“Shall we walk through it again?”
They nodded, the gravity of the situation pulling them back to the moment, and he went through the plan from the top.
Once Dion had gone through everything and grilled Beckham and Ian backwards and forwards, they joined everyone else. The rest of the day felt like a vacation. Sophia and Rachel stayed busy in the kitchen, making tons of food: hoagies, queso and chips, brownies, lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and cheesecake.
Roxie and Leo kept the board games going. They were a good team. Beckham got a kick watching the two of them interact. They were both competitive and talked a fair amount of smack … with everyone but each other. They were both so partial with each other that several times they were called out for not being fair.
Leo shrugged. “If I can’t win, I want her to win.”
Roxie laughed. “And if he can’t win, I want to win.”
“Maybe Beckham could win sometime though, once or something,” Leo said a few beats later.
If life were always as sweet as this…
Beckham loved the way the little guy looked at him—like he was eleven feet tall.
Roxie noticed Beckham smiling at her and Leo and her eyes warmed. It might take time to prove to her how much he loved her but when he remembered how she’d responded during their night together, he knew it was worth it. He hoped he was right and that she loved him too. It’d make what he planned to do go so much smoother if she did.
That night after dinner, he stopped her before she went to tuck in Leo.
“Do you feel well enough to stay up a little longer? I won’t keep you up late,” he said quietly.
“Sure. I’ll come out after Leo falls asleep.”
Leo was doing his rounds, hugging everyone. When he got to Beckham, he barreled into him with a huge hug.
“This has been the best day ever,” Leo said.
“I hope to have lots more days just like this with you,” Beckham said.
Roxie walked out, her hair piled high on her head. She looked like she’d been in a bad fight and lost, but she was more beautiful and graceful to him than she’d ever been. It reminded him of the first time he saw her. He hated that even his thoughts would always be prefaced with the words, ‘that he could remember’ because for him, seeing her onstage that day in San Diego had changed his life.
She stopped in front of him.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“About the same as the other thirty times you’ve asked me today.” She smiled.
He groaned. “I just don’t understand how you’re up and around like it’s no big deal that you were nearly killed. How are you not complaining all day with the pain?”
“I’m a woman,” she said and laughed.
He rolled his eyes. “You’ve got me there.”
“Seriously, I am feeling better. Yeah, I’m really sore, but I’m breathing so much better and I’m so happy…” She stopped and looked shy all of a sudden.
“Go on,” he said with a grin.
“I’ve enjoyed this day too. It’s been fun seeing our families get along so well.”
He let out a whoosh of breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “I meant what I said to Leo—I want to have more days like this … with you.”
Her lips parted and he had to kiss her. More tentative than he wanted, trying to make sure he didn’t hurt her, but it still felt like magic. He stopped before he got too carried away in the kiss, and her eyes were shining. He traced her lips with his thumb, unable to look away.
“I love you, Roxie.”
He felt her breath hitch and her eyes widened.
“I know I still have some things to prove to you, but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life putting in the time it takes.”
She swallowed and he trailed his fingers down her neck, still looking in her eyes for any hope of a chance.
“You don’t have to promise me forever,” he said, his voice low and husky. “But do you think … one day … you could think about it?”
She took a deep, shaky breath and her eyes fell to his lips. “I already know what I’m too scared to hope for…”
He waited, but she didn’t say anything else. “What is that?”
“That you really do mean what you just said.” Her eyes shifted to the side.
A grin nearly split his face wide open, and he tried to tame it down before she looked at him again.
“That I love you? Because I really, really do mean that, Roxie Taylor!” He leaned down and put his face in her hair. “I really do love you,” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered and turned her face toward his. Her hands wove through his hair and she pulled him closer, kissing him the way he’d wanted to kiss her—complete abandon. He felt lightheaded and bereft when she put her hands on his cheeks and pulled away, breathing hard.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She smiled. “More than okay. Just … catching my breath.”
He rested his forehead on hers. “You’ve given me exactly the answer I hoped for tonight.”
The next morning, he had to leave before she woke up. He was still flying high on her kisses from the night before. By tomorrow, he hoped to have the fear of Coco far behind them.
Beckham and Ian were in the conference room at Dion’s office. Beckham wasn’t even sure who everyone was—he wondered for the hundredth time if he should even be putting his trust in all these people. He trusted Dion and Howie, but this was a little much. One of his friends from the LAPD walked in and his tension eased.
“Did you tell Sparrow what we’re doing?” he asked.
Ian frowned and swiped his hand across his jaw. “No. And she’s gonna have my head for it, too.”
“Might need to wear that hat around her too, then.” Beckham smirked.
“And lose my swagger status? Nuh-uh. I don’t think so,” Ian said, shaking his head.
“Swagger status? Do I even want to know?”
Ian smiled. “Just something Sparrow says…” He drifted off, lost in thought.
Beckham chuckled. “Right.”
Howie sat down beside him and Dion began the meeting.
Before they went onstage that night, Beckham stopped Ian.
“I just want to give you another chance to get out of this. I’m already so grateful that you got Roxie out of that house. You don’t have to go out there tonight.”
Ian’s brows creased. “I’m not letting you do this alone, man. I want to see her locked up as much as you do.” He put his fist out for Beckham to bump. Beckham came in for a hug. “All right. That’s cool too.” Ian laughed. “Come on. Let’s do this. Maybe we’ll even have some fun out there.”
Beckham gave him a weak smile and they went out together. The crowd went wild.
The night went without a hitch. As in, nothing happened.
Musically, it was one of the most fulfilling shows they’d done together. There were thousands of people there, but it still felt intimate. Between songs, they talked with each other the same as they did offstage—like best friends with the same quirky sense of humor—and the audience ate it up.
When they walked offstage, Beckham looked at Ian.
“Is it crazy that tonight was my favorite?”
Ian pounded Beckham on the back.
“I think it’s fitting. Honored to be out there with you, Beck.”
Beckham glanced up at the ceiling and swallowed his emotion.
“Thank you,” he said. He looked at Ian and nodded, knowing Ian got all that he wasn’t saying too.
Howie and Will flanked Beckham and Ian as they walked through the back halls of the stadium. Two guards in front and back joined them before they reached the doors. When Dion stepped out to walk with them, he looked apologetic.
Beckham nodded in greeting. “I don’t regret a thing about tonight,” he said.
The doors opened and there wasn’t the usual huge burst of flashes and people cheering, but a small crowd had been given access. Beckham and Ian waved and smiled, stopping to sign a few autographs, but moving quickly toward the limo.
Beckham sensed it before it happened. He lowered his head and kept walking. A loud shot rang out.