Now Or Never by Stella Rhys

42

HOLLAND

Eighteen Months Later

As I zippedmy coat at my desk, I looked out the window at the flurry of snow falling over Fifth Avenue.

Perfect conditions for what we had coming up.

Of course, I had several orders of business before I could think about any of that.

Pop into happy hour. Drop off gift. Pick up dinner. Go home. Pack.

So wrapping my scarf around my face, I grabbed my things and rushed out to the sidewalks dusted in snow and patterned with footprints of all the last-minute activity before the holidays.

It was pretty damned cold, but thankfully, I only had to walk around the block to get to my team’s favorite happy hour.

“Hey! There she is!”

Several of my coworkers said it in unison as I swung open the front door of the spot we’d begun frequenting about six months ago. The place was a cozy sports bar with forty beers on tap, the best wings in Flatiron, and most importantly, my favorite bartender in the world.

“You bitch! We said no gifts!” Mia gasped when I skipped up to the bar with not only a big grin but a big, gift-wrapped box in my hands.

My team and I laughed at her reaction as she saw the Minx logo on the ribbon, and I said hello to everyone really quickly before returning my attention to a very indignant but excited Mia.

“Judging from the weight of this box, you’ve given me a lifetime supply of lingerie,” she said, still trying to sound angry with me despite the fact that we both knew she was psyched. I shrugged and smiled.

“Just a thank you for all the times you’ve dolled me up,” I said, beaming till she relented and hugged me.

“Ugh, roomie memories,” she pouted, kissing my cheek and squeezing me tight before she suddenly gasped. “Oh! Speaking of dolling up—let me see your nails,” she said excitedly, giving a long “yasss” of approval as I flashed her the manicure she’d insisted I get during my me time yesterday. “I mean isn’t that color just life-changing?” she asked, referring to a shade of pale pink nail polish that she had bought on a whim at Sephora or something, that she was apparently so obsessed with that she insisted I try it before leaving for my trip.

“Umm,” I laughed, wiggling my fingers as I admired my manicure. “Gorgeous? Definitely. Life-changing? Not so sure.”

“Mmm. Well, I think you’ll change your mind about that,” Mia said vaguely before returning to the bar. “So, what are you drinking, love?” she asked me.

“Oh, nothing, I have to go. I haven’t even packed yet,” I said, prompting my entire tipsy team to protest and boo me.

“What!”

“You can’t leave! We made them turn the channel to ESPN for you!”

I laughed as I looked up at the screen of some sports show still talking about the new record-breaking contract Iain had negotiated for Drew, who had just delivered the Empires to their third consecutive championship in October. Now with this contract, he was set to retire a New York Empire.

Which was great for me as an Empires fan, but even better as an Evie and Kai fan.

I smiled as the video of the press conference video shifted to footage of Iain and Drew just talking and laughing behind the scenes of the Winter Meetings where the deal was inked. Cameras surrounded them, but it was like they barely noticed. Drew had his hand on Iain’s shoulder and whatever he was saying in Iain’s ear made him laugh so hard his eyes crinkled in that way I fucking loved.

A year and a half ago, the news about Iain had looked so much different. He was being vilified. Stomped by the media. He’d lost so many of his clients, but Drew never stopped vociferously defending Iain, and eventually, one of Drew’s fans dug up security footage from a residential building across the street of the bar where the whole Shane Watt thing happened.

And just like that, the tides changed.

The media turned their focus on Shane, who had more than a few of his own personal scandals for them to focus on, and just like that, normalcy was restored. It took a few difficult months, but it happened, finally giving Iain and me the much-needed chance to just breathe.

Together.

“Okay, Holland, you have to stop that,” Mia said suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Don’t make sex faces at my TV when you have the real thing at home.”

“Fair,” I said, tearing my eyes off my gorgeous boyfriend on the screen before waving goodbye to everyone and giving Mia the biggest, tightest hug ever.

“Let me know if Iain loves the manicure,” she said before planting a big smooch on my cheek.

I laughed at her and said sure, and as I walked back out to see the city streets looking like a scene from a snow globe, I reached under my sleeve and with a gloved hand, I pinched myself, because two years later, I still had to remind myself sometimes.

Nope, not a dream, I grinned big behind my scarf. Still very much real.

* * *

On the finalday of our trip, I was the one to wake up first in the morning, my lips already curved up in a smile before I even opened my eyes.

It was just instinct anytime Iain had me hugged to his body like this. His heavy arm wrapped around me, I nestled back against his warm chest, just luxuriating for a bit before I officially got up.

I’d gotten more than a year of this by now, and I still wasn’t used to it yet: Iain still being sound asleep when I woke up, his breathing soft and peaceful behind me.

It didn’t happen every morning—maybe a couple days out of the week—so it was still a novelty to me, because for so long, he hadn’t been much of a sleeper. Even back when he stayed out our house in Jersey. He was always up first, before anyone else, which was why I took the time to savor this moment before opening my eyes.

And when I finally did, I cracked a half-smile for what I saw in front of me.

Bits of yesterday’s Christmas celebration strewn across the floor. A bit of ribbon. A chunk of wrapping paper. Kai’s shark toy that he’d left behind for Iain.

