Epilogue #2
Then I kiss her—hard. There’s nothing slow or sweet or gentle about it.
It doesn’t matter that we’re standing on the ice surrounded by my teammates and Serpents staff and far too many reporters.
All that matters is having her in my arms and my mouth on hers.
She tastes like Diet Coke and chocolate, a combination that’s abominable, but I love it anyway because I love her.
We break apart, and I’m still smiling as I set her on her feet, loving how her body slides against mine the whole way down.
“I’m so proud of you, Callum,” she says, her finger slipping into the ring around my neck. Though it’s always on my finger off the ice, it still stays on the chain when I’m playing. I’ve gotten used to keeping it there, and honestly, it makes me feel closer to my wife, even when she’s not around.
“I couldn’t have done it without you.” She opens her mouth to refute that, but I shake my head.
“No, I’m serious. I wouldn’t be standing here without you.
You gave me a reason to fight, even when I didn’t want to.
You believed in me every step of the way, even when you weren’t here.
I think somehow, someway, I felt that, and I needed it. I needed you.”
“You have me, Callum. I’m not going anywhere,” she promises.
“I know. Because you’re going to marry me.”
She laughs, her eyes sparkling under the arena’s bright lights. “We’re already married.”
“I know, but I want to do it again. Marry me with all my friends there—my family, your family. Marry me so I can show the entire fucking world how madly in love with you I am.” I bend at the knees until we’re eye level. “Marry me again, Clover, because I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Her mouth hangs open, then closes again, only for it to float back open. She looks like a fish, but I don’t care. All I care about is the single word she utters.
“Yes.”
There’s one thing I’m absolutely sure of: it’s better than winning the Cup.
When I was younger, I never really thought much about marriage. I figured it was something that might happen one day, and I’d cross that bridge when it came.
Then I met Chloe, and for the first time, I knew it was inevitable, and I also knew I would only get married once.
So why I’m shaking from head to toe as my bride walks down the aisle to me at my second wedding is beyond me, but here we are.
Sure, I’m not technically getting married again, but I am saying my vows knowing their full weight in a way I never have before.
A hand lands on my shoulder, and I don’t have to turn back to know it’s my brother. “She’s a vision, bro.”
“Yeah, she is,” I reply, unable to take my eyes off Chloe.
Her dress is simple, almost understated, but it’s in no way any less stunning as she makes her way toward me.
Her hair is swept up in a fancy updo, and the only piece of jewelry she’s wearing is a necklace that’s shaped like a clover.
There’s a bouquet clutched tightly in one hand, and she’s holding her father’s arm with the other.
Even he’s smiling, but that’s not my focus right now. It’s her.
If you’re lucky, you get to marry the person you love once, but if you’re really lucky, you get to do it twice, and I feel really fucking lucky right now.
Hi, Clover, I mouth, and she grins.
Her father “gives her away,” and after shaking his hand, I can’t stop myself from leaning in and kissing Chloe right on the cheek. Several people snicker, and her mother sighs dramatically, but I don’t care. All I can focus on is her.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Lawson says. “You may be seated.”
When he came to me with the idea of being our officiant, I gave him a fifty-item list of things I’d rather do than have him at my wedding. But Chloe loved the idea, so here we are.
“Today, we’re here to celebrate the vow renewal of Chloe—shit, I probably should have gotten your middle name, huh?” Lawson laughs uneasily. “Chloe Keller and my best friend, Cal—Keller!” he amends when I glare at him.
Chloe giggles, and I think if she weren’t here holding on to me, about to say I do all over again, I might be jealous, but I can’t find it in me to be.
“My mother, who Keller is a big fan of, used to make me watch cheesy Hallmark movies with her. I hated it, naturally. It was pure torture for a young kid who just wanted to be out in the backyard playing hockey. But I did it because it made her happy, and to me, that was all that mattered.”
Several people in the crowd laugh and aww over his story.
“Then one day, I found myself watching them when she wasn’t around.
Unknowingly, I had fallen in love with them.
There was a sweetness that I enjoy, and they’re a comfort, because no matter what, you know the couple will find their way back to each other and they’ll live happily ever after.
I felt that the second I saw Chloe and Keller together for the first time. ”
I look over at Lawson, and I’m surprised there’s no smirk on his lips. He means it, and it’s the first I’m hearing this.
“You see, sometimes we meet people who are just supposed to be part of our lives. Sometimes it’s a teammate who claims to hate you but secretly loves you so much he trusts you to officiate his wedding.”
“Or is coerced into it,” I murmur, which earns me a glower from Lawson and a laugh from Chloe.
“Or sometimes it happens in a college classroom. Life might try to tear you away from that person on many occasions, but no matter what, you make your way back to each other. That’s what happened here with Chloe and Keller.
Life tried to stop them from being together, but they told life to kick rocks, and they fought for their love, just like those folks in the Hallmark movies.
It’s why I’m standing here today as they say their vows once more.
Because that’s what marriage really is—showing up every day, even if you don’t want to.
It’s about being there not only for your partner, but for yourself too.
It’s fighting, and not just in the traditional sense either.
It’s fighting yourself, your doubts, and your assumptions of what the other person should be.
It’s just being there, and that counts a hell of a lot more than most people realize. ”
Lawson’s words are true in more ways than one, and I never thought I’d see the day when he brought tears to my eyes, but it’s exactly what happens. I blink them away, not missing how Chloe squeezes my hand with hers because she knows too. She feels the weight of his message just as much as I do.
