Danielle
Some of them even recognize her from pictures Andrew will sometimes hand over to the team media coordinator, and from random Instagram stories the team posts on family day.
Again.
She watches as Andrew’s face splits into a massive grin, and he crouches down, catching Harper in his arms and lifting her up as he spins around.
“There’s my girl!” he says, peppering her face with goofy kisses. “I missed you so much!”
Harper giggles and Andrew sets her down, but she keeps clinging to him as Danielle finally catches up. Andrew reaches for her, and she hugs him tight before he leans down for a kiss.
Warmth fills her, spreading all the way to her toes as she tightens her arms around his waist.
“Hey, Andy,” she says softly, pulling back so he has to lean a little closer to kiss her again.
“Hey, Dani.” He grins and kisses her again, holding her tight to him. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Momma, not in public,” Harper says. Danielle pulls away and musses Harper’s hair. “People are staring. ”
“It’s because they wish they were as cool as your dad and I,” Danielle says, “they don’t have someone to kiss.”
“Yeah, well it’s still gross,” Harper says, shuddering. “I never want to have someone to kiss.”
“You’ll change your mind.”
“Will not,” she says, hugging around Andrew’s waist.
“My truck is parked in the garage,” Andrew says. “I figured we could grab dinner and then go to my house. Catalina just changed jobs and is working at a new restaurant downtown that I think both of you will like.”
“Does it have chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese?” Harper asks, with all of the seriousness in the world on her shoulders.
“Would I bring you somewhere that doesn’t?” Andrew says, just as serious.
“I would hope you know better than that,” Harper replies. “I didn’t come all this way with momma to starve.”
“Roscoe would be really sad, if that were the case,” Andrew says, taking Harper’s hand .
Danielle keeps an arm around his waist as they walk out of the airport.
His arm around her shoulders, other hand holding Harper’s.
They hadn’t bothered packing any more than what they had fit in their backpacks, since they had been back and forth so much during the hockey season.
They’d left a lot of stuff at Andrew’s house to make it feel like home.
“How was your last day of school?” Andrew asks, helping Harper jump into the back seat of his truck before getting the door for Danielle.
“It was good,” Harper says with a shrug. “I brought my report card so you can see it! And I drew you a picture during movie time after lunch.”
“Are they fridge-worthy?” Andrew asks, raising an eyebrow teasingly.
“I think so, dad,” Harper says, shrugging. “My teacher said they are.”
Danielle sneaks one more kiss before he shuts the door. He lingers, smiling against her lips and she fights the urge to pull him closer. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.
Andrew grins and pulls away so he can get in his truck .
He holds her hand over the center console, squeezes three times, and heads off down the highway.
Harper is sleeping when they pull in Andrew’s driveway. Sometimes, all it takes is for her to have an exciting day for her to get more drained than usual, and seeing him for the first time in almost a month had had her nearly short circuiting.
She hadn’t stopped talking to him for almost the entire dinner, and when she did it was only to take a bite of her food. She had been asking rapid-fire questions about the team, North Carolina, and Roscoe, carrying on all the way to the truck where she had promptly fallen asleep.
“She hasn’t been like this in a long time,” Danielle had said with a smile. “She missed you.”
“I missed her, too,” Andrew had said, bringing their laced hands to his mouth. He kissed the back of her hand. “Not as much as I missed you, though.”
He had glanced over at her, heat she couldn’t miss in his eyes sending a shiver down her spine.
Andrew gets Harper out of his truck, carrying her like she weighs nothing to the front door. Danielle punches in the code for him, and they step inside .
“What are you thinking about tomorrow?” she asks, voice quiet as she follows him up the stairs to Harper’s room.
“I’m trying not to think about it,” he says, laying her in her bed. “I’m just going into it like it’s any other game. I just want to win this one a little bit more than normal.”
“And you’re sure about what you’ve decided for after?” she asks. She tucks Harper in and they both kiss her forehead.
Andrew takes her hand, pulls her into the hallway. “I’ve never been surer about anything in my entire life.”
She slides her arms around his neck and he grips the back of her thighs, pulling her up so her legs are wrapped around him.
“You’re so hot,” she says, “it makes me sick.”
“Well I’ve never heard that one before,” he says with a laugh, carrying her down the hallway to his room. “I’ve heard that I’m hot enough to make women cry, but never that I make them sick.”
“First time for everything,” she says .
He kicks the door closed behind them and presses her up against it. She slides her legs down so she’s standing on her own two feet and he slots a leg between hers, the whole length of his body pressed against her. Her breath hitches, and she cannot believe that she gets to have this man.
