Dirty Player(51)

The sound from beneath the podium became so loud that I fought the urge to cover my ears, but my grin spread so wide I thought my cheeks would burst.

Oliver tugged me forward with him to accept the trophy, not dropping his hand from mine until he had the MVP trophy in his hands and raised it above his head.

“Thank you,” he said into the microphone, smiling down at his parents, who had made it into the front row. After his dad’s heart attack at the first game of the season, they’d gone home and he’d had surgery. Then he’d sold his farm, but it took him so long to recover from surgery and then finish the sale that they hadn’t been able to make it to many games during the year. Tears dripped down both his parents’ cheeks when Oliver smiled at them and began thanking the crowd for the honor, thanking his coach and his team. I barely heard it over the noise, despite him being next to me.

“Now, I’d like to thank the most important woman in my life.” He turned to me then and my jaw dropped. Next to him, I saw Beaux pull something out of his pocket and slide it into Oliver’s outstretched and waiting hand.

My brow furrowed when Oliver set the trophy he’d been holding on the podium and grinned out at the crowd.

“Earlier this year, I had one thing on my mind: this game. I wanted to win and wanted to make it to the Super Bowl more than anything else. But then, this beautiful woman standing next to me walked into my life and my entire game plan changed.”

My hands went to my mouth when I saw what Beaux had placed in his hand. A box. A black box. A small, tiny, black velvet ring box.

I shook my head frantically and tears began falling down my cheeks.

“You’re not doing this,” I said, glancing at the crowd behind us and in front of us. He couldn’t be doing this. Not in front of television cameras and millions of viewers.

“Oh, I’m doing this,” he said, pulling back from the microphone so only I could hear him. He turned back toward the cameras, and I was almost blinded by the constant flashing. “Shannon Hale, I love you and I want everyone in America to know it. Make me the happiest man in the world, knowing that on the day I finally won the ring I’ve been wanting my entire life, that you also agree to this ring for the rest of yours. Say yes, and have this day go down in history as being absolutely, one hundred percent, the best day I could ever have in my entire life.”

“You’re insane,” I whispered, not realizing my voice carried to the microphone.

“Say yes!” someone cried out from beneath the podium. The entire New Orleans stadium began shaking while I swore, and every person in attendance chanted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Oliver leaned toward the microphone and smirked. “They’re waiting for your answer, honey.” He opened the box, and I saw the ring that sat inside. It was gorgeous, a huge emerald-cut diamond that had to have cost more than his Audi sports car.

My entire body trembled from the shock, the rush of the day, and the way the podium seemed to shake.

“Yes,” I finally managed to choke out. I nodded repeatedly and stepped toward him until he draped an arm at my lower back, pulling me flush against him. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

“You hear that?” he called into the microphone. “Now it’s the best day of my life.”

He slid the ring onto my ring finger and bent down, enveloping me in his arms, and kissed me while the thousands of people in attendance roared their approval.



THANK YOU


Eeeek! Dirty Player was so much fun to write. I hope you’ve enjoyed delving into the dirty mind of Oliver Powell just as much as I did.

Thank you first, to all of my early readers of this book. Kathryn, Lisa, Laura, Kelly, Brittainy, and Tonya...I absolutely love all of you and your input. Thanks for helping me tighten this up and make it even better than the original version I sent you.

Special thanks to my “team” that takes my manuscript and makes it into an actual book…Amy, Emily, Summer, Shannon…from cover design and editing to proofreading and formatting, any success I have with a book is largely due to all of your hard work, too, so thank you all so much for working with me, for putting up with my craziness, and my last minute ideas or schedule changes.

To all my author buddies and FTN…F*ck It. You all rock. Here’s me flashing you the middle finger.

To all the readers and bloggers who read my stories and leave reviews or send me emails and private messages, thank you for not only taking the time to read my books, but to go the extra step and contact me directly or leave a review. They all mean everything to me.

To Christy and Kelly, just because I love you. I am so thrilled to have met both of you this year and forming friendships I know will last forever.

And finally to my family…you may not always understand my special brand of crazy, but you manage to put up with it. You’re the best and I love you all to pieces.