the bathroom, where I quickly change.

We all file out of the apartment onto Main Street in Sparrow Falls to get pictures before we head out for candy. Our costumes look amazing, and the kids are happy. I can't remember having this much fun as a family in forever, and I realize that's because we didn't have Mac with us.

The entire night is magical and made even better when we end it at The Tavern , which is only open to Spencer and Maverick's family and friends.

Mav's gone all out with delicious finger foods and sweet treats.

He's got games set up for the kids, fun Halloween music playing, and orange and purple lights along with a smoke machine.

"So, how was your first Halloween with the gremlins?" I rest my chin on Mac's chest as he tugs me into his arms.

"Better than I could have ever imagined." He places a sweet kiss on my lips.

"Good. Because this is hands down the best Halloween the kids and I have ever had."

Talon rushes over and tugs us to the dance floor.

He gives Mac a thumbs-up as he races off, only to come back with Layla and Calla.

Someday from the Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movie comes on, and I can't help but laugh at my son setting Mac and I up for a romantic moment.

It's the slowed-down, ballad version, so I go into Mac's arms as he quietly guides us around the room.

I think it can't get much better than this until Mac steps back, reaches in his pocket, then drops to one knee. Talon brings Calla and Layla over to join him as he stares up at me.

"I know this might be crazy"—Mac winks at me, his words matching those from the song—"but I know in my heart that you're it for me. I love you and the kids so much, and I want nothing more than to call you mine. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" I scream as I launch myself at Mac, knocking him over. I pepper his face with kisses as our kids pile on top of us.

There's squealing, laughter, and tears as we lie on the floor in The Tavern, surrounded by our family and friends as they cheer for us. I never imagined this would be my life, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Mac was exactly the man I needed. He built me up, loved me like nobody else has, and showed my children what having a dad who loves them feels like. I don't know what our future holds, but I can't wait to find out.