The Publicity Stunt

33. Epilogue

Bri stands in the Twisters VIP box with most of Kace”s family, Tessa, and Rudy, as they watch Kace and Brett out on the ice in the finals. The Twisters and the DC Eagles are tied with three wins each, and whoever wins today takes home the Stanley Cup. Bri can”t remember ever being this stressed out in her life.

”There”s only five minutes left,” Rudy says. ”They”re tied right now, so as long as they don”t let the Eagles score, they”ll go into overtime.”

Bri happened to have the TV on in the background while she was cleaning, and she saw a press release shortly after Kace signed with the Twisters. Rudy told everyone he was a big reason Kace wanted to leave the Bootleggers, and that he”d spoken prematurely before when he talked about the relationship between Kace and Bri being fake. He said he lied about his indiscretions with puck bunnies, and to his knowledge, Kace had never gone after one. He”s a one-woman man, and he always has been. He then apologized to Bri on camera for all the pain and suffering he caused her.

With Brett and Kace playing for the same team, Bri knew they needed to work out their issues before training started. Because of the interview, she invited both Brett and Rudy to her rental place for dinner with Kace. It was during that dinner that friendships were mended. Kace admitted later that the only reason he forgave Rudy was because she did. He doesn”t know if he can fully trust Rudy, but he”ll come up with a way to try and figure it out.

”Where”s Sasha?” Bri asks him as the Eagles call a timeout.

Rudy and Sasha had been off and on for a while, and Bri”s somewhat happy to see the woman not with them. Something about her still bothers Bri.

”We, uh, we decided to call it quits last week. There”s a lot of damage we caused, and it”s hard to move past it. It”s best if we just make a clean break,” Rudy says.

Even as he says the words, she can tell it breaks his heart. Maybe these two people were destined for each other in a way no one else could quite understand.

”I can”t say I”m disappointed,” Victor says, joining their conversation. ”Sasha has never been very pleasant.”

”She”s a bitch,” Tessa interjects. ”No offense, but Mr. Lyons is being nice. She”s a shallow bitch.”

The woman has so many opinions, considering she’s never met the woman. Tessa’s been spending time with Brett recently, and it’s obvious who’s been feeding her this information.

It”s obvious Rudy wants to say something to defend her, but he stays silent. Bri feels bad for him.

”Maybe we all got off on the wrong foot with her,” she offers.

”She”s shallow, babe,” Tessa says. ”Plain and simple. I don”t know how you did it for as long as you did.”

”She wasn”t like that with me,” Rudy says as the team jumps back onto the ice.

Bri pats his shoulder. ”Don”t fight your heart,” she says into his ear. ”Trust me, it”ll feel like you”re dying.”

He nods and rubs his nose. ”It just doesn”t feel right now that Kace and I are rebuilding our friendship. He”s even trusting me with secrets. I know they”re test secrets, but it”s something.”

”He doesn”t care if you”re with Sasha. And I know for a fact because he talked about burying the hatchet with you before the interview about us. He missed having you as a friend, and he didn”t care that you were with her. He still doesn”t.”

”Yeah, but what happens if we do some type of get together? You can”t tell me bringing Sasha over for a dinner party wouldn”t be awkward.”

Tilting her head from side to side, something she’s picked up from Kace, she shrugs. ”Yeah, probably. But we”d figure it out. Especially if she”s a different person than we think she is. If you don”t want to be with her, and you, personally, cannot get past what happened, that”s one thing. But don”t make the decision for any other reason than that, Rudy. Seriously. You”ll regret it if you do.”

”I wish I could believe that. I feel like I”ll regret it if I stay with her.”

”But you keep slipping up with her. You have quite a few options, so you can”t tell me it”s because it”s convenient. You love her.”

Coughing, he looks around at everyone else in the box. ”No one else knows that.”

”You think it”s a secret?” she asks, her eyebrows high on her forehead. ”Seriously?”

”I”ve never told anyone that. Not even her.”

Her eyes go back to the ice as Kace gets the puck. ”Blind Martians in space can see it. It”s not a secret.”

Bri watches as Kace skates up quickly to the goal, stops suddenly, passes the puck to another player she doesn’t remember the name of, he passes it right back to Kace who slaps it into the net. The clock hits zero as the train horn sounds.

”Oh my God!” Bri screams and jumps up and down, pounding her hands on the plexiglass.

Kace turns and looks up at the box with shock as Brett and the rest of the team surround him. He just scored the final point in the finals.

”Kace just won the Stanley Cup,” she breathes, and the tears stream down her face. ”He did it. He did it!”

Victor pulls her into a hug, and she holds him tightly. ”Our boy did it!”

Looking over at Rudy, he pounds his fist on the plexiglass and shouts, ”Thata boy! You fucking did it!”

