Charity (Black Mountain Academy) - Rochelle Paige Page 0,58
slide the ring onto my trembling finger.
A smattering of applause sounded from the players and families sitting closest to us who realized what was happening. When the noise grew louder, and I heard his name echo around the room, what we’d missed while we’d been busy getting engaged finally dawned on me. “Corby, you’ve been drafted.”
He turned to look at the giant screen, and his eyes went wide. “Fuck me, I have.”
‘Go,” I urged, pushing him toward the stage.
“Not without you,” he insisted, lacing his fingers through mine and leading me up there with him.
Everything happened in a whirlwind from there. We posed for pictures with team jerseys, Corby talked to representatives from the Chicago Cavaliers—the team who’d drafted him—and then sat for a bunch of media interviews. My favorite moment was when one of the journalists asked him if he was happy how the day went, and he answered, “I got drafted and engaged within about a minute of each other. It’s the best damn day of my life.”
His response garnered a lot of attention, and everyone wanted to know more about the eighteen-year-old hockey phenom who’d proposed to his girlfriend. When they found out he’d been in foster care, their interest increased. I had a feeling our photo would be splashed all over the place the following morning. Corby’s success in hockey and love made an excellent special interest story.
By the time we made it back to our hotel room, all I wanted to do was cuddle with Corby in bed and stare at the gorgeous platinum filigree ring with a sparkling diamond in the center that my grandmother had worn for forty years. “I can’t believe we’re really engaged. Pinch me to prove I’m not dreaming.”
“I can pinch you”—Corby’s palm slid up my thigh—“but you might still feel as though you’re dreaming because of how good I’ll make it feel.”
“I like the sound of that.” We’d been together long enough that I knew exactly where this was headed, but I had something important I wanted to discuss with him first. I reluctantly wrapped my fingers around his wrist to stop the progress of his hand. “But first, we need to talk.”
“Shit,” he groaned, rolling on his back and pulling me against his chest. “Those four words are dangerous coming from a woman’s mouth. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, they’re awesome.” I tilted my head back to meet his gaze. “And I think what I need to tell you will make this day even better.”
He combed his fingers through my hair. “I’m not sure it’s possible to top me getting drafted into the NHL and you accepting my proposal, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.”
“I applied to the same college as you and got in. I want to tell them I’ll be enrolling as a student there in the fall,” I blurted out.
His body stiffened as his arms tightened around me. The thundering of his heart in his chest grew louder, and I was starting to worry about how he was going to react when he whispered, “You really want to go to the same school as me?”
“I do.” Even though we were in the middle of an important conversation, I mentally squeed a little because those two words held new meaning for me now that we were engaged.
“If it’s the long-distance thing, you don’t need to worry,” he reassured me. “Our relationship is rock solid. We can handle it.”
“I know we can, but I’ve been thinking about this ever since our first trip together last year. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I felt comfortable there. As though I’d fit in perfectly with or without you there.” I rubbed my cheek against his chest. “And now that I know you’ll be playing in college before going pro, the decision feels even more right.”
He stroked his hand up my spine and sighed. “What about Yale?”
I loved how he didn’t react the way most guys would by pushing me to make the decision easiest for them. He loved me so much that he was totally okay with spending the next four years on different campuses if that was what I thought was best for me. “I let them know in advance that my attendance depended on what happened when my very serious boyfriend was drafted into the NHL. Normally, they’d want to trash talk me to every college in the country for backing out after accepting their early action admission, but the millions upon millions of dollars