Epilogue
One Year Later
Ella
I never thought I could have such a hard time telling the truth, but I was a nervous mess the whole flight to Boston. I'd only just found out yesterday. It was still very early on, but I'd already developed the habit of cradling my stomach and pondering my life with Ryan, and the life inside me …
I wasn't sure how Ryan would react when I told him. He'd been nothing but wonderful to me ever since we'd started dating a year ago, but we'd never had the discussion about what we'd do if this happened.
Jeez, it's been over a year already? Time flies …
I guess part of the reason was that I wasn't sure how to feel about it, either. Would I have to give up my career? I couldn't do that …! Business was booming, thanks to the lovely ladies that were the Brawlers wives and girlfriends. Just like Ryan thought, they helped put me in touch with the right people. I did a few projects, word spread, and more projects started rolling in. And that's how it happened, that's how the city of Boston sucked me in—just like Ryan himself had. The Brawlers ladies weren't just business contacts, either—they became the missing piece of the puzzle for me: the close-knit group of friends I'd always wanted. When our boys were out of town, we always got together for ladies nights, which made getting through those week-long road trips so much easier.
Ryan's career was going great, too. At the end of last season, he ended up scoring a career high in goals and points—something he's always thanking me for, because he said I helped him settle down and focus more on hockey. Even better? This year, he's on pace to break last year's career high, too. He was realizing his potential as a hockey player—and realizing that he belonged in the NHL, just as much as any other player.
But … a baby? How did that fit into the picture? A baby was so serious, so huge—it was like a magnifying lens that forced you to examine everything in your life under the closest scrutiny. What if a baby changed things? What if Ryan wasn't sure about me? What if he liked me but he just didn't want to raise a family with me?
Argh. I almost wished the plane could stay in the sky forever, just circling and circling, and I'd never have to come down and break the news.
But it was a short flight, after all, and before I knew it the plane's tires chirped as they touched down on the runway. While the plane taxied to the departure gate, I convinced myself that I'd just blurt the news out to Ryan as soon as we were in the privacy of his BMW.
But when that moment came, I grew gun-shy. He rest his giant hand on my thigh and smiled at me, as devilishly handsome and well-dressed in a sharp suit, like always.
“Missed you, Ella,” he said.
“Missed you too, Ryan.”
God, the hormones were already making my brain chemistry all out of whack—I couldn't look at Ryan now without seeing him as the sexiest, most adorable Dad ever, wearing a puffy knit sweater on a chilly wintry weekend, the three of us cuddled around the warm and crackling fireplace. Our child would think his hockey-playing Dad was a real-life superhero …
Sure enough, I felt myself breaking out into the gushiest, most over-the-top smile. I couldn't help it.
“What's up, babe?” he asked. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
I gulped. “I do.”
“I do, too,” he said, trying to hide a gooey smile of his own.
“You go first,” I said.
He stared at the road ahead. “Hey, I asked you first.”
I shook my head. I couldn't. I didn't have the courage yet. “But … you should really go …”
“Stalemate, then.” Ryan laughed. “So how were things in ol' New York?”
“Good,” I said, giving Ryan a run-down of my work week. “How were things for you?”
Ryan filled me in on his past week with the team and at home with Lance. Yep, they still live together. They love to joke around about the time Lance flipped his shit when he found out Ryan and I were fooling around—because ever since, our relationship has only brought those two closer than ever. They're basically like brothers. I'd like to think that Ryan is even rubbing off on Lance a bit, and Lance is starting to mature … but the jury's still out on that one.
Then Ryan said something that surprised me a little. “But, you know, I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to move out and get a place of my own soon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah … you know … with you spending more and more time in Boston, and all. I dunno, it's kinda weird at the condo, always having to be quiet around Lance …”
Shit, I thought. Ryan wants to ask me to move in with him.
I didn't say a word. I was too freaked out to possibly speak. Ryan wants to ask me to move in, and I need to tell him I'm pregnant. He'll be in for a big surprise when I ask if the baby I'm carrying can move in with us, too …
Sigh.
“You sure you're alright?” he asked.
“Uh huh.”
***
When we made it back to the condo, Ryan was having a harder time trying to hide that smile.
“What's gotten into you …?” I asked.
“Nothing. I told you, I missed you.” He pulled me near and smothered me with kisses. “Man, you really look beautiful today. You're glowing.”
“Thanks,” I said shyly, while my insides silently screamed, that glow you're seeing? That's your body noticing that I'm carrying your child!
It was time to tell him.
“Where's Lance?” I asked—because the last thing I wanted was Lance to rush into the room and yell, wait, did I just hear you say you're pregnant?!