Tessa hugs Bri tightly, and they jump around while the rest of the family screams and cheers. They weren”t favored to win, but they pulled it off. The love of her life just achieved his lifetime dream.

”That”s my boyfriend!” Bri screams as more tears fill her eyes.

Never in her life has she ever been so proud of anyone. Seeing someone achieve their goals fills her heart up, but seeing how hard he worked, after falling from grace, makes her prouder than anything she”s ever won. He spent over twenty years on the ice to get here, and he finally did it.

”They”re rolling out the carpet for family to join,” Rudy says.

Victor turns to the extended family. ”Just us, okay?”

Brad nods, and even though he says he”s a football fan, not hockey, the pride in his eyes is unmistakable.

Victor takes her hand, and she grabs Tessa”s while Rudy follows behind. She itches to see Kace and hug him. Kiss him. Tell him how amazing he is.

The moment they step onto the carpet, Kace skates up, and she”s overcome with pride. Tears fill her eyes, and she grabs onto him as her knees buckle. ”Bri?”

”I can”t believe you did it!” Bri cries. ”You did it, Kace!”

He lifts her into his arms, and she wraps her arms around his neck to sob. ”It feels surreal.”

”I”m so proud of you! Oh my God, Kace, this is remarkable. You scored the winning goal to win the Stanley Cup! You achieved your dream. I... this is the greatest thing I”ve ever seen in my entire life.”

Setting her down, he smiles and lets his father hug him, followed by Tessa, and then even Rudy. Watching the two of them, Rudy genuinely happy for Kace, makes everything in the past feel like true history.

Brett skates up, and Bri jumps into his arms. ”Congrats!”

”Thanks, Bri! Did you see your boy?”

”I did. I can”t get over it. That was absolutely amazing,” she says as he sets her down. ”I don”t think this day could get any better. My nerves were going haywire up there. You guys were cutting it close!”

Smirking, he nods behind her. ”Are you sure this day couldn”t get any better?”

Bri turns, realizing how quiet those around her have become, and her hands fly to her mouth as she sees Kace on one knee with a black velvet box in his now gloveless hands. ”Oh my God.”

”I told you almost exactly a year ago that I was going to marry you, Bri Waters. Winning the Stanley Cup feels pretty amazing, but that”s not my dream. Not anymore. You are. Building a life with you is. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes look around as everyone seems to be in on this, and she can”t breathe. ”Are you serious right now?” she whispers.

Opening the box, he shows her a beautiful princess cut diamond ring set in a platinum band encrusted with sapphires. ”I”ve never been more serious in my life.”

Fresh tears fall, and she nods. ”Yes. Of course I will, Kace. Yes!”

He slips the ring onto her finger and lifts her into his arms, kissing her. ”This is the prize I planned on tonight. Win or lose, you”re the only thing that matters to me.”

Bri holds her hand out to look at the ring as he skates around the ice with her in his arms while the rest of the team congratulates them and looks at the ring. She”s met many of the other wives and girlfriends of the players, and they want to see how well he did.

”I designed it myself,” Kace says and smiles brightly.

”It”s so pretty,” she says and kisses him.

Bringing her back to the carpet, he looks into her eyes. ”Were you surprised?”

”Are you kidding? If you were going to propose, I never expected it to be right after you won the freaking Stanley Cup!”

Rudy hugs her, and Kace pulls him in for another tight hug. It hits her, and she looks at Rudy. ”Is this one of the secrets he tested with you?”

”Yep,” he says and smiles.

”We were all in on it,” Tessa says and leans on Brett.

Bri suspects something might be happening between the two of them, but she”s letting Tessa tell her who she”s spending time with when she”s ready. She won”t pry.

”I talked to the team ahead of time to make sure they would be okay if I got down on one knee if we won. I think it helped push us towards the win,” Kace says. ”God, this day is the best of my life!”

Giggling, she lets him lift her up into his arms again, and she wraps her own around his neck. ”I love you.”

”God, I love you, too,” he says and leans to her ear to whisper. ”I can”t wait to see how you look wearing nothing but that ring. That”s got to be the sexiest sight, and I can”t wait to memorize it.”

”The things you do to me, Kace Lyons. I can”t wait to call you my husband.”

”I plan to make you the happiest woman on Earth. Starting in our bed.”

Bri leans into his ear. ”Why wait until we get home? I reserved a limo for us to give us a little more room. It was either going to be a celebratory ride, or I”d do what I could to help lift your spirits. Among other parts of your body.”

”God, I fucking love you,” he says and kisses her. ”I can”t believe that I won the ultimate prize today. It”s crazy to think it all started with a publicity stunt, and I don”t think I would change a thing.”

”Me, neither, Kace. Me neither.”