Milan Style

A whirlwind year awaits Tamika Catchings. Her last season in the WNBA. Adjusting to life as a newlywed. Her first book release.

And after it's all done? Catchings has even bigger plans. The Indiana Fever star revealed details of what's next for her, as well as the scoop on herrecent marriage and new husband Parnell Smith to IndyStar on Wednesday inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The fake out proposal

They were living in two states, Smith in Rockford, Ill., and Catchings in Indianapolis. He was coming back to visit, for a date night.

"And he arranged a car service to come pick me up and I was kind of like, 'Oh you know I'd rather drive myself. I can drive Downtown,' " Catchings recalled. "He was like, 'No, because afterward I want to be able to get in the car together and go home.' "

So the driver picks Catchings up and drops her off at a hotel. She wondered, was she in the right place? Then Smith emerges in the hotel lobby. He leads Catchings upstairs to a fancy dinner at the Eagle's Nest. While they sat eating, a waitress asked them if they were there for any special occasion.

"I looked at him and I'm like, 'No. No. Just here for date night, the official date night,' " Catchings said. "So we had a great dinner. I could tell he was kind of nervous." But nothing happened.

The real proposal

After dinner, the couple headed home. Catchings had an early workout the next morning, so she asked Smith how long he was going to stay. She needed to get to bed.

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"So I go upstairs and I take off (my clothes) and I'm dressed so cute that night, so cute. I don't remember what I had on but I was cute," she said. "And I go and I change and I have my little bonnet on, my glasses on, all my sleep clothes on and he comes in and he has his iPad and he's just scrolling through his iPad and he was like 'Hey. Check this out.' "

Smith hands Catchings the iPad and pictures of the two of them start popping up. In the background is their favorite song, "What Took You So Long" by Tyrese. And then at the end, the iPad pauses and Smith looks at Catchings.

"He's like, 'I'm just so thankful for the opportunity that I met you and I'm so blessed that God brought you into my life,' " Catchings recalled. "And then at the end he was like, 'I just have one question.' And then it flashed on the screen and he was on his knees."

Asking her to marry him. She gasped.

"Yes. I will. I will," she said. "And then I got mad. I was like, wait a minute. We were at the restaurant and I was dressed cute and you wait until I look like this? That's got to be the epitome of great love, right?"

The wedding

There were few bells and whistles. The wedding took place at the Skyline Club. Before the ceremony, Catchings and Smith went to Monument Circle and Bankers Life Fieldhouse for pictures.

"You saw the picture of me dunking on him, yeah. In my heels. No, not really," Catchings said, laughing.

The wedding was quick. A reception was held in the room next door. It was a small gathering of family and friends.

"Twenty-seven people, including the photographer," she said. "Perfect."

Kids?

"I want to have a family. I want to have my own kids. I want to adopt some kids," she said. "When I was younger I said I wanted five. Parnell's not really there with me so we're working on him."

Three things she loves about Smith

"His smile. His spirit. And his hugs (and kisses)," she said.

Her last season

"I think it's a mixture right now (of emotions). I'm not sad because I'm still going through the training process of it," she said. "But I know once the season starts and especially as it gets to the end, it's going to be every single moment. Every single moment, even right now, it matters."

Post-retirement plans

"I don't know. I've talked so long about wanting to be a general manager, but what I've come to conclude and the thing I know I don't like? I love playing basketball, but I'm not necessarily one that is going to sit and watch game after game after game," she said. "So I love the background stuff that goes into the game and the team, especially with the players, just building players, so something with basketball more from a personal side and just being able to help them become better professionals."

Being an author

"Catch A Star," a book that reveals how Catchings fought through adversity to become a champion, will be released March 1. It took three years to write.

"It's just my journey, my journey starting from when I was a little girl and then now of course, through the injuries, just the experiences that I've had, the things that I've learned," Catchings said. "You guys know I'm a very faith-oriented person, so my faith is kind of intertwined through everything that's written."

The book can be purchased at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.

"But I need you to buy it," she said. "because I want it to be on the (New York Times) best-sellers list, at least for one week. That would be awesome. It's like my bucket list, so let's make it happen."

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