“Ask me again,” her strong voice called to him from behind, stopping him in his tracks.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing he remembered how that Serenity Prayer went. Maybe it only mattered that he knew he needed to ask for strength and patience, who the hell knew. Tony didn’t know how long he stood there, but he heard her come up on his left, and from the sound of her voice, she faced him.
“Please,” she said. “Ask me again.”
Sighing, he opened his eyes and turned toward her. “Trish, I don’t know what you’re—” She tucked her fingers into one of her front pockets and pulled out his grandmother’s ring. “How did you get that?”
“I stopped at your place on the way here to get it, because while I understand your point about us skipping over all the beginning stuff and it being a good idea to start fresh and try again, I don’t agree with it.”
“You don’t—” Tony let out a frustrated chuckle as he rubbed his hands vigorously over his face a few times and then placed them on his hips to study her. In his peripheral vision, he saw hundreds of eyes on them, and now that they were a mere dozen feet from the edge of the field, everything they said could also be heard. Fuck it. If she didn’t care about the spectacle they were making, then neither did he. “You don’t agree with it? Mind telling me why?”
Trish took a single step forward. “We may not have started our relationship in the most traditional way, but that doesn’t mean we skipped anything. The beginning is when you learn things about each other, what they like and dislike. Whether you’re companionable and can survive the times when they’re at their worst and still care for them.
“Tony, we’ve been doing that since the third grade. The first thing you learned about me was to never steal my softball glove. And I learned that if I don’t want you to do something again, all I have to do is kick you in the shin.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smirk, but it didn’t do much good. Their audience snickered with a few of the younger members laughing at their coach for trying such a thing. But Tony couldn’t keep a partial grin from creeping onto his face, either, so he supposed he’d forgive the little rascals.
“For the record, I wouldn’t recommend that method of persuasion at this age,” he said with a single brow cocked in challenge.
“Duly noted,” she quipped. Then after a beat, she sobered and so did the conversation. “I was wrong two weeks ago, Tony, and I’ll regret the things I said to you that day for the rest of my life. Your proposal was perfect, everything had been perfect, and I ruined all of it.” She swallowed thickly and her brown eyes watered again. “But the worst part of it all...is thinking that I may have ruined any chance of there being an ‘us’ in the process.”
Before he could answer or sweep her up into his arms to reassure her that he could never give up hope for them, she rocked down to her knees in front of him. The murmurs from the peanut gallery swelled to above a whisper, but he didn’t pay any attention. He was too stunned that the woman he loved and would do anything for was on her knees holding up his grandmother’s wedding ring in both hands.
“Anthony Joseph DiAngelo, I love you with everything that I am and everything I ever hope to be. I swear to you that I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life and there won’t be a day that goes by that you’ll regret this moment...” She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then said, “...if only you’ll find it in your heart to ask me again.”
Her words couldn’t have been more perfect. They could have been her wedding vows instead of merely a request that he propose to her again. This woman was all he’d ever want in this world, and nothing could keep him from granting her this wish and every wish she’d ever have in the future.
Tony felt his hand shake as he reached for the ring, so he curled it into a fist, inhaled deeply and got control over his body before trying again. When he held the ring, he lowered himself to his knees, then lower to sit on his heels so she at least had about an inch in height on him to make it somewhat proper. However, he didn’t want to draw anything out. He’d already told her everything during the last proposal. Now it was time for simple and quick, so he could let his body and heart make good on their plans as soon as humanly possible.
Gazing into her warm brown eyes, Tony held her left hand in his and did as he’d been ordered. “Will you marry me, baby?”
She beamed at him a moment before throwing her arms around his neck and capturing his mouth for a kiss he happily returned, trying to remember to keep it PG for the spectators he could hear squealing in girlish delight and alternately pretending to puke and gag and warn their coach of cooties.
Tony forced himself to pull away from his new fiancée so he could place the ring on her finger and help her to stand. In seconds, they were surrounded by the horde as hugs and well wishes were offered for at least another half hour before things settled enough for the game to resume. Their coach’s engagement must have wound up the Shark Bytes, because they ended up winning 5-1 in the highest scoring youth soccer game to date.
All in all, it’d turned out to be a pretty great day, and if Tony had anything to say about it, things would only get better from here on out. It was hard to imagine their future any other way with how fortunate they were. He loved his teaching career, and he’d always coach in the youth programs. Trish was a born entrepreneur and missed the business she’d worked so hard to grow back in New York, so it was only a matter of time before she did it again. But he also knew that he needed to let her come to that decision on her own, so he’d wait it out.
As everyone snapped pictures of the team with the trophy as tall as the champions who’d earned it, Tony pulled Trish behind the bleachers and stole a proper kiss filled with all the passion and love he held for his bride-to-be. Damn, that sounded good. It sounded right.
