Ema held a sleeping Shelby on her lap and watched the Titans versus Patriots game from Knox’s private box. Genevieve and Claire always came to the games, but today Ema’s parents and Knox’s sister and husband had flown in too. Ema watched the Titans players congratulating each other as the game ended with them the victors, 21-14. The fans were screaming ecstatically.

The past four months had sped by as Ema and Knox had spent every spare minute together. Things had gotten busier as the regular season started, but she had been able to schedule a lot of shows close to him, and her show moving to ABC in August had made her life even easier. Her new producers only required her to spend a day or a day and a half at each home. With all their different camera angles and production crew making sure filming stayed on schedule, and sometimes even directing dialogue and activities, it was much easier to get plenty of footage for an hour-long show. It wasn’t as spontaneous, and sometimes she missed that, but it was more than worth it to see her show reach its potential. The most important thing for her was she spent as much time as possible with Knox and Shelby.

Knox had teased that she’d tamed him into a wimp, but she felt like he flourished and shone. He was happy, confident, and so good to her and Shelby. He was still overprotective at times and no man would dare to look cross-eyed at either of his girls, but he was more social with his teammates and their families and he was dealing well with his PTSD. They’d gone to visit his dad and sister, and seeing his father wasting away was hard, but Ema was proud of how calmly Knox handled it. Seeing him with his nephews was adorable.

They also spent a few weeks, before his season started, in Kauai. Her filming crew came to the island with them and captured some celebrities and their families on vacation. Knox had fit into her loud family perfectly, especially since all the women loved to cook for him. Her aunts and mom would do just about anything to be rewarded with one of his smiles. Not that Ema blamed them.

They found a church close to his home, and Knox had eased into Sunday attendance and was even volunteering with the youth group on Thursdays. He was finally accepting the Lord’s plan and realizing it wasn’t his fault that he’d survived and that Tyler, his mom, and his sister would want him to be happy.

She stood, cradling Shelby against her shoulder and smiling at her dad. “Great game, huh?”

“Your man’s a stud,” her dad said.

“I taught him everything he knows.”

Her dad chuckled.

She started to walk toward the door. Shelby was almost four now and she was heavy to carry, but Ema had no desire to put her down.

“Wait,” Aunt Genny said. “Knox asked us to wait for him here.”

“Oh? Okay.” Usually they’d head home and he’d be at least a half hour behind them after a game.

There was a quick rap at the door. Claire got it, and some serving staff entered, cleared away the food they’d consumed during the game, and brought in fresh food, drinks, and desserts.

Ema arched an eyebrow at Claire. Everyone else was talking and seeming content to wait for Knox. “Are we having an after-game dinner here?”

“Something like that.” Claire winked at her and turned to talk to Knox’s sister, Sarah. Ema noticed Brig’s eyes straying to Claire time and again. She and Knox kept hoping the two would date, but so far Claire had evaded Brig’s attempts to ask her out.

The buffet, which would put some cruise ships to shame, had barely been set up and the servers had disappeared when the door burst open. Knox strode in, looking devastating. His dark hair was wet from his shower, and when he spotted Ema and Shelby, his beautiful smile lit up his face. No opposing quarterback would believe how soft he could be with his girls. He shook her dad’s hand and hugged her mom, but he only had eyes for Ema.

When he reached her, she inhaled slowly. “Did I tell you that I love Perry Ellis?”

“As much as you love Sloane Kent?”

“Almost.”

He chuckled. “What about the Beast? Do you love him?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Occasionally.”

Knox laughed and pulled Shelby from her arms.

“Don’t wake her up,” Ema said.

“She’d cuss me if she wasn’t awake for this.”

Ema shook her head. “What?”

“Shelby, love,” he whispered. “Are you ready?”

Shelby blinked her eyes and then hugged her daddy tight around the neck. “Is it time for my a-prize?”

“Yes, baby.”

She put out her dimpled hand. Knox placed a small ring box in her fingers. Ema gasped and she heard her mom already sobbing loudly. Her mom may have been born a haole, but she’d embraced everything about Hawaiian culture.

Shelby turned to Ema and shoved the ring box into her hand. “Will you be my mommy?” she demanded. “I really want you to.”

Tears crested Ema’s eyelids and trailed down her cheeks. “Oh, sweet girl. I would love to be your mommy.” She reached over and hugged Shelby.

Knox set Shelby on the ground, took the ring box back out of Ema’s hand, and bent down on one knee. “I love you, Ema. Will you tame the Beast for the rest of your life?”

Ema couldn’t stop the tears. “I think I’m qualified for the job.”

“Yes, you definitely are.” Knox grinned.

Ema tugged on his hand, and he stood and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her gently and then popped the ring box open. A huge round diamond sparkled up at her. It was beautiful, and she loved it on sight.

“Wait.” Knox snapped the box shut. “You never said yes.”

Ema gazed up at him, forgetting anyone else was in the room. “I love you, Knox. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Knox opened the box back up and slipped the ring onto her finger. He handed Shelby the ring box and then pulled Ema close, tenderly caressing her lips with his own. “I love you so much,” he whispered against her lips.

“I love you, my beast,” she whispered back.

He gave her a kiss that was better than any Disney movie. Ema didn’t check, but she knew there were probably sparks swirling around them. The loud cheering from their family and friends was perfect.

Ema savored each second of Knox’s kiss. He still couldn’t dance very well, but his kissing more than made up for it. He pulled back, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her high above his head. “I love you, Ema Kahue!” he shouted.

Ema put back her head and laughed. He slowly lowered her close to his chest and she could hear Sloane Kent playing in the background. Knox moved them slowly around the room in a slow dance, and Ema was lost in his dark gaze.

Knox’s eyes flitted down in surprise; Shelby had grabbed on to his legs. His grin widened. “Hey, love.” He lifted Shelby into his left arm, encircling Ema’s waist with his right.

Their first dance as a family. Ema had never been part of anything so right.