Hayden

Saying I was fucking livid would be the understatement of the century.

Because not only did Hass give me that ugly-ass bruise, even worse, he ruined my fucking plan.

I had it all laid out, every single step meticulously planned and set in motion, but of course it couldn't be that easy. Life needed to throw me the biggest fucking curveball in existence. Fuck, it pissed me off.

But as soon as Mila told me about her issues with security, I pushed all those poisonous feelings aside. There are more important matters going on right now. Matters I've been waiting on for so fucking long. I won't let this asshole get in the way of them.

"Why are we driving back to the stadium again?" Mila asks as she takes the last turn, a curious look gracing her precious face.

I wanted to blindfold her and do this properly, but I wasn't allowed to drive with a concussion, and Sam and Jas needed to prepare things before we got there. Honestly, it would be unreal if things had gone the way we planned them, because that's not how life with Mila Lyne works. It's a series of surprises, pleasant and goddamn stunning surprises, and I've learned to appreciate them. "Since when are you the curious one, love?" I ask with a smirk when she raises her eyebrow at me, absolutely unimpressed by my avoiding techniques.

"You must've rubbed off on me."

"Oh, I rubbed off on you, alright." I laugh, and she just fucking blushes again, sending all my blood down south in a second. I'll never understand why that has this kind of effect on me. It just does, and I fucking love it.

"You're insufferable," she mutters, her eyes glimmering with amusement when she parks the car in the lot and glances over at me. The worry in her eyes makes me feel bad; I should've seen a disaster coming with Hass here.

"You love me," I correct her, needing to hear it again.

And the way her lips break into this gigantic smile makes me feel like I'm about to have a heart attack from the love I feel for this goddamn woman. "You know I love you."

My response is a swift kiss to her lips before I get out of the car and walk over to her door, opening it for her. She smiles at me, but I see the insecurity in her eyes; this situation is obviously a lot for her. "I'm going to blindfold you now, love."

"What?" She widens her eyes, and I swear I'm so close to just get in the car and get her a hearing aid right now.

"Blindfold?" I repeat. "The thing where you can't see anything?"

Mila just rolls her eyes and slaps my arm, that hint of a smile on her face when she retorts, "I know what a blindfold is, you cucumber!"

"Did you just call me a cucumber?" I laugh, raising an eyebrow at my girlfriend while she blushes again, hiding her face behind her hands.

"I didn't want to insult you, and cucumber was fitting."

Good Lord. How do I deserve this woman?

"Fuck," she whispers again, but I grab her hands from her face and crouch in front of her. I immediately see the worry in her eyes when she studies my face, and that's what pisses me off the most. That asshole made her worry. I know that this—bruised up and with a concussion—isn't the way I wanted to do this, but I simply can't wait anymore. And the fact that she's standing here with my football jersey on...it's just perfect.

It's us.

"I fucking love you so much. You know that, right?" I whisper.

"I know. I love you too."

"Good. Because I really need to blindfold you now."

"Why?" she asks, and I can't help but laugh as I pull her up and into me.

"That's the point of blindfolds, peanut. They're meant to surprise you."

"But what's the surprise?"

"Mila..." I groan. "Baby, please. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," she says without a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Good. Let's go, then. I can't wait anymore."

***

Mila

I really hate surprises. Or at least I have.

With Hayden, it's different, even though I can't deny I still hate walking somewhere with a blindfold on. Especially with being six months pregnant. I'm always scared of bumping into something.

Hayden's arm around my waist makes me feel safe, though, so I follow him onto the grass I sense beneath my feet, realizing he must've led me into the stadium. A few minutes later, we step on something solid, and I suddenly hear his whisper in my ear. "I'm going to lift you up now. Careful."

I have no idea how he manages to do it, considering I probably weigh a ton with our baby in my belly, but within seconds, I feel how I'm carried bridal-style, and a minute later the solid ground is back beneath my feet.

"Here, hold on to the rail." Hayden moves my hand to some metal rail in front of me, my hands gripping it tightly as I feel him come around my back again, his head resting on my shoulder when he whispers, "I'm going to take off the blindfold now, but I need you to keep your eyes closed..."

I nod in response, trying to ignore the pounding heart in my chest. This day has been so nerve wrecking, I can't seem to form a proper thought, and I almost flinch as he removes the blindfold, the light shining against my eyelids. I work hard to not open my eyes out of sheer curiosity—Hayden did rub off on me.

