46. You Can Do Whatever You Want
OLIVIA
The speed with which I race home from work on Thursday to see Carter is embarrassing. I trip over my own two feet as I burst into the house, calling his name.
I drop to my knees to give Dublin pets as he licks my face, and I’m still calling for Carter as I move through the house.
He’s not home. His overnight bag on the bed tells me he’s been home at some point, and there’s a single rose laying over my pillow next to a small package of chocolate-covered Oreos, decorated with mini M&Ms. A scrap of paper lies next to the treats.
Win or lose tomorrow, I don’t have to spend a single night away from you for the next three months, and nothing makes me happier.
I fucking love you.
I tuck the note away in the bedside table with all the others he leaves and pull my vibrating phone from my pocket as I make my way downstairs with my rose and cookies.
World’s Sexiest Man: hi princess. sorry I’m not home. *sad emoji* coach has us going over some footage. i’ll pick up dinner on way home. luv u *kiss emoji* *tongue emoji*
I’m greedy and I don’t want to wait any longer to see him.
But I tuck my irrational sadness away and leash up Dublin, taking him for a hike on one of the forested trails before we curl up on the couch with The Office reruns.
Dublin’s out immediately, exhausted from the trek, and it doesn’t take me long to follow.
I wake to someone fiddling with my fingers, barely registering Dublin jumping down from the couch. Blinking away the blurriness, my gaze finds Carter as he rises to his feet. He’s grinning down at me, sucking on a damn Ring Pop of all things.
“I thought you were off junk food.” The words are groggy as I try to sit up.
I want to jump into his arms but my body’s not cooperating.
Carter and I were on FaceTime well after midnight, as were Cara and Emmett—in another room, for good reason—and then I had to deal with Cara at work again all day today.
Tired doesn’t begin to describe how I’m feeling.
My only solace is that Cara will be sleeping in her own bed tonight.
“It’s a celebration. It’s the weekend this house officially becomes our family home, and the weekend I bring home the cup.” So much joy lives in his expression, endless excitement dancing in his eyes, and it only spurs my own happiness.
“I can’t honestly tell what you’re more excited about.” My arms fly overhead with my yawn, and I note the heaviness to my left hand.
“You being with me. Forever.”
I hear the words. I appreciate the hell out of them. But I’m too busy staring down at the red Ring Pop he’s stuck on my ring finger. “Why do I have a candy ring on my finger?”
Carter’s still grinning like an idiot—a sweet, handsome idiot. He sucks his ring into his mouth. “I just wanna pretend you’re mine.”
“I am yours.” Haven’t we covered this?
“For all eternity, I mean.” Carter picks up my hand, his finger tracing over my nails before sliding down to the ring. His brilliant green eyes find mine, alive and radiant. “So this is temporary until I replace it with one you cannot eat.”
“W-w-w—” I stop, because I simply cannot. I’m not sure what I’m attempting to say. We’ve talked about marriage, yet this feels like… more . I can’t explain it, and my mouth agrees, which is why my jaw opens and closes several times.
With a tender smile, Carter cups my face. “You’re the cutest when I render you speechless.” He swoops me into his arms and starts toward the staircase. “Now let’s go. I need to show you how much I missed you, and my dick needs to make a home inside you.”
* * *
Carter’s already left for his morning skate when I wake up.
He barely slept last night, his hands spending most of the night anxiously roaming my body.
I swore I could hear the wheels turning, his nerves for the game tonight getting the best of him.
It wasn’t until two when I turned over in his arms, ran my fingers through his hair and down his back, that he finally drifted to sleep.
Though I only got five hours of sleep and usually require eight to function, I’m feeling exceptionally chipper this morning.
I had one personal day to use up before the end of the school year, and you bet your ass I took it today.
That also means I have no working Fridays left since exams only go until Thursday next week. Four more workdays and I’m home free.
Dublin and I head out back to enjoy the sunshine while I eat my breakfast, and when Carter walks through the door, I’m on the phone with Cara for the second time this morning, discussing what outfit she should wear tonight.
“Part of me wants to be super sexy for Em tonight and just wear one of his jerseys and heels, but then, like, I’m worried it’s gonna be cold in the arena. And also, is it inappropriate? It’s huge, so it covers my ass.”
“Inappropriate,” I murmur as Carter comes up behind me, hugging me around the waist and kissing my neck. He pats his chest and when Dublin jumps up, Carter lifts him into his arms, carrying him around like he’s a baby instead of a sixty-five-pound dog.
