Page 111 of Scoring Destiny

Cash proposed on Christmas Eve.

On New Year’s Eve, Sammy Jensen offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.

And that’s why we flew to Vegas on New Year’s Day and eloped.

The day after Easter, I left for New Zealand.

The Thunder is in the playoffs so I’m not sure when Cash will be joining me, but I already warned Sammy and the producer that I would be flying home for two weeks if the team makes it back to the finals.

All in all, it’s been a busy five months.

I sold my condo in New York, my line of sleepwear has taken off, and Noelle has become my full partner in the business. She and Jayne are handling distribution through Peachy Keene, and all I have to do is collect the proceeds every so often.

Once again, I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.

But that’s mostly because of Cash.

My husband.

I stare down at the wedding ring on my finger—along with the stupidly huge engagement ring—and can’t help but grin. My husband is pretty fucking awesome. He’s been my biggest supporter, along with Reid and Nolan, and I don’t know how I would have survived the last few months without him at my side.

“Maya, there’s a package for you,” one of the grips calls out. He brings me a box and my gut tells me it’s from my husband.

I quickly take it into my office and close the door. Then I slice through the packaging and carefully open the box.

I was wrong—it’s not from Cash.

It’s from Noelle and Jayne.

It looks like a bunch of clothes, and I assume it’s from our sleepwear line. As I pull out each piece, I realize it’s from the new line. The one I said I wasn’t sure was ready. The one with a bunch of changes. The second generation of sleepwear that I tried to make more generic.

But each piece has one of the Peachy Keene slogans or logos on it, which isn’t what we were planning to order. Neither are the pieces. Long pants, in addition to shorts. A long-sleeve version, a tank top version and a short sleeve version of the tops. All prototypes we were going to discuss at our next Zoom meeting.

I’m a little confused because these weren’t supposed to be ready yet.

They look amazing, though.

The colors are vibrant, the fabric lush and expensive to the touch.

Finally, at the bottom of the box, I find a note.

Maya,

Congratulations on 5000 pieces sold! We officially sold out of the original line and have over a thousand pre-orders for the next gen. That said, we made a unilateral decision to order a bunch of the prototypes to see how they look. I know you weren’t sure about them, but we were and I think we were right. Look how beautiful these are? What do you think? Go ahead with the product? You’d better say yes! Call us as soon as you get this!

Love, Noelle and Jayne

I stare at everything spread out on my desk and feel a moment of overwhelming gratitude. For Jayne and Noelle, for Sammy, and for Cash. He’s the one who pushed me to negotiate with Sammy, to get the breaks and the money I wanted. To be able to do the things I love without too much of a sacrifice. Yes, living on the other side of the world is tough but so is the potential financial reward, so we’re making it work.

They rented me a great apartment, and I get picked up by a driver every day I’m on set. Cash will be with me during the off-season and Nolan and Reid are coming for part of the summer. Noelle and Jayne want to come too but they haven’t worked out the timing yet since Noelle has a family and Jayne has Lindy to consider.

Everything is working out better than I ever imagined.

I know I should call the girls to talk about the package, but I call my husband instead. Mostly because I want to hear his voice.

“Hey, baby.” He yawns. “I just got up.”

“Hey!” I tell him all about the contents of the package, excitement practically bubbling out of me.

“I told you it was going to be awesome,” he says gently.

My sweet, patient man. Who loves me enough to set me free. Even though there isn’t a chance in hell that I won’t go back to him. He’s the most important part of my world.

Someone knocks on the door. “Maya—they need you in wardrobe.”

I roll my eyes.

Hardly anyone is here yet. It’s just some of the crew and pre-production for now. Why would they need me? But they do and this is my job.

And Cash instinctively understands that.

“Go, honey. I love you.” His voice washes over me like a warm summer breeze.

“I love you too.” I disconnect and walk out into the hallway.

These are the best days of my life, no doubt about it.

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