"Okay, I'll tell you when you can open them, alright? I'm just a few feet away from you—just keep your hands on the rail."

"Alright..."

He presses another kiss on my temple, and soon I feel the warmth of his body leaving my proximity. I just stand here, clasping the rail in front of me, holding on for dear life.

Shit, why am I so nervous?

Peanut is kicking in my belly, and I have to take a deep breath as one hand rubs my bump, trying to soothe our baby. "It's okay, little bean. I'm good." I whisper the words, and I can't help but smile when the kicking actually calms. "Thank you," I mutter, and rub it once more.

"Okay, are you ready?" Hayden must be yelling; his voice sounds far away, but I still hear him loud and clear.

"How can I know if I'm ready when I don't know what I should be ready for?"

"Mila, I swear to God..."

I can't help but laugh at that, covering my mouth with my hand as I try, just once, not to make a fool of myself. "Sorry. Yeah, I'm ready."

"Good." I hear the nervousness in his voice when he calls out again, "Then open your eyes now, love."

I do as he says, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light the setting sun casts on the field, but once I do... "Holy shit."

Hayden stands a few feet away from me on the field, his gaze aiming straight at me. I squint my eyes to take in his surroundings, and as soon as I recognize the words written behind him in orange wrappers, I gasp. "Oh, God..."

Tears already blur my vision, even more so when Hayden slowly walks over to me, his voice raspy when he yells one last time, "Read them to me, Lucky."

He looks so nervous, it's breaking my heart. Why on earth is he so concerned?

But I can see it in his eyes when they settle on mine. I can see how scared he is of losing me or our child. I can see how much he needs me to say the words, how much he loves me.

And so I smile, my eyes settling on the orange wrappers behind him. They take in almost half the field; that must've been an insane amount of work. "Mila, will you..." I start reading but can't stop the sob that escapes my throat, glancing at my man in front of me who now nods in encouragement. "Mila, will you marry me?" I choke out the words.

Hayden is down on one knee now, his eyes glassy as he smiles at me, this gorgeous smile that always makes my heart beat so goddamn fast. "Do you remember our first date?"

"Of course I do." I almost whisper the words, hoping to hell he still hears them. I know I don't; the pounding heart in my chest almost deafens me.

"Good. Do you remember how I laughed when you said your name is Mila Lyne?"

"Yeah." I actually do. I wondered what he found so funny about that.

"Do you know why I laughed back then?" he asks, and I shake my head, eliciting another beautiful smile from his lips. "I knew it back then, already, that the two of us are just destined to be together. Because I couldn't help but laugh at the fact our surnames basically gave me a message. A message that told me I had to cross lines to get you. That's what you were—that's what you are, Mila."

He speaks with so much conviction and love, I can't help the sob that escapes my throat, making me cover my lips with my palm when he continues. "You're a challenge. A challenge that made me cross all the lines I didn't even know existed. It was like you were made just for me, made to test me, to tease me, to steal my heart forever. I knew it from the very start, from the second I laid eyes on you in that stupid club—I just knew. I had to have you."

The smile on his lips grows even wider now. "And I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that I found you. I'm the luckiest fucking guy alive with a woman like you by my side. And now you're carrying my baby—I mean, what on earth is actually happening?" He laughs, and I try to suppress another sob by hiding my face in my hands, taking a few deep breaths to get a grip on this situation.

"I'm not done yet, love. Look at me," he says, and I take a deep breath to follow his command, revealing my face to him before I clasp to the rail in front of me again. "Mila...I don't think you realize it, even though I try to show you every goddamn day, but I need you. And I mean need you. You're the air I breathe, you're the person I can be myself with, the person who makes me laugh and cry at the same time. You're everything I could've wished for and more, and I really fucking hope you know that, Lucky. I want to marry you. I want to be your husband, want you to be my wife. I want us to cross all the lines together, because as long as you're by my side, I'm sure we'll get through anything. And so I'm asking you, Mila..." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tiny box, his eyes firmly set on mine. "I'm asking you, Mila Lyne. Just the way you're standing there, with my own goddamn jersey on you, I'm asking you to be my wife. Please make me the happiest fucking man walking on this earth." He opens the box with trembling fingers and holds it up to me, a stray tear rolling down his cheek when he asks, "Mila Lyne, will you marry me?"

