Game Winner (The Penalty Kill Trilogy #3) (16 page)
Read Game Winner (The Penalty Kill Trilogy #3) Online
Authors: Lindsay Paige,Mary Smith
“
A 'yes' would have worked just fine, you know." He smiles against my lips.
“
What fun is that?” I tease back, kissing him again. He sets me down on my feet, the snow crunching beneath me. “Levi, may I ask a question?”
“
Sure.”
“
Do you have a ring or is this just a verbal agreement?” I wink at him.
“
Of course, I do.” He turns me to our cars. I didn’t notice it before, but there is a small tree near Levi’s SUV. It’s slightly decorated for Christmas. “Do you see it?” He points to the one of the branches.
He takes my hand, and we walk over to it. Hanging from the branch is a dark blue box with a bright red ribbon around it. My hands are shaking as I pull it from the tree. Removing the ribbon, I open the box and gasp. Inside is a simple solitaire diamond with smaller ones surrounding it. Along the sides are accent diamonds, and it seems to be a more vintage piece than modern.
“When I knew I was going to ask, there were a few things I had to do first. I talked to your father and he grilled me a bit before he approved. I wanted your brother to know, so I told him too. But when I told Pops, the first thing he said was that my mom would have been tickled about you joining the family. He asked me if I knew when or what kind of ring I would buy. I didn’t know either of those things yet. You don’t wear jewelry, so I wasn’t sure what you would like. Pops reminded me of Mom’s ring and what it looked like. He said that she would want me to have it, to give to you, and Pops wanted to give it to me. That’s my mom’s ring and we all want you to wear it. If you want to.”
I gasp, covering my mouth. This is Levi’s mom’s ring? I stare at the most precious ring I’ve ever seen and feel like I’m about to burst with pride and honor of wearing her ring. “Levi.” The tears are flowing down my cheeks, and my voice cracks. “I would love to wear it.”
Levi smiles as I see a small tear in his eyes. He tries to be the big tough hockey player, but I know the truth. He’s a softy. He takes the ring from the box and holds it gingerly in his hand before taking my left hand. As he slides the ring on, it’s a perfect fit. Seeing it on my hand is an unbelievable moment. I feel like the world has stopped and it’s just us two.
As he kisses me, I feel the love flowing between us, as well as the vibrating.
I break our kiss. “What the hell is in your pocket?”
He laughs. “My phone. I’ll answer it later.”
I step back. “No, answer it now. Your dad was a little upset when I left, it might be him.”
He pulls the phone from his pocket. “It’s not my dad.” He looks confused at the phone as he answers. I step back listening to the conversation.
"Yes, this is he." His expression remains the same. “Yes, sir, I can." I can see a small smile creeping on his face. "That sounds great, sir. Thank you, sir." He ends the call and stares at me.
“
Who was it? It must had been important to mess up this moment.” I tease him, but he doesn’t say anything right away. “Levi?”
“
Well, my plan was to stay with you all night tonight and head back early in the morning before your movers come, but I have to leave you sooner.” His smiles deepens.
“
Why? Is everything okay? Did your roommate burn down the place?” I tease. I can’t fathom why Levi would leave me at this moment.
“
No, not yet anyway. I have to leave because Penguins practice starts at ten tomorrow morning.”
I stop breathing. “You got called up?”
He nods. I literally scream and jump back into his arms. “I knew you could do. I just knew it, Levi.”
“
I hate to leave you right now.” He holds me tightly.
“
Hey.” I pull back from him. “As your future wife, I’m telling you: get your ass to Pittsburgh and show them who Levi Carr is.”
“
I love you, future Mrs. Levi Carr.”
“
I love you, future Stanley Cup winner, Levi Carr.”
We both laugh before we kiss. It’s true, I’m going to be his wife. There’s nothing more in this world that I wanted than that. Our relationship is one for the books because we have been through it all, but that just means we can conquer anything. Levi loves me, and I love him. That’s all we need. We just need us.
Forever.
The End.
We would like to thank all of our wonderful beta readers: Andrekia, Ariana, Beth, Charity, Heidi, Jenifer, Louise, Lucy, Michael, and Robin. Thank you so much for taking the time to read
Game Winner
and helping us improve.
We would like to thank our amazing cover designer, Damonza, for giving us our great cover.
We would like to thank Kathy from K² Editing for working with us and helping us edit our story.
We would like to thank all the readers and bloggers for sharing your love of reading with others.
During these Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mary would like end this trilogy by saying, "Go Blackhawks!" And Lindsay would like to say, "Go Penguins!"
Lindsay Paige is a romance author from North Carolina who has published six books on her own. She is a huge hockey fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and loves to play tennis. When not writing, Paige is focused on completing college.
Mary Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, but currently lives in West Virginia. She is an avid reader, co-founder of Book Nerds Across America, and author of the Ice series. She goes nowhere without her cell phone or Kindle. Mary loves anything to do with Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Sharp, and hockey related!!
Lindsay and Mary created The Penalty Kill Trilogy through their love of writing and hockey. Through their late night writing sessions, text messages, and emails, they have created a trilogy following two characters dealing with college, family, friends, and the one sport that connects them all. Even though Lindsay and Mary are fans of different NHL teams, they are still close friends...except when their teams play each other.