Chapter 54
54
NICKY
I ’m in my office, hunched over my desk, miserably typing away on my computer.
I’m writing up a press release for new stadium security measures for next year. It’s not exactly the most thrilling piece I’ve ever done. On top of that, it’s the fourth press release I’ve typed up today, and it’s safe to say my brain is starting to melt.
A knock on my open door startles me. I glance up to find Steven, one of my coworkers, standing there. “Look at that idiot out the window.” He points to the glass behind me.
The window is the best part of my office. It overlooks the park across from the building. But today, like most days, I don’t have the luxury of free time to stare out windows.
I want to get this day over with as soon as possible because I have plans for this evening. Plans that include a forty-five minute drive into the mystical mountains of Starlight Falls.
I can’t do this to myself anymore. I have to go see Ronan. I have to tell him how I feel about him.
This is something I’ve never done before. I’ve never been a girl to pour out my heart to some guy. But if there ever was a man who’s worthy of my rawest emotions, it’s Ronan Brighton.
He taught me to not be afraid of my feelings. He gave me a safe space to dig into the deepest parts of myself. And now I’m ready to use my newfound voice to tell him the truths buried in the furthest corner of my heart.
I love him. Simple as that.
And I want him to know. I need him to know.
This is not practice. This is not a drill.
My love for him is the realest thing I’ve ever experienced.
I just need to get these damn press releases out of the way first.
Steven continues to stand there in the office door and I continue to ignore him, typing away on my keyboard.
He sighs dramatically. Then he marches all the way into my office, right up to my desk. At first, I think he’s going to reach over my shoulder and help me finish writing this press release, but then he grips the sides of my chair and physically turns my swiveling office chair around to face the window.
“What the hell?!” I don’t even know this guy. I met him like, two weeks ago. The nerve of him to get all in my personal space like this!
“ Look, ” he commands firmly.
“Seriously? What is so important that…” I look out the window and my protests die on my tongue.
The first thing I see is a giant of a man, figure skating in the park across the street.Then I see the huge poster board he’s holding in his hands.
I lean in closer. “Is that…?” My eyes blink rapidly, waiting for the image to change.
It doesn’t.
My heart squeezes. Then it starts to pound like a drunken jackhammer.
It’s been over a week since I last laid eyes on that beautiful man. And now, there he is, right within reach…
Steven is oblivious to my heart palpitations over here. He’s too busy ranting at me. “Yes, that’s Ronan Brighton, hockey sex god that he is. And he’s determined to see your stubborn butt for whatever reason.” My coworker huffs. “He promised me one hundred bucks if I could get you to go out there. So hurry your little butt down there so I can collect my money. I’ve gotta pay my car note like yesterday before I’m stuck walking to work in this horrible weather. Go! Scoot!”
I’m up, flying out of my chair and running out of my office. I’m already dashing down the multiple flights of stairs when I realize I didn’t grab my jacket or anything. It’s too late for that. I’m not turning back. I’m scared that I might blink and realize that this was all a dream.
I burst out of the building, trampling through the freezing cold snow.I slip and slide across the sidewalk, arms out wide, trying to balance myself. It’s almost like I’m the one ice skating over here as I duck around pedestrians and vehicles alike.
But I’m just a girl. Trying to get to a boy. By making it across the street. Without slipping on a deadly patch of ice. And getting knocked on my ass.
Wait—I don’t think that’s how the line went in that old movie.
Finally, I make it across in one piece. Barely.
I don’t slow down until I’m hiking across the frozen grass to the ice rink. The moment Ronan comes into view, I realize I have no idea what I’m doing. Instead of all the slipping and sliding, I should have been trying to figure out what I was going to say once we’re face-to-face.
When I’m close enough, I can finally read the poster board in his hands. If you see Nicky, tell her I’m here for my grand gesture.
Oh my god. What the hell?!
But the biggest smile explodes across Ronan’s face when he turns and spots me.
“Nicky,” he breathes.
“Ronan.”
For a long moment, we just stand there, ten feet apart, staring at each other.
My oh my, how I missed those pretty frost blue eyes.
And those strong, wide shoulders.
And the way he looks at me.
And the fact that for the first time in my life, I feel stronger than I ever have. All this time, I thought I needed to be single and independent in order to be a strong, badass woman. But Ronan has shown me a different way.
Love doesn’t make me a weak woman. In fact, loving the right man makes me stronger than I’ve ever dreamed of.
Yes, that’s what I see when I gaze into those eyes of his.
“I think you owe Steven a hundred bucks,” I finally speak first.
Ronan blinks. “Who’s Steven?”
My forehead scrunches into a frown. Did I get this all wrong? Did Steven lie to me? Is this all a cruel prank? Or did Ronan bump his head out here on the skating rink?
“What do you mean?” I’m almost afraid to ask. “The coworker of mine that you promised a hundred bucks to?”
“Oh. I…” he rubs the back of his neck, suddenly looking adorably impish. “I might have made that deal to at least ten different people who walked into your building. I wasn’t sure which ones actually worked on your floor, so I wasn’t taking any chances.”
