Epilogue
Nine Months Later
JT sat in a studio, waiting for Darcy LaCroix to ask her first question, and hoping to god that no one could tell how much she was sweating.
She’d met Darcy before, of course, at the Olympics when she’d made a complete ass of herself, and now she was wishing she’d told her team publicist she was sick so she didn’t have to do the interview.
JT saw movement in her peripheral vision. Natalie Carpenter walked toward Darcy. “Carpenter?” she asked.
Natalie smiled and leaned in to give Darcy a kiss on her cheek. “Did you think I was going to let you come in here and flirt with my fiancée without stopping by?”
JT’s mouth dropped open and her face burned.
Darcy laughed and swatted Natalie’s leg. “Go on, I have work to do.”
Natalie grinned and walked off the set. “I’m watching you, Coxie,” she said over her shoulder. Coxie looked at her lap and twisted her fingers together. She tried taking a deep breath.
“Cox, it’s going to be okay.”
JT looked up and found Darcy smiling at her. “What?”
“You look a little nervous, that’s all. Forget Nat, you know how she is. I’m not going to give you a hard time, you know that, right?”
JT nodded shakily. “Right. Yeah. Just, you know.”
Darcy laughed. “I’m not exactly sure what you mean by that, but I think I get you anyway.” Darcy touched her earpiece. “Okay. You ready?”
JT nodded and adjusted her jacket for the seven hundredth time.
“JT Cox, reigning league MVP. Thanks for joining us today.”
JT nodded and tried not to fiddle with her hands. “Thanks for having me.”
“The last time I saw you was the winter games where you and Team USA won gold. Now you’re sitting here with a league championship and a league MVP to your name. You’ve had quite a year.”
JT blushed. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined all of that in one year. Of course, I grew up dreaming of those kinds of accomplishments, but to have them so early in my career and all in the same year is honestly overwhelming.”
“I can imagine. Now you’re getting ready for your second year in Boston. How are you hoping this year will go?”
“You know, I’m hoping we can build on what we did last year, bring our new folks into the fold, and hopefully give our fans a lot to cheer about.
We’ve got the best fans here in Boston, and we want to make sure we put on a good show for them.
” She put her palm on her thigh, trying not to be too obvious about the fact her hands were sweaty.
Darcy smiled. “And your fans love you and your personality on and off the ice. Can you tell me some highlights from the past season?”
JT relaxed as joyful thoughts flooded her brain.
“Honestly, there’s nothing better than meeting all the kids who come to watch us.
No slight to the adult fans, I love you all, too.
But when I was a little girl playing hockey, I didn’t have a girls’ team to play on until I got to college.
And being close enough for my family to come to games has been incredible now my nieces and nephew are all learning to play. It’s all a dream come true.”
“You were the captain of your high school team, right?”
JT nodded. “Yeah. The guys I played with were amazing, but not everyone was happy to see a girl out there. To have little girls in my hometown have places to play and get to see us big girls compete professionally has been a dream come true.” JT was not going to cry, but tears threatened the corners of her eyes.
She blinked them away as fast as she could.
“Anything else that’s brought you happiness this past year?”
JT heard the sound of paws on the hard floor and turned to find Toby running at her. “Oh my god. Toby, what are you doing?”
Darcy laughed. “Who is this?”
JT bent over and grabbed for Toby’s collar. “This is my girl, Toby. I got her after the Olympics. Since she’s yellow, I named her after the chocolate bars I ate in Switzerland. She’s always there for me and she’s always so happy to see me when I come home from a road trip. She’s the best.”
Darcy smiled and looked off camera. “Where does Toby go when you’re on the road?”
JT froze. Was Darcy asking about Ali on camera? She had not prepared for this. She heard footsteps rushing toward them and saw Ali with a huge grin.
A chair materialized next to JT, and Ali sat down.
“I’m the dogsitter,” Ali said cheekily. “When JT’s away, Toby and I hang out.”
Darcy held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, dogsitter.”
JT scowled. “What are you doing? You’re not the dogsitter, you’re—” She stopped, looking around at all the cameras.
Darcy laughed. “Should we tell her?”
Ali smiled. “Babe, I’m here to ask you a question.”
JT shook her head. “No.”
Ali laughed. “I haven’t even said anything and you’re telling me no? Please.”
JT was freaking out. “Ali, what are you doing?”
Ali held out her hand and opened it to show her palm.
“I’m seeing if you might like to move in with me.
” She looked at Darcy. “And no, the cameras are not rolling. What kind of asshole do you think I am? I’m not asking you to marry me.
I’m not sure I’m up for another marriage at this point, but I love you and I want you to move in with me and Toby. ”
“With you and Toby? She’s my dog!”
“Bullshit, she loves me more. Deal with it.” Ali’s face softened. “So, what do you think? Can you handle living next door to your parents?”
JT smiled. “The next-door thing wouldn’t be my first choice, but…nothing would make me happier than to live with you.” She kissed Ali and then pulled back to look at Darcy. “You swear no one’s taping this?”
Darcy nodded. “Look, I know a thing or two about being on camera with the woman you love. I swear they’re off. But if you don’t mind introducing Ali to our viewers, I have a couple questions.”
JT looked at Ali. “You up for it?”
Ali gestured to her outfit. “Why do you think I look so hot?”
“Born that way?”
Darcy laughed. “God, Nat did say you’ve always got a line ready.”
After they got Ali a mic, they restarted the interview.
“JT, rumor has it you have a thing for goalies. Ali, does that mean you play in goal?”
Ali shook her head. “My playing days ended a long time ago, and I was never a goalie. I’m too short for soccer goalie anyway.”
JT blushed deep red. “But you did play catcher.” She looked at Darcy.
“I have to confess that I first fell for Ali when I was a teenager. And part of what drew me to her was the fact that she was a catcher in softball. There’s something about the intensity behind the mask.
” She looked at Ali. “Completely irresistible.”
Ali smiled. “Really? I never knew that.”
“Yeah, whatever thing I had for goalies came from my teenage crush on you. When it comes to who I love, it’s always been you.”
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