I roll my eyes at his serious tone. “Let’s go, Mr. Zotov.”
~ ~ ~
I slap the screeching alarm and groan. My body is deliciously sore from Luca’s tongue, fingers, and dick. I stretch my arms over my head. I look over to Luca’s side of the bed and he isn’t there. He never is. I can hear the faint sounds of the treadmill running from the down the hall. Every morning, he’s up at six and hits the workout room. You’ll never catch me in there, unless my jeans are tight. I hate exercise. Then again, I live on lattes and potato chips. I roll out of the bed and jump into the shower.
Once I’m ready for my day, I head down the stairs to the kitchen. On the breakfast bar is my latte. I love that every morning my bugs bunny cup is sitting there waiting for me with a Luca-made latte.
“Baby, I’m going to be working out with the guys after practice.” Luca comes up behind me and kisses the top of my head.
“That’s fine and I may be late. I need to help edit some film for the feature next week.”
“Okay. See you later tonight.” Luca grabs his keys, gives me a quick kiss, and heads out the door. I check the clock and realize I need to go, too.
I’ve been working for KPSN for almost six years. When Luca was traded from Portland to Nebraska, I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to get used to the flat land and the extreme heat, but somehow I did. I started at the bottom at KPSN, but eventually I landed my dream job of sports producer. I love every moment of it. I don’t think I could wish for a better career. Not only do I get to be around some of the greatest athletes in the world, but I also get to travel, especially to the big games.
“Hadley, we need to figure out what we are doing for the playoffs.” Amy comes bounding around the corner into my office.
“Basketball or hockey?” I look up from my schedule.
“I’ve nailed down the basketball already and we’ve got the crew ready, but…” she trails off.
“But what?” I stare at her. Amy has been my assistant for about a year and she’s still scared of me. I can see it in her eyes.
“Are we sure the Bucks will make it to the playoffs?” she whispers.
“Luca told me that they are,” I say proudly. “But, just in case keep the soccer films on standby.” I hate to admit that they might not make it. The team hasn’t been playing their best and Blacksmiths are neck and neck with them. It’ll go to the wire for a playoff spot.
“Um...one more thing.” Amy shuts the door and steps closer to my desk. “Are you wearing an engagement ring?”
“Oh.” I smile and hold my hand out. “Luca asked me last night.”
“Wow, that’s the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen.”
“I know. Luca doesn’t do small.” I laugh.
“Have you set a date?”
“Good grief, no. I’m sure that it will have to be in the off-season and we'll have to check Luca’s workout schedule before a date is set. Plus, we’ve been together for ten years. We aren’t rushing into it.”
Amy nods. “Congrats.” She turns on her heels and leaves.
I look at the pictures on my bookshelf of Luca and me. They are of all of our travels. England, South Africa, Australia, Fiji, there aren’t too many places that we’ve not been. The off-season is when we spend the most time together and we love to explore.
Now we get to continue to do it as husband and wife.
Chapter Two
Luca
A bunch of my teammates and I are lifting weights after practice. I’m halfway through a set when James, a winger, glances over at me.
“You had your anniversary dinner last night, right? How’d that go?” James is one of the guys I’m closer with, but it surprises me that he remembered. I do good to remember the names of their family members, but then I’m terrible at that kind of thing, sometimes.
“Good,” I reply. “I proposed and she said yes, so we’ll get married some time.”
A few heads turn my way at this. Darryl, another defenseman, says, “She’s not pregnant, is she?”
I laugh. “No. No kids for us, now or later. I’ve been with her ten years.” I shrug as if that’s explanation enough. She’s my girl and I love her. It was time to make the next step, one that doesn’t include kids. I’ve always been thankful that she’s been on the same page as me on that.