Chapter 32
M y life was so good it didn’t seem real, save for the banged-up shoulder. I had my girl, and my three brothers were moving into game four of the Stanley Cup final.
I’d checked in with them a few times over the last few days and they were all hyper focused. They all wanted the win, but even more so going into it together. With Casey as Captain, Knox on the streak of his life, and Jason in his rookie season it would be one for the record books.
It didn’t get any better than this, I was sure of it. I just hoped the date night in I had planned didn’t blow the whole thing to shit.
Cooking was stressful, go fucking figure.
I propped my phone against the fruit bowl and gnawed on my lip, frustrated the video call wasn’t connecting fast enough.
“Hello, baby, ooh what happened to your eyebrow? Are you okay?”
I completely ignored her question and went into a full-on meltdown.
“Mama, I fucked up, like, she’s a fucking chef, a-a baker-she’s a baker and I told her I’d cook for her. Why did I say that? Why did I promise that?”
“Oh, honey. Well first of all you just need to calm down.”
I nodded like a bobblehead. “K. Then what.”
“Scott, just take a breath. What are you tryna make?”
“I—” A dry sob left my mouth. “Sushi.”
My dad’s choked-out laugh sounded from off-camera. “Oh, shit, that has made my day.”
“Oh, hush now. He’s trying to impress sweet Jenna,” Mama defended, but she could hardly hide her smile.
“Guys. A little focus. Please.”
“Hey, have you seen that collie on the internet that can make its own sushi?”
“Not helping, Dad. Nice to know I’m more inept than a dog.”
I moved back slightly and at the sound of a gasp knew I’d fucked up. Again. This time for a completely different reason.
“Is, is that a sling? Are you hurt? Oh, my lord. Jackson. Jack, get over here.”
“Mama. Mama . . .” I tried interrupting. “I’m fine. I promise. I dislocated my shoulder and I need to sit a few shifts out at work. But I’m fine.”
Mama looked like she was about to cry but Dad saw whatever was on my face and threw his arm around her.
“He’s fine, Gilly, look at him.”
“No, he’s not, he’s tryin’ to roll sushi one-handed. One-handed! He must have a concussion, too.”
“To be fair this does seem pretty boneheaded.” He shook his head. “Okay. What’s your backup?”
I pressed my good arm into the counter and hung my head. Defeat hanging around my neck like a lead weight.
“Mama’s parmesan chicken pasta?”
“Yes. Do that!”
My dad nodded. “Yeah, and she loves it, too, right?”
“When Mama does it, yeah,” I grumbled.
“You know that recipe backward.”
I did. That was the problem. Tonight was about doing something special for Jenna and I knew I’d been a bit like a bear with a sore head, with not being able to go to work.
“It’s the thought that counts. Rember that. It’s so sweet of you to want to do this for Jenna.”
“I love her, Mama. I’d do anything for her.”
Now her eyes really did well. “And she loves you.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“I love you, baby, I’ll see you in a few days. Game four of the Stanley Cup. Can you believe it?”
“No. I’m prouda them,” I told her, and I was. My big, little, and baby brother had made it all the way, and if they won their next game, the cup was theirs.
“Love you, Mama.”
“Okay then, well, we’ll leave you to it,” Dad said and then checked Mama had left the room. “And thanks for the heads up about your shoulder. Your mama is gonna kill me.”
“Why? You didn’t set fire to the storage unit.”
“No. But apparently, if she and May had fallen for, and married, the Van Der Meer twins, their kids might not have been such daredevils.”
“Who are the Van Der Meer twins?”
“Big shot insurance brokers from their hometown,” he said with a smirk.
I chuckled.
“Know what my reply always is?”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not.” He winked. “Love ya, kid.”
“Love you both. See you Friday.”
“That you will.”
I tidied up the disaster that was my kitchen, admitting homemade sushi probably wasn’t the best choice this time around.
I had forever to cook for her.
And that’s when it hit me.
Standing in the middle of the kitchen, a packet of fresh bowtie pasta in hand, no adrenaline pumping through my veins, not coming down from the best orgasm of my life, having the clarity and peace of mind knowing that I had every day for the rest of my life to make Jenna happy.
I had everything I’d ever wanted.
I went into making the spicy pasta in a completely different headspace after that.
And I had fun doing it.
Jenna let herself into the apartment a half hour later, just as I was carrying the salad and a bottle of wine over to the coffee table.
“Something smells delicious in here.” Jenna breathed in a deep inhale.
“Well, I hope you’re hungry because I overshot it a bit. Come and sit down.”
With one more journey to the kitchen and back, everything was set. She hung her purse on the coat rack and pulled her hair out of her face, whipping it around until she had one of her perfectly messy buns in place.
