Epilogue - Madison
Imake my way through the stadium, thankful for Ace’s training that keeps the crowd from bothering him too much.
He’s clearly on alert, ears up and twitching, but his tail isn’t between his legs and he’s not panting.
All good signs I’ve learned. We make our way up to the VIP floors where you have to show your ticket to even get on the escalator.
I have my own ID now. One of the perks of both working for the Wolves and dating Liam.
We slip into the suite quietly because we’re already late for warmups since one of my classes ran longer than expected, and my ladies take their warmup watching seriously.
As usual, Ace makes a beeline for Abby, Joslyn’s dog, who's perched like a princess on her custom doggie bed in the corner. They’re besties now.
They greet each other with whines and licks before settling down together to share the bed, Ace behind her, covering her with one of his paws like they’re spooning.
It’s beyond adorable. Joslyn and I take a picture every time.
I’m sure all our friends are sick to death of seeing them.
Joslyn waves me over. She’s down by the window with Lily, Mel, and Lexi. I smile because I love spending time with my girls. I’m even starting to enjoy watching hockey again. No one was more surprised than I was, except maybe Walker.
“Maddie, I’m so glad you could make it.” Joslyn says as we exchange hugs.
I move around the group until everyone’s gotten their respective hugs, before I flop into the closest seat.
I need a minute after the rat race of today.
Thank goodness I have tomorrow off, because tonight’s game is later than usual.
Lila really stepped up around the studio, and I’m able to get one or sometimes even two days off a week, plus my Sunday. It’s been wonderful.
“I’ve been hoping we’d get a chance to chat tonight.” Joslyn says as she takes the seat next to mine. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at all in the last few weeks and we work in the same building.”
“I know. I’ve had so much going on lately. How are you? How’s everything going with you and Damon?” I ask.
“Really good. Move than good, actually.” She tells me in a low voice. “We decided it was time to move in together. We were pretty much there already, but now it official.”
“Aww. I’m so happy for you guys! How are you feeling about it?”
“Surprisingly calm, but then that’s pretty much how our entire relationship has gone. What about you? How are thing with Liam?”
“It gets better and better every day. Which still catches me off guard occasionally. It’s not official or anything, but he spends most of his time at my place when he’s not on the road.”
“We were the same. That’s what led us to make it official. I like having things defined in our relationship, and Damon’s the same way. But that’s us. Everyone’s different. How’s therapy going? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“It’s been one the best things I’ve ever done for myself.” I tell her with a smile. “I won’t say I’m not still angry about things sometimes, but my relationship with anger is so much healthier now. I can’t tell you enough how thankful I am that we talked that night.”
“I’m so thrilled for you, Maddie. It made such a difference for me, and I’m so glad to see that happen for you too.”
“Mom, game’s about to start.” Lily shouts in our direction. She doesn’t attend the home games as often as Joslyn or I do, but lately I’ve seen her more often in the last month. I make a mental note to ask her about it later.
We stand up so we can move closer to the glass, be Joslyn pulls me over for a girl hug first. I hug her tight so she knows how much I appreciate her friendship and support.
“Okay.” She says as she pulls away. “Now it’s time to watch some hockey.
Liam's having the best year of his hockey career, and I love that for him. Along with Liam, my brother and Austin make up the first line of forwards this year, and they are killing it. According to Joslyn, who it appears is a walking reference book of hockey statistics, their number of goals and assists for this year is more than the total goals for the Wolves for the last ten years. What that really means is that they’re kicking ass together and having a fantastic year.
I’ve honestly never seen Liam or my brother happier about their careers.
Walker's and my relationship has morphed into a solid support system.
Thanks to a lot of therapy and much better communication between the two of us.
The three of us, Walker, Liam, and I, probably have dinner together at least once or twice a week.
Kenji even comes every once in a while. We haven't seen much of him lately.
Apparently, he's working with a new trainer who's based in Philly, so he spends a lot of time there.
I think he's more of a hockey fan than he lets on because he goes to a lot of the Panther's home games.
Joslyn says that he and her son Sebastian have become friends.
I'm glad he's got someone to hang out with, but I miss him.
We don't talk nearly as much as I'd like now that Liam and I are together.
I make a mental note to be a better friend and call him more often.
I like watching hockey much better now that I have a group of women I love to be with while I'm doing it.
My girl squad is the absolute best, and I wouldn't want to do life without them.
Joslyn's become both a friend and a mentor for me, and it's helping to heal some of the wound that my mom left behind.
Not all of them, but they don't seem as sharp as they used to be, and that's a win in my book.
I love the life that Liam and I are building together.
The supportive and loving relationship we've created is everything I knew was possible, but never expected to see outside of a romance novel.
Which isn't to say that everything is easy.
It's not. I still get angry sometimes, and he still gets complacent.
But we're always growing and learning to be better, and we're doing it together. That's really what matters in the end.