But there she was.
Standing among a crowd of our peers from graduation day. All the people who had rallied around me in my days of lacrosse. While not as big as football, we enjoyed a status of our own. Slight outlaws with our contact sport that was even more rough and tumble than the town’s beloved football.
Ally hadn’t really been in that scene. She’d always been on the fringes thanks to her mother’s health.
And if I wasn’t such an asshole I would have realized that before I got so excited about the reunion. But here they were, all behind her hooting and hollering like we were at a champion game.
She moved to the side ramp where the docks were.
I rode the waves I was making with the motor on my speedboat. I rarely took it off my dock preferring to drive most of the time. Not to mention the small nightmares that my little girl would go flying off the back and be lost in the lake. So, yeah—not so much of a boat guy these days. But right now? Right now all I wanted was to get her alone.
I wanted to tell her everything that was bursting out of my chest.
It started with the silly hearts I’d shot off into the sky. I needed to get her attention. She couldn’t deny that I was making a statement now. She couldn’t hide behind the little lies we told herself anymore.
I fishtailed on a wave and bumped over the wake I made in my haste to get to her.
I finally made myself throttle down the engine so I didn’t come in too hot. I didn’t want to hurt the one person on this earth who had been created for me. The one person I’d been desperate to lock down only to do the exact opposite in every way.
The last sparks of the waterfall fireworks lit her beautiful face and the smile splitting her face. She dropped her trusty knapsack by her feet and folded her arms as I slowly puttered to the dock.
Brad and JT were hooting behind her as well as a few catcalls from other members of my team.
The front of my boat bumped into the mooring as I tossed a rope up to tie me off before I drifted back out to the cove. She rested her sneakered foot against the sloping bow and tipped her head. “Had to make a spectacle?”
I widened my stance against the wild rocking from the waves. “Yep.”
“Don’t you do anything small, Hamilton?”
“Nope.” I leaned forward. “I’ve got a secret.”
“Is that right?” Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile.
“Yeah. It’s kinda a big one. Though maybe not such a big secret now.” My stomach pitched in time with the waves banging my little boat against the moorings.
She pushed her chocolate and caramel hair out of her eyes as it whipped around her shoulders. “I’m listening.”
I looked behind her for a second. No one was dispersing. At all. Everyone was leaning in to see what I had to say. I took a deep breath. I valued my privacy, but this was important. “I love you, Alison. In a big, stupid, crazy way. So much that I can’t even put it into words.”
Her dark eyes widened and her hands fell to her side. “What?”
“You had to know.”
Her hand flew up to her mouth as a smile broke between her fingers.
I glanced behind her and growled when I spotted JT with his hands over his heart.
She waved her hand to the idiots catcalling behind her. “Never mind them. I’m not sure I heard that.”
I pulled out of slip that was too far away from her and moved myself closer to her. “I love you. I wanna marry you.”
“Marry me?”
I gripped the throttle and spun around until the boat was sideways at the end of the slip. I held my hand out out to her. “Yeah you. This is the marrying kind of love. Being the mother of my kid kind of love. The one I already have,” I quickly corrected at her crestfallen face. “I want to build a life with you and a family. I want forever, Ally Cat.”
She blinked madly and looked down at me, her hands fisted at her sides.
“Please take a chance on me, Al.”