Scoring One Night (Blue Ridge Mountain Hockey #4)

Aspen

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I wiped his hands on a nearby towel and made my way to the entrance. My breath caught in my throat the moment I opened the door. Melanie stood there, her raven hair cascading around her shoulders and those piercing gray eyes meeting my mine.

It had been only three months since we both quit our jobs and decided to be together, but it still felt new and fresh with her.

"Something smells delicious." Her voice still sent shivers down my spine.

"Melanie, I gave you a key for a reason. There's no need to knock at my front door," I replied, my heart swelling as I watched her cheeks turn pink.

"I know, but it still feels weird. This isn't my home," Melanie commented, her nose twitching appreciatively at the aroma as she stepped inside.

"We should do something about that," I mumbled as her brow wrinkled. "I mean, you're just in time for burgers."

"Of course." She chuckled, shaking her head.

She knew that was all I could cook. I had thought I would have more time the past few months since I wasn’t with the Devils anymore, but it turned out that working for the Rural Business Development organization was harder than I expected.

I waved her over to the table and served dinner.

"Remember when we first shared fries together?" I smiled at the memory.

"Of course! How could I forget? In a way, I'm thankful it happened," Melanie responded, her smile fading. She took another bite of her burger, savoring the perfectly cooked meat and expertly seasoned flavors.

"Thankful you broke up with me?" I tilted my head in confusion. "That night was rough on me."

She leaned over, placing her hand on mine. It was warm and made me thankful that she was in my life.

"I'm sorry," she conceded, her frown deepening. "I don't mean I'm thankful that I hurt you. I meant, if that hadn't happened, would we be where we are today? Would I have just opened my physical therapy practice and you quit the team to help the community? Or being able to openly be together in public and at work?"

Melanie was right. It took a difficult time, what felt like the worst night of my life, to find happiness.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" I turned her hand over in mine, loving the softness of her fingers.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Just this morning."

"I mean it."

"I know, . I love you, too."

I watched Melanie's eyes light up with each bite she took, her love for fries evident, even in the subtlest of expressions.

"Do you love me or my fries more?"

"Uh, that's tough." Her eyes sparkled. "Don't make me choose."

We both laughed and kept eating. I had to admit, I may not be able to cook much, but what I could cook was amazing.

These fries were spectacular.

"I ran into Liam today when I was hanging out with Sophia, surprisingly."

"He was with Sophia?" I wiped my mouth. "Maybe he's renting a limo."

Melanie nodded. "That's what Sophia told me. I think he's celebrating being on the International Games team."

I shrugged. "Have you noticed his reaction to being included on the International Games team? I thought he'd be ecstatic, but when I talked to him about it, he became irritated, like it was the last thing he wanted to discuss."

Melanie's laughter faded, replaced by a look of concern. She put down her burger, her piercing gray eyes locked onto mine. "Now that you mention it, I did noticed Liam acting a bit off when I was with Sophia. Maybe he's just feeling overwhelmed about the competition?"

"Could be," I admitted, taking a thoughtful sip of beer. I knew all too well the pressures of being on a high-stakes team, but it had to be worse when representing your country. "It's not easy being in the spotlight like that. The expectations can be suffocating."

Melanie nodded, her empathy shining through. That's one of the many things I loved about her. I stared at her for a moment as she kept nibbling on the fries. She had a glob of ketchup on the corner of her mouth, and I couldn't remember her looking more beautiful than she did right now.

There was a reason I made her dinner tonight, but she didn’t know that reason.

She was about to find out.

"Hey, give me a second, will you?" I asked, hoping my voice didn’t betray my nervous excitement. "I've got something important to show you."

"Sure." Melanie smiled brightly up at me.

God, I loved her.

I got up and excused myself from the table, then disappeared into my bedroom, my heart racing with fear. Even when my first day as a Devils player wasn’t as scary as this moment.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself, knowing that whatever happened next, I would always love her.

I re-entered the dining room, holding a small velvet box in my shaking hand. She turned in her seat and when she saw me, her ketchup-stained lips fell open.

"I know this might seem a little sudden, but I've been thinking about this moment for a while now," I said as I lowered myself onto my knee in front of her.

"About what?" she asked, then winced, unable to take her eyes off the velvet box. "That was a dumb question. Ignore it. Uh, go on."

"Melanie…" I smiled, taking a deep breath. My voice trembled with emotion as I continued, "Since the day took a very drunk car ride home, you've brought nothing but happiness and adventure into my life. You're the most incredible person I've ever known. You bring me happiness, and I want to do better, be better, because of you. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"," Melanie whispered.

With trembling hands, I opened the velvet box to reveal a single round diamond set in the center of a golden band. engagement ring.

"Melanie Greene, will you marry me?" My voice cracked as I asked the question.

It was the hardest question to ask, but the easiest idea I ever came up with. Wanting to spend the rest of my life with Melanie felt like an effortless decision. I would be a fool to question it.

But did she feel the same? That scared me so much.

Her eyes widened in surprise as tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand. Was it too soon? Should I have waited to ask her?

She looked into my eyes as a lone tear fell down her cheek and nodded.

I had never been so happy to see someone nod their head at me.

"Y-yes!" Melanie finally managed to choke out.

I was so happy that I jumped to my feet and threw my arms in the air. "Yes! She said yes!"

The ring box flew out of my hand, tumbling across the room.

"The ring!" Melanie stood, her eyes wide.

I glanced around. Damnit, I hadn't even been engaged for a minute before screwing up.

"I'll find it," I said and turned to scan the room, determined to not let her regret saying yes.

"No, we'll find it. Together." Melanie reached for my hand with a smile.

I was the luckiest man in the world to have her as my future wife. We both scoured the room, moving aside tables and chairs. At one point we removed all the cushions from the couch.

"Where did it go?" I scratched my head, worrying that maybe it was a sign.

"Don't worry, we'll find it. It's not like it grew legs and left the room."

I couldn't believe she wasn’t angry with me. I acted like an over-excited child and lost something I had just promised to her, and she was the calm one. She was the reasonable one.

If I had any doubts before asking her to marry me, they had evaporated in that moment.

"Found it." She held up the ring with a grin.

"You better put it on before I screw up again."

Her lips twisted at the corner, causing the now dried ketchup to crack. "I trust you." She held out her hand and I reluctantly, but very carefully, plucked it from her palm.

My hands shook as I eased the ring on her finger. "I am so thankful we had a drunken screw back in May."

"Me, too," Melanie agreed, sealing our vows with a tender yet passionate kiss that sent warmth coursing through me.

Hand in hand, Melanie led me to the bedroom. I was excited until she stopped. "I forgot something."

She darted back to the dining room and a moment later, reappeared with a plate of fries in her hand.

"I thought we'd introduce a little food-play in the bedroom." She wiggled her brows playfully.

Everything Melanie did just made me love her more and more.