“You know,” he said, looking on at the kids celebrating and oblivious to their coach’s sudden disappearance, “we are at the fields a block from my place. I bet no one would notice if we slipped away to go do some celebrating of our own. I’ll give you a ten-second head start since you’re wearing boots.”
Trish laughed, but shook her head. “No way. You can suck it up and wait until later.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I thought you would have learned by now not to challenge me. Ten…nine…”
“Tony, damn it, stop.”
“…seven…”
She started to back away from him. “I’m not kidding.” But she laughed and kept backing up.
“Better hurry,” he said in a low voice with a smirk on his lips. “You remember what happened last time I caught you.”
Her eyes flying wide, she gasped. “It’s daylight.”
He gave her a predatory smile that told her just how little he cared. “…four…”
“Shit!” she squeaked on a laugh before spinning and bolting down the road.
Tony counted the last two numbers in his head and took the couple seconds to enjoy watching her run from him. He wasn’t really in a hurry. After all, they had the rest of their lives ahead of them to do everything from make love to discover new facets of their relationship. And they’d do all of it together.
She was his perfect game. They were a team, and when they had kids—fingers crossed she wanted enough to fill a soccer roster—they’d be an even bigger team.
“Ready or not, world,” he said to himself as he started walking home, “here we come.”
EPILOGUE
Seven months later...
TRISH SAT ON THE edge of the bathtub and reflected on how different her life was from only a year ago. So much had happened in the short time since the day of their crazy shared proposal at the youth soccer tournament; sometimes she had a hard time believing it wasn’t all a dream.
Tony hadn’t wanted a long engagement, and she’d been more than happy to oblige. That was until she was in the middle of planning a wedding with only six months to prepare. Then she wanted to pull her hair out in great chunks, never
speak to another relative for as long as she lived, and elope. But with some help from friends, everything came together beautifully, and they’d gotten married a little over a month ago.
Trish never imagined she could be so happy in love, and now that she was, she didn’t think it was possible for that feeling to get any bigger. But staring at the two pink lines in the tiny window of the stick she held her hands, her heart already started swelling. Apparently she hadn’t gotten any better at predicting how love worked.
Smiling, she stood and checked her reflection in the mirror and removed the smudges of eyeliner from her mini-emotional bout when that second line came through. She composed herself to look as casual and unexcited as possible and exited the bathroom off of their living room.
“Come on, babe, hurry up,” Tony said from his spot on the couch. His eyes were glued to the television, game controller in hand, and the eerie sounds of the horror video game echoing in the small space. “I need my navigator. I’ve got myself all turned around and can’t remember how to get the hell out of here.”
Concealing the pregnancy test, she sat in her spot next to him and looked at his character roaming around aimlessly. She loved their game nights where he worked the controller (she sucked at that part) and she acted as the backseat player. Her only requirement was that the game had to have a good storyline, not just constant shoot-em-up stuff. “You’re in the library, so get out of there, take a left, two rights, and the exit will be straight ahead.”
He leaned over and gave her a loud smack on the cheek. “How I ever finished any games without you is beyond me.”
“Agreed,” she said and watched as he followed her instructions. “Hey, remember that time a couple weeks ago when I was throwing up a lot for like a week?”
Tony turned to study her face, his brows drawn with concern. “Are you feeling sick again?”
“No, I feel great, actually.”
“Oh, good,” he said, returning to the game. “Yeah, I remember it. Why?” The character on the TV exited the building. “Finally,” he muttered.
“Do you remember what you asked me toward the end?”
He winced as he continued to play the game. “I may have gotten a little excited and asked if you were pregnant.”
Trish felt a flurry of butterfly wings in her belly. Placing a hand over her abdomen, it finally hit her that someday soon she’d be feeling flutters in there for real...from Tony’s baby. Their baby.
Eyes glistening anew, she took a breath and said, “Ask me again.”
His thumbs froze over the controller and the game character fidgeted in place. Tony’s eyes locked onto hers. “What’d you say?”
Her smile broke wide. “I said ask me again.”
“Trish, are you serious? We’re going to have a baby?”
She nodded, causing her tears to run down her cheeks, and she handed him the plastic test. “We’re going to have a baby.”
Tony cheered as he picked her up to swing her around in the middle of the living room, controller tossed aside and game forgotten. She laughed and squealed when they fell back onto the couch. He apologized and made a big deal about needing to be more careful with her. She tried assuring him she wasn’t going to break, but he wouldn’t stop arguing about her “fragile state.”
Funny how removing her shirt to reveal her naked breasts shut him up like pressing MUTE on a TV remote. “That’s better,” she said. “Now, if you’re smart, you’ll stop talking and start touching. After all, in less than nine months these puppies will be working overtime for our baby so you’ll have limited visitation.”
His eyes grew wide. “Limited visi— That’s it, come here.” Tony ducked his shoulder and hefted her up like a sack of potatoes, ignoring her commands to set her down as he stalked down the hall to their bedroom. “No use struggling, sweetheart. You’ve convinced me that I need to take advantage of having you all to myself before we’re invaded. How does spending the next nine months in bed practicing how to make baby number two sound?”
