bonus chapter one.

NO ONE HAD TOLD JORDAN THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST STRESSFUL MANOEUVRES HE WOULD EVER HAVE TO PULL OFF. Screw grand final tries and waiting to be selected for the Kiwi All Stars squad, this was way more difficult. The anticipation was definitely the hardest part to swallow; the planning had been the easiest part and the sneaking around even had been tolerable. Ali was his best friend and he told her every thought that entered his head (whether it be deep thoughts or silly one's he has at three in the morning that make her try to smother him with a pillow). Everytime he found himself almost ready to break, the crinkle in the corner of her eyes from smiling too hard would appear in his mind.

It was all going to be worth it.

He looked over at her—legs pulled up on the dashboard of the rental car as she looked out the ajar window, nursing his spare hand in her lap. Her blonde hair flew in the wind messily. Not that she seemed to notice, her gaze was firmly locked on the greenery that they passed in a blur. The distant sounds of sheep grazing bleed through the open window, mixing with the faint music playing in the background (she had ever so graciously let him pick the playlist today. . . Only to turn it down the second a song she didn't enjoy came on "for the sake of taking in the nature.")

If the Māori wasn't driving down such a windy road, he probably would've stared at her the whole time. One of his favourite pastimes was taking in her beauty. But he would like a living girlfriend to propose to, if he was being honest.

"So, remind me again where we're going. . . ?" Ali asked, casting a look in her boyfriend's direction. She couldn't help but smile at her own thoughts; no matter how many years passed, the charm of calling him hers would never wear off.

Jordan made a clicking noise with his tongue as he pretended to be annoyed at her impatience. "You'll see," he said in an airy tone, eyes firmly locked on the road now. It was getting too close to the go time for him to look her in the eye—he'd accidentally spill the beans otherwise. Since that fateful night in the club, he'd become mere putty in her hands—willing to fit whatever mould she wanted him in.

"Hmmm, sounds ominous," Ali jested, turning back to look at the window as she brushed her fingers back and forth across his course knuckles absentmindedly. "This seems like a pretty good area to hide a body—remote, hard to find."

Jordan snorted, fighting against a smirk that fought its way to his lips.

The truth was Ali was ninety-nine percent sure she knew he was proposing. All the signs were there and Jordan wasn't good at being subtle or keeping secrets (but she loved him for trying). She's pretty sure she even knows down to the day he'd bought the ring, he'd come home acting all strange and made a beeline for the bedroom rather than kissing her 'hello'. Plus sending Mira to force her into a nail salon right before their trip definitely raised some alarms. Of course, it's not like she had any plans on spoiling his fun by telling him any of her suspicions and ruining his fun (or on the off chance she had entirely misjudged everything and Mira just wanted her to have pretty nails for her trip and nothing more).

She looked over at him again, giving his hand a light squeeze as she created mental paintings of his sharp features in her mind. One of the ways he practically glowed when he was under the New Zealand sun again. His already naturally bronzed skin was luminous under the summer sky peaking through the windscreen. These trips were the rare glimpses into an absolutely carefree Jordan (well, under normal circumstances he was).

If he was the sun then she was the moon. He was the light that pulled her out of the darkness every time she felt herself slipping back down. And when they met. . . Their relationship was a solar eclipse that she hoped lasted until the end of the universe.

The flick of the indicator turning on—after driving down a straight road for the past half an hour—made her interest peak and she craned her neck to see if anything about the dirt turn off they were taking stood out to her. "Oh, so you're definitely murdering me," she hummed, giving him a mock withering look. "At least I'll have a pretty grave," she added, nodding at all the yellow wildflowers dotting the edges of the car.

As the road was about to get bumpier, he killed the engine and turned to look at her with a grin. "You wore comfy shoes, right?"

Ali looked down at the new white Air Force 1's covering her feet and sighed. "Yeah," she murmured as he climbed out the car. A hike? He was taking her on a hike to propose? Did he know her at all?

Just as she went to grab the door handle, it swung open. "Come on." He encased her hand in his as he helped her out the car.

Look, Alianna Greer wasn't short by any means but when you're dating a six foot four professional athlete, keeping up with them on a hike was not easy. One of his steps was equivalent to three of hers (damn him and his ginormous legs).

She tried to keep optimistic as they traversed the bumpy dirt path. Trees lined the edges so the sun at least wasn't attacking her and making her sweat through her pastel cotton dress. There was even a light breeze that kept her cool. As far as hikes went, this was pleasant—even if Jordan had hardly said a word since they'd got out the car. Ali kept looking at him in the corner of her, trying to get a gage on if he was actually proposing or if she was drastically misinterpreting the situation (she'd be so humiliated if this was just a normal hike.)

"I love the wildflowers," she commented, nodding to a patch of yellow flowers they passed. The deeper they'd gotten into the trail, they'd started to appear thicker.

Jordan nodded absently. "Yeah, aye. . ."

Ali wasn't sure he'd even heard her words. She was very excited for the proposal to happen so she could get her talkative boyfriend back when this was all said and done.

She could see a clearing up ahead—a bright blue or yellows and oranges. The blonde felt her jaw go slack at they reached the opening as she tried to take it all in. There they stood before a meadow comprised of thousands of wildflowers, covering the ground. In the centre of it all, someone had set out a picnic blanket and basket.

"I. . . when did you—?" Ali felt at a loss for words as she tried to figure out when he'd snuck away to set this all up.

Jordan beamed down at her and tugged her hand towards the picnic. "Did I do good?" He asked, pulling her against him.

Her fingers snaked up his neck and tangled in his hair. "Hmm, you did alright. I guess," she teased as she placed a kiss on his lips. She felt the tattooed man grin against her before pulling away.

"I got a bottle of wine in here somewhere. . ." He murmured, bending down to open the basket.

Ali was still standing, her eyes darting everywhere as she took in the beautiful scenery—it was reminiscent of that scene in twilight, just without the aggressive blue filter. "Where did you find this place?" She asked, not turning to look back down at him.

"Don't worry about it," she heard him say, voice shaking.

Concerned by the shift in tone, she finally turned back to him and suddenly she felt like she was flying. There he knelt on one grazed knee, wearing his heart on his sleeve with a small black box held out to her. Even though she'd been expecting it, the rapid rush of emotions caught her off guard and a tear slid down her cheek before he could even get any words out.

"Alianna Greer," he started to say, getting choked up himself.

She felt her hands cover her mouth as he grabbed her free one. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes," she blurted out.

Jordan laughed nervously, wiping his eye on his sleeve. "You haven't even let me say my speech—I practiced it a lot, you know," he whispered, unable to break the intense eye contact they'd formed.

But he didn't need to say anymore—no grand speech or anything was needed to convince her to marry him, she already had her mind made up. It hadn't been an 'if' about marrying him, it had always been a 'when'.

Alianna Riki, eh? She could get used to that.

💌

💌 karla yaps!

hello hello, it's been a WHILE. but with this book hitting 80k & the one year anniversary of this being published coming up, i thought i'd give you guys a little treat <3

it was so fun to be writing for this pairing again, i've missed them so dearly. it's never fully over & depending on other milestones we may hit, there might be room for more bonus chapters in the future.

reece walsh & kotoni staggs books are in the distant makings btw 😋