“I dunno,” Ryan said. “Hey, why don't we go up to the rooftop? Have a drink? Maybe it'll help you relax.”
“I'm, um—not drinking,” I said.
“Since when?” he laughed.
“Since …” I took a breath, mustering up the courage to say it—since I missed my period and took four pregnancy tests before I managed to haul my sorry ass to the doctor to confirm what I was seeing!
But Ryan stopped me before I could. “We can just drink a sparkling water, then. I just want to be with you up there and look over the harbor. It's a beautiful day.”
I nodded, suddenly thinking that breaking the news to him up there, overlooking the harbor might not be such a bad idea after all. It was one of the first places we started to get to know each other, after all.
“Yeah, okay, that sounds nice.”
We took the elevator to the roof, hand-in-hand. The doors opened and we stepped out—and I gasped with surprise.
Everyone was there, all the WAGs and the friends I'd made in Boston and all Ryan's, too. The entire Brawlers team was there, Lance and Shea and Ilya and Josh and all the other teammates I'd gotten to know. Everyone was dressed so nice and elegantly and my mind flipped through all the dates in my head—was it my birthday? No, of course it wasn't …
“What … what is this?” I stammered.
I turned around, and Ryan dropped to one knee. “I wanted everyone to be here when I asked you if you'd make me the happiest man alive.”
“Ryan …!”
He pulled a box from his pocket and showed me the gold ring. A diamond, big and white as snow, glittered under the bright blue sky.
“Will you marry me, Ella?”
“Yes! Of course, yes!” I yelled, and he put the ring on my finger and I pulled him to his feet and we hugged and kissed in front of all our friends who went yay! and aww!
Lance aimed a champagne bottle into the sky and pop, sent the cork sailing. “Let's get this party started!” My brother began pouring champagne, and gave us the first two flutes. “Here you go! Congratulations, Ella!”
“Thanks, Lance!” I took the champagne from him, but I didn't sip from it.
Lance went passing out his flutes to everyone, and they all milled about, engaged in lively conversation and passing by to give Ryan and I their best wishes and ambush us with questions:
So when I was moving to Boston? (The sooner the better! I'm ready!)
Would we let Lance move in with us? (Ha ha ha—NO!)
During a lull, I found myself in Ryan's arms, just the two of us, away from the boisterous chaos and overlooking the serenity over the harbor.
“So, I have to ask—why'd you pop the question here?” I asked him.
“Remember when we first met, and I showed you around the building?”
“Of course.”
“When we were on the rooftop—that's when we first started to really talk. That's when I realized there was something about you, something that just drew me towards you. I thought you were so cute, Ella, and I was so dumb, thinking I wouldn't fall for you. God, I really thought I could ignore my feelings for you and they'd go away …”
I put my hand on his cheek. “Aw, Ryan. That's so sweet.”
“Yeah, so I figured I had to propose either right here on the rooftop … or at MacAllister's,” he said with a smirk.
“Oh my God. Don't even joke about that!”
Ryan finished off his champagne. He glanced at my glass and frowned. “You haven't had a drop.”
“I told you, I'm not drinking.”
“Not even tonight?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “What's up, Ella?”
I held my breath. Should I tell him now? What if it goes badly and I screw this whole celebration up?
Oh, whatever.
I didn't want to make a big scene out of it. Gently, I took Ryan's hand and simply placed it over my tummy and held it there.
His eyes grew wide. “You serious? Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
I nodded. “Yes, Ryan.”
Any fears or doubts or anxieties I might've had, Ryan smothered with a soulful kiss. “Ella … that's amazing!”
“Yeah?” I asked, nervously laughing.
“Oh my God, yes! We're gonna have a baby, Ella!” Then he hushed his voice and looked around, hoping no one had heard. “Shit, I shouldn't say that so loud, eh?”
“Yeah … we shouldn't announce it just yet …”
“How far along are you?”
“Six weeks. I found out yesterday.”
“Oh, man, that's gonna kill me. We gotta start getting ready! So what do we do now?”
I grinned. “First, let's enjoy our night. We'll start planning later. We've still got plenty of time.”
He nodded and offered me his arm. “Let's go visit with everyone, then.”
A couple hours later, the party had dwindled, and the rest of the stragglers went home or out to the club. News of the baby had put a wild spark in Ryan—and he barely managed to keep his eyes or hands off me all night. Now that we were home alone, Ryan rushed me into his bedroom, his mouth on mine, his hands hungrily groping at my tits, his erection pressed against my rear.
He tore off my clothes in a hurry, and then his own. He mounted me and set the tip of his manhood at my opening.
“Ella, I love you so much,” he said as he widened me open with his thick, throbbing cock.
“I love you too Ryan,” I moaned as his bigness filled me.