The Game by Vi Keeland by Vi Keeland

“I can’t believe you’ve uprooted your entire life like this.”

“You gotta uproot if you want to plant your roots somewhere new.” He leaned closer. “I want to plant roots with you, Bella. It doesn’t matter where, just needs to be a place you’re happy.”

“I finally know where that is.” I sniffled. “The place I can be happy.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere you are.”





CHAPTER 32




* * *



CHRISTIAN



“You’re being creepy, Knox.”

I smiled and brushed a lock of hair from her face. “How did you know I was watching you sleep when your eyes haven’t opened yet?”

“I felt it.”

I took her hand and slid it between my legs. “Why don’t you feel this, instead?”

Bella giggled, and the sound warmed the inside of my chest. After a rough two weeks, the dark clouds hanging over us had finally started to lift. Once we’d returned from Vermont, Bella had some pretty big decisions to make. Not surprisingly, she’d handled them all with grace. She’d decided to take the information we’d found to the police so they could reopen the investigation into her mother’s death. It took them less than one week to connect the dots and determine that the driver who’d killed Rose Keating had been John Barrett. We’d known the car had been involved, but the police had finished the job.

Since the stadium gave out all-access passes to guests in the owner’s suite, everyone had to register with security. Bella was able to get the list of guests from the night her mother died from security without the police even having to waste time on a warrant. They then interviewed everyone who had been in the owner’s suite on the evening of Rose’s death. Since it had been a game against the Bruins’ main rival, and some of the guests had watched from the luxury box for their first time ever, many had a strong recollection of the night. Seven people confirmed that John Barrett had been drinking heavily, and he’d offered one of them a ride home in his antique car. The man had declined, knowing John was inebriated. After that, the police tracked down the guy who had maintained John’s cars, and he confirmed that John had told him he hit a deer and needed some work done.

Bella had filled Tiffany and Rebecca in on what had happened, wanting to give them the courtesy of a heads-up in case the news got wind of the police poking around. Of course, they didn’t believe her. But Tiffany told the new guy she was dating about what Bella had said, and he promptly sold the story to the tabloids. Everything blew up from there.

Bella tucked her hands under her cheek, and we laid on our sides, facing each other in bed. “I think I’ve made a decision about what I’m going to do with the team.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “I’m going to create a charity in my mother’s name and start donating all profits from the team to it. I don’t want to keep anything that was John Barrett’s, but others could really use the money.”

I smiled. “I think that’s a great idea. What about running it? Will you stay on as the team co-president?”

Bella shook her head. “I looked at the hierarchy of a few other teams, and many have the CEO holding both the CEO and president’s positions. I think Tom Lauren can continue to handle both. And I’m going to ask my grandfather if he’ll serve as an advisor to the president and also sit on the board of the charity I’ll establish.”

I loved that she was no longer hesitating to call Marvin Barrett her grandfather. If one good thing had come out of this mess, it was bringing the two of them together. Well, that and leading me to find the love of my life.

I nodded. “That all sounds like a solid plan. Though there are two other important decisions you should probably consider.”

“Oh? What am I missing?”

I took her hand and brought it to my lips. “Move in with me? Stay here until it’s time to relocate to Vermont, and then let’s shop for a house together—somewhere with a big fireplace and a lot of land for our kids to run around on someday.”

“You want me to live with you?”

I smiled. “I want you to be my wife, but I thought it might be a little soon for me to ask that. So I’m taking baby steps. Move in with me.”

“But I just signed that lease for the other place.”

“I’ll buy it out, if they won’t let you out. Waking up with you is the best part of my day, and I want you to be the last thing I taste when I go to bed at night.”

She rested her hand over her heart. “Oh my. How can I say no when you ask like that?”

My heart sped up. “So that’s a yes?”

She nodded. “It’s a yes.”

Leaning in, I cupped her face and kissed her with everything in me. When we finally came up for air, her cheeks were flushed. I went in for round two, but Bella stopped me. She nudged my chest.

“Wait. What’s the other thing?”

“Huh?” All the blood in my brain had rushed south. I had no idea what she was referring to.

She laughed. “You said I had two important decisions to make.”

“Oh, right.” I grinned. “How do you want it this morning? All fours, spoon fuck, bent over the headboard, sixty-nine? Or maybe ride my face or my cock?”