HALE: Bonus Chapter

Ever wondered how Hunter proposed to Piper? If it's something you want to know - this chapter will have the answer!

Hope you will enjoy reading this, especially if you already miss daddy Hunter Hale. He's the best!

HUNTER

“Sweetheart, do you have a moment?” I lean my side against the doorframe and my gaze focuses on my daughter. She’s sitting behind her desk, drawing something with a very concentrated look on her face. Her hair falls in her eyes, and she continues blowing it away, instead of tucking her wild locks behind her ear. “Story?”

Only me saying her name has an effect on her, as she jumps in her seat, her eyes meeting mine. Her mouth hangs open, and her hand hovers over her drawing. I smirk and step further into the room. I stop by her desk and look down at her drawing. It’s a ballerina in a long sleeved leotard with a skirt. She’s dancing in the middle of the stage. Her blonde hair is collected in a tidy bun, and the second I see it, I’m sure she’s drawing Riley. 

“It’s beautiful,” I comment, and Story’s lips stretch into a smile. 

“Isn’t it?” she asks, looking down at her little ballerina. “I hope Rye will like it. It’s my gift for her birthday.”

“She’s gonna love it. It’ll be a great addition to the necklace and earrings Piper chose for her.”

My daughter glances at me again, beaming. “I love them too.” Then she puts her pencil on the table and turns around, peering at me. “Did you want something?”

I smile, leaning forward and ruffling her hair with my hand. “We’re going to leave in about forty minutes. So I wanted to make sure you have time to get dressed and be ready without any rush.”

“Oh my God! Forty minutes?” Story stands up from her stool and dashes to her closet, opening the door and exhaling loudly as soon as her eyes land on the racks with her clothes. “How am I supposed to choose what to wear? It’s a special occasion, and I don’t want to look out of place!”

“Sweetie, you’re going to be fine. It’ll be just us.”

“Just us?” She looks at me over her shoulder, brows furrowed. “You’re going to propose to Piper! It’s not something that happens every day.”

“It definitely doesn’t.” I shake my head, remembering my brother’s reaction. 

Hayden went crazy when I told him I was going to propose to his best friend. He said I was a selfish moron, and also told me I was a fucking turtle because I needed so much time to prepare everything. He was on the road with Sabotage, and was incredibly disappointed he’d miss it.

I blink, feeling Story’s gaze on me. I look back at her, amused by her posture - hands on her hips, eyes narrowed and lips twisted into a scowl. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She points her finger at me. “You better tell me what you’re planning to wear. Because this–”

I raise my hand and she falls silent. “Get ready, Story. I already had this talk with your mother, and I’m not going to repeat myself.” I literally hung up on Amelia when she started giving me a lecture about how important this day is for my future. 

I have a suspicious feeling people around me believe I’m a hopeless idiot. 

My daughter rolls her eyes, but turns back to her opened closet and starts rummaging through her dresses. I take a deep breath and walk out of the room. If anything, I really need to change.

***

I stop the car near Piper’s favorite coffee shop and notice her sitting at a table. She’s reading a book, while her other hand is nursing a mug, which she occasionally brings to her lips to take a sip. My girl is totally immersed in her book, not noticing the world around her. 

Based on a cute cartoon cover, it’s another romance. No surprise I didn’t see her reading it at home. She learned her lesson quickly. Once, Story found a book like that in our bedroom and thought it was a fairytale for her. Good thing Piper walked into the room a few minutes later. She was red as a tomato when she told me about it that evening. I couldn’t stop laughing, seeing her so flustered…until she read me an excerpt from this book. Indeed, it was a good thing she found Story before she got to that part in the book. My poor kid would’ve been traumatized.  

“Dad.” I meet Story’s gaze in the rearview mirror, banishing all my memories from my head. “Are we going to sit there and just watch Piper? Or…”

“I’m going.” I nod and quickly climb out of the car. 

Sauntering to Piper’s table, I put my hand on the surface, drawing her attention to me. “Hey.”

Her lips break into a smile. “Hey.” She closes the book and presses it to her chest. “Did I miss you calling again?”

“You didn’t. I knew where to find you,” I say, making a serious face. “The tracking app works perfectly.”

Piper’s eyes go wide and she gapes at me. “What app?”

“Did you really think I didn’t install something on your phone so I can find you in case you decide to run away from me?”

“Hunter,” she yelps, hurriedly putting down her book and grabbing her phone. “What the hell? What’s the app?”

I seriously can’t keep a straight face any longer, and burst out laughing. “I’m joking, baby. There’s no way in hell I’m going to control you.” I lean forward and cup her face with my palm. “You come to this coffee shop almost every Friday after work. I know I can find you here.”

Piper leans into my touch, her features softening at once. “You know me better than anyone.”

“Because I love you, and I want to know everything about you. Always.” Taking a step back, I extend my palm to her. “Let’s go. We have places we need to be.”

“Which are?” She lets me pull her to her feet, straightening the skirt of her dress with her hand. She’s four months along, and her baby bump has started showing already. I probably will sound weird, but it’s one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen. The image of the woman I love with my baby inside her…turns me on every single day. 

“It’s for Story’s recital. We need to buy her new leotards, and she doesn’t want to go without you.”

