Chapter 8
The arena is electric tonight. The roar of the crowd hums through the air, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Blue Ridge Buffalo jerseys and tees in royal blue and dozens of sizes fill the stands, but mine? Mine is special.
Hand-sewn, custom-designed, and bedazzled to perfection, it’s Jack’s jersey, number nine, the captain’s “C” embroidered in shimmering gold thread on the front left side. I’m pressed up against the glass, my breath fogging up the surface, my fingers clutching the railing as I watch the love of my life skate across the ice like he owns it.
And tonight, he does.
It’s the final game of the season, and if the Buffaloes win, they take the division title and move on to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in years. The stakes are high, but Jack? He’s cool and collected, like this is just another day on the ice.
I, on the other hand, am a nervous wreck.
I can barely breathe as the clock winds down, the scoreboard locked in a tie, 2-2. The puck moves back and forth across the ice, players crashing into each other, the sound of sticks clashing echoing through the arena. My heart is in my throat, my hands trembling as I grip the railing tighter.
Jack, the center, intercepts a pass at center ice, his stick moving with lightning speed as he skates toward the goal. The crowd holds its breath, and I swear, time slows down. Everything fades away—the noise, the people, the pressure—until it’s just him. Jack. My Jack.
He passes to the left wing, a man named Chase Kingston, but Chase gets thrown against the boards across from me. I yell a protest with everyone else, and somehow Chase manages to flick the puck back to Jack.
He winds up, his body coiled like a spring, and then— bam! The puck flies through the air, a one-touch hit, slipping past the goalie’s outstretched glove and into the back of the net.
I scream so loud, I’m pretty sure I’m doing some permanent damage to my throat, but I don’t care. Jack’s teammates swarm him, their sticks clattering against the ice as they pile on top of him in celebration.
“The Buffaloes win!” the announcer screams through the mic. “They’ve done it! The Buffaloes are going to the Stanley Cup!”
Tears prick at my eyes as I watch Jack skate toward me, his helmet off, his hair damp with sweat. His blue eyes lock on mine, and even through the chaos, through the noise and the celebration, I see his pure love for me.
The moment he reaches the glass, he taps it with his stick, and I press my hand against it, our eyes meeting through the barrier. He grins, that crooked, charming smile that makes my heart do backflips, and I yell, “I love you!”
He nods, his grin widening, and then, without warning, he motions for me to come down onto the ice.
I blink, surprised, but before I can argue, one of the rink attendants is escorting me through a side door and onto the ice. My boots slip slightly as I step out, but Jack is there in an instant, his strong arms wrapping around me, steadying me, pulling me close.
“What’s going on?” He’s never pulled me down onto the ice before.
Jack chuckles, but then his expression turns serious, his eyes soft as they search mine. My heart stutters in my chest.
“Poppy Brighton,” he says, his voice low and rough, filled with so much love it makes my knees weak. Suddenly, Liam’s holding a mic to Jack’s mouth.
“Say it again, brother,” he said.
Jack takes a small, velvet box from his right wingman and drops to one knee right there on the ice, in front of the entire arena.
The crowd hushes.
“Poppy Brighton,” he says again, this time into the mic. “You’ve changed my life in ways I never thought possible.” He takes a breath, because he just scored the division-winning goal. “You’ve made me a better man, a better player, and I can’t imagine my future without you in it.”
He opens the box, revealing the most stunning ring I’ve ever seen—simple, elegant, and perfectly huge. “Will you marry me?”
Tears blur my vision, and the crowd around us starts to chant. “Mar-ry him! Mar-ry him!”
All I can see is Jack. My Jack. The man who loves me, who believes in me, who has made me feel like I’m the only person in the world who matters. The man who loves me no matter what size I am.
Liam moves the mic so close, I can feel the chill of the metal against my lips.
“Yes,” I breathe, my voice trembling. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The arena explodes in cheers as Jack slips the ring onto my finger, and before I can even process what’s happening, he’s on his feet, pulling me into his arms and kissing me like his life depends on it.
The world spins around us as he twirls us on the ice in his skates, the cold beneath my feet and the warmth of his body pressing against mine.
Jack pulls back slightly, his forehead resting against mine as he smiles. “I love you, Poppy Winters,” he whispers, and hearing my future last name sends a thrill through me.
“I love you too, Jack Winters,” I say.
Oh, boy - I love this hockey instalove romcom!
Woo hoo! Jack and Poppy’s love isn’t on thin ice anymore! If you’d like to stick with the Blue Ridge Buffaloes and read another sweet hockey romcom instalove - this time as goalkeeper Liam finds himself head over heels in love with the curvy dog bakery owner - get LOVE IN THE NET now!
Leave a review for Jack and Poppy - maybe she’ll be able to get those candles that smell like him made, and maybe you’ll get to see him strut down the catwalk in another of her fashions!