My tummy flutters. “Not taking any chances on what?”
Dropping his poster board to the ice, he slowly skates forward, coming up to the edge of the rink where I’m standing. “On you, Nicky. I wasn’t going to leave here without seeing you. I would have skated back and forth out here in the cold until you left work this evening, if I had to.”
“If…If you wanted to talk, why didn’t you call me? Don’t you still have my number?”
He’s already shaking his head before I stop talking. “I didn’t want to do this over the phone.”
“Do this…?”
Okay, now my heart is officially trying to body slam its way out of my chest as I wait for his next words.It’s rattling my ribs so hard. I think I’m going to be sick.
He reaches out and grabs my hand, cupping it in his much larger ones. “Yes, this. Nicky, I had to tell you that I love you.”
“You love me?” I hear the tremble in my own voice.
“Yes, I love you. You’re the main character to me. You’re the center of my universe. Everything is just background scenery when you walk into a room. Everything else revolves around you. Including me. You deserve more than a string of placeholders, Peach. And I’m hoping you’ll let me be your leading guy.” He wipes the tear I didn’t realize was rolling down my cheek.
I give him a watery nod. “I love you, too, Ronan. I don’t want a placeholder anymore. I only want you.”
Ronan starts to pull me closer, but then he pauses, peering down at me. “What about that other guy?” he asks warily.
“What other guy?” I scrunch my forehead.
“Your ex. I saw you guys hugging a few days ago, and I just thought…”
My eyes widen. “You saw us? You were in Honey Hill? At the bakery?”
He nods, a pained look on his face.
I leap up on my toes and startle him with a kiss on his surprised lips.
There’s a hopeful look in his eyes when we pull apart. “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s that for?”
“It was just a goodbye hug with Simon. Nothing more. There’s no one else in my life. Only you. You’re the one I love, Ronan Brighton.”
“Only me?” he asks softly, his eyes twinkling.
“Yes, only you. The only man who’s ever made me feel anything real. The man I’ve been miserable over. The man I’ve been missing and thinking he didn’t feel the same.”
He cups my cheeks. “I feel the same, Peach. I feel everything for you.”
When he says all the things I’ve been wishing he’d say, I shiver as tears race from my eyes.
Ronan plucks off his toque and tugs it down over my ears. Then he holds his jacket open, pulls me forward, and wraps me up against his chest, so that we’re both warm and snug inside his jacket. “I want to be your safety net, Nicky. When I’m here, it’s okay to fall apart because I’ll catch you every time.”
“My safety net?” I let out a watery laugh. “Shit. I really need one of those. I’m always slipping and sliding and falling on my ass when I’m around you.”
“Because I make you weak in the knees?” he asks cheekily.
“Definitely because you make me weak in the knees,” I confess.
“You make me weak, too. It’s embarrassing.” He kisses me. “I love you.”
I grin in his face. “I love you back.”
He presses his cheek against mine. “Roses are red. Violets are blue…” I hear him whisper into my ear.
I laugh. “Oh god. Here we go again…”
“You know I’m awful at writing poetry, right?”
“ So awful,” I confirm.
He cracks up. “So, I’m just gonna say this without worrying whether it rhymes.”
“Go right ahead.” Beneath his jacket, I drape my arms around his waist and squeeze.
Pulling back slightly, he looks me in the eyes. “Nicky Westbrook—I want to be your date every Valentine’s Day for the rest of your life. I want to go way over the top and celebrate each of your birthdays with a marching band parade. I want to love you on Christmas and New Years and on a regular old Tuesday, too. In a way that makes you feel special and important and adored. I want the big moments and the small moments with you, Peach. I want all of it. All of you. Tell me you’ll be mine.”
I clasp his cheeks and kiss his face all over, not caring that we’re out in a public park. Not caring that I’m very quickly turning into a human icicle.
My eyes travel across every inch of his perfect, beautiful face. “I’d rather be yours than be anything else in this world, Ronan Brighton.”
“Then it’s official,” he says simply. “You’re mine.”
I melt, soaking up the feeling of being in Ronan’s arms once again. It’s now my favorite place in the whole wide world.
He picks me up off my feet, swinging me around, and then skating around the ice, with me still in his arms.
“I love you.” He presses a dusting of kisses all over my face, repeating himself over and over, as I giggle. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you, I love you, too.”
Ronan continues to skate and whisper in my ear. “You really turned my world upside down one hundred and three days ago, Nicky Westbrook. You have no idea.”
“What?” He’s still been keeping track of the days? All this time, he’s been keeping track of the days since we met?
His skates come to a halt as he peers down into my eyes, the most reverent look in his cool blue peepers. “One hundred and three days since I met you. One hundred and three days since you changed my life. For the better, Nicky. Everything’s been better since you walked in.”
“Good. ‘Cause you’re stuck with me, Hockey Guy. Forever and ever.” I burrow my face against his pounding heart. “I lied to you. To myself. And I’m sorry for that. Because the truth is, you’re not my practice anything. You’re my endgame. You’re my biggest win. You’re my championship cup.”