Epilogue
Beatrice
“Ican’t believe these seats,” Sienna squeals beside me. She’s so excited, she’s practically vibrating.
“Welcome to the WAGs club,” Casey says with a wide smile, her eyes locked on Kodie as he warms up with the rest of the guys.
“I’m so lucky you’re marrying a hockey player,” Sienna breathes.
“There are plenty of others on offer, if you want one.”
“Pfft.” She waves me off with a flick of her hand. “None of them are interested in me.”
“You never know. The new trade is hot,” I say, pointing at one of our new wingers who was traded last week. “Rumor has it he’s single. Or…” I begin listing off other single players.
“Seriously?” Sienna balks.
“She wants you to join the club,” Freya teases.
“I’m good. I don’t need a man in my life right now. I’m more than happy getting my fill of eye candy on hockey nights.”
“Amen,” Casey hollers. “That’s it, baby, stretch those hips.”
Laughter peals out of me, but as I find my man doing the exact same thing, I can’t help but want to cheer right alongside her.
Everett is always hot. But I’d forgotten just how sinful those hip thrusts are.
“I’ve missed this,” I muse, although not quietly enough for the girls to miss.
“Aren’t you glad we had my birthday here? Imagine if we just went for a meal. You never would have met Rett and—”
“Don’t,” I say, unable to even consider not having Everett and our baby in my life. It might have been unexpected, but meeting him that night was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Who’d have thought that you’d start this season engaged to a player and growing his baby?”
I shake my head as I spin my engagement ring around my finger, still in disbelief.
Just like Everett said, Parker knew all about his plan to propose, and the second we stepped back into their wedding reception after he popped the question, the entire room erupted in cheers and Parker collided with me. It really was the best day.
We haven’t made any plans for ours yet. As much as Everett might want me to have the same name as him and our baby, the season starting and then giving birth are my biggest priorities. We’ll get there, though, and I have no doubt that it’ll be perfect for us.
We chat away as we watch the rest of warm-ups, and as the guys begin to clear the ice, ready for the game to start, I put my drink down and prepare to slip down the row so I can take a bathroom break before things get too intense.
But before I can go, a shriek rips from my lips as a player slams into the plexiglass right in front of me.
And when I look up, I find my fiancé grinning back at me.
“Jesus, you scared me,” I mutter, despite the fact he probably can’t hear me.
“Turn around,” he demands, his cocky smirk firmly in place.
“I’m sorry,” I say, holding my hand to my ear. “What was that?”
“Turn around.”
Casey and Freya chuckle. “Go on, give the man what he wants. We want to win this opener.”
I duck my head, smiling while my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Slowly, I spin around, giving Everett what he wants.
“Fuck, yeah,” he barks, his gloved fists slamming against the boards. “That’s my girl right there.”
When I turn back, he’s looking around the arena, fuck knows who for. “Do you all see?” he asks no one in particular. “That’s my motherfucking girl.”
He rips his gloves off and presses his bare hands to the glass, gesturing for me to do the same.
Hesitantly, I do, aware that there are eighteen thousand people here tonight, ready to get this new season underway.
“Fucking love having you here watching me, sweetheart.” My chest tightens. “I’m gonna score a goal for you tonight. And when I do, I’m dedicating it to you.”
“Oh God.” My eyes flick up to the Jumbotron. I’ve seen numerous people showcased up there. I could live happily knowing that my face is never one of them. But then I remember exactly who I said yes to only a few weeks ago and resign myself to my fate.
“I love you,” he says as a deep male voice impatiently bellows his name.
I swoon hard. There are thousands of women in this arena, many holding up signs reading a whole host of things to tempt the players, but this man before me has chosen me to spend his life with.
“I love you too.”
I swear his grin lights up the entire arena.
“Can’t wait for you to watch me win.”
“You know it’s a team sport, right, Donnelly?” Casey teases as he pushes away.
He taps his fist to his chest, right above his heart, before pointing at me, then makes a heart gesture before disappearing down the tunnel where the rest of the team has already gone.
“Who’d have thought it? There was a woman out there who could tame Everett Donnelly,” Casey teases.
“My girl can do anything she sets her mind to,” Sienna says proudly.
“Oh, you motherfucker,” Sienna squeals.
“Hey, ref, did you forget your cell?” Casey bellows, and I burst out laughing, knowing what’s coming next. “You’ve missed a few calls.”
“Get off your fucking knees,” Sienna shouts. “You’re blowing the game.”
