Forever With Me(61)
“We have connections,” Jules says to Meredith. “It doesn’t suck.”
“Not in the least,” Meredith agrees.
“It looks like the Sox are almost done with practice,” Matt says and pulls Nic to her feet. “Come on, we’ll go get a ball signed.”
“Rhys O’Shaughnessy is playing,” Nic says, and claps her hands excitedly. “He’s my favorite.”
Matt leads her away, and everyone springs into action, pulling out their phones to capture photos.
“I’m getting Will and Meg on FaceTime right now,” Jules says, and then grins when their faces appear on her screen. “Hi guys! He just took her down to the field.”
“Jules, turn the camera. I want to see my brother get engaged, not your face.”
Jules sticks her tongue out at her brother, then turns the camera around so Will and Meg can watch.
“He got her favorite player in on this?” I ask excitedly.
“He did,” Dom confirms, gripping onto my hand, as if he’s as nervous as his older brother.
“Rhys is running over with a ball!” Natalie says.
Nic is all smiles as the tall, handsome player hands her a ball, kisses her cheek, and shakes Matt’s hand.
“I wish we could hear what they’re saying,” Jules grumbles.
“He wanted it this way,” Caleb says softly.
Rhys points to the ball in Nic’s hand, and she looks down at it, then her jaw drops as Matt lowers himself to one knee and takes her hand in his.
“Is it just me, or is this cheesy as fuck?” Mark asks.
“Shut up, it’s not cheesy. It’s brilliant.” Brynna smacks Mark’s arm, shutting him up.
We can’t hear what’s happening, but suddenly, Nic is nodding furiously, and Matt puts a ring on her finger, then stands and lifts her off her feet, hugging her tight, whispering in her ear.
Rhys and his teammates applaud and begin to circle around them to congratulate the happy couple.
“Fuck that! I want to hug them now too!” Jules, careful not to lower her phone, jumps up and leads us all down onto the field. Stacy, Brynna and Meredith jump the wall, garnering the attention of security, but Dom holds up a hand.
“That’s their brother. They’re just anxious to congratulate him.”
“No more jumping down,” the tall security man says sternly, then his jaw drops when he sees Leo. “Is that Leo Nash?”
I immediately walk to the man and speak quickly, in my no-nonsense voice. “This is a family outing. Not a photo op. I hope you’ll remain discreet, please.”
“Of course.” He nods and walks away, minding his own business.
When I turn to rejoin the others, Nic and Matt are surrounded by family and players, but Dom is waiting for me with a sober face.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “Not a damn thing.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the others.
“He wrote Will You Marry Me on a baseball!” Nic exclaims and shows everyone.
“Aww, and had your favorite player give it to you,” Stacy says dreamily.
“I’m your favorite player?” Rhys asks, as if he didn’t already know.
“Maybe,” Nic says, and then laughs. “Yeah, you definitely are.”
“Is it my undeniable good looks?” he asks.
“No, it’s your batting record. Seriously, you have the most hits this year in all of the MLB, and watching you hit is like watching a dance. You’re damn good.”
Rhys cocks his head to the side and watches Nic more seriously. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry to break this up, guys,” the security guard says, “but I need you to take your seats. We’ll be starting soon.”
“Okay, that was cool,” Mark concedes as we go to find our seats.
“I want nachos,” Brynna announces. “And a hot dog.”
“Pizza!” Stacy agrees.
“We’re going out for dinner after this,” Nate reminds the girls.
“We’re at a baseball game,” I say, as if it makes perfect sense.
Because it does.
“We need Cracker Jacks too,” Sam says. “And cotton candy.”
“And a dentist,” Luke says with a cringe.
“Beer.” I add.
“The beer here is warm,” Dominic says.
“I don’t care. I’m at a game. I need beer and peanuts.”
“Wait!” Meredith stands, looking about. “Where are Matt and Nic?”
We all turn and search the area, and suddenly Caleb points back down to the field. Matt and Nic are coming out of the White Sox dugout, headed for the field.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins. “Throwing out the first pitch today is a young woman who just got engaged on our field! Give a big Seattle welcome to Nic Dalton!”