“You’re no fun.” I can hear Cara’s pout through the phone.
“I’m plenty of fun, but I have no desire to accidentally flash any people or cameras my ass or vagina.”
Carter’s eyes hood, brows pulling together as he angry-mouths Only for me . His face lights like a slot machine when I slip his breakfast on a plate, and he somehow manages to sit at a stool, keep the dog on his lap, and scarf down his meal, all while humming happily.
“I bet Carter would appreciate you wearing nothing but his jersey.”
Carter’s lips purse as he considers Cara’s word. His head starts bobbing, and he purrs with satisfaction as he munches his toast. “In our house only.”
“Listen to you two,” Cara gushes. “ Our house. Adorable. See, Liv, right from the start I said, ‘That Carter Beckett is good news.’ I knew you’d be the perfect couple.”
“That’s not exactly how I remember that conversation going. In fact, I distinctly remember you putting me in a headlock and screaming no! at me.” I pat Carter’s chest when he pouts. “It’s okay. Took us a little while but we got where we needed to be, didn’t we?”
Before I can catch Cara’s response, Carter tugs the phone from my hand. “’Kay, Care, Liv needs to go now. See you toniiight.”
“But I have to talk to her about my wedding!” I hear her shriek, but Carter ends the call and sets my phone down.
His arms wind around me, pulling me close. “Do you think she’ll be a nightmare for our wedding too?”
“I think I’ll just hand over the reins and let her do whatever the hell she wants. It’ll be easier than fighting with her.”
“Hmm.” With his hands in the pockets of my shorts, Carter twists me side to side. “Good idea. We like to keep crazy Cara in her cage.”
Sighing, I snuggle into his chest. “Somebody already let her out and it’s terrifying.”
Carter laughs, a gruff, rumbly sound that makes my body warm. His hands glide over my hips, dipping under the edge of my shirt, running up my sides. “I love that you took today off so you could give me good luck sex before the game.”
“That’s not why I took today off, Carter.”
“Shh, shh, shh,” he whispers. He lifts me onto the counter, dragging my shirt slowly over my belly. I raise my arms to let him slip it off, and his eyes twinkle as he takes me in. “Good luck sex.”
And good luck it is, because Carter scores the first goal of the game only four minutes into the first period.
Halfway through the third period, the Vipers are up 3–2, Cara’s losing her ever-loving mind, Hank’s repeatedly said he’s glad he’s blind because he’s too nervous to watch, and Holly’s nearly ripping out fistfuls of her hair.
Words are no longer possible for me. I feel like I’m going to vomit from the nerves, and Jennie’s lounging in her chair, chowing down on licorice like she doesn’t have a care in the world.
Until someone checks Carter into the boards from behind when he’s got his head down, eyes focused on the puck. Thankfully, he shakes it off and climbs back to his feet, but the whistle’s already blown and Jennie’s not having it.
She leaps to her feet, tossing the licorice at me as she slams her palms on the glass. “Toss that fucker in the penalty box! Go back to New York! We play real hockey here, you fucking douche-waffle!”
I snort a laugh and Carter shakes with laughter as he climbs onto the bench. Emmett slaps the glass and hollers, spurring Jennie on, and Garrett peers up at Jennie with this little half smile as he shuffles down the bench.
Carter gets a quick once-over from their trainer to make sure all is okay. Once he’s given the go-ahead, he hits me with a wink, finding a way to make squirting water into his mouth look like the sexiest thing in the world.
“Yeah, you sit your ass in there!” Jennie screams at the offender as he makes his way to the penalty box.
“Get nice and cozy in there, dipshit, ’cause that’s your home for the next five minutes!
” She drops back to her seat, ripping the licorice out of my hand.
“Fucking dickhole.” She looks my way with a dazzling, dimply smile.
“I’ve got a little bit of my older brother buried somewhere deep down. ”
I nab a Twizzler from her hand. “Yeah, I can certainly see that.”
The Rangers’ goalie is all but standing on his head tonight, and he manages to stop every single shot on him over the next five minutes. With the penalty over and only a few minutes left in the game, we’re still up by one.
Until we’re not. With thirty seconds left, there’s a battle for the puck behind the net. Adam’s head whips wildly, trying to keep track of it when another player slips in, steals the puck, and slides it right by his foot.
The game is tied. We’re going to overtime.