Charity (Black Mountain Academy) - Rochelle Paige Page 0,57

I whispered, “I love you so fucking much, baby.”

Her smile was brighter than it had ever been before as she answered, “Thank goodness, because I love you right back.”

The grumbling of someone behind us about how long we were taking stopped me from following my declaration of love up with a kiss. Emme worked her magic on the kiosk and got the cash deposited seconds before the guard called my name. Since Emme’s name wasn’t on the approved visitor’s list yet, she couldn’t see my dad with me. I got her settled in a seat closest to the guard’s station and brushed a kiss against her forehead. “I’ll be back soon, baby.”

“Take all the time you need,” she insisted, pulling her e-reader out of her purse. “I have plenty of books to keep me from getting bored.”

Leaving her behind, I followed the guard to the area where prisoners visited with their family. When I saw my dad sitting at the closest table, dressed in his prison uniform, my vision grew misty. He’d aged so much in here. I wanted to kick my own ass for taking so long to come see him.

“Corby, my boy. It’s so good to see you.” His blue eyes, so much like my own, scanned my tall form. “You’re all grown up now.”

I smiled and sat down. “I’d better be grown up because the woman I’m going to marry someday is sitting out in the lobby, waiting for me.”

“Tell me all about her,” he urged.

We spent my first visit to the prison with me sharing the story of how I fell in love with Emme.

19

Emmeline

Five weeks into our summer break, Corby’s big day to determine what was going to happen with his hockey career was here. We’d flown from Paris to Montreal a few days early to do some exploring before we needed to be at the arena. The excitement in the air was contagious, and I could almost ignore the crowds of people and media around us. Most of the reports that had come out in the past month had Corby listed as a probable first round draft pick.

At first, I’d been super confused by how it all worked since I’d thought college athletes weren’t supposed to play professional sports. But ice hockey must’ve been full of rebels because they had their own rules, and players could be drafted without actually signing a contract to play for the team that picked them. From what Corby had told me, he was going to play college hockey for at least a couple of seasons before he’d be ready to take the ice as a professional player. I didn’t fully get how it all worked, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to hear his name called early. The earlier the better because my butt was a little sore from sitting here so long.

Corby looked around the room and got out of his seat, pulling me to my feet with him. “Fuck it, I don’t want to do this after.”

“What are you doing? We can’t just leave. They could call your name any minute.” I tugged on his hands, trying to get him to sit back down before we drew too much attention. I couldn’t help but wonder if the wait had gotten to him. It felt as though it had taken forever to get through the first eight draft picks, and he’d grown increasingly antsy as time went by.

“I went to talk to your dad before we left, and he gave me this.” Corby pulled a jewelry box from his pocket, and I almost hyperventilated. “He said if I was going to propose, I needed to do it with your grandmother's engagement ring.”

“Oh, my gosh.” I pressed my fingers against my lips as tears spilled down my cheeks.

“I’m really glad he did because it means I can do this.” He went down on one knee and flipped the lid of the jewelry box open. I hadn’t seen the antique diamond ring my grandmother had worn in years, and knowing my father had given it to Corby made this moment even more special. “Emmeline Cushing, I know we’ve only known each other for ten months, but you’ve become the center of my world. Where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing might be up in the air right now, but I’m beyond certain of one thing—I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me.”

“Yes,” I cried, holding out my left hand so he could