Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Noel
One Month Later
I’m listening to one of my old hockey teammates, Alex Dearden, recounting our time together on the US Olympic men’s hockey team. We won silver, and we had a hell of a time celebrating in Switzerland.
My eyes can’t focus on him, though. Not when my radiant fiancée is nearby, dancing with Suki’s friend Dex.
It’s been two weeks since our first Christmas together. Carter and Suki are hosting a party at their friend Harry’s restaurant to celebrate our engagement and Jules’s thirtieth birthday.
“I think you finally got it right,” my friend Olivier says, putting an arm around my shoulders. “She’s very different from the other two.”
“Very different.”
“I heard she’s a style influencer. Did she pick this out for you?” He tugs on the lapel of the sport coat I’m wearing, which is dark khaki.
“That was all me.”
Dex twirls Jules, saying something that makes her throw her head back with laughter. She’s wearing a blue dress that hugs her in all the right places, her hair loose around her shoulders.
“How was Christmas?” Olivier asks.
“It was good. We did dinner and presents on Christmas Day and then we all went skiing in Park City for a couple days.”
Jules, Blair, Eli, and Cooper mostly snow tubed, but they had a great time. My kids got to know Jules’s family better. We had a lot of laughs and good times.
“Did you have a good Christmas?” I ask Olivier.
“Yeah, we did. We always spend it in Paris these days.”
The song ends, and instead of playing another one, the DJ passes a microphone to Talia.
“Hey everyone, if you don’t know me, I’m Talia Turner, Noel’s daughter.
I just want to take a moment to thank Carter and Suki Stanton for hosting this amazing party, and also Harry for the beautiful venue and incredible food.
Jules has been my girl since we first met, and I couldn’t be happier that she’s now my dad’s girl, too. ”
Jules makes her way over to me, and she blows a kiss to Talia as I put my arm around her waist.
“I know what everyone’s wondering—were we, Noel’s children, shocked when our dad proposed to Jules at center ice? Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing we keep smelling salts handy in the locker room, because I nearly fainted.”
That gets a laugh. Jules looks up at me warmly.
“There were disappointed men not only in our locker room, but around the globe when Dad officially took Jules off the market. We’re sure some women were disappointed that Dad’s not single anymore, but we have yet to hear from them.”
I laugh and tip back my tumbler of Macallan. I’ll never forget the night I proposed to Jules, not only because she made me the happiest man in the world, but because pretty much our entire team was gobsmacked over it. My players congratulated me, but I could tell they had lots of questions.
Talia focused on work, not saying anything to me until after the game. I can still remember every word we exchanged as soon as we got back to the locker room after our 4–2 win.
“Dad, what in the actual fuck is this alternate reality? Have you and Jules even been out on a date before?”
I arched my brows in response. “You think I just proposed to her out of nowhere?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. Were you with her on Thanksgiving night?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened with disbelief. “The dinner party.”
“Was awkward, yes. But we got through it.”
“Who else knows about this? Why did I find out this way?”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “No one knew, Tally. Just me and Jules. We didn’t know how serious it would become.”
She shook her head. “I guess ... as long as you’re willing to cover the therapy I may need later, I’m happy for you.”
“Babe, quit it,” Lucien interjected, offering me his hand.
“Congratulations. I couldn’t be happier for you. She seems like a great woman, and you deserve to be happy.”
I shake his hand, grateful for his immediate and total support.
Talia shot a glare at him. “Okay, yeah. All that, Dad. I am happy for you. Engagements are exciting. I hope to one day experience one myself.”
Lucien ignored the jab. The two of them are a perfect fit, but he told me he plans to surprise her with a real proposal when the time’s right, which won’t be during a busy hockey season.
“So, Jules,” Talia says, raising a glass in the air.
“Happy birthday from me, Audra, Chloe, and Chase. Soon you’ll be driving us around in your new minivan and buying us Starbucks.
” She locks eyes with Jules, smiling. “But seriously, you make our dad very happy and we already love you so much. Welcome to the family.”
Everyone raises their glasses for the toast, Jules clinking hers against mine. As soon as we both take a sip, I kiss her, still intoxicated by the scent of her perfume.
We’ve talked a lot about our future. She wants to get married a year from the next offseason, and she wants a big wedding in Cleveland, so all our friends and family can be there.
I’m already shopping for a new home for not just me and her, but also Blair and her boys.
Jules thought I’d be reluctant to live with them, but I’m not.
Eli and Cooper are great kids, and they’ve both started in youth hockey since we got engaged.
We’ll find a home that’s comfortable for all of us. The boys asked for a pool, and I’m happy to accommodate, even if it means having a pool installed at a home we build.
There may be more kids in the house in the future, but we haven’t decided on that yet. Jules doesn’t think she wants to have kids, but she said she may want to adopt one.
She’s worked hard to get to know Chase and Chloe, spending time with each of them individually and making dinners for all of us at my place.
“Now we’re doing a song requested for the birthday girl by her fiancé,” the DJ says.
I pass my drink to Olivier, taking Jules’s hand as “All of Me” by John Legend starts. I used to be a guy who didn’t like dancing in public, but it’s important to Jules that I don’t just say I’m proud to be with her, but also show it.
This is me showing it. Happiness shines in her eyes as I put my hand on her waist and pull her close to dance.
She sighs softly, resting her cheek against the front of my shoulder.
“Would you still want me if I had praying mantis legs instead of my legs and hands?”
I laugh and kiss her forehead. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“This is just how my brain works. I’ll be asking you these questions for the rest of your life.”
“Hm. Well, I need some clarification then. Would you use the legs to hold me so you could eat my head off after sex?”
“I can’t make any promises. It would depend on how hungry I was.”
I bark out a single note of laughter. “Then I’m gonna have to say no, babe. I want to keep my head attached.”
“Okay, but Lainey is a science genius and she told me the male praying mantis doesn’t die immediately when his head gets bitten off. Scientists think it actually enhances sex. So it’s the ultimate kink.”
“So decapitation, one earth-shattering orgasm, and then death?”
“Yes, but your genes would endure.”
“I’m gonna have to get back to you on that one.”
“I’d still love you even if you had mantis legs.”
I wrap my arms around her fully, bringing her body all the way against mine.
“Would you?” I ask softly, my mouth beside her ear. “Even if I sliced your nipples off with my razor-sharp legs?”
“Damn, babe. You made that dark.”
“Darker than getting my head eaten off?”
She runs a hand up the back of my neck, into my hair. “New subject. I love you so much.”
“I love you so much, too.”
“Is this our song now?”
“I think it should be. I picked it out because of the lyrics.”
She listens for a few seconds, smiling. “I’m your end and your beginning?”
“You’re my everything. End, beginning, and every second in between.”
She kisses me softly.
“You’re mine, too,” she says against my lips.
The song ends, but we stay there, unaware of anything but the two of us. For me, the music is her. She’s my ocean and my sky. The air I breathe and the star that shines brighter than any other, guiding me home.
Home to her.