Clutch Player – Cocky Hero Club Read online Nikki Ash

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Romance, Sports Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
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“Jesus, Harp.” I pull her into my lap. “I’m so sorry, baby.” I nuzzle my face into her neck.

“I’m just so glad we found our way back to each other,” she says. “I love you, Landon.”

I didn’t plan to do this now, but suddenly I find myself lifting Harper off me and setting her on the couch. I drop to the ground, popping one knee up, and reach into my pocket. I’ve been carrying this ring with me everywhere, waiting for the perfect moment to propose, and while this probably isn’t the most romantic way, I’ll make it up to her. But right now, I just need to make her mine.

When I pull the ring out, Harper’s eyes light up in excitement and shock. “Landon,” she breathes.

“Harper, thirteen years ago, after you captured my heart and soul and became my best friend, I asked you to be my girlfriend and you said yes. You were my first and only girlfriend. You were the first and only woman I made love to. You were the first and only woman I said I love you to.”

Tears prick her eyes and I reach up to wipe them away.

“Fate was a bitch back then and took you away from me, but I can’t hate her, because she not only gave you two amazing kids, but twelve years later, she brought us back together.”

Harper nods in agreement, the tears falling harder.

“You’ve had all my firsts and onlys, and now I am asking you to give me another one. Harper Peters, will you marry me and become my first and only wife?”

“Yes!” She throws herself into my arms. “Yes, I will marry you.” And then she whispers the second best news—after her agreeing to be my wife. “And I have another first to give you. I’m pregnant, Landon.”

She pulls back and nibbles on her bottom lip, waiting to see my reaction, and I realize now this was why she pushed me away yesterday. She was afraid to tell me she’s pregnant.

“You realize you just made me the happiest man on earth, right?” I cup her face with my hands and kiss her.

“You’re okay with it?” she asks, her voice cracking slightly. “I was on birth control and I missed my appointment and then I was supposed to reschedule…”

“Hey,” I say, covering her lips with two of my fingers. “I am so beyond okay with it. It’s just fate having our backs once again.” I shoot her a wink and she sighs, her shoulders slumping in relief.

“Were you afraid I’d be upset?”

She chews on her bottom lip for several seconds. “I was afraid you would feel trapped, like I did when I got pregnant. I hated feeling like my choices were taken from me, and I would never want you to feel like that. You trusted me to be on birth control…”

“Harper,” I say, pulling her into my lap on the floor. “I love you. You getting pregnant isn’t trapping me, it’s a beautiful blessing.”

She nods. “I hate that you’ve given me so many more of your firsts than I’ve given you.”

Grabbing her left hand, I push the engagement ring I’m still holding onto her finger. “It doesn’t matter, Harper, because you’re giving me all your lasts.”

With tear-filled eyes, Harper eyes the ring. “This is…”

“The ring you showed Ella in the jewelry magazine,” I say, finishing her thought. “Yeah, she and Hunter came with me to pick out the ring while you were away. She had ripped the page out and said you loved it.”

“It’s so beautiful,” she says. “I can’t believe you bought it.”

“A beautiful woman deserves a beautiful ring.”

We’re quiet for a few moments, and I wonder if I should tell her I already knew she was pregnant. I didn’t say anything right away, afraid she would think I was only proposing because of her being pregnant, but now she knows I bought the ring before she found out she was pregnant. I decide to go with honesty, not wanting to start our engagement off on a lie.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” she asks nervously.

“I saw the vitamins yesterday.”

Her eyes go wide. “You knew I was pregnant?”

“I suspected.”

She glances at her ring. “But you bought this while I was at the spa.”

“I did. I was planning to propose with the kids around. They were upset they weren’t part of Richie’s engagements and weddings, so I wanted to include them. Which means”—I take her finger and pull the ring back off—“we’re going to have to do this all over again with the kids in the room.”

Harper snort-laughs. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly. Ella made it very clear she had to be in a pink dress to match your pink diamond. And there’s no way I’m disappointing her. She’ll bust out her puppy dog eyes and sad little frown, and I can’t handle that shit. So, yeah, after we go get the kids, I’ll have to do this again, and you’ll need to act surprised.”



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