“Aw, it’s so exciting you know. Riley couldn’t stop talking about it, because apparently she’s in charge of it. People at the company saw the bond she has with Story and thought she would be great with other kids too. It’s a good opportunity for my sister to show her skills as a planner, and also to test her ability to be a leader. Kids love her, but I think Ms Martinez wants to know if she’s really capable of being a role model for them.”

“Considering the beautiful drawing I saw today in Story’s room, I bet Riley’s doing amazing.” I put my hand on the small of her back and guide her to my car.

“Or it’s because they’re like family, and love each other immensely,” Piper says, as I open the door for her. She looks inside and notices Story. “Hey honey, ready to find the most beautiful leotard for your performance?”

“Hey.” Story shoots me a look, and then smiles sweetly at my girlfriend. “Sure, I’m so ready.”

Piper climbs inside, and I close the door, going to my side of the car. Before opening the door, I quickly check the little box in my pocket. I truly hope she’s going to like it. 

***

“Erm, why are we here?” Piper frowns, staring quizzically at the LACFC stadium. 

“Sorry, it slipped my mind I need to pick up some documents…school related stuff,” I mutter, jumping outside the car. “Will you wait for me in the car?”

“Of cour–” 

“Can we go to the stadium for a few minutes?” Story clasps her hands together and looks pleadingly at Piper. “Please?”

My girlfriend laughs and only nods. She’ll do absolutely anything for my daughter, and it’s definitely something I counted on. I need them to go with me. 

We head inside, and I excuse myself to give Story time to take Piper to the field. The team’s management knows about my plan, and they promised to give me full access and total privacy for this. I don’t want prying eyes, and want to keep things under wraps for as long as I can. 

Getting a short text from Larry, one of the coaches, I exhale loudly and stroll to the field. He was supposed to be there, to guide Story if needed. I don’t want Piper to become suspicious and realize we’re plotting something. I want it to be a surprise for her. 

I step to the field, and my eyes find her immediately. Story’s dancing in front of Piper, while she stands with her arms crossed and shakes her head, watching my daughter. I move closer, until I’m a few steps away. She turns her head in my direction, and smiles. 

“She can dance anywhere. Even on the field.” 

“Well, she grew up on the field. She was often at my games, and practices when she was really small.” I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to my side. “I’m sure our baby will be spending a lot of time on the field too. It’s kinda a given.”

“What if it’s another girl?”

I give her a pointed look. “It’s a boy. I know it is.”

“What if he doesn’t want to play soccer?”

“That’d be okay.” I hide my nose in her hair, inhaling the sweet aroma of lavender and vanilla. “I’ll never force my children to do something they don’t want to do.”

“You’re an incredible father,” Piper murmurs, cuddling even closer to me. “Are you ready to go? I’m a bit tired, and we still have shopping ahead of us.”

“Actually…” My hands drop from her sides and I take a step back. Story stops dancing as if on cue, and moves to stand beside me. Piper frowns, her brows knit together. “We don’t really need to go shopping.”

“No? Then why are we–”

Her hand covers her mouth as I lower myself on my knee. My daughter sucks in breath, and I feel my heart beating violently in my chest. I’m nervous, even if I know I have nothing to worry about. It’s more about me proposing to the love of my life, to the girl I’m obsessed with. It’s really a once in a lifetime experience…because I don’t need anyone else. Only her.

“Before meeting you, I truly believed I had only two loves in my life - my daughter and football. I felt full and complete, and naively thought it would always be like that. You proved me wrong the second you walked into my house with my brother. To say it was a shocking surprise is not to say anything. I was stunned to the core, not quite understanding why I agreed to hire someone so infuriatingly beautiful as you. I thought it would be a disaster…and it honestly was,” I say and she giggles, her eyes tearful. 

“Everything I knew collapsed. Everything I believed was destroyed. You brought me to my knees and truthfully, I didn’t mind it. Loving you feels so insanely good, that I don’t want to ever go back to the times when you weren’t in my life. Because you’re it for me and I want everything with you. Starting with something I’ve wanted since the moment you agreed to come back to me.”

I pull out a little velvet box from my pocket, open it and extend it to Piper. 

“Piper Meadow Evans, I love you, and I can’t imagine my life without you. I want to be your past, your present and most importantly your future. Full of happiness and love. Will you be my wife, Piper?”

She keeps silent for just one second, but then she squeals and says, “Yes.”

I jump to my feet and scoop her in my arms, hugging her tight against my chest and twirling her around. Over and over again. She laughs, peppering my face with light featherly kisses. 

“I love you, Hunter Hale,” Piper whispers as I finally put her to her feet, and put the ring on her finger. “And I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us…for our little family.”

“I want a big family,” I tell her, kissing her lips sweetly.

“I’m not giving birth to a soccer team, Hunter,” she argues, suddenly becoming serious. 

“We’ll see about that, baby. I know how to change your mind.” I peck her lips one more time, and take a step back. 

Just in time because Story rushes to us and wraps her arms around both of us. It makes the picture whole and my heart full. These two girls are the most precious gift this life gave me, and I’ll do absolutely anything to make them happy.

Because I love them.

***

Thank you so much for reading!