“Oh my god, there are two of them,” I mutter to myself.
“You can come and sit with me if you want,” Freya offers, who’s watching the game a little more calmly.
“The fuck? That’s high sticking. Jesus. Is this ref fucking blind?”
Sutton side-eyes Casey. I learned very quickly tonight that she made the wise decision not to bring her swear jar with her; she figured it would probably be too heavy to carry around after the first ten minutes.
It seems she was very right. She’s totally taking note, though.
I think Casey may have to stop at the ATM on the way home to cover her debts.
We’re five minutes into the third period, and we’re down by one.
It’s not the start to the season the Vipers were hoping for, but that doesn’t mean they’re losing focus, despite the questionable calls the ref is making.
I may still be a hockey novice, but even I can see more than he can.
“Hey, ref, are you pregnant? You’ve missed two periods.”
I shake my head. I’d forgotten this side of my best friend I discovered earlier in the year. I thought she was so sweet and innocent. Okay, no. That’s a lie. I just didn’t know she was capable of throwing this level of abuse at a stranger.
“Finally. What do you know? He’s not fucking blind,” Casey cries when one of the other team’s wingers is sent to the penalty box, giving us a chance to even the score.
“This is it,” Sienna says, grabbing my arm. “They’re gonna do it. I can feel it.”
“That’s the beer,” I deadpan, earning myself a glare.
Fletch, our captain, wins the faceoff, but no sooner has he shot the puck toward Kodie than he’s taken out by an opposing D man.
The play continues as Kodie quickly scrambles to his feet, but it’s too late; the puck is heading toward Cole. Everett and Calvin are there, ready to intercept and protect their goalie.
My heart is in my throat as Everett dives forward.
“Yes,” I squeal when he wins it and races down the ice.
With only one defenseman to contend with, he has a clear shot on goal.
“Oh God, is he gonna—” I thought he was joking when he said he was going to score a goal for me.
He pulls his stick back, and I swear the arena goes silent for a split second. Then all hell breaks loose.
“He did it. Oh my god, he did it.”
“Of course he did it. He’s Everett Donnelly,” Casey says, as confident as you like.
The rest of the team piles on Everett, celebrating his goal. But it’s over quickly because time is ticking and they’ve got a game to win.
But before the game can continue, Everett comes racing toward us, his eyes locked on me.
“Oh shit.”
He clatters the board before he bellows, “That was for you, baby,” at the top of his lungs. “Let’s start this season as we mean to go on.”
My body burns with what I swear is the attention of the entire arena on me.
I’m sure, if they’ve seen any hockey news over the last few weeks, then they know who I am. My sudden appearance in Everett’s life, our pregnancy, and then our engagement announcement have been everywhere.
Casey warned me about tonight, that people would be almost as interested in me as they are him, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for this.
“Look,” Sutton shouts, pointing up to the ceiling.
I swallow thickly and look toward the massive LED screen hanging above. And just like I feared, there is my face with Everett’s and a big red love heart surrounding us.
“Too late to change your mind now, baby. You’re already wearing my ring.”
The second I look back down and find his eyes, it’s like everything around me vanishes and it’s just the two of us in the living room, watching a game on TV.
“Not a chance. You’re mine now, remember?”
“Never gonna forget. Now, gotta go. Got a game to win.”
He blows me a kiss, which is also shown on the Jumbotron, and when I look up, seeing it repeated, all I can think is, why did it take me so long to find myself exactly where I belonged?
HAYDEN
PARKER AND LINC’S WEDDING DAY
I’ve experienced a lot of lows recently, but standing behind a huge fern, hiding at my own teammate’s wedding, is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Lying to them all yesterday, and then earlier today, wasn’t much above this moment, either.
Since signing with the Vipers, they’ve become everything to me. My LA family that I’ve needed more than they understand.
Leaving home and starting over is always hard, I don’t doubt that. But without sounding like a selfish prick, it’s been even harder for me.
What I had to leave behind…
I try to swallow the lump that seems to have taken up permanent residence in my throat, but it’s impossible.
Parker looks incredible, and the way Linc is gazing at her...
Man, I’d love to know how that feels.
I know love. But what I’ve experienced is different from the way they’re looking at each other.
I know family. The deepest kind of bond with those you share DNA with. What I haven’t found is my soulmate who owns the other half of me. Maybe I won’t. Maybe only some people are lucky enough to find that kind of love in their lifetime.