It takes everything within me not to faint right now—my knees are so weak and my heart thunders so rapidly, I feel like it might stop beating any second now. "Come here." I walk toward the opening of the rail, and Hayden sprints toward me, his arms wrapping around my legs as I brace my hands on his shoulders, steadying myself as I study him.

The way his beautiful eyes gaze into mine, impatient and glistening with tears as he awaits my answer, almost breaks my heart. "Love, I really need you to—"

"Of course I'll marry you, Hayden," I interrupt with a beam on my face, eliciting another laugh from him when he slowly lowers me to the ground.

"Oh, thank the fucking gods," he mumbles, and the look in his eyes makes me want to make love to him right now. His beautiful emerald eyes glisten with tears, portraying all the love and hope and happiness one can even imagine. I don't even protest when he suddenly presses me against the wall behind us, the gravity of this day crashing down on us as he kisses me so deeply, we immediately become one.

His hands explore my body, brushing over the fabric of his own jersey as he devours me shamelessly, his fingers digging into my behind until he pulls back and whispers, "Fuck, Mila."

I shudder from the sensation, and when his fingers brush over my cheek once more, I suck in a breath, trying to hold myself together in the middle of this stadium.

But then he gets on one knee again, picking up the box he must've dropped when we lost ourselves mere moments ago. Another onset of tears prickles in my eyes as he says, "Give me your hand, love."

I stretch out my shaky hand, and he just looks up at me before he places a kiss on my wrist, his loyal eyes so full of love that I can't help but cry again.

"Baby, you need to stop crying or I'll start crying too," he remarks, and that fact alone sends another tear down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I just... I can't..." I shake my head.

A tear escapes his eye when he fiddles with the box in his hand, and while he wipes the back of his hand over his skin, I recognize the ring right in front of me.

"Oh my God, that's my mom's."

"It's your mother's engagement ring, yes. Your dad gave it to me when I asked him for permission to ask you to marry me, and I..."

"You asked him for permission?"

"Of course I did. I know how much you value his opinion. I knew it was important to have his blessing."

I can't choke back the fresh onset of tears, because holy hell, this man just ups himself every goddamn time.

"Baby..." His voice trembles when he looks at me again, his thumb brushing over my palm when I nod. He understands the notion and slides the ring on my finger in one swift motion, and as soon as that ring settles on my finger, I know I don't ever want to lose it again.

Hayden buries his head in the crook of my neck when I don't say anything for a moment, and I get on my knees in front of him, tapping up his chin. "Look at me."

I feel his heavy breath on my skin when he inhales deeply before he finally leans back, his glassy gaze immediately meeting mine. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't want to cry."

His words make me sob again, and I shake my head as we both wipe each other's cheeks. "Don't apologize, baby, please. I love you even more for that."

I carefully brush my thumb over his bruised cheek, both of us taking a few deep breaths to calm ourselves. "I just... Fuck," he mutters. "I wanted this to happen a little differently."

And I can only imagine what he means; this doesn't look like something he pulled out of his hat an hour ago. "When exactly did you plan this?"

"Uh..." He scratches the back of his head when he looks to the ground, and I swear to God my eyes must betray me. Hayden actually seems to blush.

"Mr. Cross...are you blushing right now?"

"Well, I, uh..." he stutters, and I just lean back with wide eyes.

"Oh, my God! How long have you planned this?" I grin when he looks up at me, a hint of mischief sparkling in his eyes.

"The day after you told me we're having a baby, I arranged everything with Gus, then asked your dad, and then I called Reese's, which honestly was the biggest challenge."

"Wait, what?" I ask, looking at the field behind him, and he just laughs when he sees realization hit me like a freight train.

"Getting 1285 peanut butter cups is not that easy, honestly..."

Another realization dawns on me. "You're kidding," I whisper, my hand on my lips as I look at the gigantic field of peanut butter cups.

"Nope. Those are 1285 cups. Well, 1284, to be exact, since they're 321 four-packs. But I do have one more waiting in the car for you. I figured you'd be hungry after the game." He laughs.

"You... I...I can't believe you remembered that." Honestly, I kind of forgot about it.

But that's just the man Hayden is. He's attentive, careful, and so loving, it's insane.

"I told you once and I'll tell you again, Lucky. I could never forget anything about you. You're the center of my attention, every second of every day."

And he's so right about that. I've never felt so seen, so understood, and so cherished than when I'm with him.

He is the love of my life, and always will be.