“Well, I’d prefer you telling me that I make your knees weak and that I knock you off your feet,” he says.
“Okay, Nick Jonas.”
He pulls back, confused.
“Don’t even tell me you haven’t heard his song ‘Crazy Kind of Crush On You’ before.”
“Nick Jonas isn’t exactly what I’m making playlists around,” he replies, “I was thinking more like the Click Five.”
“You seriously need to get cultured,” she says, “and that song isn’t exactly a compliment. And it’s more about me knocking you off of your feet.”
“If you remember correctly, ma’am,” Andrew says, pretending to push glasses up his nose and squinting at her. “You did knock me off my feet.”
She rolls her eyes fondly, tugging on a loose strand of his hair. “Literally. ”
“The song is all about a guy going after a girl who doesn’t want to give him the time of day,” Andrew continues, shifting so he has a better grip on her legs. “Like you.”
“But the girl in it is the worst .”
“The more you ignored me, the more I adored you,” he says, in a sing song voice. She hits his shoulder and he laughs.
His eyes flick from hers to her lips, then back again and she grins.
“Are you going to kiss me or are we going to stand here all night?” she asks. “Because I came here thinking I was going to get to at least second base, third if I’m lucky, and if that’s not going to happen—”
“You’re ridiculous,” he says with a huff, leaning closer.
“What of it?” she mumbles, and then finally, finally , he’s kissing her and she’s home.
“Still feeling okay?” Danielle asks the next morning as Andrew curls up beside her, pulling her into his chest. He’s freshly showered and smells so good, she buries her nose into his shoulder .
“More than,” he says, kissing the top of her head in turn. “This is the quietest my head has been all season. I’m taking that as a good sign. Normally before a game, I’m all over the place, thinking about every possible outcome. Today it’s… different.”
“Maybe because you know it’s your last one?” she asks, tracing the tattoo just under his collarbone.
“Mmm,” he hums. “Maybe. I don’t know. It just feels nice.”
“We’ve come a long way in a year,” she says, “I’m glad I’ve gotten to have you through all of it.”
He turns onto his side and tugs the blankets up over them, pulling her into his chest.
“I’m just lucky you’re mine,” he says quietly. “Life is just better when I’m with you. You make my world burn a little brighter.”
She presses a kiss over his heart as his breathing slows. They still have a couple more hours, and she’ll take it. It’s been a while since she’s felt so calm.
They sleep in a little past nine, hitting snooze after her alarm goes off in favor of a few more minutes to just be together before the chaos of the day starts .
Andrew has morning skate before the game, and Danielle needs to put in a grocery order before they meet up with Jet and Ainsley and head to PNC Arena.
Somehow, they had made it to the finals and they had been good enough to earn home-ice advantage for as long as they were in the playoff rounds. Which is a miracle in and of itself.
Home advantage is always the better environment to play in, and Raleigh had been transformed when they had landed at the airport.
Red and black had been everywhere , including lining the street that Andrew lives on.
Not for the first time, she finds herself glad that he has such great security around his house.
Fans had been outside the gate that morning, and she didn’t like that at all .
Jet and Ainsley had also flown in the night before, and were staying in a hotel downtown. Danielle had been surprised that they made it, considering Ainsley was so pregnant she looked like she was going to pop, but she also knew that Andrew would be happy to see them .
And Jet was going to go say hi to the team before the game, since he’d played with half of them before he’d been injured nine years ago. He also wanted to make sure that he was at Andrew’s last game, the fact that it’s the Stanley Cup Finals makes it all the more bittersweet. For both of them.
For Jet, because he’d never gotten to play in one, and for Andy because he’d never play in another.
He’d laid out his game-day arrival suit before he left, an olive-green tweed one, with a blood red tie and brown leather shoes.
She could tell that he had been starting to feel emotional, but he had offered her a smile and a kiss, and assured her that he would be okay before leaving. She and Harper are spending the day with Jet and Ainsley before they head to PNC for the game.
Jet wants to explore down town to see how it’s changed since he’d lived there, and Ainsley wants to go to some of the local spots that she’s seen on Instagram to eat.
The weather is beautiful, the air is charged, and everyone in town seems to have fallen under the spell that is the Stanley Cup Finals.
Danielle can feel the hope radiating off of everyone they pass on the sidewalk. They want this win .
The four of them arrive at the arena at six, parking in the reserved guest lot before heading inside to their seats.
They’re in Andrew’s personal box this time, and there’s already electricity crackling in the air of the arena as fans start to trickle in.
They’re in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row.
There’s anticipation in the air, and the buzz of excited conversation echoing around them.
Danielle can hardly wait for the puck to drop.