Chapter 26

I woke up with my head resting on Corey’s chest. I stretched, which caused Corey to stir. He groaned and pulled me back to him. With a smile I went willingly. It had been a week since he’d ended things with Ileana, and I couldn’t be happier. I placed a kiss on his chest and looked up at him.

“Did the alarm go off and I missed it?” he asked, without opening his eyes.

“No.”

“Then why the hell are we awake?” I smiled and held back my laugh.

“For someone who has to wake up by 8 every morning, you sure are grumpy,” I joked.

He made some sort of whiny noise, pushed me off his chest and rolled over, turning his back to me. I wasn’t deterred. I rolled towards him, slinging an arm around him and placing my head on his shoulder. He repeated the whiny noise.

“What? I thought you liked morning sex?” I asked. He immediately shot around to face me.

“Oh, I do,” he said with a smile as he shoved me onto my back. His lips connected with mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

A little while later I cooked him an omelet for breakfast and then said goodbye as he left for practice. I cleaned up the kitchen and got ready to meet my trainer. After a workout that should have been tough but seemed ridiculously easy I walked out of the gym and headed to my car.

“Amelia! How are things going with Corey?” I heard someone yell.

I turned around to see who was asking, stunned. We hadn’t gone anywhere in public since the argument and no one had announced our relationship. I was greeted by a guy holding a camera in my face. I rolled my eyes, glad I had sunglasses on to disguise it.

“Fine,” I responded as I continued on to my car.

“Are you two a couple now after the last blowout? I heard you used to date back in high school!” he called. It never ceased to amaze me the kind of information people could get about you.

I chose not to respond and got into my car, shutting the door before the guy had a chance to say anything else. I shook my head as I drove out of the parking lot. Dealing with paparazzi was one part of my job I’d never get used to.

I’d considered going out to dinner with Corey that night, but changed my mind. I wasn’t ready for the media circus that would surround us quite yet. We were still getting back into being a couple, and that was the last thing we needed to deal with.

Not wanting to be alone, I drove over to Brianna’s instead of going home. She was on the phone when I got there. She put a hand up to me to tell me to hold on, so I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. When she hung up she came to find me, grabbing a bottle herself.

“Romantic comedy or drama?” she asked me, taking a seat next to me at the table. I raised my eyebrows in interest.

“Tell me about them.”

Brianna explained the premise for each of the offers, but it was too early to make a decision. I asked her to have scripts sent over as soon as possible for me to read them. She said she would, then asked me about Corey.

“It’s everything it always was before, except better,” I told her with a grin on my face. She smiled back. That was when something shiny caught my attention. “What the hell is this?” I asked grabbing her hand and looking at the enormous diamond sitting on the ring finger of her left hand.

“It just happened last night!” she squealed. I did too, and threw my arms around her in a hug.

“Congratulations, Bri! I’m so happy for you guys! Tell me all about it,” I demanded.

“I can do you one better,” she said as she stood up. Confused, I followed her out of the kitchen and into her living room. She turned on the TV, hit a button, and a video popped up. “I’ve been watching it all morning.”

I watched as Brianna and Ryan appeared on the screen. She was standing at the entrance of the ice at the practice arena and shaking her head. Ryan was obviously trying to coax her out onto the ice and she didn’t want to go.

“Sweetie, come on. I won’t let go, I promise,” Ryan said. Brianna finally gave in and grabbed his hand. She took a few tentative steps on the ice before Ryan gave her instructions. She followed them and began to skate around the rink hand in hand with him.

“It’s not so bad,” Brianna joked as they went.

“You’re a natural,” Ryan returned. They skated over to the boards where Ryan grabbed a hockey stick and a puck.

“What is that?” Brianna asked.

“You’re kidding, right?” Ryan returned. Brianna smacked him on the shoulder.

“Why are you holding out a hockey stick to me?” she asked.

“You’re going to shoot this puck into that net with this stick,” Ryan replied pointing to one end of the ice. It took Brianna a little more coaxing to agree to do it.

“Why am I doing this?” she asked as she lined up at the hash marks.

“If you miss, you get what’s in the left hand. If you score, you get what’s in the right. Trust me, you want to score.” She looked at him skeptically but then concentrated on the puck. A minute later she took a swing and the puck didn’t even come close.

“Alright, what do I get?” she asked as Ryan skated over to her.

He took his left hand out from behind his back. Brianna’s annoyed expression turned to one of surprise as she saw the tiny box. She took it from his hand and hesitated before opening it. Then her face went from surprise to confusion.

“It’s empty,” she said to him.

“You missed,” he said simply. He turned and started to skate away.

“Hey, I can’t skate on my own, you bastard!” she yelled at him.

“If you can skate over here on your own, you can have what’s in this hand,” Ryan said, holding up his right fist.

“You’re on.” Brianna looked like she’d been skating for years as she made her way to him. Ryan opened his hand and slipped the ring onto Brianna’s finger.

“I can’t believe that after only a few months I’m doing this, but I guess that goes to show the kind of effect you have on me. I love you, and I want nothing more than to have you be a part of the rest of my life. Will you marry me?” he asked.

“Only if you promise to get me off the ice and out of these skates,” she responded. He laughed and pulled her to him, capturing her lips in a kiss. The video ended with them walking down the runway, hand in hand.

I looked over at Brianna with a giant grin on my face. It was perfect for them. They were both the biggest smart asses I’d ever met. A big romantic gesture just didn’t suit their relationship. I pulled her into another hug, congratulating her again.

“Did you know someone was filming you?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No idea. Ryan said he needed proof that I’d said yes when I came to my senses and tried to leave him.” We both laughed and I looked down at her ring again. I began to get a bit giddy. I loved weddings.