We were in Jackson Hole for a week of skiing and snowboarding with the Maddoxes as well as Adam and A.J, and for the sake of keeping our luggage manageable, we’d agreed on a no-gifts-except-for-Kai rule.

Of course, Adam had broken the rule by bringing a present for Iain, though none of us gave him crap him for it because of what it was: the pair of Burton snowboarding socks that he “stole” from Iain on that last Christmas that Iain didn’t come to our house. It was still in the original wrapping paper that Dad had used forever ago, though of course it was pretty ripped and beat up from living in the back of one of Adam’s closets for so long.

With the blanket snuggled to my lips, I stared blearily at a chunk of that wrapping paper.

It was crazy to think that there was a physical piece of that year in my life right here in this room. I’d come so far since then, as evidenced by Iain sleeping behind me. That was already enough to blow my mind, but then I looked at Kai’s shark toy and remembered a moment from yesterday.

After opening presents, I’d played with Kai on the floor while Drew and Evie and everyone else finished their breakfast. And in the middle of drawing dinosaur-shark hybrids with him, I’d looked up to find Iain with a smile on his lips as he gazed down at our crayon masterpiece. I caught a split second of him raising his eyebrows and nodding a little, as if he’d been having a conversation with himself and just made a really good point. It made me laugh so hard I broke him out of his daze, and when I asked him what he was thinking about, he blinked, pausing for a moment then cracking a surprised half-smile as he mouthed, “Babies.”

Then it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

“I know right?” he said. “Definitely a first.”

“Write it in the gratitude journal,” I’d joked.

I bit my grin as I replayed the memory, and just like that, I’d had my fill of enjoying Iain asleep. So arching my back, I rubbed myself against his stiff morning wood, my smile spreading as I heard his breathing growing heavier in his sleep.

And then I heard the very moment he woke up, because he inhaled deep with the sexiest sound. It was sleepy satisfaction mixed with just pure raw maleness, and it had me that much more aroused as I felt him bury his mouth into my hair and stretch his boxer briefs off his erection.

We didn’t get out so much as a “good morning” before my panties were ripped down and we were panting, my back pressed flush against his chest as he gave short, hard thrusts that shook the whole bed.

But he’d found his way on top of me before we finished, and when he spurted hotly inside me, I knew we were sharing one thought, because after the sharp groan and the shudder, we came down staring into each other with the same breathless smile and bright little look in our eyes. I was still on the pill, but it didn’t matter.

It was a fun fantasy for now.

“You know, we do have plans for the day,” I laughed after we finished and laid in bed for another forty-five minutes.

“I know. But this is nice,” Iain said, making me grin because I had a little collection of these moments—all the times he was the relaxed one. The one who didn’t care what time it was or what we had to do.

“Okay, well, I need to shower before we meet everyone for brunch, and I’d invite you to join me, but I don’t want any chance of us running any later than we already are,” I giggled, letting Iain pull me back into bed once, then twice, because dammit, it was pretty easy to lure me back to me him when he was stretched on his back with that magnificent torso on full display.

But by his third attempt, I got serious and officially got up to go shower.

“Don’t take too long in there,” Iain called into the bathroom from outside.

And since we were on track to be at least twenty minutes late, I took the quickest shower I could. Upon getting out, I grabbed the plush white hotel robe off its hanger in the bathroom and padded barefoot outside, where Iain was still sitting at the edge of the bed.

“Iain! Why aren’t you dressed yet?” I asked, though I failed at sounding remotely mad because Lord was he brutally fucking gorgeous with his thick hair tousled and his sweats hanging low on his hips. Something about that look just made me feel at home, and I was already smiling, helpless by the time he came over, till he was standing close enough to tip his head down and brush his smooth lips over mine.

All it took was a short, sweet, almost torturously soft kiss for me to feel like my head was floating off on a cloud.

But then he drew away and when I opened my eyes to look into his, they were glowing on me. Burning so green that it took awhile for me to notice what he held between us in his hand.

A little velvet box.

My eyes went wide. A short breath of air escaped my parted lips and tears stung my eyes the moment he opened it to show me the diamond ring inside.

It was absolutely exquisite. Beautiful and bright. Sparkling endlessly for me as I felt Iain brush a tear from my cheek.

“Holland,” he murmured, drawing my wet eyes back to him. “I don’t have the words to describe how much I love you. For always being the one in my corner. The woman who makes me strong,” he said, cracking a smile as I let out the first happy sob. “You’ve already made me a better man than I could’ve ever dreamed of being and all I want to do is keep making you prouder. Every day. As a husband. A father. I want everything with you. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me.”

I was full-on crying by the time he asked the question, nodding and saying yes on repeat before he could even finish the words “marry me.”

And as he slipped the ring onto my finger, I realized why Mia had been so insistent on a manicure.

“You finally got some useful help from Mia, huh?” I teased through my tears, making Iain laugh as he held my ringed hand and kissed me all the way back to the bed.

It wasn’t long before I was feeling his weight on top of me again, wearing nothing but the diamond that was going to make me his wife.

And as we tangled on top of the sheets, Iain murmuring about how bad he wanted to see me in that white dress, I smiled against his lips, not even bothering to pinch myself, because this was my life—my whole world in this one bed.

The man of my dreams was actually mine.

And it couldn’t be realer.