I poured her a glass of the wine I’d watched her drink a thousand times and gave her a napkin to place across her knee.
She hummed when I passed her the glass and planted a soft kiss on her plump rosy lips.
I waited until she was situated and had taken a bite of her food before I reached for my own.
“Ummm, this is amazing. And one of my favorites. Thank you.”
My cheeks hurt from the smile I wore. Seemed like Mama was right after all. It was the gesture more than anything.
“This is really good, Scott. How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine.”
She pinned me with a stare, and I sighed. “I didn’t get ahead of the pain and now it’s throbbing like a motherfucker.”
“Scott. Why do you do this to yourself? At least take some ibuprofen for goodness’ sake.”
“I will, I promise.”
We chatted throughout dinner. She kept pausing with her fork halfway to her mouth the more she spoke about the wedding cake she was designing for an older couple who’d found love later in life.
They’d requested something a little whimsical seeing as it was their second go around and Jenna was really enjoying working with them.
She was so beautiful all lit up inside. So passionate.
Her bun wobbled as she spoke, and thin pieces of hair fell to frame her face. Her eyes were bright and sparkly, and the blouse she was wearing kept sliding off her left shoulder, I’d never felt so content and turned on all at once.
It was all so simple. I was just sitting here with my best friend, catching up on our days like always, but there was so much more to us now.
I couldn’t help but wonder what our wedding cake would look like. She said she’d already designed it, but would that change now that it would be ours and not just a someday cake?
“I lied,” I blurted, and her hand covered her mouth as she swallowed her food with haste.
Her brow pinched. “About what?”
My fork clattered against the table as I thrust it down and grabbed her free hand with mine.
“I do wanna get married. Jenna, I want to marry you.”
Her breath hitched and I realized I’d fallen to my knees.
“Shit. No . To be clear this isn’t a proposal. I’m just, I mean it kinda is, but it isn’t the big one. I just . . . you know, I said before that it would never happen. That was only because I was madly in love with you but had convinced myself I couldn’t have you. I was angry that I was gonna be alone for fucking ever because the thought of being married to someone else didn’t sit right when I was so deep in with you, and I was all up in my head and trying to push you away. I was an idiot obviously b?—”
“Hey, Lieutenant, take a damned breath.”
I did exactly as she said because I was spouting utter shit and felt like I was going to pass out.
She cupped my cheeks with her soft, warm hands and brought her face in line with mine.
“I love you, but we’ve got time. We’re moving in together, let’s enjoy that for a while first. I picture us old and grey, still together, still best friends, still insanely in love. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, okay? So just breathe.”
I nodded and kissed her palm. “Can I just say one more thing?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“It’s about the whole kids thing.”
Her swallow was rough, though, and something flickered in her eyes, all the color draining from her face.
“I really want them. If we can and if you do, too, then I want them so bad with you. Later, someday.”
A tear slipped through her lashes, and I wiped it away with my thumb. She fell back against the couch cushions and drew her hands up to cover her face.
“Cupcake. What’s wrong? You don’t want kids? It’ll be okay. I can just alter the picture in my head is all. If, if that’s what you want. I want whatever you want.”
She swiped at her cheeks and took a watery breath.
“I want children with you so much it physically hurt when you said you didn’t. I’ve been so worried about that, but how do you bring that kind of thing up when you’ve only been dating a short time. Gah, I’m so relieved.”
“Thank fuck for that.”
She giggled, but it soon turned into a laugh that was so full of joy and hope that my heart actually stuttered in its beats. And Jenna’s smile was so bright and so wide everything in me clicked into place.
The sun was setting, and the automatic lamp turned on behind her. I knew exactly what to do. How to celebrate the start of the rest of our lives. The promise of forever.
A friendship forged by a middle name alone and grew into something so special, it was hard to place a label on it anymore.
Best friends at our core. Our past an incredible and impenetrable foundation.
I stood up, headed for the kitchen, and returned with our trusty half-full bottle of tequila. Then I thumbed through my phone hitting play on a song I knew would have her laughing for a whole other reason.
“You wanna have ourselves a little night?”
“You know I do.”
My mouth crashed down on hers and I gave her a hard kiss. Then I did it again, hoping my lips would be imprinted on hers until the end of time.
She giggled and drew me into a much softer, sweeter one. A kiss that promised everything we had just talked about and more.
“I love you, cupcake,” I whispered against her lips.
“I love you more.”
It wasn’t possible. She was my everything and I was ready to love that epic kind of love—that once-in-a-lifetime love—we Madden men were so capable of.
THE END