Juicy Rebound (IceCats Book 1) Read online
“You asked Ryan?” I ask around the sob in my throat.
“I did because I couldn’t ask your dad.”
And I’m crying. I cover my mouth as the sob bubbles in my throat. “Oh, Chandler.”
He takes my hand, kissing my palm and then my finger where he wants to put the ring. “Will you marry me, Amelia Grace Justice?”
“I love you with my whole heart.”
He grins. “I love you more.”
I wipe away my tear, and then I nod. “Yes.”
The room erupts as he slides the ring down my finger, and then he stands, wrapping his arms around my hips to lift me. Our lips meet, and everything else just fades away. I hold his face as we kiss, my heart pounding against his.
When I pull back, his eyes are watery as he grins at me. “Soon they’ll be announcing Mr. and Mrs. Chandler Eugene Moon.”
When I cringe, he laughs. “Can we drop the Eugene?”
“Totally.”
Epilogue
Amelia
I stand by the window with Sadie doing the same while we wait for Chandler to get home. He’s been gone for six days on a great four-game winning streak. I tap my foot as I spin my amazing engagement ring around my finger.
I’m freaking the fuck out.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I wait. I lift my phone, calling Chandler. “Where are you?” I ask when he answers.
He laughs. “About ten minutes away.”
Ugh. I hang up and continue to tap my foot. Sadie whines, and I nod. “I hear you, girl. I’m ready for him to come home too.”
It’s been a month since Ryan and Sofia’s wedding. A week after we came back to South Carolina, I moved in. My grandma was a little upset with me, but now that she has renters, I don’t think she cares. I sure don’t. I absolutely love living with Chandler. While he can’t cook or clean, and it still freaks me out when his mom comes to help out, I love living with him. I fall for him more and more each day. It’s just so easy. He makes it so easy.
We’ve fallen into a wonderful rhythm. I go to the gym Monday through Saturday to coach, and when there is downtime, I’m with him. He has a lot of away games this month, but that doesn’t mean he won’t sit on FaceTime when he’s free and watch me coach. The girls at the gym call him Moony. It’s sweet and gives me butterflies. When he is in town and I’m at the gym, he’ll come and hang. Everyone loves him, and it’s so nice.
I’ve somehow found myself at every home game for the IceCats. I have a seat that is all mine and a jersey that I must wear with my man’s number twenty-three on the back. I absolutely love hockey again. I have so much fun, and last week, the Assassins came into town to play the IceCats. So Sofia flew out and met Ryan here. We had a blast. We hung out on the beach, we played cards, and it was perfect. Apparently, my mom is pressuring them to have kids, but Sofia isn’t ready. Ryan is, but he’s always been really good about going at Sofia’s pace. Meanwhile, Mom is pressuring Chandler and me to have a wedding, but we’re just fine the way we are. We’re happy.
With my aunt and uncle, everything is going the way I always wanted it to. I talk to them again just as much as I talk to my mom. Chandler and I are supposed to go home in May for Posey’s graduation, and I can’t wait. I miss my family. It’s funny how everything has completely changed. Or is changing. For the best, I hope. I feel like my life is on fast-forward. Or maybe I’m just really freaking out.
When my phone rings, I jump at Shelli’s ringtone. Her voice fills the line as soon as I answer, “You’ll never guess where I am going!”
I really don’t have time for this. I need to see Chandler. “I can’t even guess.”
“Oh, I know, and I’m going to tell you.”
“Now?”
“Now!” she gushes. “I am going to a party at Aiden Brooks’s penthouse!”
“Now?”
“Now!” she squeals, and my face breaks into a grin.
“We sound like idiots,” I observe, but she’s too busy squealing.
“I don’t care! Oh my God, what if he falls for me?”
“I think he has to talk to you first.”
“What if we kiss?”
“Remember to talk to him first.”
“Ugh. You’re ruining this for me.”
When the line goes dead, I shrug. I’ll call her tomorrow and make sure she made good life choices. Knowing her, though, she probably won’t. She’ll probably throw up on him when she tries to talk to him. I kind of wish I could be there. But then I remember that I am freaking out.
“Damn it, where is your dad?” I yell, and Sadie barks happily.
I swear I’m going to bite a hole in my lip if I have to wait any longer. When Nico pulls up, I cry out in relief. Chandler gets out of the car, and I open the door for him. When he sees me, he’s grinning. This is probably my favorite part of loving him, the way he looks at me after a long road trip. Or hell, anytime. When he looks at me, I know he wants me, he loves me, and it feels so unbelievable.
“I love when you can’t wait to get me naked,” he says as he climbs the stairs.
I can’t speak. He comes through the door before kicking it shut with his foot. He then lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he holds my ass in his hands. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I whisper before our lips touch. He draws out the kiss before he pulls back, kissing my bottom lip.
“You look really good,” he says roughly as he rubs my ass. His brow perks, and my heart stops. “What’s that?”
“What?” I ask, even though I know what he is asking about.
He taps my back pocket. “That.”
“The pregnancy test I just took.”
He goes still as his eyes search mine. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Time stops. I swear. We just stare into each other’s eyes as he holds me. His breathing has picked up, and my heart is already well past out of control. He reaches into my back pocket and pulls out the test before lowering me to my feet. He looks at it, and I know he sees the plus sign. “It’s positive.”
“I know,” I say. Everything shifts into in overdrive. I don’t know what he is thinking or what he wants to do. I start to panic. “I don’t know what happened, and I know this isn’t planned. We only got engaged a month ago. I guess I must have fucked up on my birth—”
His lips stop my words. He brings his hands up, framing my face as he kisses me, his tongue searching my mouth. When he pulls back, his eyes are watery as he drops to his knees, taking my hips in his hands.
He looks up at me, and I smile as I cup his face. “Really?”
I’m breathless. “Really.”
He lifts my shirt and places a kiss to my stomach. “I am going to love you so damn much,” I hear him whisper, and my heart explodes in my chest, which is nothing new with him. He makes that happen on the daily.
I bite my lip as he looks up at me again. “I could lose it.”
He shakes his head. “No, don’t think that way.”
“I don’t want you to—”
“We’re good. We’re great, Amelia.”
“Are you sure?”
“More than sure,” he says, coming to his feet and wrapping his arms around my waist. “I want this. I want you. Us. A baby.”
“Really? This is so unexpected—”
“Amelia, I want this. I do. I really do.”
“I’m gonna be huge at our wedding.”
He grins, his eyes still swimming in tears. “Baby, you’ll be the most gorgeous bride ever.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh, Chandler, you wreck me.”
He chuckles. “Right back at you,” he says before pressing his nose to mine. “We are going to have it all.”
As I gaze into his eyes, I know he’s right. I feel like I have it all now. Only Chandler could do that. He is the one person I know who will never let me go. And I’ll never let him go. He was my juicy rebound, then my option two, and now, he’s my future.
“Thank yo