Fighting is exactly what we’ve done over the last few months.
Between coming back together, the Cup run, winning, and everything that came after, we’ve had to do just what Lawson’s said time and time again—show up, and it’s exactly what I plan to keep doing.
I almost lost her once, and I’ll be damned if I ever let it get that close again.
Not that I’ll tell him, but Lawson wraps up the ceremony beautifully, and soon Chloe is slipping my ring onto my finger, though it’s pointless since I got it tattooed on me last week.
I wanted it to be a surprise, but I couldn’t wait a second longer.
I needed her to know just how serious I am when I take these vows.
We’re forever. The good, the bad…all of it. I’m going to be here, and I know she will be too.
When Lawson finally announces us as husband and wife for the second time, I dip Chloe back and kiss her long and hard and way past appropriate because I can’t help it. I’ve always been a little out of control when it comes to her, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
We hold on to each other as we make our way down the aisle, and I don’t let her go as we take photos or even when we walk into the reception, all of our friends and family cheering for us. Not until we break for dinner do I finally let her go, and only after she promises to come right back.
“Dude, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so much, and it’s freaking me out a little,” Hayes says.
“He’s right,” Fox chimes in. “But I’m happy you’re happy, man. Truly.”
“Me too,” Locke adds.
Hutch pats me on the back. “I knew you two would figure your shit out.”
I roll my eyes, but secretly, I’m glad too.
“My boy! He did it!” Lawson slings his arm around me, squeezing my neck tightly, and I try to push him off, but it’s no use. He tips a beer to his lips, taking a swig. “All right, who’s next?” He looks at Locke. “You and Nessa getting hitched anytime soon?”
The veteran grins, shoving his hands into his pockets. “We’ll just see, won’t we?”
I watch him carefully, getting the sense there’s maybe a little more truth to his words than he wants to admit, but I let him have his secret for now.
“Still bummed you and Chloe moved out of the building,” Locke says, changing the subject. “How’s the house?”
As if we didn’t have enough going on this summer, we added buying a house together for the first time to our plates. I’m not sure if we’ll be staying in Seattle forever, but for now, it’s home. It was high time we made it so and got a place that’s truly ours.
“Great. Auden and Lilah did a fantastic job on it.”
Fox and Hutch bump fists, clearly proud of their partners.
“And it’s still close to Rory’s clinic, which is nice for Percy.”
“And me,” Lawson says, clinging to me. “You’re even closer to me now.”
I groan. “Don’t remind me.” I finally shake him off. “And get the fuck off me.”
“Aww, come on. Just love me! Remember when I scored the game-winning goal and you kissed my cheek? Why can’t you love me like that all the time?”
I roll my eyes, ignoring him.
“Well, how about it, boys? We fucking did it. We won the Cup and we got the girls,” he says, lifting his beer in the air. “To the Serpents Singles!”
We all look at each other, then laugh before holding our own drinks up and clinking them together.
“Serpents Singles!”
“Best fucking club there is,” Lawson adds before taking his drink.
We groan collectively, and I swing my gaze across the room, right to Chloe, who is huddled in a corner, holding Talia.
“Uh, I’ll be right back,” I say to the guys, breaking away from them and heading toward my wife.
“You still owe me a kiss!” Lawson calls to my back.
I flip him off, smiling when I hear Hutch, Locke, Hayes, and Fox all laugh. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot more of that, but only after I sort out why my wife’s best friend is crying at our wedding.
Everything okay? I mouth to Chloe as I make my way over. She shakes her head, then holds Talia closer.
“Hey, Tally,” I say to the small blonde woman. “You all right?”
She looks up at me, her eyes red from crying, and she bursts into tears again before brushing past me and running toward the bathroom.
“What’s going on?” I ask Chloe.
She shakes her head, working her jaw back and forth.
“Talk to me, Clover. Tell me what happened.”
“It’s…” She sighs. “It’s not my story to tell, but I feel like you need to know this. Do you remember that guy you were teammates with at college? Shawn Hicks?”
My fists clench at my sides just thinking of the prick. Things were never the same between us after that day in the cafeteria, and they’ve remained so, even with us being in the same league.
“Yeah, I remember. Tally ‘dated’ him for a while, right?” I use air quotes around dating because nothing that guy did should have been considered that. He was always so shitty to the girls he brought around, and Talia was no exception.
“Yep. And remember how Talia has never told me who Ian’s father is? Always claimed it was a one-night stand who didn’t want anything to do with the baby?”
I close my eyes, knowing exactly where this is going.
“He’s the father, isn’t he?” My wife nods, and I scoff. “Fuck, I knew I should have taken another run at him last time we played against each other, just for good measure.”
She laughs lightly. “Yeah, probably, especially since she wasn’t lying about him not wanting anything to do with Ian.”
“What a piece of shit. So, what’s going on now? Why is she crying? Did something happen?”
“He just got traded.”
“Okay…trades happen all the time. What is she—oh god.”
My eyes widen, and Chloe nods, confirming the worst news possible for my wife’s best friend.
“Please tell me it’s not…”
“Tennessee,” she says quietly. “Talia’s secret baby daddy is the new star for the Tennessee Twisters.”
**
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