Page 114 of Wicked Player
Chapter Thirty-Nine
As faces grow tired and the evening draws to a close, Colton stands and addresses his guests, as is the custom.
“Many thanks to all of you,” he says. “Once again, it’s been a very fun and memorable evening. You all bring light to my life, and I thank you for it.”
Claps and cheers all around. Sad faces too. Some are not ready to call it a night, myself included.
“But before we conclude the evening, I have a very important announcement to make.”
Everyone sits to attention. Curious faces glance at each other. What the heck is this all about?
“I want to introduce you all to a very important person in my life, a person who’s stolen my heart.”
Cassie grabs my wrist, and her smile practically splits her face in two.
He gestures in my direction. “That beautiful lady right there in the corner, the one with the big brown eyes and shy smile, the one’s who’s blushing,” he says. “Well, I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with her. She’sthe one.”
Everyone is staring at me. My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I fear I might be sick.
“She has the biggest heart I’ve ever known, and the prettiest face I’ve ever seen,” he says, not taking his eyes off of me. “I think about her morning, noon, and night. But she certainly has not made it easy for me, because she refuses to believe that I’ve fallen in love with her. No matter what I do, she thinks she’s just one of my many ‘lady friends’, that I’ll grow bored with her. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. She refuses to believe that she’s the only one for me.” He sighs. “I’m at a complete loss, and the only thing left to do now is to profess my love in a very public way.”
Jaws are hanging, and not a peep can be heard, save for Colton’s speech.
“Clara Scott… I love you,” he says. “I think I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I never believed in soulmates until I met you.”
I’m drawn to him then, like a magnet to an old seventies refrigerator. I stand and go to him, and he meets me halfway. When I finally reach him, I whisper, “I love you too, Colton.”
His smile is tearful and so, so genuine. He dips his head, and I stand on the tip of my toes, and we share a long sweet kiss.
The crowd cheers, and Cassie hoots.
When we finally break apart, Colton resumes his speech. “Spread the word, ladies,” he cheers. “I’m officially off the market.”
The crowd boos, but most of them are smiling. The majority of them seem genuinely happy for us.
“Now before you all get too worried,” he goes on, “I just want you to know that I’ll still be throwing my monthly parties. They’ll just be a little different, that’s all. We’re going co-ed, ladies!”
The room gets rowdy again. Most of the girls seem to be happy with this twist of events.
“So if you know some cool guys you’d like to invite, go right ahead. Boyfriends, brothers, whomever you want. The party’s about to get a lot bigger.”
He kisses me again, and wraps me into his arms. “I’m yours, baby. Don’t you ever doubt it,” he says. “All yours.”
I smile up at him.
“I want you to scream it out loud,” he whispers against my ear. “I want you to scream, 'He’s mine. All mine!’”
I laugh. “I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can,” he says. “Do it for me.”
With shaky breath and a goofy grin on my face, I decide to go for it. I scream at the top of my lungs, “He’s mine, ladies! All mine!”
“Whoo-hoot,” Cassie hoots. “You hear that ladies? He’s hers. So hands off!”
We laugh as she joins Colton and I in a group hug. “I’m so happy for you two,” she says. “I knew it would happen. I called it.”
I kiss her on the cheek. “You certainly did.”
