Chapter Fifty-Four
Beau
The Terriers had a hell of a season. Not enough to get us another Cup, but it was still epic and fun.
Plus, I wasn’t mad as we watched my old teammates, Wyatt and Jackson, hoist the Cup when it was the Panthers’ turn.
They truly deserved it with the season they’d had.
Asher and I grew closer, but not as close as Dean and Saint.
They had a friendship that I hadn’t expected, but it was something both of them needed.
I watched my son turn eighteen years old, and get accepted to Boston University. I was so proud of Cole. He was a smart, talented young man who was going places. Even if he was never drafted into the NHL, I would be okay with it. I knew how badly he wanted that, but I would love him no matter what.
And I proposed to Dean again. Properly this time. And he said yes.
I knew Dean was scared that I was going to run again or push him away, but not this time.
I learned my lesson. I loved him. I wanted him in my life.
I needed him. One afternoon while he was out with Saint at one of his yoga classes, I took Asher with me so I could pick out a ring.
He’d say I dragged him, but no one forced the man to find one for Saint at the same time. It worked out perfectly for both of us.
I had planned to wait. I wanted to make it a big, huge extravagant thing, but instead, the moment Dean walked into the apartment, dressed in leggings that clung to his muscled thighs and a tank top covered in sweat, I dropped to one knee, the box with the ring inside held out before me.
“Pink,” I whispered.
“What... Wait, are you serious right now?” He stared at me with wide, green eyes.
I nodded. “Marry me. You know I want to spend forever with you.” I couldn’t even stop the tears that slipped down my cheeks. When he didn’t answer, I got worried he would say no again. Maybe he wasn’t ready. “I mean, only if you want to do the same.”
We loved one another. We had found the cutest house in North Carolina, right on a lake. I couldn’t wait to move there and spend lazy days doing nothing with him now that I had officially retired from the NHL.
“Babe.” Dean’s chin quivered, then he sank to the floor before me.
I smiled. “I love you so much, Dean. You’ve completely changed my life.
Both of our lives, Cole and mine. I never thought I would want to get married and settle down.
You’ve made me so happy. I made so many mistakes with you, but here you are.
With me. Loving me. And I promise that I will never, ever hurt you again. ”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“And I want to grow old with you. I want Sam to cover up the gray hair that starts to appear with the perfect green that matches your eyes. I want to kiss the wrinkles that form on your face. I want you to tease me when it happens to me.” I kissed his nose.
Dean grabbed my wrists. “Yes, Beau. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I stared at him, my heart thumping wilding in my chest. “We’re doing this.”
“We are. But you have to put that gorgeous ring on my finger to make it official.”
“That would help, wouldn’t it?” It didn’t go unnoticed by either of us that my hands were shaking as I slid the ring onto his finger.
Dean grabbed my face to kiss me, nearly knocking me over in the process. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Pink, so much, and I promise to love you for the rest of my life. And even after that,” I whispered.
He smiled, tears glittering in his green orbs. “I never thought I would settle down. Never mind with a man. You make me so happy it hurts sometimes.”
“That makes two of us.” I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug.
I took in a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of leather. My knees ached from kneeling on the floor, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered but this moment right here, right now. The two of us wrapped up in this little bubble. Only the sound of the front door opening had us pulling apart.
“Ew, gross, really?” Cole groaned. “Don’t the two of you have a room for that?” He dropped his bag on the floor.
Dean flushed pink as I climbed to my feet, flinching at the pain in my joints. I was going to miss hockey, but my knees weren’t. I held out a hand to help my fiancé up. “I thought you’d be happy for us.”
“To find you embracing on the floor when I walked in? Why would that make me happy?” Cole headed to the kitchen before he stopped and turned around. “Wait, did you?” He raised his brows.
I nodded. “I did.”
“And?” Cole pushed for more.
Dean chuckled and held out his left hand. “I said yes.”
“Holy shit!” Cole exclaimed. He launched himself at Dean, hugging him and swinging him around. “This is so awesome! When do I get to start calling you Dad? Can I call you Dad? I mean, it’s cool if you don’t want me to.”
Tears sprang to my eyes as my nose prickled. It warmed my heart to know Cole loved Dean like that. That the two of them were close enough that my son wanted to call my soon-to-be-husband Dad, too.
Dean glanced at me. “Um, I mean—”
“Whenever you want,” I assured him. “As long as Dean is cool with it.”
Dean sniffed. “I would love that.”
“This is the best day ever! Now I have two dads!” Cole hugged Dean again.
“You have to get married during the summer so I can come for the wedding. Will you do it in North Carolina? You’ll have the house and the land and everything.
Is Maverick going to be your best man? What about you, Dad? Who are you going to ask?”
I grinned. I hadn’t even thought about that, but it would only make sense to have my son as my best man. “You, of course.”
“Me?” Cole stared at me in surprise. “You want me to be your best man?” His chin trembled. “Don’t you want one of your friends or hockey buddies? You just got engaged. Don’t make any decisions yet. You have plenty of time to figure it out.”
I shook my head. “No. I want my son. What do you say, Cole? Will you be my best man?”
And then Cole was hugging me, which I assumed meant yes, and I caught Dean’s eye as he watched us, a smile on his beautiful face.
Everything felt like it was finally falling into place.
After being afraid of getting close to someone again, I had finally taken the plunge and found someone.
The part that I had been missing, that I thought I would never get back again.
Dean was exactly what Cole and I had both needed.
“I should shower.” Dean tugged at the tank top he was still wearing. “And then call my brother. He’s going to lose his mind when I tell him I’m engaged.”
I hoped that would be a good thing. I knew that Maverick still had his doubts about me. Maybe with us moving to North Carolina, that would change. That he and I could put aside our differences and become friends. Dean stopped to give me a quick kiss, then went to wash up.
“You’re awfully quiet.” I glanced at my son, who was looking at his phone. “Everything okay?”
Cole sighed. “Maybe a little nervous about the whole college thing, but other than that, I’m good. Really. And I’m so happy for you and Dean.”
“You’re going to love college,” I assured him. I tried to put out some feelers about the NHL and if he might get drafted to the Terriers, but Coach wouldn’t tell me anything. And now that I was retired, I guess it wasn’t any of my business anymore. Cole would just have to wait and see.
He shrugged. “Yeah, I hope so.”
“You’re going to make friends, meet new people, and have the time of your life. Just wait and see.” I wrapped an arm around him to pull him into a side hug. I had a great feeling about Cole’s future. And my own with the man that I loved.