Tony placed her in the center of the bed and followed her down to cover her with his body. Wrapping her arms around him, she pretended to think about it, then said, “I don’t know. We’ll consider this a test run. Show me what you’ve got...then ask me again.”
~ * ~
ASK ME AGAIN is a stand-alone novella loosely based on Gina’s youngest sister, Tricia, and her husband TJ, and was written as a cheap gift for their wedding on May 30th, 2015. Of course, Gina’s kidding about the cheap gift part. (Maybe.) The happy couple is currently expecting their firstborn, a baby boy, due May 20th, 2016, whom Gina plans on spoiling rotten.
Acknowledgments
As always, huge thanks to my husband and children who put up with my crazy schedules and neurotic behavior when I’m in the writing cave. Without their constant support and understanding, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.
To my sister and her husband who, when I asked, “What would you guys say to me writing a book based on your story,” said, “Go for it!” and didn’t care what I added or embellished in the name of good fiction. Thanks for being such great sports!
To Brenda Novak who created the original opportunity for this book when she invited me to be included in a box set to help raise money for finding a cure to diabetes. Thank you for being so sweet and patient with me and giving me the honor of helping such a worthy cause. I’m so grateful to have gotten to know you through our correspondence and can’t wait to hug you in person someday.
To Kristin Anders—my plot bunny inspirer, plot hole fixer, rush job editor, ledge talker downer, and ultimate soul sister—I love you like no other. Thank you for all the things, ever.
To my back cover copy gurus, Cindi Madsen and Rebecca Yarros, you girls rock and without your help, the BCC would have been super lame.
To Laura Wright, my friend and ultimate sprinting partner, who offered me tons of advice on how to do this self-publishing thing and helped me make the whole package exactly what I want.
To Jaycee from Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs for making me a cover that I absolutely love.
To Erin Didion for not caring that I used her and her awesome pub in the book.
To anyone who answered a question or had any part in helping me with this book, whether during the creative process or the publishing process, and I’ve forgotten to mention individually. My intention is not to leave you out, but my memory is super sucky. So thank you, and I apologize.
Don’t miss out on Gina’s other books:
Fighting for Love series
Seducing Cinderella
Rules of Entanglement
Fighting for Irish
What Happens in Vegas continuity series
Tempting her Best Friend
Seducing Cinderella Excerpt
HE WALKED HIS HAND up the wall, drawing closer to her as he spoke. “Tell me what you want.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There’s a reason we’re doing this. You want something. Don’t think about the answer. I want you to feel the answer. Now,” he said once he’d gone as far as he could and began to lean toward her, “tell me, what you want.”
She licked her lips. Swallowed hard as his mouth got closer, but stayed just out of reach. “Right now?”
“Right this very instant.”
“I want to kiss you so badly it scares me.”
Her answer shocked the hell out of him—he’d been expecting her to say something along the lines of wanting her doctor—but he was too selfish to give a damn. “Then do something about it,” he commanded.
Lucie grabbed the sides of his face and meshed her mouth on his. This time, saltiness left behind from her workout mixed with the strawberry taste of her lips. The combination was intoxicating, but it was nothing compared to the one-two punch he got when she swept her tongue over his upper lip.
Reid took that as an open invitation. Plunging his tongue inside her mouth was like tasting sweet ambrosia.
He hoped like hel
l his boxer briefs would do a better job of containing his growing erection than he did of containing the toe-curling groan that escaped his chest.
She pulled away, switching immediately into therapist mode. Although she wasn’t usually so breathless when assessing him. He liked her affected like this. A lot. “This isn’t a good idea, Reid. You need to stay focused with the stretches or you’ll cause yourself more pain.”
With his left hand on her chin, he dragged her attention away from his injury. “My shoulder isn’t in pain right now, Lu. However, I can’t say the same for another place of my anatomy.”
He waited patiently for her innocent mind to catch up with his fiendish one wallowing in the gutter. To no avail. “I don’t understand, where are you in pain?”
He hitched his left brow and quirked up a corner of his mouth in the universal smirk that said, “I’m thinkin’ dirty.” Now she’d get it in three…two…one…
A slight widening of those light gray eyes and a sudden interest in the ceiling above his head told him he was right on the money. He would’ve laughed at how charming he found the blush in her cheeks, but he wasn’t exactly in the laughing mood. Nope. His mind had already hopped onto the one track that was headed straight for trouble. The fun kind.
“I know I’m not your type, Reid. You don’t have to make things up to make me feel better about myself. I’m a big girl.”
Was she fucking serious? She didn’t think he was turned on by her? Now that was enough to piss him right the hell off. Abandoning the stupid stretch, he grabbed her ass in both hands and pulled her into his body.