Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three (41 page)

I smiled at him. The greatest pleasure was to love someone who needed you, but gave you so much as well. “You have. And I appreciate everything. I love you, Phil.”

“I’ve loved you for so long. Will you marry me?”

Everything spun for a moment. Marriage, already? But what else did we need? We’d known each other for so long, and right now things were perfect.

“Sure,” I replied.

Phil looked shocked. “Wow, that was easier than I thought.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box.

“You have a ring? Did you plan this whole thing?”

“I’ve been carrying it around for a while.” He put his arm around my shoulder. “You’re so adorable, and I wanted things to be perfect. But you had so much on with work, I didn’t want to ask when you were stressed out.”

“See, that’s why stress is bad for you. It wards off proposals.”

“I figured you were the last person in the world who would want a proposal.”

“I don’t want them from just anyone.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him.

He fumbled uncharacteristically with the box but finally pulled out the ring. It sparkled blue and white.

“It’s so different,” I said. He slipped it on my finger, and I held out my hand to look. The setting was very simple, and the ring had diamonds and a beautiful dark blue stone.

“It’s a sapphire,” he explained, lifting my hand in his palm. “I wanted something that was one of a kind. I worked with this jewellery designer and came up with a ring that looked like you.”

It did. The ring was beautiful, and it would go with jeans or even—a wedding gown. A wedding gown? That was a scary thought.

I swallowed. “I love it. But we’re not getting married for ages, right?”

Phil laughed. “Now this is the reaction I was expecting. Obviously we can’t get married until we actually have jobs in the same city. But somebody smart told me that an engagement ring kept guys from hitting on her. So I figured that I’d take that precaution before I left town.”

“Hey, what about you? You’re not wearing an engagement ring.” All Phil had was one of those engineering rings. “How do women know you’re taken?”

“Doesn’t seem fair, does it? All I have is this complete blindness to every other female on the planet.”

“You better. Or I’m making up t-shirts that say ‘Property of Kelly Tanaka.’” I wasn’t really worried. Phil and I had confidence in each other. We’d both dated enough to know that what we had was the real thing. He didn’t get jealous anymore, and I laughed off the girls who tried to hit on him.

We were sitting side-by-side on the ground, and Phil’s arm was wrapped around me. To be outside in the fresh air with a view of the serene lake was wonderful. I took a deep breath in.

“It’s beautiful. Everything today is beautiful.” Then something twigged. “Hey, isn’t this the place where you kissed me for the first time?”

Phil scowled at me. “What? All this time you didn’t even remember? It was eight years ago—almost to the day. I planned this whole thing.” He shook his head in disgust. “Sometimes I wonder if you even have a romantic bone in your body.”

I wormed my way in front of him and kissed him on the nose. “Only when we’re having sex.”

He thought for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. He smiled at me, his face relaxed and content. These days, he looked happy all the time.

“Of course, I remember kissing you. My very first kiss.” I punctuated that statement with a quick kiss on his lips. “Probably your billionth kiss.”

“Nope. My first kiss too.”

“Awww, that’s sweet.” I had assumed that Phil was more experienced from the beginning. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him for real. His lips were soft, and the pressure of his mouth was perfect. When he kissed me, I felt a little dizzy and a lot happy. Good thing too, because this was the guy I’d have to kiss for the rest of my life.

T
hanks for reading
! I hope you enjoyed the book. Please visit
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Recommending books you have enjoyed is how writers can flourish. If you liked the Hockey Is My Boyfriend series, I hope you will consider leaving an honest review wherever you find your book recommendations.

F
irst off
, I’d like to thank my lovely readers. Everyone who read Parts One and Two, then sent emails and compliments—you helped me to power through the long process of writing Part Three. I tried to make the best book I could, because you deserved that.

Secondly, I’d like to thank my writing friends who help me by reading, suggesting, and rolling their eyes when necessary. Kate Willoughby, for her humour and encouragement, as well as her terrible memory which makes every reading like the first time. Jaymee Jacobs, my partner in crime from the beginning, and a source of calm for me when I’m freaking out. Zoe York, who is my stealth marketing guru. I say stealth, because she doesn’t even know. I write down everything she advises in our writers chatroom and then do it. Please check out their books, all contemporary romance and many with hockey.

And thanks always to Daisy. She reads my drafts and reacts with laughter, tears and praise. That’s very motivating.

M
elanie Ting is
a maker of lethal margaritas, a wrangler of cats, and a fan of hockey. You can find her dodging raindrops in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, where most of her books are set.

You can also find me at:

• @MelTing21
  

H
ow the Cookie Crumbles

She’s champagne and cupcakes. He’s beer and burgers.

Frankie Taylor has a perfectly organized life—including a checklist for her ideal man. Just when she thinks her dream boyfriend is going to propose, he dumps her instead. Heartbroken, she impulsively flees across the country. She lands in a small town where her only romantic prospect is unshaven, unsophisticated, and definitely not her type.

Jake Cookson likes living large. After the grind of playing hockey eight months of the year, he wants to party in the off-season. And while he doesn’t do commitment, he’s more than willing to have a summer fling with the curvy brunette who’s new in town. To his surprise, she’s unimpressed by his NHL fame, money, and athletic prowess.

Can Frankie throw away her plans for the future and appreciate what’s in front of her now? And can Jake even pronounce the word relationship?